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Post Mini-Grants Here.

Please submit in the comment section below your mini-grant addressing these three areas.

Thanks.

 

Identification: Please give your Name & Name of School where you work or where you intend to use the grant money.

 

Specific Aim / Goal: A few sentences on the educational goal / outcome for your students and how this is made possible by equipment/supplies puchased with mini-grant.

 

Proposal: Brief description of how you plan to use the equipment in your classroom to reach your educational goal.

 

Equipment: Description of the equipment you plan to purchase.

Comments

Mindy Krinhop's picture

Flip Camera for classroom use

Identification: Mindy Krinhop, Chapman Elementary

Specific Aim/Goal: Students will use the Flip camera to enhance their learning through using technology. They will document class projects to share with parents and to reflect on their learning. Teachers will use the Flip camera to communicate with parents and using it to record student readings.

Proposal: At the beginning of the year, we learn about the life cycle of the frog. The students will make a video to demonstrate the life cycle of a frog. This is just one project that the students will document as the year goes on. These videos will be put on the classroom website to better communicate with parents about what is going on in the classroom. The teacher will record each student reading a story. Then, the teacher will play it back for the child to discuss how to read with fluency and expression. Science experiments will also be documented as well to play back and discuss the what, how, and why of the experiment.

Equipment: Flip Ultra 2nd Generation Digital Camcorder - $149.99
Soft Pouch - $24.99
Standard HDMI cables - $24.99

This Flip Camcorder is very easy to use, even for primary grades, because of the few buttons to operate. It holds up to 120 minutes at a time. It is compatible with the MAC computers, which is what my district uses.

joycetheriot's picture

2008 Grant Proposal

Joyce Hubert-Theriot
Bayard Rustin High School
West Chester Area School District
August 4, 2008  

Grant Proposal for the Bryn Mawr 2008 Summer Institutes:

Brain and Behavior  -  Science as Inquiry

 Title:   Capturing Physical Science Inquiries at Rustin High School 

Goal:  Develop a Differentiated Classroom that offers distinct learning environments that will enrich and enable students to excel in science. 

Proposal:  Students will create digital media that reflects science concepts as experienced within the lab and/or outside the school.

  • Students will be able to electronically journalize investigations both inside and outside the classroom and then use the video to convey their thoughts and questions about the topic.
  • Students will be able to create multi-media presentations that capture the planning, design and execution of quarterly projects that assess understanding from a culmination of snapshot inquiries in the classroom. 

 

Equipment:

  • Purchase at least 2 video cameras and attachments from the  Grants given by both the Science as Inquiry and the Brain & Behavior Summer Institutes at Bryn Mawr
pbrodfue's picture

Cynthia Henderson's mini-grant proposal

Students will be able to scaffold and experience scientific phenomena using plant fibers DNA experiments,photosynthesis,physiololgy,and reflexes.A flip video camera would be useful in this instance to proceed with the educational process.Also the $400.00 stipend would enable me to purchase the needed large tubs and other materials for the paper making project.Please send all proceeds from each institute to Shawmont School.

bronstein's picture

Mini-Grant Proposal

Goals: To get the children to invest in their own education, because I believe that when they are involved and interested, they will learn more “deeply,” i.e. the knowledge will last longer than “just until the next test.” To do this I believe I have to get them involved and interested.  Activity-based learning that forces the children to research and plan and create the knowledge is the key.

Proposal: So, with that in mind, I will have the children create instructional videos to model and demonstrate a number of the skills that we wish our chemistry students to acquire.  There are skills that the children are to learn in addition to the chemistry content. These skills are, for example, the proper use of a triple beam balance, the proper method to use to cut glass tubing, the proper way to add powders or liquids to a test tube, and the proper way to read a burette or graduated cylinder.

Up until now I have modeled this behavior and quizzed them on it. It would be better to have the children create instructional videos that we can archive to illustrate the desired behavior. Not only will they have to learn it more thoroughly, but also we will have it available for other students to review during the year.

Also, last year I found that the students really enjoyed preparing a section of the chapter to present to the class, behaving totally in the role of teacher. They did this as a group activity. With the use of video they will be able to practice their presentation in front of each other and even dramatize parts of the lesson.

