Week 12: Newton's Third Law of Motion
1 Chronicles 29:11
"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours."
I like to begin all the science classes that I teach with a devotion and scripture because I never want my students to think that anything in science is ever possible without God. He is the Maker of Science and I want to always acknowledge that at the beginning of whatever science lesson I am teaching.
As we have been talking about the Laws of Motion these past few weeks. The power behind the physics that we are learning comes from the Lord.
But ultimately, the power for us to go to heaven also comes from God. He made a way for us to have relationship with Him now and eternally through Jesus Christ our Savior.
"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours."
I like to begin all the science classes that I teach with a devotion and scripture because I never want my students to think that anything in science is ever possible without God. He is the Maker of Science and I want to always acknowledge that at the beginning of whatever science lesson I am teaching.
As we have been talking about the Laws of Motion these past few weeks. The power behind the physics that we are learning comes from the Lord.
But ultimately, the power for us to go to heaven also comes from God. He made a way for us to have relationship with Him now and eternally through Jesus Christ our Savior.
I love that the Lions are in the background of this picture as I am reading the devotion to the students.
Our God is the Lion of Judah. He is Mighty!
My quote for today is:
"Whether it works or doesn't work, God is always at work"
Our God is the Lion of Judah. He is Mighty!
My quote for today is:
"Whether it works or doesn't work, God is always at work"
We finished the book Newton and Me today as we reviewed the first and second laws of motion and introduced the third law of motion.
Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Investigation #1
What happens when similar pull forces compete?
I had seven students on one team and seven on the other. They pulled against each other and the marker did move but it wasn't easy. It is hard to move when the forces pulling on an object are balanced.
Investigation #1
What happens when similar pull forces compete?
I had seven students on one team and seven on the other. They pulled against each other and the marker did move but it wasn't easy. It is hard to move when the forces pulling on an object are balanced.
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Investigation #2
What happens when different pull forces compete?
I placed one student against three students. The marker on the rope pulled in the direction with more students pulling. It is easy to move when the forces pulling on an object are unbalanced.
What happens when different pull forces compete?
I placed one student against three students. The marker on the rope pulled in the direction with more students pulling. It is easy to move when the forces pulling on an object are unbalanced.
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Investigation #3
What happens when you release a balloon rocket?
The balloon pushed in the opposite direction as the balloon racer traveled.
What happens when you release a balloon rocket?
The balloon pushed in the opposite direction as the balloon racer traveled.
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These students are 2nd and 3rd graders and these physics lessons were very foreign to them. However, this investigation guide was very helpful in scaffolding understanding with pictures and ways to apply knowledge gained in a simple way.
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Week 11: Newton's Second Law of Motion
James 5:8
"You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the LORD is at hand."
Just as the Lord has given us the Ten Commandments to help us honor Him and others, He has also given the natural world laws to be governed by. Some of these laws are Newton's Laws of Motion.
Newton's First Law of Motion states: "An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
Our First Law of Spiritual Motion could be "A person that moves toward the LORD will tend to continue moving toward Him.
Newton's Second Law of Motion states: "The greater the mass of an object, the more force it will take to make the object move"
Our Second Law of Spiritual Motion could be, "The greater the substance of faith, the more force it will take for Satan to move you away from God."
Idea credit: https://dailyevotional.com/2021/08/24/dailyevotional.com/2021/08/24/
"You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the LORD is at hand."
Just as the Lord has given us the Ten Commandments to help us honor Him and others, He has also given the natural world laws to be governed by. Some of these laws are Newton's Laws of Motion.
Newton's First Law of Motion states: "An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
Our First Law of Spiritual Motion could be "A person that moves toward the LORD will tend to continue moving toward Him.
Newton's Second Law of Motion states: "The greater the mass of an object, the more force it will take to make the object move"
Our Second Law of Spiritual Motion could be, "The greater the substance of faith, the more force it will take for Satan to move you away from God."
Idea credit: https://dailyevotional.com/2021/08/24/dailyevotional.com/2021/08/24/
As part of the review for class, I re-read all the parts of the book that we read last week, quizzing them throughout on what the forces were that were at play.
