Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Make water

Formative Assessment Probe:

Learning activities

• Introduce nature of science through a demo and class discussion - introduce notions of observation, measurement, testing, evidence, what is science is and how we use it to answer questions.

• Often in science we need to make claims about abstract ideas and relationships that we do not directly observe. Introduce the need to be objective rather than subjective (not relying on our senses) with these demos:

  • • show how the brain can trick us with illusions like this one of a train going at constant speed but it looks like its speeding up

    • 3 water tub demo of three different temperatures of water-transfer hands

• Have students practice making and justifying scientific claims

  • • sentence starters for making a claim

    • sentence starters for responding to someone else's claims

• Lab safety – the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of effective and safe lab work (including safety in the workshop)

• Model process of scientific inquiry with this Question Generating graphic organizer

• Explore concepts of ATOMS, MOLECULES, ELEMENTS and COMPOUNDS. Give students opportunity to explore those ideas.

• Separate water and observe the ratio of elements that are produced. Infer what it takes to make water.

• Use LEGOS to make models of molecules

• Use Scratch to make models of molecules

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Hot ice - chemical or physical change?

Formative assessment probe:

• chemical vs. physical change

Learning activities

• Demo physical changes (ripping, bending, breaking, states of matter, etc.) then have a conversation about what's changed about the substance.

• Demo some chemical changes then have students describe what's changed about the substances.

• Have students notice the "signs" of a chemical change (release of gas, changes in temp, emission of light, formation of a precipitate, colour change, etc.)

• Have students define chemical and physical changes with the frayer model graphic organizer.

• Use these sentence starters to help students make and justify scientific claims about the observations they've made in the chemical and physical changes demos

  • • sentence starters for making a claim

    • sentence starters for responding to someone else's claims

• Have students in small groups (max 4) model physical and chemical changes at the molecular level then have them do a gallery walk to see how everyone else explains it.

• Have students collect evidence that matter/mass is conserved after a chemical or physical change and have them argue what the evidence means.

Practical Component:

• Andy Coté's physical and chemical changes lab pg. 11

• Do a conservation of mass experiment (like the one here)

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Which genetic traits are dominant?

Formative assessment probe:

• Activities on cells and on respiration

Learning activities

• Egg osmosis activity

• Observe plant and animal cells through the microscope have students learn to recognize cellular components and become aware of their functions

• Have students make analogies for cells e.g. what parts of a cell are like what parts of a school

• Review idea of ‘system’ with inputs and outputs and explore processes of and cellular respiration and photosynthesis

• Conduct an inquiry activity on photosynthesis and/or respiration

• Explore how substances enter and leave cells through osmosis, diffusion

• Demonstrate cellular respiration and diffusion is germinating pea seeds, measuring the amount of oxygen being used in germinating pea seeds by monitor temperature, display it in the form of a graph (respirometer). Temperature indicating that cellular respiration is taking place.

• Diffusion demo; ammonia tube

• NSTA osmosis lesson plan (5 E's lesson)

• Lesson ideas - NSTA article (for the teacher)

Practical Component:

• Photosynthesis experiment

• Osmosis lab e.g. dialysis tubing, Ziploc bag/starch, potato slice - length change, celery lab

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Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Dolly the cloned sheep - video

• Development cycle of a frog - gif

• Human reproduction video

• twins born to different mothers - article

Prior knowledge probe:

• Have a discussion about reproduction in general to see how much students already know about the reproductive organs and their functions.

Learning activities

• Explore the idea of transmitting characteristics and information through genes and chromosomes.

• Review the idea of asexual vs. sexual reproduction, exploring benefits and costs of each form of reproduction.

• Compare animal sexual/asexual reproductive mechanisms.

• Consider using foldables or other graphic organizers to help students consolidate knowledge.

• Look at human reproduction (organs, gametes, fertilization, pregnancy, stages of development)

  • • Observe spermatozoa under a microscope

• Inquiry activity for human reproduction

• Discuss the various ways of preventing pregnancy and the impact of this technology (birth control) on society.

• Discuss STBBIs

• Have the nurse come in your class to talk about STBBIs and birth control (this connects well with the mandated sexuality curriculum from the MEES)

• NOVA video “Life’s Greatest Miracle”

• Video: The Great Sperm Race

• Demonstration of spread of STBBIs using milk, starch and iodine

• Students design a pamphlet on STBBIs or methods of preventing pregnancy

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• How deep can we dig? - video

• Most expensive minerals - video

• How drywall is made - video

• Solar roadways - video

• YouTube channel on how make everything from scratch

Prior knowledge probe:

• Ask students to explain to you where their granite or quarts counter tops come from or where drywall (gypsum) comes from.