Equipment:

Pure Digital Flip Mino 60 Minute Compact Video White Camera @ $169.00

Soft Case @ $14.99

Tripod @ $14.99

Power Adapter @ $14.99

USB Cables @ $14.99

 

Ayotola Oronti's picture

Mini-Grant writing for Inquiry Institute

Specific Aim / Goal: A few sentences on the educational goal / outcome for your students and you made possible by equipment/supplies puchased with mini-grant.

My goal is to have my students learn using the inquiry approach through areas of interest and engaging them appropriately. Students today will be fascinated by the ability to do things that help them learn in the classroom.

Also. I will like to have a point of reference for my colleagues in my school. If I am able to put some of my class activities on the video, it may be convincing to my administrator and other teachers to incorporate inquiry learning in the school.

Proposal: Brief description of how you plan to use the equipment in your classroom to reach your educational goal.

I will like to use the flip camera to

  • model activities and instructions for my students.
  • show my colleagues and administrator the workability of an inquiry-based classroom.

Equipment: Description of the equipment you plan to purchase.

 

 

 

 

Pure Digital Flip Mino 60 Minute Compact Video White Camera @ $169.00

Soft Case @ $14.99

Tripod @ $20.99

Power Adapter @ $19.99

USB Cables @ $19.99

Barbara Kauffman's picture

Grant For Science Curriculum

Specific Aim / Goal: A few sentences on the educational goal / outcome for your students and you made possible by equipment/supplies puchased with mini-grant. To provide students with science equipment and supplies that tie into the science core curriculum units. Specifically for Land/Water, Magnetism, and Living organisms.

 

Proposal: Brief description of how you plan to use the equipment in your classroom to reach your educational goal. To provide students with access to more computers and replenish some of the supplies used in the past, esp. in land & water and with magnetism/electricity.

 

Equipment: Description of the equipment you plan to purchase. I purchase laptops and video equipment, as well as, material for the watershed activity.

Babtunde A Oronti's picture

Grant proposal.

Specific Aim / Goal: A few sentences on the educational goal/outcome for my students.

First of all my students are highly visual. They respond better to learning materials presented to them on the LCD projector, documentary on TV and short presentations in form of skits. With this in mind my main aim is to depend less on the use of textbooks, tests and other printed materials and move towards performance based learning and assessment.

In addition, I intend to use audio equipments like CD players so that they can record lectures which they can listen to at their own time and also for playing back pre-recorded textbook information that come with core subject textbooks.

Most students I have presently do a lot of things with cell phones, IPods, Play station, X box and video games in general. I believe that by switching from traditional mode of teaching and learning to more high-tech modes, my students will be able to meet up with the demands of presently day

Proposal: Brief description of how you plan to use the equipment in your classroom to reach your educational goal.

· Students will use it to prepare for demonstration of their projects and group projects.

· I will use it for reteaching concepts that students find difficult to grasp at the first attempt.

 

Equipment:

1.

· Flip Video Ultra Series F260B 60-Minute (Black) Camcorder + Accessory Kit.

· Mini camcorder useful for sending video and pictures of classroom activities to other students across the internet (via email etc). In addition, parents can be a part of what happens in the classroom with this simple visual device.

· Great quality picture, works really good in dim light too.

· Very portable.

· Approximately $182.5

2.

· Sony D-NF340 CD Walkman Compact Disc/MP3 Player

Model #: SON DNF340

· Approximately $54.99

Deesha Lockett's picture

Mini-Grant Proposal

I plan to use the mini-grant to purchase supplies and equipment to initially teach a unit on the five senses for my Kindergarten class. The educational goal of the unit is for my students to investigate and make observations using their five senses through real-life hands-on experience/experiments.

The supplies/equipment will be for various experiments conducted to explore the sensory processes and capture the learning experience that occurs througout the unit study as well as other experiences throughout the school year.

The equipment I plan to purchase to capture the learning experience of my students is the Flip Video, a high quality portable video which offers a quick and easy way to capture stories/events whenever or wherever they happen.

Diane OFee-Powers's picture

Grantmanship

Please submit in the comment section below your mini-grant addressing these three areas.

Thanks.