We also went a little further into the book for the examples of the Second Law of Motion.
We also went a little further into the book for the examples of the Second Law of Motion.
I always desire that people would be able to experience the Lord. Once they have experienced Him, they would desire that 1st Law of Spiritual Motion; to continually be moving towards a close relationship with Him.
Therefore, here is an investigation guide that will help the students be able to experience some of these laws of motion and hopefully get a little taste of their Creator who made them and these Laws of Motion.
Therefore, here is an investigation guide that will help the students be able to experience some of these laws of motion and hopefully get a little taste of their Creator who made them and these Laws of Motion.
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Investigation #1
What happens when you push both containers, being different masses, with the same force? The lighter one will go twice as fast and the heavier one will go half as far. |
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Investigation #2
What happens when you try to use a push force to move a friend or teacher who has greater mass on a baking sheet?
It is hard.
What happens when you try to use a push force to move a friend or teacher who has greater mass on a baking sheet?
It is hard.
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Investigation #3
What happens when you try to use a pull force to move a friend sitting on a baking sheet? It's still hard. |
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Investigation #4:
What happens when you try to use a push and pull force at the same time to move a friend sitting on a baking sheet?
It's easier.
What happens when you try to use a push and pull force at the same time to move a friend sitting on a baking sheet?
It's easier.
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There is a section on the investigation guide that has scaffolded conclusion sentences for the students to complete after our activities.
It is hard to push or pull an object with more mass.
Combining forces did make it easier to move a larger object.
It is hard to push or pull an object with more mass.
Combining forces did make it easier to move a larger object.
Finally, I had the students play Four Corners to review our 12 vocabulary words for this 6 weeks.
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Week 10: Newton's First Law of Motion
1 Corinthians 15:58- "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
If we are not anchored to Christ, the laws of physics say that we will be tossed about by every idea or culture craze.
If we are not anchored to Christ, the laws of physics say that we will be tossed about by every idea or culture craze.
The book that I will be reading through for the next three weeks is called Newton and Me by Lynne Mayer
This book is clever in how it is written. It rhymes and also tells of the 1st and 2nd laws of motion through the story.
I used this book to work through this investigation sheet on the 1st Law of Motion
This book is clever in how it is written. It rhymes and also tells of the 1st and 2nd laws of motion through the story.
I used this book to work through this investigation sheet on the 1st Law of Motion
Our first investigation introduced what inertia was. The simple definition is that inertia is an object's tendency to stay how it is whether it's moving or staying still. I demonstrated this by using a ball and a wagon. On the investigation guide, they were to draw arrows to show which way the wagon is going and which way the ball goes.
On the top of the page is Newton's First Law of Motion states:
"An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force."
On the top of the page is Newton's First Law of Motion states:
"An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force."
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The second investigation that we did to demonstrate inertia was placing a penny on a notecard and trying to see if we could remove the note card without moving the penny.
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The third investigation we did was shooting a penny at a stack of pennies to see if the shooting penny would move the whole stack of pennies.
This was a slow motion video of a penny being shot into the stack of pennies and how only the bottom penny was moved while the stack of pennies fell down.
The conclusions we drew from these investigations in light of Newton's First Law of Motion and Inertia are
The ball did not stay in rest.
The resting penny did stay in rest.
The stack of pennies did stay at rest.
The ball did not stay in rest.
The resting penny did stay in rest.
The stack of pennies did stay at rest.
Each student received vocabulary flashcards to review at home.
Week 9: Gravity
What a blast we had today as we discovered new ideas about gravity.
I began class with devotion from Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God called 'What a Blast'.
"The Lord gives strength to those who are tired. He gives more power to those who are weak." Isaiah 40:29
This devotion focused on how rockets must over power the force of gravity in order to enter space where there is no gravity. Just as rocket fuel powers the rockets, the Holy Spirit powers believers who believe, obey and love Jesus to overcome the power of sin in our lives and live in the presence of God. Amen and Hallelujah!!
I began class with devotion from Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God called 'What a Blast'.
