I am a Primary Science teacher in Perth Australia. I enjoy developing resources for my students that encourage hands on inquiry and investigation. I would like to see my students develop a life long passion for Science and to become active advocates at conserving and protecting the Earth's precious resources.
I am a Primary Science teacher in Perth Australia. I enjoy developing resources for my students that encourage hands on inquiry and investigation. I would like to see my students develop a life long passion for Science and to become active advocates at conserving and protecting the Earth's precious resources.
Part One
Commence the lesson sharing the story of the ‘little house with no doors or windows but with a star inside’. If you Google the story you will find plenty of versions on the internet.
Part Two
In this investigation each student is given one half of an apple and a ruler.
The students complete the following tasks about the apple
Label your drawing with these words
leaf
stem
core
flesh
skin
seed
My apple has _____________ seeds.
My apple is __________ high.
My apple is ____________wide.
Write two sentences describing your apple.
Part Three
Investigation - What can you put on an apple to stop it from turning brown?
Students conduct their own investigation with an apple to see which liquid is best at preventing it from turning brown.
This Science investigation tests how powerful the sun is at drying out a piece of wet paper towel. Students set up two investigations to compare sunlight and shade. Students record how many minutes it takes for the paper towel to dry.
There is a powerpoint to accompany this activity with a slide of review questions - Sunlight and shade questions.
This bundle is a set of Manager, Speaker and Director badge inserts that can fit into plastic name holders. The document is in Word so that you can adjust the outlines to fit your name holders.
Bread mould investigation powerpoint
This is a powerpoint to guide your students at setting up a bread mould investigation.
It includes the following slides
what do you know about mould and what things effect mould growth
procedure for setting up the investigation
prediction
variables
developing the investigation question
presenting results and reviewing the investigation.
Bread Mould investigation worksheet - this can be found as a free resource on my shop
Students were placed into teams of three and given a slice of bread to place into a zip lock bag. We then discussed the different locations around the school where they could leave their investigation for a week to encourage bread mould to grow. Do you think bread mould would prefer warm, cold, moist or dry environments? During the week the students were encouraged to make daily observations. At the conclusion of the activity the students completed the remainder of the worksheet.
Bread mould rubric
This is a rubric to accompany my ‘free’ resource called ‘Bread Mould Investigation’.
Some of the assessable outcomes include
Student predicts the conditons and location that are best for mould growth.
Student observes mould on bread samples with magnifier.
Student attempts to draw a labelled diagram of mould growth.
Student uses word wall to assist when spelling difficult or new words.
Student evaluates findings and completes questions.
Student works cooperatively in a team and performs team role.
This powerpoint resource comes in two parts
Part One - the students are guided to use microscopes to investigate a dry soil sample on a ‘sticky tape slide’. Then they create their own soil solution in a jar. You could set this over 2 x 60 minute lessons.
Part Two - the students having left their solution to ‘settle’ for one week, then draw a diagram (to scale) of the layers in their solution using rulers to measure and magnifiers to observe the layers closely. Allow one hour.
A guide to setting up hydroponics using a 2 litre bottle. Materials e.g. cocopeat or clay balls, pH digital monitor and nutrient mix to be purchased at a hydroponics store. This is the first part in a series of three files. This as part of a unit of work looking at how humans will be providing food for the future. Students considered implications of growing our own food on Mars as in 2025 the first human settlement is planned for Mars through the Mars One project. Students can learn more about this by exploring the Mars One website. The first file explains the method involved in setting up a hydroponics system. The second file is a daily recording sheet to monitor water levels and pH. The third file is to conclude the activity after the students have been nurturing their plant for several weeks and it is a journal to record their findings. I referred to the Epic Gardener website for many of the ideas and found it most helpful.
This bundle includes
Investigating with a toy robotic arm
Am I a robot worksheet
The Scribblebot challenge
Designing a medical robot
The Rise of Robots worksheet
Robots review - true or false
The above items can also be purchased individually.