Created by: Kristal Pride
Saddleback Valley Unified School District
URL:
http://www.can-do.com/uci/lessons99/concepts.html |
 |
Background Info: You
may have asked yourself the question, "Is science relevant to 'real life'?"
My answer to you is, "YES!" Without the ability to perform even the
most simple science concepts you could miss out on much of "real life."
This lesson will concentrate on 9 science concepts. They are: observation,
recording & organizing, meaurement, prediction, hypothesizing, inference,
estimation, classification, and analyzing. You will need to define
each term and come up with your own "real life" use for the concept.
Materials:
1. Computer with internet
access
2. Activity sheet
Procedure: Follow the
instructions below to complete the assignment. BE SURE TO
READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE GOING TO ANY LINK. Record
your data on the activity sheet.
PART A:
OBSERVE
1. Ask yourself this question:
What does it mean to observe? Record your answer on your activity
sheet. Think about this: can blind or deaf people make observations?
Do you need to revise your definition? If so, record your new
definition. Watch the movie
clip. Click on movie gallery. Click on VaderQT.
2. How many shots were
fired? Record your answer on your activity sheet.
3. Did the white Storm
Troopers appear before or after the shots were fired? Record your
answer on your activity sheet.
4. When might you need
to use your observational skills in "real life?" Describe a situation
on your activity sheet.
PART B: RECORD &ORGANIZE
1. Sometimes you will receive
large quantities of information that you will need to record and organize
into a more understandable format. You may choose to organize the
information you recorded into a table or a graph.
2. Pretend you are considering
moving somewhere outside of California. You are going to base your
decision to move solely on weather. Go to the weather
link and record the information for the cities listed on your answer sheet.
Then organize it into a table. Based on your table decide where you
would want to live.
PART C: MEASURE
1. Borrow a meter stick
from your teacher. Measure the length and width of the classroom
to determine its area. Record your data on your answer sheet.
2. Consider a time in "real
life" that your would need to accurately dtermine the area of something.
Record the situation and how you would find the measurements on your answer
sheet.
PART D: PREDICT
1. Define the word predict
on your answer sheet.
2. In the next section you will
make a prediction as to how fast you and your partner can react to a 90
mph fastball. Record your predictions and data on your answer sheet.
Go to the baseball
link.
PART E: HYPOTHESIZE
1. What does it mean to
make a hypothesis? That's right! It's an educated guess.
2. Go to the roller
coaster link and design your own roller coaster according to their
instructions. You will need to hypothesize about your success with
each decision you make. Did you successfully create a safe roller
coaster? If not, repeat the process until you receive a "thumbs up"
for safety.
PART F: INFER
1. When you infer something
you are sort of combining observing and hypothesizing. You make an
assumption based on prior observations. In other words, you think
you know what is happening because of something you have seen, heard, felt,
smelled, or tasted in the past.
| 2. What can
you infer about the picture to the right? Why? Be specific.
Record your inference and reason on your answer sheet. |
|
PART G: ESTIMATE
1. What does it mean to
estimate? Record your definition on your answer sheet.
2. You will make estimations
for how much certain groceries cost now on your answer sheet. Tonight
for homework you will need to verify the price of the given items and record
them on your answer sheet.
3. Go to the estimation
site. You will need to find out how much wall paper it would take
to re-paper your classroom. Record the amount on your answer sheet.
PART H: CLASSIFY
1. What does it mean to
classify? Record your definition on your answer sheet.
2. You will classify our
nine planets using the following links: nine
planets and solar
system info. (When
visiting solar system info. click on intermediate button, visit OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM and PLANETARY SYSTEMS, and use REFERENCE DATA after choosing
planet.) Remember
as you reference your materials to keep in mind how YOU would classify
the planets in a new way using a feature that you decide on.
| You should record
information on: |
1. Its orbit in relation
to the Earth - Inside or Outside
2. Make-up of its surface
- Rocky (Terrestrial) or Gas (Jovian)
3. Its size or diameter
in relation to Earth- Larger or Smaller
4. Its ability to be seen
with our eyes - Classical or Modern |
3. Begin with recording
the order of the planets from the sun. Record all other classification
information on your answer sheet.
PART I: ANALYZE
1. What does it mean to
form an analysis of something? Analysis is one of the most difficult
tasks to master. You need to examine information in detail and draw
conclusions based on those careful examinations.
2. Return to the weather
link. Use your answer sheet to guide you through an analysis of the
data to answer the questions.
