Creating Catapults

This is another engaging after school activity that we used in our Force and Motion science club.  It would be easy to add to your existing curriculum; especially if you teach the FOSS Variables kit. 

In the Variables Kit, there are four problems for students to explore and test variable - pendulums, penny boats, planes and flippers.  Flippers are really catapults that you can change the height of the object's trajectory path by changing the length of the flipper. 


Another great FREE game from FOSS is the Blasto Game. This goes right along with the idea of changing variables to further your flight. It is an interactive computer game that the kids will LOVE...

To follow up this activity, we had the students design and create their own catapults - using simple materials:

•  a paper bowl
•  1 or 2 plastic spoons
•  1 or 2 rubber bands
• 12- 16  inches of tape
•  3-4 straws
• 3-4 Popsicle sticks
• mini marshmallows (the ammunition)

 

 

 

 

 

And off course...we had to write about our designs with a diagram to show how they worked!

Comment:

STEM education...and flipping

 I have just returned from a STEM education conference and have become rejuvenated with my thinking about how we approach learning in the classroom.   I have always been an advocate of integrating math and science since my early teaching days....but the implications of technology have always made me a little weary. 

I mean....let's be honest....sometimes I feel like all kids do these days are sit in front of video games.  Why should we continue this at school???

After this conference, my ideas have....FLIPPED.....It's not about mindless video games and instruction...not skill and drill computer games....but instead using technology to enhance our understanding of problem based learning.

I have a million ideas running through my head...but the first BIG idea I walked away with is the idea of "Flipping" our classroom.  Have you heard of this concept? It is not new...but it is not really being used....YET.

This idea is all about introducing content AT HOME through the use of podcasts, screen casts, and/or youtube videos.  Students can sign into a teacher selected site and find the pre-selected video, etc.. for them to watch for homework.  Why?  Well......let's face it....our kids are distracted at school.  At any given time, we truly only have about 60% of attention on our content presentation...I was watching my students just this week as we explored a brainpop video (pretty engaging, right???).  There were a few kids glued to the screen.  But the majority of the class were looking elsewhere ...at their shoes, at the fly in the air, out the window, at their friend, at a scab....you get the picture.

So instead, why not have them watch the same presentation at home where they are NOT distracted by friends, flies, etc..???  Then come in prepared for a discussion and then...more time for application!  That's right...without the 20 minutes of introduction into the content we would be able to get right into experiments, projects, products and hands-on learning.

Educators are always whining about TIME.  This, perhaps, just might give us more....time.

Want to learn more???  So do I!  As I find more information I will continue to blog about resources, ideas and application.

 

Bear Update and You Tube Clips....

I was having trouble when I posted my bear PDF yesterday...I have gotten many "requests to share" from my Google Doc.  I think I have now switched it to a public account so that now anyone can download it.  So sorry for the mess up!! 

In other news....I found a great YouTube video about Black Bears.  This video clip is from the BBC (they always do a great job with wild life videos)!  This clip is quiet (which is always nice) and shows what the black bears do before hibernation.

Living with Black Bears in Virginia is a great clip put out by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries about what to do when black bears end up in your neighborhood.  For my area, this is a real thing that happens every year in the late summer / early fal.  This clip is great to use as a real world problem - great connections to our real life 

Hope you enjoy and use these in your classroom!

Turtles!

I am getting ready to head out of town to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary!  I will be off the grid for several days.  So while I am out of town, I want to share with you one of my favorite blogs....Handbook for Nature Study.

This blog was created as a resource for homeschoolers...but the activities can easily be implemented in your own classroom.  The link above takes you to her current blog about TURTLES!  (I love turtles.)

Her blog includes links to Youtube videos, how to pond dip, ideas for outdoor hour observations and follow up activities. 

I think you will love it!  See ya next week!

Do you do magnetism and electricity???

This is my FAVORITE FOSS unit.. My students and I love to create and build circuits that work and challenge us to think of different ways to build.  Today I am going to link you back to the new interactive games as well as the old ones still on-line.

Build an Electromagnet   With this activity, much like the Evaporation one, you will have several variables to manipulate...wire gauge, wire material, number of winds and level of power.  Your challenge is to pick up as many filings as you can. This is a great activity for whole group and individual practice.  Keep in mind, you can (if your population has computers) even assign this for homework!  It is FREE!

Conductor Detector

This activity is great for the smart board. It include critical competitors - items that look the same, but are made of different materials.  You get to connect the objects to the circuit and see if they are conductors of electricity or not. 

There are so many more...including D-Cell orientation, Lighting a bulb, and turning on the switch...a total of 9 interactive simulations in all.  If you want to explore more...then I suggest you go to the website and play. 

Have fun!

New FOSS interactive games...

Today my friend and Delta Education sales rep came to my school to show me some new goodies from FOSS.  First, the Smart Board resources are AMAZING....Let me just say, the entire lesson will flow as you use them to guide your lessons.  I CAN NOT wait to use them in the fall and purchase them for my teaching colleagues in my school!

Second:  the freebies!

    FOSS is known for it's interactive games that go with each module on their website.   I would like to showcase a different one for the next few blogs so that you can play with them at home!

This one comes from the new 3rd Edition Unit entitled "WATER".  The game is called Evaporation Station. This game allows you to manipulate variables on two sides of a scale to see which side will evaporate more quickly.  You can manipulate the temperature, the size of the containers holding the water and the cloud cover.  It is a great game that you can introduce whole class on your Smart Board, but the students can practice it individually in the computer lab or at home for homework.  It is fun and really shows how temperature, heat and container size does affect evaporation. 

Go play!

Oops...Free Smart Board Review

Just went to look at my blog and realized that I forgot to link the Smart Board Review game....
so, here it is! Go to this site and scroll down the list of documents to download.  Sorry for my mistake!