• Ask student to describe where the energy comes from to heat up a pizza pocket in the toaster oven.

Learning activities

• Introduce concept of a ‘Rock’. Using observations of different types of rocks, students develop their own classification, leading to the introduction of the 3 types of rocks and the process by which they were formed.

• Use demos to illustrate rock type formation processes e.g. insoluble compound shaken in jar of water and left to sediment.

• Use a practical activity as an opportunity for students to use observable characteristics as a way of identifying minerals. Opportunity for a complex task during which students identify an unknown mineral.

• Explore how we use different rocks and minerals, through examples, including the analysis of an appropriate technical object (What is it made of? Where did the materials come from?)

  • • • Minerals in your house activity

• Rocks and minerals identification lab

• Identification of an unknown mineral

• Challenge to find ANY object whose materials have not originated from the lithosphere (impossible!)

• Students create an info graphic to show origins all of the materials of a chosen technical object

• Introduce energy types/forms and distinguish the important difference between energy types and energy sources

• Do an ‘Energy Circus’ - students identify the energy transformations occurring at a number of stations around class

• Classify energy resources as being renewable or non-renewable

• Explore the sun as an energy source and the subsequent energy transformations that occur (wind, tornadoes, convection currents)

• Build working models that transform renewable energy sources and then analyze the models that they built.

• Analyze a technical object as a system, including energy transformations. Reinvest concepts from mechanical engineering.

• Design project/Design challenge involving energy transformation e.g. The Watermill

• 
  

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Landing on Jupiter - video

• Life on the ISS

• Northern Lights from space - video

Prior knowledge probe:

• Discuss with the students what killed all the dinosaurs and what role Gravity played.

• Ask students to speculate on what they think cause the Northern Lights.

Learning activities

• Challenge students - What IS a planet? What makes a planet a planet? Use Socratic questioning to refine idea and build concept

• Introduce students to the two main types of planetary motion - rotation and orbit and use this to reinforce idea of universal gravitation

• Continue to compare planets - terrestrial vs gaseous, temperature (why is Venus hotter than Mercury?)

• Use ideas about magnetism to introduce the idea that the earth’s magnetic field is strongest at the north and south poles and relate this to the appearance of aurora in these regions - can explain the vital role the magnetosphere plays in protecting life on Earth

• Discuss the role that meteorite (and comet!) impacts have had on life on Earth and highlight Quebec examples of impact craters

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Mascara; how it's made - video

• Balloons; how it's made - video

Prior knowledge probe:

Ask students to create a flow chart of how they think a [insert object here] is made. Have students present their flow charts. Discuss how these flow charts are almost like manufacturing process sheets. Discuss what went into making the flow chart (components, inputs, outputs, etc. )

Learning activities

• Introduce a variety of objects to demonstrate how technology meets needs but also how design is related to function. Introduce notions of material choice and specifications

• Use a design challenge activity to provide overview of tech design process and to reinforce concept of specifications.

• Explain that engineers communicate ideas graphically using specialized diagrams (design plans, construction diagrams) NOTE – this is only an overview not detailed instruction of these methodologies!

• Ask students to design, build and analyze an object, as a way of consolidating concepts that were introduced. This task can also be used formatively to assess what students know about force and motion.

• Do some S.T.I.C. activities

  • • Mouse trap technological analysis

    • Paper sandals activity

    • Tech analysis activities

• Try Andy Coté's Automata project (pg. 44)

• Demonstrate energy transformation devices (hair dryer, light bulb, solar panel, etc.) - discuss conservation of energy

Suggested approach and strategies

HOOK:

• Snatch block pulley - video

• 6 simple machines in one - video

Prior knowledge probe:

Ask student to identify simple machines in their homes before starting the lesson to see what conceptions/misconceptions they may have about this topic.

Learning activities

• Define the word "work" (physics term) using a Frayer model graphic organizer.

• Have students work in small groups to identify how a given simple machine works (1 simple machine per group), how it provides an advantage and what cost that comes at. Have students then teach each other about their simple machine in a "jig saw" activity.

• Introduce and demo motion transmission and transformation in a number of objects

• Challenge students with a “black-box” (motion transformation) demonstration, asking them to account for the mechanism that must be in place

• Do a simple machines lad (courtesy of Andy Cote) page 34

• Try Andy Cote's Automata project (pg. 44)