"The Lord gives strength to those who are tired. He gives more power to those who are weak." Isaiah 40:29
This devotion focused on how rockets must over power the force of gravity in order to enter space where there is no gravity. Just as rocket fuel powers the rockets, the Holy Spirit powers believers who believe, obey and love Jesus to overcome the power of sin in our lives and live in the presence of God. Amen and Hallelujah!!
I loved how this investigation of gravity worked out in class today with my 2nd and 3rd graders. They followed it so well!
There were three investigations and then a drawing conclusions section to 'pull' it altogether (puns always intended).
Gravity is a special pull force between two objects.
There were three investigations and then a drawing conclusions section to 'pull' it altogether (puns always intended).
Gravity is a special pull force between two objects.
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Investigation #1
Do some objects fall faster than others? The students predicted 'Yes'
We took a penny and a paperclip and dropped them from the same height at the same time. They dropped it three times and documented their results. They always landed at the same time which means that every object despite its mass falls at the same speed not considering air resistance.
Do some objects fall faster than others? The students predicted 'Yes'
We took a penny and a paperclip and dropped them from the same height at the same time. They dropped it three times and documented their results. They always landed at the same time which means that every object despite its mass falls at the same speed not considering air resistance.
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This is a video of me dropping a bag of pennies, significantly heavier, and a bag of paperclips in slow motion to show that they will fall at the same speed and hit the table at the same time.
The students changed their Yes answer above to a 'No' |
Investigation #2
Do all objects land with the same force? The students answered 'No' to this question.
I gave each group of 2 or 3 students a bar of soap and a sponge. They were to drop these at the same height at the same time into their partner's hands. From there, they were to feel which one had more force on their hands when they caught it.
Do all objects land with the same force? The students answered 'No' to this question.
I gave each group of 2 or 3 students a bar of soap and a sponge. They were to drop these at the same height at the same time into their partner's hands. From there, they were to feel which one had more force on their hands when they caught it.
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This is another slow motion video where you can see the student's hand catching the soap being pushed down further than the sponge in the other hand. This answered our question of if objects land with the same force. They don't. The students were correct.
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Investigation #3
How much does gravity pull on an object?
In their respective groups of 2 or 3, they attached one of their shoes to a paperclip hook attached to a rubber band and compared the stretch of the rubber band to discover how much gravity was pulling on their shoe. The more the stretch, the heavier the shoe, the more gravity was pulling on it, the less the stretch, the lighter the shoe, the less gravity was pulling on it.
How much does gravity pull on an object?
In their respective groups of 2 or 3, they attached one of their shoes to a paperclip hook attached to a rubber band and compared the stretch of the rubber band to discover how much gravity was pulling on their shoe. The more the stretch, the heavier the shoe, the more gravity was pulling on it, the less the stretch, the lighter the shoe, the less gravity was pulling on it.
Our Drawing Conclusions section included three statements that they were to circle in order to complete the sentence.
- Gravity pulls all objects at the same speed.
- An object's mass determines the force of its impact.
- Gravity's pull on different objects is how we measure and compare their weight.
For our last activity, we practiced defying gravity by making a straw rocket.
The materials you need for this are:
I had the students color and put their name on their rocket template before I showed them the next step.
Next, you tape the 2 inch straw section closed at one end.
Attach that straw portion to the back of the rocket.
Place your full length bendy straw into the 2 inch straw section attached to your rocket and blow. It should have lift off!
The materials you need for this are:
- rocket template
- 2 inch portion of a straw
- full bendy straw
- tape.
I had the students color and put their name on their rocket template before I showed them the next step.
Next, you tape the 2 inch straw section closed at one end.
Attach that straw portion to the back of the rocket.
Place your full length bendy straw into the 2 inch straw section attached to your rocket and blow. It should have lift off!
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We had a blast! Thank you Jesus.
Week 8: Magnetism
Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus says," Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."
In our devotion today, we talked about magnets attracting and repelling just like the Gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes attracts people and sometimes repels people. When people are repelled by the Gospel, they can be very mean and we prayed that we might be able to love them anyway, not with love we can muster but the love that God has overflowed into our hearts.