 

Specific Aim / Goal: A few sentences on the educational goal / outcome for your students and you made possible by equipment/supplies puchased with mini-grant.

My goal for the use of the Flip Camera purchased with the stipend is to videotape my students and have them create videos.  

If I teach science next year, I would use the camera to show demos before our lab experiences. I would also like the students to create their own videos.  I would have the students use the Flip camera to create movies about their science fair projects.

My main goal is to extend my last year's Blue Ribbon project, www.blueribbonmovie.com. This is not a science project, but I plan toues this as their Service Learning Project. This project is an ongoing appreciation project. Each person receives 3 ribbons. The 1st ribbon is given to that person by someone who tells them how they have made a difference in their lives. That person gives the 2nd ribbon to a person who has made a difference in their lives & explains how they have made this difference. A ribbon is also given to that person with the directions, to pass it on to someone who has made a difference in their life & to tell them how they made a difference. 

The inquiry portion of this project is to see if this positive recognition will change the climate in our classroom & in the school to a more positive climate.

The technology portion is the filming & creation of videos, either in science class, RELA, or in both classes.

I also plan to have the students to incorporate Scratch projects again either in science or RELA class or both.

 

 

 

Proposal: Brief description of how you plan to use the equipment in your classroom to reach your educational goal.

The equipment will assist me in reaching my goal of having the students create videos. I hope to have 2 cameras, so the students can have more access to use the camera for filming.

 

Equipment: Description of the equipment you plan to purchase.

I plan to use the Flip Camera for student created videos. I am actually hoping to purchase 2 Flip Cameras.

I will also have to buy film for the camera(s)

If there is extra money I would like to purchase a camera case & possibly a tri-pod.

Judith Lucas-Odom's picture

Grant Project for 2008

Goal/Aim: I plan to complete a unit on inquiry to interphase biology, environmental science, and physical science using an assessment using video making.
I plan to use the leaf activity to monitor how photosynthesis works and relate it to the amount of Carbon in the atmosphere and the Carbon sink problem in relationship to global warming. The possible factors that influence it through the watershed activity for environmental science and the strawberry activity for the DNA project in biology.

I will purchase a flip camera and fast plant and syringes to accomplish this goal.

I expect my students to use the inquiry method and they will be assessed in the their findings through making a short video. I will also use the smelling and senses activities as a warm up.

Judith Lucas-Odom's picture

Grant Project for 2008

Goal/Aim: I plan to complete a unit on inquiry to interphase biology, environmental science, and physical science using an assessment using video making.
I plan to use the leaf activity to monitor how photosynthesis works and relate it to the amount of Carbon in the atmosphere and the Carbon sink problem in relationship to global warming. The possible factors that influence it through the watershed activity for environmental science and the strawberry activity for the DNA project in biology.

I will purchase a flip camera and fast plant and syringes to accomplish this goal.

I expect my students to use the inquiry method and they will be assessed in the their findings through making a short video. I will also use the smelling and senses activities as a warm ups.

I expect that we will all learn and explore creative ideas as we go through the process. I hope they will create new stories that will help them understand how they think and how they continue to learn.

RecycleJack Marine's picture

Application for Inquiry Institute Mini-Grant

 

AIM of PROJECT:

Students in fourth grade in Pennsylvania have begun taking a Pennsylvania State Science Assessment that requires they know about many areas of science. In an effort to educate my students about the importance of Food Chains originating from the soil, I plan to create videos of the materials found in different soil types. By using a Flip Video to photograph the contents of humus rich soils and comparing them to other less-rich soils, students will be able to identify which materials are neccessary in soil to facilitate vigorous plant growth(as part of a food chain). After watching the video, students will explore actual soil samples. Using a checklist of specific living and non-living materials and organisms, students will be able to identify components of the soil samples. Simultaneously, individual students will be able to view soil samples up closer using two specially lighted magnifying tools attached to a table.

 

PROPOSAL:

I am proposing to use a Flip Video camera to photograph living and non-living organisms in different soils in order to make a brief movie as a tool to create a visualization of the components of soils that students will be observing as they explore soil samples in hands-on activities. Utilizing a large, lighted magnifying glass as a reference, students will be able to see soils much closer than just using a hand held lens.

