Melting Icebergs

The investigation posed the question about what will happen if the polar ice caps melt.  The procedure was for us to put ice in a cup and then fill the cup to the brim with water and observe what would happen.  I hypothesized that the cup would overflow and therefore I added the step to place my cup in a larger bowl to catch the spill. 

During the investigation, I began by freezing a cup of water.  I marked the level on the cup in order to determine if water contracts or expands when freezing.  I noted that the water did expand when frozen.  This made me more curious about what would happen during the next step.  I put the block of ice in a bowl and filled the rest of the bowl to the brim with water.  Unfortunately, I had an uncontrolled variable, my daughter, who was also curious about the investigation and bumped the bowl so the water spilled over.  Therefore, I repeated the procedure two more times to observe what would happen.  In each of the next two trials, none of the water overflowed.

Therefore, my conclusion would be that if the polar ice caps melted they would not affect sea level. The polar ice caps are already in the water and therefore are already displacing the water.  When they melt, they would continue to take the space that they already occupy.

This investigation led me to ponder that our concerns about global warming effects on the polar ice caps are unfounded.  However, I began to wonder about the glaciers that are one land and the ice caps on mountains.  These ice formations are not currently in the water, therefore I believe if they melted they would add to the volume of the water and increase sea level.  I could compare this idea to our investigation; for example, if the cup was already filled to the brim with water and I attempted to place ice in the cup, then it would overflow. 

Science Journal Blog Week 2

STEM Strategy Lesson Plan Reflection

The lesson that I planned was for a fourth grade science class.  The students have just begun the chemistry unit.  They have previously identified the three states of matter and noted some physical properties of items representing the three phases.  For this lesson, students will be focusing on the physical property of mass.  Students will learn what mass is and that the mass of an object remains the same whether it is whole or broken, or in a different state. 

I have used the 5 E lesson plan format to plan math lessons.  I feel that this is a great way for students to construct their own thinking and learning about a concept.  Buxton and Provenzo (2011) state that “a good science teacher is not a conveyor of information but a provider of opportunities to engage in meaningful inquiry and exploration and a guide in helping students to make sense of those opportunities” ( p. 2).  Instead of the teacher giving the student the information and then having the students conduct a related investigation, the 5 E format allows students the opportunity to think about what they know first.  Additionally, I provide opportunities for “cooperative learning which focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 139).  The students are encouraged to problem solve, make connections to their prior knowledge, and share their insights in order to learn from one another.  After the students have had the opportunity to inquire and wonder, then the teacher offers an explanation and provides opportunities to practice and use the concept.  The 5 E lesson format encourages students to actively engage in “inquiry, the process through which scientists make observations, acquire data, support their ideas, modify their beliefs, and ask new questions” (Hammerman, 2006, p. 12). 

References:

Buxton, C. A., & Provenzo, E. F., Jr. (2011). Teaching science in elementary & middle school: A

cognitive and cultural approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hammerman, E. L. (2006). Becoming a better science teacher: 8 steps to high quality instruction

and student achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Pitler H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.