Category: Elementary School
Renee Greer, a Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, worked closely with the SMILE program to develop lessons that would share her expertise in cellular biology at an elementary school level. There are 7 lessons in total and they can be taught as a unit or individually.
During our 2014 Winter SMILE Teacher’s Workshop, Matt Nyman, a Professor in the College of Education at Oregon State University, shared his expertise during a session on Schoolyard Geology. Take a look at the great resources that were shared!
Professor Nyman also recommends the website “Exploring the World of Science”: http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc//navigation/home.cfm
Family Math and Science Night (FMSN) activities are meant to be hands-on, engaging activities for students to do with their families. Students will also have the opportunity to share their knowledge and have a teaching moment with their families and peers. Each activity for FMSN can be easily adapted for use in a SMILE club meeting or to meet the specific needs of each SMILE club. Almost all of the materials are things that can be purchased at a grocery store, which makes these activities easy to prepare and set up for. We hope you and your students find these activities exciting and engaging!
This post includes 5 Family Math and Science Night activities. Each activity is easy to set up and does not require explanation or supervision.
Clink! is a simple example of inertia and gravity. Materials are simply a penny, playing card and a mug. Participants will set the penny on the playing card and the playing card on the mug; they then have to figure out how to get the penny into the mug without lifting the card from the mug.
Using a sheet of toilet paper and a paper clip can you make the paper clip float in a bowl of water? By simply placing a paperclip on a single sheet of toilet paper and then carefully guiding it into the water, it will float!
Participants will begin by leaning forward and resting their foreheads on the wall. Next they will put their arms at their waists and try to stand upright without bending at the knees or hips. Participants will learn about center of gravity and how it needs to shift accordingly.
Using their shoulder to hold a piece of paper against the wall, participants will try to lift their outside leg. They will be unable to do so because they will not be able to lean into the wall to lift their leg.
Placing a piece of paper arms length away from a wall, participants will stand with their heels against the wall; they will then try to pick up the sheet of paper without moving their feet or bending their knees. Participants will not be able to pick up the paper because their center of gravity will need to shift.
This post contains the Ocean Fisheries activities that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop in August. Learning about fisheries can help students understand how all organisms have an essential role in an ocean ecosystem. The following activities highlight the affects that fishing can have on the ocean ecosystem and the important role that fishers, biologists, managers, and other stakeholders play in helping to protect the ocean.
Halibut: Flat or Fiction? Pacific Halibut and the Ocean Ecosystem
This unit of curriculum focuses on the Pacific halibut fishery. There are four lessons and each one builds off of the last. Students are able to take on various roles and perspectives of ocean organisms, fishers, biologists, and managers. Students make tough decisions about the ocean ecosystem and recognize the difficulties that managers face in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
Rockfish Barotrauma Presentation by Lynn Mattes of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
You’re Excluded!
This is activity was developed by Oregon Sea Grant and explores the changes in the trawl industry technology. Students identify ways that changes in technology can positively and negatively affect fish populations and use problem solving skills to engineer their own fish excluder device.
Introduction to Fishing Fleet Presentation by Kaety Hildenbrand of Oregon Sea Grant
This post contains Schoolyard Ecology activities that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop in August. Schoolyard Ecology provides an excellent opportunity for students to get outside to explore and learn about their local environment. The activities included are examples of inquiry-based, hands-on, place based learning and environmental education. These lessons cover basic ecological concepts and promote environmental literacy.
Home, Home in a Tree
Trees provide a habitat for a host of plants and animals. In this activity students will discover how plants and animals depend on trees in many ways. If you don’t have trees available for observation shrubs, bushes, plants, and other greenery can be used for this activity.
Weaving the Web
Food webs are a way to show examples of how plants and animals interact. Food webs in a community can be very complex and this activity will allow students the chance to identify links in the web of life.
There are two sets of pictures that teachers use. One is very generalized and one is plant and animal specific to Eastern Oregon. This can be used to teach the differences of plant and animal life within Oregon.
Forest Cycles/ Stumping Around
The life that stems from a stump or rotting log can be fascinating. In this activity students will gain awareness of the different plants and animals that may arise from a stump or rotting log. If there are no stumps or rotting logs available feel free to use anything that may represent these items. A piece of a rotting log can be brought into the classroom or club, or maybe a shovel-full of bark chips from a nearby playground, get creative; there are always ways to demonstrate the decomposition and lifecycle of trees.
Owl, Mice and Seeds
This activity is a highly active way for students to gain understanding of the dynamic natures of populations, food webs and the changes that can happen in between predator and prey. Data sheet link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0FEoHyeIyePQTl0QTM2S0VXeGs/edit?usp=sharing
This post contains activities to be done at Family Math and Science Nights with your SMILE clubs. These activities were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop earlier in August. The lesson plans and any other resources for each activity are available on Google Drive. To access the lesson plans, click on the title of each activity. (Note: you do NOT have to have a Google account to access these files.) You are able to download and/or print the files for all of the activities directly from Google Drive, but you must download the file before you can make any personal edits. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback!
Family Math and Science Night (FMSN) activities are meant to be hands-on, engaging activities for students to do with their families. These particular activities reinforce the information learned in club meetings about Bioenergy, as well as provide a new learning experience for students and their families. Students also have the opportunity to share their knowledge and have a teaching moment with their families and peers. Each activity for FMSN can be easily adapted for use in a SMILE club meeting or to meet the specific needs of each SMILE club. Almost all of the materials are things that can be purchased at a grocery store, which makes these activities easy to prepare and set up for. We hope you and your students find these activities exciting and engaging!