MATERIALS:

 

Desk Lamp and magnifier 180˚SWIVEL HEAD Makes This Stylish Lighted Desk Lamp Versitile

With the adjustable arm and swivel lighted head, you can get this into the most conveinient position you need. No more having to look straight down at what you want to see Use as a regular table lamp. Flip up the cover for lighted magnification.

x3.5 Power with 3.5" Lens Lens - Stands about 14 inches high - Off White Color

# MC356W White Color 2 @ $22.95 each = $45.90

Action-Electronics.com Since 1972 - Santa Ana CA

 

Flip Video Camera @ $127.00

Flip Video A/C Adapter @ $15.00

Flip Video Tripod @ $20.00

Susan Dorfman's picture

Susan's Grant Proposal

Grant Proposal for 2008 Institute for Science as Interactive, Interdisciplinary Inquiry

Participant: Susan H. Dorfman

Specific Aim / Goal:

There are many anatomical/physiological concepts that are difficult for 12 to 13 year old students to personalize. They can memorize the details, but it becomes evident that they don’t understand the concepts underlying the processes when challenged to extend the learning to other processes or organ systems. Model building enhances the learning process and can be extended to include virtual as well as three-dimensional models. Using HyperStudio software, students build models in the computer lab. Using various materials, students can build three-dimensional models. At this age, the most engaging learning is the kinesthetic activity of using their bodies to model anatomical structures and the physiological processes specific to the structure. The recording of student enactment of the path of blood through the heart is only the first example of how the flip video camera will enhance learning in the Middle School Biology classroom.

Students appreciate a demonstration of the techniques that will be employed in a lab activity. A visual prompt serves to reduce anxiety creating an environment in which students can enjoy even the most complex lab activity. The flip video camera will allow me to create tutorials of labs that I can post on the course website. Both Middle and Upper School students will benefit from this additional pre-lab experience.

Proposal:

The students in each of my sections of Grade 7 Biology learn the parts of the human heart and the path of blood through the heart. Students work in pairs to create an animation of the path of blood through the heart using HyperStudio software and directions created and refined by me and a member of the technology team at The Baldwin School. Each class will then have the opportunity to organize a visual presentation of the path of blood through the heart. They will choose/assign parts, create the script, choose costumes, practice, and perform the skit for parents and other grades (lower and upper school students) studying human anatomy. Video recordings of the skit will allow the students to refine their performance through critique and discussion among the actors, and therefore enhance the learning process by a kinesthetic activity with instant feedback.

 

Equipment:

Pure Digital Flip Mino 60 Minute Compact Video White Camera @ $169.00

Soft Case @ $14.99

Tripod @ $14.99

Power Adapter @ $14.99

USB Cables @ $14.99

Teresa Albers's picture

DEVELOPING THE PROCESS OF

DEVELOPING THE PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

for the PRE-K CLASSROOM

 

What is scientific inquiry?

Scientific inquiry is the formal, educational process through which students learn to seek answers to questions they develop about the natural world.1 Inquiry is the through the act of asking for information or conducting an official investigation2 through which students learn more about the natural world and themselves.

 

Why scientific inquiry is important as the tool for scientific learning?

Students have a natural fascination and wonder about the natural world in which they live. Inquiry is an ongoing process that can occur anytime and anywhere. Children are inquisitive about their world; they are constantly making observations, performing investigations, making analyses, and drawing conclusions about the phenomena of their natural world.

Providing children with a context for hands-on, personal experience allows them to form mental representations of complex phenomena. Students need hands-on experiences to make brain connections and to learn; the senses are the medium for these experiences. As Aristotle wrote, “There is nothing in the mind that was not first in the senses.” Providing opportunities for children to develop and refine the use of their sensory motor skills and investigatory skills ultimately allows children’s to answer their questions about nature.1

 

Overview of the Inquiry Process

In Inquiry Learning the sensory motor activities are coupled with thought provoking, open-ended questions about discoveries. “Inquiry learning is a process of continually generating new understandings, both individually and collective.”3 During this revolving process, children make observations, which provoke specific questions that require investigation7 (or problem solving) in a search for answers; the investigation yields more questions and dictates revisions of understandings.6 New understandings evoke new perspectives and thus new observations, which triggers the process anew.

