Module V

Photo by Daniel Y Go

 Cloudy skies by day mean cooler temperatures, but cloudy skies after dark mean a warmer night.

istockphoto.com

 

We can ice skate on water because our weight on the narrow blade of the skate compresses the solid ice into its denser form: liquid water.Water is the only substance on Earth known to have a less-dense solid-state.

These are a couple of the many facts about water I "soaked up like a sponge" as I was growing up. I was fascinated in high school science to learn that we are only able to survive on Earth because ice floats, allowing the oceans to remain liquid.

http://www.stevegarufi.com/coloradodesert.htm

Where I Came From
Growing up in Colorado, I was about as far away from the ocean as I could get in North America, and so the ocean always held its own mistique and allure. It wasn't until late in elementary school that I first saw a world map with physical features not only on land, but also illustrated underwater. I was captivated by the idea of these immense, unknown depths. Today, I introduce my seventh-graders to science in part by explaining to them how little we know about much of our world, especially the oceans. Science is not a stagnant memorization of endless facts dead white guys discovered hundereds of years ago. Science is barely getting started-and the mysteries of the deep are a perfect example of how much there is for new scientists-today's students-to study and learn.

Where I Am
Every day, I learn more about how little I actually know-and this week's module on the oceans is a perfect example of this. I've read about climate change, I teach my students about seasons, and I've watched/demonstrated/talked about the ice to water to steam lab and graphs more times than I can count. Yet until this unit, I never really thought about how those things were interrelated. So I have to stop and ask-have I really understood these concepts if I've always seen and thought about them as seperate? Have I done a really good job of teaching any of those ideas to my students, if I haven't at least touched on the interconnectedness of the oceans, the seasons, and the weather?

Where I Will Go
This module took concepts I'd always enjoyed, and in fact, been slightly in awe of, and showed me ways to communicate that awe to my students. Every science teacher I've met agrees that some topics are inherently more difficult to understand than others; for middle school, seasons and density seem to be difficult topics to teach <i>well.</i> The idea of density is easy to get across, but the importance, the excitement I feel for the subject seems lost on my students.The examples, explanations, and topics in this unit make me question my students' actual grasp of the fundamentals of density-is the excitement lacking because their understanding is superficial? Teaching about seasons presents an inverse challenge: students have such an intrinsic, common-sense understanding of seasons that they have little motivation to dive into the science behind what they see outside their window.Putting it into a globalcontext that illustrates the deeper levels of connection and science behind "rain," "cloudy," and "wind" might be just the key I was searching for. I look forward to using all of the resources in this unit, especially the "Reason for the Season" resources!

The Map I’ll Follow
One of the Evaluate questions that jumped out at me this week was at the end of Density of Density Differences: How useful are simple labs and/or YouTube for your professional purposes? I cannot think of anything this year that I have been more excited about, that is more directly relevant, or that I would predict will have a bigger positive impact on my teacing and my students’ learning than the simple demonstrations, labs, and YouTube videos in this module.

http://www.ehow.com/shoe-decor/