Group items tagged

2.2.3 Chart or graph weather observations such as cloud cover, cloud type and type of precipitation on a daily basis over a period of weeks. 2.NS.3 Generate questions and make observations about natural processes. Students who are having a hard time getting a handle on the concepts presented in this lesson could be given additional time.  Really, any adaptation you make to this activity for slower learners would be a good thing for all students, so additional pictures and resources should be shared with all students.  Time is the only thing I could think of that could become an issue for students, so slower students could be given more time and one-on-one teacher help for this activity.

Standard: 5.NS.3 - Observe and classify common Indiana organisms as producers, consumers, decomposers, predator and prey based on their relationships and interactions with other organisms in their ecosystem.

Extension: After playing game, students could break up into small groups and create their own food webs and food chains with animals and other living organisms of their choice.

Adaptation: Activity could be modified for ELL students by placing short definitions on the backs of their cards for "Consumer" and "Producer" so they can observe the relationship even if they don't know the words.

Pictures could be added to index cards for ELL students who struggle with the variety of animal names that they might not be exposed to yet.

This lesson could be extended in all sorts of directions, depending on what stage the children are in their learning.  For example, you could tie the lesson into other sorts of measurement and have students estimate how much the mitten can stretch. This lesson can be adapted for more accelerated students by allowing them to experiment with different mittens and gloves to see which is the most efficient at holding heat. 2.NS.3=Generate questions and make observations about natural processes. 2.NS.5=Discuss observations with peers and be able to support your conclusion with evidence.

5.4.2 Investigate the purpose of prototypes and models when designing a solution to a problem and how limitations in cost and design features might affect their construction.

Students could also extend the activity to see how different types of gloves and mittens hold heat, thereby deciding which is the most efficient.

2.4.3 Identify a need and design a simple tool to meet that need.

This activity should be introduced with a discussion about the properties of light.  The teacher could talk about why rainbows are all different colors or use a prism to show how light can be broken into all different colors.  A short video on the topic might work well for this topic as well, if you can find a good one.  By the end of the initial introduction, students should understand that all different colors of light, when combined, create white light.  Then students will be introduced to the experiment, write their predictions in their science notebooks, conduct the experiment, and record their findings. 4.NS.4 Perform investigations using appropriate tools and technologies that will extend the senses. 5.NS.7 Keep accurate records in a notebook during investigations and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts, maps and models through oral and written reports. Like most experiments, student capabilities should be taken into consideration. If they cannot handle conducting this experiment on their own or with a small group, they can observe another student's or the teacher's experiment.

These experiments should be conducted with a science notebook so students make predictions and observations, draw pictures, and record their findings. They are fun experiments to do in class, but they should be tied into a lesson about why the things happen in the experiment.  Like I have been noting in many of my science lesson activities, know your students and their capabilities and make sure that they understand what is going on.  Lessons that involve the student observing and note-taking in a science journal allow them to work at their own pace and according to their own abilities, so the nature of the assignment means that it is already adapted for all different learners. 5.NS.1 Make predictions and formulate testable questions. 5.NS.3 Plan and carry out investigations-often over a period of several lessons-as a class, in small groups or independently.

5.DP.3 Document the design throughout the entire design process. 5.DP.4 Select a solution to the need or problem.

2.4.3 Identify a need and design a simple tool to meet that need.

Standard: 4.2.2

Expansion: have students make predictions about what will happen to the solution and then record changes in crystal formations as they grow.  Have student check their prediction to see whether it was accurate. 

ESL: practice writing observational notes will reinforce vocabulary and writing skills.  

An extension for this activity would be to have students who seem to be enjoying it but are moving ahead of the group try the growing experiment with different plants.  These students could then compare the lima bean growth to that of other plants. Students who are struggling, or maybe who have had a plant die could work together in groups and share plants to observe and experiment with. 4.NS.7 Keep accurate records in a notebook during investigations and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts, maps and models through oral and written reports. 4.3.4 Describe a way that a given plant or animal might adapt to a change arising from a human or non-human impact on its environment.

4.DS.4 - Design a moving system and measure its motion. 4.DS.4.1- Investigate transportation systems and devices that operate on or in land, water, air and space and recognize the forces (lift, drag, friction, thrust and gravity) that affect their motion.

Adaptation - Lesson could be shortened by discussing the principles of flight, reviewing possible designs, then have students design 1 paper airplane based on what they think will work best.

Extension: Students could be given a second chance to construct a paper airplane, providing a written explanation and model drawing for what they did differently.

CCSS.Math.Content.4.G.A.2 Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right triangles

CCSS.Math.Content.4.G.A.1 Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.

CCSS.Math.Content.6.G.A.3 Draw polygons in the coordinate plane given coordinates for the vertices; use coordinates to find the length of a side joining points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

Geoboards are used to make polygons, angles, and lines. All students, including ELL and low performing students, benefit from the hands on construction of different figures. Allows for lots of repetition.

This webpage has many great activities for winter math activities, and as a bonus, most of them have accommodations for lower or younger students as well as more advanced students.

Expansion: 4.4.1, 4.4.3, 4.4.4

Expansion: Have students theorize what a water wheel like this could be used for.  Have them try to develop a simple machine that could be attached to the wheel and moved via the water, then record their findings.  Have them vary the rates of water flow to determine how it effects the wheel. 

ESL: Cooperative work, innovation and hands-on time will help students better understand how water creates movement.