This devotion came from Louie Giglio's Indescribable called 'A Magnetic Attraction'
In our devotion today, we talked about magnets attracting and repelling just like the Gospel of Jesus Christ sometimes attracts people and sometimes repels people. When people are repelled by the Gospel, they can be very mean and we prayed that we might be able to love them anyway, not with love we can muster but the love that God has overflowed into our hearts.
This devotion came from Louie Giglio's Indescribable called 'A Magnetic Attraction'
I gave the students two magnets to play around with and discover how they attract and repel each other. They even explored with each other's magnets and made little magnet races across the table. One student used his very strong magnet through his finger to attract the other magnet he had.
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I shared with the students one of my FAVORITE books EVER! It is called Marsha is Magnetic. I really enjoy this book because Marsha uses the scientific process to solve her problem of who to invite to her birthday party that her mom is so happy to be planning and putting together for Marsha even though Marsha thinks of birthdays as simply another revolution around the sun. She builds a magnetic suit to 'attract' friends and then uses her super magnet to save the day at the end of the book.
I had the students get into pairs and make predictions about which items would be magnetic and which items would be non magnetic. Here are the items I used. I printed these sheets and laminated them for my class. You can find them here.
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Testing our Predictions
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After they discovered which items were magnetic, they were to circle them on their paper. You can find this guide here. This guide also includes the next investigation as well.
For this investigation, I made trays and taped magnets to the bottom. I placed a piece of black construction paper over them. I gave them a paperclip chain for them to 'fish' for the magnetic fields. They were to see how many magnets they could find, and draw where they were located on their investigation guide.
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Is the magnetic field strong enough to go through
cardstock?
cardboard?
felt?
aluminum foil?
cardstock?
cardboard?
felt?
aluminum foil?
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And the answer to the above question is YES! The magnetic field was strong enough to go through everything including the cardboard. I compared this to God's love. His love is able to penetrate even the hardest hearts of men and be able to melt them so that they might be saved and bring Glory to Him.
Week 7: Invisible Forces
As a review, I put up the WANTED posters of 3 viruses for the students to shoot with little bits of paper on a rubberband. I asked them to remember David and Goliath and how David took Goliath out with a slingshot and a stone. The paper was cut into inch long strips. They folded them in half width wise and then lengthwise and then two more times width wise. They basically made little paper bullets to shoot at the viruses. While they were shooting the viruses, I reviewed about what germs were and some of our body's defenses against these viruses.
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Using this activity as a review was a great way to introduce forces.
What forces are acting on the paper to get it to shoot at the WANTED posters?
1. Pull of the rubberband back
2. The push of the rubberband on the paper
3. Friction caused by the air slowing down the paper
4. Gravity pulling the paper down
What is a force? A push or pull
Examples of the forces are:
What forces are acting on the paper to get it to shoot at the WANTED posters?
1. Pull of the rubberband back
2. The push of the rubberband on the paper
3. Friction caused by the air slowing down the paper
4. Gravity pulling the paper down
What is a force? A push or pull
Examples of the forces are:
- Push- a force going away from you
- Pull- a force coming towards you
- Gravity- special pull force that keeps planets in orbit and everything on earth grounded
- Friction- a special push force that resists motion by having two objects rub against each other.
- Tension- a constant pull force that keeps cables tight
- Buoyancy- a mechanical force given by liquids and gases
Simon Says:
We played Simon Says in order for them to be able to identify the different forces they were using in everyday activities like standing, walking, jumping.
Simon says 'Smile'
We played Simon Says in order for them to be able to identify the different forces they were using in everyday activities like standing, walking, jumping.
Simon says 'Smile'
I demonstrated what friction was by using two cookie sheets. One cookie sheet I left plain while the other one I placed a carpet segment. I brought some hot wheels cars from home and asked the students which cookie sheet had MORE friction. They were able to tell me that the cookie sheet with the carpet segment had more friction.
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Our last activity was an investigation to see what cord is stronger; a cord of one strand? two strands? or three strands?
In Ecclesiastes 4:12 it states "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken"
God knows about tensile strength and uses this physical reality to explain a spiritual lesson. We need each other and are stronger together. A marriage is not easily broken if there is a husband, a wife and God as the three cords. Lets see just how much stronger three cords is compared to one.
