Using picture books to open the door to investigating in science
The nature of science strand is the overarching, unifying strand. Through it, students learn what science is and how scientists work. They develop the skills, attitudes, and values to build a foundation for understanding the world. They come to appreciate that while scientific knowledge is durable, it is also constantly re-evaluated in the light of new evidence. They learn how scientists carry out investigations, and they come to see science as a socially valuable knowledge system. They learn how science ideas are communicated and to make links between scientific knowledge and everyday decisions and actions. NZC page 28
Investigating in science is one aspect of the Nature of Science that focuses on students:
Carrying out science investigations using a variety of approaches: classifying and identifying, pattern seeking, exploring, investigating models, fair testing, making things, or developing systems. Achievement Aim, Nature of Science NZC
Picture books are one way of engaging students with science, and introducing the key aspects of investigating in science (see The National Science Exemplars progress indicators: HOs
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/sci/matrices/matrix_investigating_e.php
So what does Exploring a situation, Asking questions, Making predictions, Processing and interpreting, and Reporting look like in a classroom using the picture book, The Man Who Walked Between The Twin Towers?
The book tells the story of Philippe Petit, a young French aerialist who threw a tightrope between the two towers in 1974, and then spent almost an hour walking, dancing, and performing tricks over 402 meters up in the sky.
Google The Man Who Walked Between The Twin Towers for more information, images and videos.
Share the book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Possible science ideas and questions:
o How can people walk along a narrow wire or rope?
o What do they use to help them?
o Could I balance on a rope? What would I need to help me balance?
o Does the type and thickness of the wire or rope matter?
o What are the forces acting on the wire walker?
o How can we explore these forces?
o What is this thing called, ‘Centre of Mass”?
How can we find out more?
Balancing Bonanza
What You Need:
· Skewers
· Plasticene
· Polystrene blocks
· A long piece of string stretched across the room
What You Do:
· Insert a skewer vertically through a block of polystyrene with a short length protruding from the bottom
· Insert two more skewers at an angle of about 45 degrees into the bottom of the block
· Attach blobs of plasticene to these two skewers
· Fix the string to suitable points to form a tightrope across the room
· Place your creation with the central skewer balanced on the string
· Adjust the angle and length of the skewers and the size of the plasticene so that the block balances on the tightrope strung across the room
Balancing Bonanza – Defying Gravity
The Science Ideas: What’s Going On Here?
Centre of mass: The point at which the whole mass of a body may be considered to be concentrated. This is the same as the centre of gravity, the point at which the whole mass of a body may be considered to act.
What questions do you have about your balance object?
Think about:
Changing masses and distances, altering angles, length of legs, and the direction of legs.
Now What?
What have we found out?
What other questions do we have?How could we find out more?
Could we change position or the length of the skewers on our polystyrene block, to more resemble Philippe Petit’s balancing pole?
Could we make a model of the towers and the tightrope?
What other examples can we think of where the Centre of Mass is important?
For example: on the balance beam, gymnasts have to keep their centre of mass right in the middle of their bodies, otherwise they will fall off the beam.
What are the e-learning tools, processes and strategies that would support the stages of the science investigation process? (see separate document)
Think about:
The balance between developing the science understandings and the process having a blended e-learning approach
Related Resources:
Figure It Out – Mathematics in science contexts – Forces
High Wire pages 14 - 15
NZMaths http://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/high-wire
Building Science Concepts: Book 51, Standing Up, especially activity 3: Testing Our Balance, p. 15
NZ Physics Teachers’ Resource Bank: www.vuw.ac.nz/scps-demos/
Man on Wire: Philippe Petit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire and www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/
Pictures of tightrope walkers: www.timboucher.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chinese-tight-rope...
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2007/11/large_petit.jpg
How to find the centre of mass: www.sciencefair-projects.org/physics-projects/fi nd-centre-of-gravity.html or
http:/teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/judi/forces/activities/gravity.html
Balancing and centre of mass activity: www.csiro.au/helix/sciencemail/activities/balancingglass.html
Balancing spoon and fork on a glass: www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-balance-a-spoon-and-fork-on-amatch-on-a-glass-1