Children’s thinking contains predictable errors. Given time and support, children can recognize their errors by working through the problems. Investigation and questioning are blended to enhance and enrich curiosity and inquiry skills.1 Questions and ensuing group discussion calls students to respond to questions with questions. This questioning and discussion builds students complex language skills and ability to communicate understanding of experience to other people.

 

Results of the Inquiry Process

The student’s experience with scientific inquiry consequently familiarizes students with their mental processes. The student “learns to predict, observe, collect and chart information and to make reasonable conclusions about questions they have about organisms and environmental processes.1 The student also matures in the ability to formulate questions and propose explanations. Through process of scientific inquiry students develop their ability to observe, predict, assign meaning to observations, record data, communicate observations and conclusions, share findings, and reconstruct conclusions based upon those shared findings. Students can communicate observations and findings through journals, drawings, photos, and charts.

Inquiry offers students the opportunity to be authors of their learning process within a scaffolded environment of support. Students develop a sense of ownership of learning, because the process is student-centered and student-generated (above the basic foundation of the lesson). Therefore, students garner a greater breadth and depth of understanding of the subject than is feasible in teacher-directed, teacher-centered, or lecture format learning. Knowledge that is acquired through Inquiry may become more deeply embedded and retained for a longer period of time.4 Questions are often referred to as the best teacher and in the Inquiry process student’s questions direct the discovery process.

 

The process of scientific inquiry

Inquiry-based education utilizes created situations to position students to create, find, and construct knowledge about a given topic. Content is the fuel for inquiry; wonder and questioning are the vehicle by which content is assimilated. The process of scientific inquiry involves these steps 1:

  • Plan an investigative, hands-on process for student investigation and enquiry
  • Prepare the environment with the necessary materials and tools
  • Prepare open-ended, evocative questions to reveal students thoughts on the subject. Encourage students to recognize shared and discrepant understandings on the subject.
  • Query students for their questions on the subject
  • Build background knowledge and vocabulary as necessary for the procedure.
  • Demonstrate the use of the materials or procedure, as appropriate for students needs
  • Allow ample time for students to conduct the investigation. Provide support for procedures and learning. Encourage students to make new observations, ask questions during the process, and to make predictions and conclusions.
  • Allow time for questioning, understanding, revision, and new understandings to occur.
  • Encourage students to record results and data
  • Encourage students to examine the discoveries and results that surprised them and to the new and the new understandings (stories) they have from these findings.
  • Encourage students to discuss their findings and understandings with peers; ponder what accounts for any similarities and differences? Help students to identify conflicts in stories and to find a resolution or reason for the conflicts.
  • Encourage students to conceive new observations that have the potential to again alter their understandings/stories.
  • Relate their findings to existing, related knowledge on the subject
  • Repeat

What is the role of the teacher in scientific inquiry?

The role of the teacher is to facilitate the process of learning whereby students are able to follow a process of inquiry to construct meaning on a subject and construct the desired knowledge. The teacher prepares the environment for Inquiry learning by:

§ Designing the activity

§ Preparing the materials

§ Building background knowledge as appropriate

§ Constructing open-ended, evocative questions

§ Extracting students questions on the subject

§ Facilitating conversation between students

§ Modeling procedure as necessary

§ Guiding student inquiry by providing support for the procedure/investigation by asking questions, answering questions, making observations, and providing information, as necessary

§ Facilitating post-inquiry discussion to help students identify similarities and conflicts in understanding, revise understandings and relate their findings to existing knowledge bases

 

The process of scientific inquiry in the pre-k classroom

Scientific inquiry begins with the infant who is constantly exploring his/her environment. The Pre-K classroom is the place to introduce children to the formal process of scientific inquiry. The goals of this introduction to Scientific Inquiry for the Pre-K classroom, according to the Core Curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia, are for children to1:

  • Investigate new materials as they explore their world and environment
  • Ask and pose questions during group or individual times to further their understanding of the organisms and environmental phenomena of their world
  • Make predictions about what will happen next based on previous experience, reflections, and inquiry experiences
  • Develop listening skills
  • Communicate observations through pictures, journals, and dictation
  • Hone the use of the senses in the making of observation and to learn about objects, organisms and phenomena for a purpose
  • Use the senses for classifying, sorting, and ordering in terms of observable characteristics and properties
  • Record observation and findings through a variety of methods
  • Begin to interpret observations through pictures, conversations, dramatizations, etc.
  • Discuss and share findings
  • Describe and illustrate simple cause and effect relationships
  • Proposing explanations
  • Begin to explain some of the characteristics of the natural world, materials on earth, characteristics of living things and natural processes
  • Predict what will happen next based on previous experiences, reflection, and the planning of science experiments

The Work Sampling System for Preschool5 lists skills mastery by age and subject matter for Pre-K students. In regard to Scientific Thinking and Inquiry the achievable skills by age are:

Age Three (3) Age Four (4)

1-Uses senses to observe and explore 1-Ask questions and uses senses to observe and explore explore classroom materials &
classroom materials &
natural phenomena

2-Begins to use simple tools and 2-Uses simple tools and equipment for investigation equipment for investigation

3-Makes comparisons among objects 3-Same as three year olds

 

According to the Core Curriculum of the School District of Philadelphia the five standards for Developing an Understanding about the Process of Scientific Inquiry are:

3.1.4A Show curiosity and inquiry about the natural world

3.1.4B Make hypotheses based observation and prior knowledge

3.1.4C Use active exploration and five senses to gather data

3.1.4D Analyze data, comparing expected outcomes to actual results

3.1.4E Make and communicate conclusions

 

Proposed Schedule for Building scientific inquiry skills in my pre-k classroom

Scientific inquiry begins with the infant who is constantly exploring his/her environment. The Pre-K classroom is the place to utilize the child’s natural inquiry and exploration tendencies to build the foundation for formal scientific inquiry. During the first two months of the year, I intend to introduce the following activities to build skills for inquiry activities to be offered during the remainder of the year. [The activities are listed along with the PA Science Standard which they support.]

 

  1. Introduce children to the Sensorial area of the classroom that provides activities in the use of the five senses (hones perception) and for sorting and ordering. Most specifically, the first activities introduced will be Mystery Bag (touch) Standard 3.1.4A, Grading exercises (Visual dimension), Color exercises (Visual chromatic), Rough & Smooth Boards (tactile, rough and smooth), Sorting exercises Standard 3.1.4D,

§ Activities to be added throughout the year: Sounds cylinders (sound), Smelling bottles (smell), Fabric Matching (tactile), Thermic Tablets (temperature), Baric Tablets (weight), Standard 3.1.4C

§ Associated Vocabulary for Sensorial Activities: long/short, wide/narrow, long/short, heavy/light, hot/cold/warm/tepid, rough/smooth, bright/dark, shiny/dull, large/small, geometric terms, sweet/sour/salty/bitter, odor/fragrant, strong/weak, etc.

  1. Sound Basket: Identify familiar objects by sound (bell, tearing paper, ballpoint pen, alarm clock, keys, soda opening, etc.) Listening Walk: Predict what we will hear outside and take a walk. Compare predictions with results. Standard 3.1.4A & C
  2. Provide tools for exploration including magnifying glasses, bug boxes, scales, shifters, eyedroppers, whisks, and/or microscope, etc. Standard 3.1.4A & B
  3. Description Basket: an assortment of three objects (changed regularly) to describe based on sensorial perception. Begin with simple descriptions such as color, shape (round, not round), size (large, small), temperature (hot, cold), hardness (soft, hard), noisiness (noisy, quiet). Standard 3.1.4D
  4. Dictated Stories: Children begin dictating stories about photographs and their illustrations. This process that words can be recorded and repeated verbatim and builds the ability to weave stories. Stories about their illustrations are easier for children as they are simply relating personal stories. The photographs are harder for children to tell stories about because many of the images present children with unfamiliar or non-personal content.
  5. Making Observations

§ Classification and Sorting Activities. Standard 3.1.4D

§ Making comparisons among objects. Children call attention to details and exploring how things are alike and different. Three year olds enjoy calling attention to details and exploring, with adult support. They can comment on what they see, but need to be given words to describe more accurately what they are observing. Four year olds enjoy finding things that are the same or different and readily make comparisons about observed objects when encouraged and guided; their comparative statements represent how very young children begin to draw conclusions from observations5. Standard 3.1.4B & D

ü Examine a shell collection and look for smooth or pink shells.