We are testing the tensile strength of the yarn. Remember that tension is constant pull force that keeps cables and strings tight. Tensile strength is the amount of tension something can undergo without breaking.
The materials that I used for this investigation were:
First, I tied all of the yarn to the buckets and then I hung the buckets off the table.
In Ecclesiastes 4:12 it states "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him-a threefold cord is not quickly broken"
God knows about tensile strength and uses this physical reality to explain a spiritual lesson. We need each other and are stronger together. A marriage is not easily broken if there is a husband, a wife and God as the three cords. Lets see just how much stronger three cords is compared to one.
We are testing the tensile strength of the yarn. Remember that tension is constant pull force that keeps cables and strings tight. Tensile strength is the amount of tension something can undergo without breaking.
The materials that I used for this investigation were:
- 6 -1m long pieces of yarn
- 3 buckets
- masking tape
- 2-3 pound weights
- 2-5 pound weights
- 2-8 pound weights
- Investigation sheet (There are two different versions in this pack that you can choose from)
First, I tied all of the yarn to the buckets and then I hung the buckets off the table.
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The students then made their hypothesis as to how much they thought each strand could hold.
I, then, began adding weight to the single strand bucket first.
I, then, began adding weight to the single strand bucket first.
Two strands of yarn holding 10 pounds of weight
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Three strand of yarn holding 16 pounds
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Our results are as follows:
The investigation sheet is formatted in the Scientific Method so as they do this, they are going through the steps of the scientific method.
Below are the vocabulary cards for this week as well as a Friction Scavenger Hunt.
- One strand broke with 6 pounds of weight
- Two strands broke with 16 pounds of weight
- Three strands broke with 22 pounds of weight
The investigation sheet is formatted in the Scientific Method so as they do this, they are going through the steps of the scientific method.
Below are the vocabulary cards for this week as well as a Friction Scavenger Hunt.
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Week 6: Viruses
Our devotion today was from Louie Giglio's Indescribable. It is titled "We're All in This Together". This devotion was focused on the jobs of the cells in our body. There are many types of cells and each cell has a job to do. Even within a cell, there are organelles that each have a specific job to do within the cell. There was a correlation made between a cell in the body and a person in the body of Christ. Each of us in the Body of Christ has been called to do something for the Kingdom. It is important that we do that job. Just imagine if the heart cell decided it didn't want to pump one day, or a nerve cell was tired of 'feeling'. These were some examples mentioned in the devotion. The students stated it correctly; if the heart cells decided not to pump, the person would die. It is the same in the body of Christ. When we choose not to fulfill our calling, a part of the Body dies and the whole body is affected.
This is our last week in the Unseen realm of Biology where we look at cells, bacteria and viruses. This was just a short introduction to biology for them to build on in future years. I decided that we would play one more round of Vocabulary Bingo.
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Our topic of study today was viruses. We took a look at the battle to destroy viruses in our body. I used the book Your Body Battles a Cold by Vicki Cobb
I loved the illustrations in this book as it labeled the defenses of our immune system as superheroes and they were illustrated with that same theme. The real-life images were also a microscopic view of what we were talking about which was helpful as well.
My very talented husband created a wonderful reading guide for this book in the format of a comic strip for the students to fill in.
This was a great way to have a class of students be able to engage and participate in the information that was being delivered to them.
While I presented information, they would draw a picture in their comic strips on their paper. I used the book illustrations to give them ideas on how to draw and they did amazing!
I did my best to draw quickly on the board some of the pictures myself. I am lacking in illustration, I confess.
I loved the illustrations in this book as it labeled the defenses of our immune system as superheroes and they were illustrated with that same theme. The real-life images were also a microscopic view of what we were talking about which was helpful as well.
My very talented husband created a wonderful reading guide for this book in the format of a comic strip for the students to fill in.
This was a great way to have a class of students be able to engage and participate in the information that was being delivered to them.
While I presented information, they would draw a picture in their comic strips on their paper. I used the book illustrations to give them ideas on how to draw and they did amazing!
I did my best to draw quickly on the board some of the pictures myself. I am lacking in illustration, I confess.
Here is the Comic Strip handout that goes with the book as a reading guide.
