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| Title: "Eat a Mountain" and Other
Web-Supported Activities
Description: Hands-on activities and demos address concepts involving mountain layers, geologic fossils, volcanic lava viscosity, and ocean floor characteristics. These earth science activities give practice in modeling and conducting experiments as scientists do. Type of Session: Hands-on Workshop [Work table set-up] 1 hour (50 min.) SCIENCE AREA: Earth/Space
Science
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| Topics covered in the
National Science Edication Standards Virginia Standards of Learning |
| This workshop addresses
both the National Science Education Standards
and the Virginia Standards of Learning
as they relate to concepts of Earth Science. Three topics are addressed:
1. Model of Mountain
Stratigraphy and mountain building subduction
process
In the mountain-building
model, concepts of anticline and syncline
are explored and simulated by the students. In addition, the concepts of
geologic fossils and relative geologic time as evidenced in rock layers
are explored. [A Maryland field trip to Sideling Hill illustrates
some of these ideas.]
[ The ideas for these hands-on activies and demos
came from:
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" The standards emphasize historical contributions in the development of scientific thought about the Earth and space. The standards stress the interpretation of maps, charts, tables, and profiles; the use of technology to collect, analyze, and report data; and science skills in systematic investigation. Problem solving and decision making are an integral part of the standards ..."
ES.2 The student will demonstrate scientific
reasoning and logic by
* recognizing that evidence
is required to reviewuate hypotheses and explanations...
* explaining that observation
and logic are essential for reaching a conclusion...
ES.8 The student will investigate and understand
geologic processes including plate tectonics. Key concepts include:
*
processes (faulting, folding, volcanism, metamorphism,
weathering, erosion, deposition, and sedimentation) and their resulting
features; and
* tectonic processes
(subduction, rifting and sea floor spreading, and continental collision).
ES.11 The student will investigate and
understand that oceans are complex, interactive physical, chemical, and
biological systems and are subject to long- and short-term variations.
Key concepts include:
* features
of the sea floor (continental margins, trenches,
mid-ocean ridges, and abyssal plains) reflect tectonic processes...
Science
Content Standards: 9-12
Science as Inquiry
CONTENT STANDARD A:
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop abilities
necessary to do scientific
inquiry.
For students to develop the abilities that characterize science as inquiry, they must actively participate in scientific investigations, and they must actually use the cognitive and manipulative skills associated with the formulation of scientific explanations. This standard describes the fundamental abilities and understandings of inquiry, as well as a larger framework for conducting scientific investigations of natural phenomena.
One challenge to teachers of science and to curriculum developers is making science investigations meaningful. Investigations should derive from questions and issues that have meaning for students. Scientific topics that have been highlighted by current events provide one source, whereas actual science- and technology-related problems provide another source of meaningful investigations. Finally, teachers of science should remember that some experiences begin with little meaning for students but develop meaning through active involvement, continued exposure, and growing skill and understanding.
... The concepts of the world that students bring to school will shape the way they engage in science investigations, and serve as filters for their explanations of scientific phenomena. Left unexamined, the limited nature of students' beliefs will interfere with their ability to develop a deep understanding of science. Thus, in a full inquiry, instructional strategies such as small-group discussions, labeled drawings, writings, and concept mapping should be used by the teacher of science to gain information about students' current explanations. Those student explanations then become a baseline for instruction as teachers help students construct explanations aligned with scientific knowledge; teachers also help students revise their own explanations and those made by scientists.Public discussions of the explanations proposed by students is a form of peer review of investigations, and peer review is an important aspect of science. Talking with peers about science experiences helps students develop meaning and understanding. Their conversations clarify the concepts and processes of science, helping students make sense of the content of science. Teachers of science should engage students in conversations that focus on questions, such as:
THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH SYSTEM
... Geologic time can be estimated by observing rock sequences and using fossils to correlate the sequences at various locations. Current methods include using the known decay rates of radioactive isotopes present in rocks to measure the time since the rock was formed.
Interactions among the solid earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and organisms have resulted in the ongoing evolution of the earth system. We can observe some changes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on a human time scale, but many processes such as mountain building and plate movements take place over hundreds of millions of years.
Bye for now, and Thanks for joining us !!
May the Force of God be with you always!!
CONTACT
US at: siselectricslide@yahoo.com