Crowden School classes are off and running! Here’s a glimpse into Karen Ginsberg’s Science classes:
Sixth Grade Lab 1: Saving Phred
Objective: Learning the process of science labs, working together, recording data/observations
Students were assigned lab partners and tasked with creating a plan (step by step instructions) to do the following paying attention to restrictions:
Restrictions were that no hands were allowed to touch the cup, worm (Phred), or lifesaver…only the paper clips. If at any point they dropped the worm, they needed to start from the beginning with the stopwatch still running. They had to use a stopwatch to record the total time it took to do the following:
1) Flip over a plastic cup so the bottom is on the top
2) Use 2 paper clips to get a gummi worm through the center hole of a gummi lifesaver
3) Place worm through the life saver on top of cup
They also had to record observations of the materials and process. The day after they ran the lab, they wrote up a conclusion and discussed what challenges there were, shared observations, and acknowledged what was “observed” and what data was missing.
This lab allowed a discussion about data collection and types of observations (qualitative, quantitative), and challenged students to record data while running a lab or inquiry.
Eighth Grade Lab 1: Chemical and Physical Change
Objective: Working together, recording accurate observations, isolating variables (by changing procedure and running the lab multiple times for comparison), assessing data, including vocabulary in written conclusions.
Students followed a set procedure working with two liquids (water and white glue) and one solid (borax powder) to create and combine solutions and record the results (quantitative and qualitative). They were then tasked with changing one variable only to try and see if they can figure out which ingredients caused the changes in characteristics. They ran a second experiment with the new procedure they wrote and recorded their results. They then tried to see if they had the data to support their ideas as to the characteristics each ingredient provided in the end. They also worked with incorporating the following words into their conclusions: solute, solvent, solution, dissolve.