ü Notice change in speed of truck pushed over tile and carpet

ü Collect leaves/rocks/shells/pinecones, and look at differences in shape, edges, colors, and size

ü Compare handprints to classmates

ü Pour sand or water through tubes of varying diameters and compare travel times (a long time, not so long, etc.)

ü Observe photographs of animals or plants and note differences in appearance

ü Note differences in sounds of musical instruments or bird calls

ü Identify objects by smell and sound

  1. Making predictions:

§ Read a story and make predictions about what will happen. Make predictions using a picture walk. Record predictions and compare prediction to the story events. Standard 3.1.4B

§ Beginning science predictions: Record predictions by child using the child’s picture and sketches of events/predictions. Standard 3.1.4B & D

ü What happens when place rocks in a jar of water and add another rock?

ü What happens to a leaf when it is picked from a tree?

ü What happens when a flower is not watered?

ü What happens when a worm is placed in light?

ü What happens when an egg is placed in water? When salt is added?

ü How will substances change properties when mixed, frozen, cooked, shaken- add water to clay, melt ice cubes, etc.

ü What happens to cream when it is shaken?

  1. Answering open-ended, high level (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) questions

§ While at play and throughout the day, ask open-ended questions: Why did the blocks fall over? What was happening at the water table, why? What would happen if….? Why did…happen? Standard 3.1.4A & E

  1. Recording data and understandings:

§ Record data from the experiments above. Model by drawing a picture on storyboard and writing what I saw happened. Later in the year, model how to record using graphs (have children first act out the graphs, as stand in line before favorite drinks, before putting them on paper). Standard 3.1.4E

§ Children begin using science journals to draw a picture of what happened and dictate a story. Standard 3.1.4D

  1. Discuss results: Resolving conflicts & Constructing New Stories.

§ Read a story with a conflict in it (Corduroy, Swimmy, etc.) and help children resolve the conflict. Standard 3.1.4E

§ Read a story and stop at an appropriate point and have children create their own endings. Standard 3.1.4E

§ Show an ambiguous figure and ask what they see. Compare what other students perceived. Discuss why we all see something different. Standard 3.1.4E

§ Create a story chain where students build a story from a story seed. Standard 3.1.4C

  1. Initial Scientific Inquiry Activities: Standard 3.1.4B

ü Magnetism:

ü Sink/Float:

ü Ramps:

 

Proposal for Classroom Stipend:

The goal of the equipment is to support Science Inquiry in the Classroom. Most of the equipment is self-explanatory. Misc Supplies for to build curriculum listed above ($30), NSTA Book (Getting A Head Start: Encouraging A Sense of Wonder, $33), Caterpillars ($20), Ladybugs ($20), Worm Farm ($30), Science Journals ($20), CD Player ($40), Seeds & Soil ($10),

 

References:

1 Core Curriculum: Grade Pre-K Science, School District Of Philadelphia, 2005

 

2 Oxford Dictionary Online

 

3 Dr. Paul Grobstein, Bryn Mawr College Online Forum, Summer Institute 2008: Science As Inquiry, /exchange/suminst/iii2008/inquiry, Posting 7/28/2008

 

4 Alan Bronstein, Bryn Mawr College Online Forum, Summer Institute 2008: Science As Inquiry, /exchange/suminst/iii2008/inquiry, Posting 7/21/08

 

5 The Work Sampling System, Preschool-3 and Preschool-4 Developmental Guidelines, 4th edition, Dichtelmiller, Margo, Jablon, Judy, Marsden, Dorothea, and Meisels, Samuel. 2004, Pearson Education, Inc.

 

6 Susan Dorfman, Bryn Mawr College Online Forum, Summer Institute 2008: Science As Inquiry, /exchange/suminst/iii2008/inquiry, Posting 7/21/08

 

7 Barbara Kauffman, Bryn Mawr College Online Forum, Summer Institute 2008: Science As Inquiry, /exchange/suminst/iii2008/inquiry, Posting 7/21/08

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