One of the suggestions mentioned in this book was to grab a flashlight and a mirror and look up your own nose to see the tiny hairs where cilia is attached and waves dust particle through the nose and down to the stomach to be destroyed or to be signaled to sneeze germs out of your mouth. I had the students do this during class and then draw what they saw in the box on their comic strip. The tiny hairs in your nose are the first line of defense against invaders.
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This is great! This student finished exploring his nose and moved on to what was in his mouth. I love it! Keep exploring!
The next line of defense against invaders is mucus that is created by goblet cells. The students drew a goblet on their paper.
Then the attack. The virus will attach to the back of the nose and copy itself quickly.
The battle is afoot. First, you sneeze, then your goblet cells start producing a watery mucus to flood out the virus
The alarm is sounded. The white blood cells and a lot of fluid rushes into battle
Plasma cells, a type of white blood cell begins to make antibodies
The victory! The antibodies prevent the virus from attaching to any other cells.
Clean up Crew. Every battle leaves a mess. The neutrophils and macrophages absorb or 'eat' the virus and then die themselves. The mucus turns yellow because of the dead white blood cells and is a sign that you are healing.
Remember. Your body knows this invader now and it won't be able to make you sick anymore
Precautions: Wash your hands with soap often and when your hands are dirty (which is whenever you aren't washing your hands with soap) do not put your fingers in your mouth, nose or eyes for this is how viruses and bacteria get into your body.
Then the attack. The virus will attach to the back of the nose and copy itself quickly.
The battle is afoot. First, you sneeze, then your goblet cells start producing a watery mucus to flood out the virus
The alarm is sounded. The white blood cells and a lot of fluid rushes into battle
Plasma cells, a type of white blood cell begins to make antibodies
The victory! The antibodies prevent the virus from attaching to any other cells.
Clean up Crew. Every battle leaves a mess. The neutrophils and macrophages absorb or 'eat' the virus and then die themselves. The mucus turns yellow because of the dead white blood cells and is a sign that you are healing.
Remember. Your body knows this invader now and it won't be able to make you sick anymore
Precautions: Wash your hands with soap often and when your hands are dirty (which is whenever you aren't washing your hands with soap) do not put your fingers in your mouth, nose or eyes for this is how viruses and bacteria get into your body.
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After teaching this today, I switched the two top boxes on the first row of the printable so that it would flow much nicer with the order of the book. The handout above has been updated. |
This student did an amazing job following along and drawing while listening to the book. So thankful!
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We had talked about plasma cells taking out the viruses and so my husband made these WANTED posters of three different viruses that have infected people. These I will pull out for a review activity next week.
The last activity that we did was make fake snot aka: slime.
The materials I used were:
1/2 cup White School Glue
1/8 cup Liquid Starch
1 Tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon of Borax
Green and Yellow Food Coloring
Mix all these ingredients together in a slimy, oozy, substance. You can play around with the measurements and what you would like. The Borax helps it be able to clean up easier. This is a plus in my house.
The materials I used were:
1/2 cup White School Glue
1/8 cup Liquid Starch
1 Tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon of Borax
Green and Yellow Food Coloring
Mix all these ingredients together in a slimy, oozy, substance. You can play around with the measurements and what you would like. The Borax helps it be able to clean up easier. This is a plus in my house.
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Week 5: Bacteria
It's Pink! There is a lake in Senegal called Lake Retba that in order for the bacteria there to soak up the sun, it produces a red pigment that results in coloring the water in this lake pink! This was the topic of the devotion that I read to the students from Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God Devotion book. Bacteria is a type of microbe and can only be seen through a microscope yet each one of these tiny organisms contributes to the coloring of a whole lake. Imagine if we, being ultimately tiny in comparison to the world, could color our world with 'little bits of God'? It would be heaven on earth! We could greet God each morning with adoration, share a Bible verse with a friend, help a sibling with their chore...The Kingdom of God would be just a little closer.
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To warm up our brains, we went over our vocabulary words from the past four weeks using these BINGO cards. I was really impressed with how much of the vocabulary words these students knew!!! They did awesome!!!
