Created by: Anne Violette

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SCHEV Teacher Presentation

• Created by Anne Violette

Funds for this project were provided by a grant
from the federal Improving Teacher Quality State
Grants (Title II, Part A) Professional
Development Program administered by the State
Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
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Teacher Information

• James Hurst Elementary School
• 4th Fourth Grade
• All core content subjects

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SCHEV Project Participation

• Nasa Langley, October 31, 2005
• Nasa Presentation, January 4, 2006
• Nasa Follow up (Norcum High School) January 26,
  2006

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Specific Strategies and Class Needs

• My class had a hard time understanding how
  science affects their everyday lives.
• My class needed hands-on activities to help them
  identify the big ideas.
• My class struggled with organization.
• My class was very active and required engaging
  activities that promoted student learning.

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Scientific Investigation
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Scientific Investigation, Reasoning,
and Logic

• 4.1 The student will plan and conduct
  investigations in which
• distinctions are made among observations,
  conclusions, inferences, and predictions
• hypotheses are formulated based on
  cause-and-effect relationships
• variables that must be held constant in an
  experimental situation are defined
• appropriate instruments are selected to measure
  linear distance, volume, mass, and temperature
• data are displayed using bar and basic line
  graphs and
• numerical data that are contradictory or unusual
  in experimental results are recognized

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General Overview of Lesson
Students were given material to construct a raft
or barge. Students hypothesized the best
construction for their teams raft. After
constructing their craft, students predicted how
many pennies it would take to sink their project.
Each team was then given seven pennies. Students
performed three trails to see how many coins it
took to sink their craft. Students recorded and
graphed their data.
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Lesson/Strategy Adaptations

• Group students with varying strengths and
  abilities.
• If any group was able to successfully float all
  of their coins they were challenged to increase
  the weight to determine the maximum load for
  their vessel.
• Students were challenged to create another craft
  from available materials and predict the buoyancy
  of each material.
• This lesson corresponds with the weights and
  measures mathematical unit, sol 4.10, for fourth
  grade.

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Student Response and
Learning Outcomes

• This lesson was designed to include the thoughts
  and ideas of all team members.
• Each student turned in their original design
  before gathering in their designated group to
  discuss and determine their raft design.
• After testing, a whole group determination was
  made about each groups design.
• Student achievement in the area of scientific
  investigation was increased significantly through
  this experiment. This analysis was determined
  through participation, class work, and end of the
  unit testing.

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My Reflections on This Lesson
Next year I would expand the requirements for the
crafts that the students constructed and increase
the load. I feel that a greater understanding of
making predictions could be achieved by the
students from their choosing the material(s) to
construct their barge. Overall, this lesson was
challenging and informative for all involved.
All students were attentive throughout this
experiment and actively participated in the
assignment.
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Overall Experience
I have become enlightened as to how to teach
innovative science lessons through this program.
Through the insight of those involved with this
grant, I have not only broadened my spectrum for
teaching science, but that of all content areas.
I realize that my students can grasp a greater
understanding for science related sols through
creative hands on lessons and experiments.
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Mentors
Through this program I gained knowledge that
helped me guide my teammates in teaching science
concepts successfully.