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The book that I used to teach us about bacteria and even some viruses was Germs Make Me Sick by Melvin Berger
I made these Read Aloud Notes for the students so that they would be able to follow along with the book better and grasp the key concepts. You can grab this interactive note handout for 2nd and 3rd graders here.
The questions that we covered were:
What two types of germs usually make us sick? Bacteria and viruses
I had them draw an example of each type of bacteria.
Where are bacteria and viruses found? Everywhere
What are some of your body's defenses? Skin, nose hair, white blood cells and antibodies
What happens if the germs in your body that make you sick are bacteria? I had them place these in order:
1. Bacteria multiplies fast
2. The bacteria gives off wastes
3. Wastes from the bacteria can harm or kill healthy cells making you sick.
I made these Read Aloud Notes for the students so that they would be able to follow along with the book better and grasp the key concepts. You can grab this interactive note handout for 2nd and 3rd graders here.
The questions that we covered were:
What two types of germs usually make us sick? Bacteria and viruses
I had them draw an example of each type of bacteria.
Where are bacteria and viruses found? Everywhere
What are some of your body's defenses? Skin, nose hair, white blood cells and antibodies
What happens if the germs in your body that make you sick are bacteria? I had them place these in order:
1. Bacteria multiplies fast
2. The bacteria gives off wastes
3. Wastes from the bacteria can harm or kill healthy cells making you sick.
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Since scientists often use models to help them understand different ideas, I had the students make models of the three types of bacteria that we went over.
1. Cocci
2. Bacilli
3. Spirilla
1. Cocci
2. Bacilli
3. Spirilla
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The last activity I had planned was a game where a child would go through the day acquiring bacteria. Bacteria can be good for us but there is some that is bad for us. We ran out of time for the whole class to be able to participate but I am hoping to work out the kinks and be able to share it with the students next week.
Week 4: Microbes
I love discovering and exploring the science between the pages of the Bible as well as favorite kid books. The book that I read to the students today was The Magic School Bus In A Pickle by Joanna Cole
I broke the reading of this book into three sections separated by activities that emphasized the main points of the book. The basic plot of this book is that the students in Ms. Frizzle's class do not understand what happened to their produce when they went on vacation. One student, in particular, Keesha, is very upset that in the place where her prize winning cucumber was, there is a pickle in a jar instead. She is appalled and takes Ms. Frizzle to class court in order to determine if she is guilty.
Our first break happened after Ms. Frizzle shrank all the students and the Magic School Bus down to a microscopic size in order to prove that there existed a gang called the Mike Robe Gang that you cannot see but will transform a cucumber into a pickle. Ms. Frizzle's students found themselves in a bowl of water that belonged to their class hamster. In the water they were able to see Amoebas eating a bunch of Paramecia.
At this juncture, we defined Amoebas as a simple eukaryotic organism that can change shape. I, then, also defined a Eukaryote as an organism with cells that has a nucleus.
It was now time for a game, Hungry Hungry Amoebas! I gave each student a paper cup and then distributed ping pong balls on the table. The paper cups were the amoebas and the ping pong balls were the paramecia in the story. They were to see how many paramecia they could catch with their cup.
At this juncture, we defined Amoebas as a simple eukaryotic organism that can change shape. I, then, also defined a Eukaryote as an organism with cells that has a nucleus.
It was now time for a game, Hungry Hungry Amoebas! I gave each student a paper cup and then distributed ping pong balls on the table. The paper cups were the amoebas and the ping pong balls were the paramecia in the story. They were to see how many paramecia they could catch with their cup.
Keesha finally conceded that the Mike Robe Gang is everywhere after she saw them on Liz's nose and in the hamster's water bowl. However, she was not convinced that the Mike Robe Gang could turn a cucumber into a pickle. Arnold then had them travel to the rotten tomato on the shelf. Here they are introduced to fungus and bacteria, two different kinds of microbes. While the students are investigating the rotten tomato, there is an explosion and they ooze into the pickle jar along with some fungus. The fungus were the organisms that were causing the tomato to rot. Some of that fungus was now in the jar with pickle, wanting to attach the pickle. However there was pickle bacteria that was able to destroy the fungus so that it couldn't hurt the pickle.
The game that we played for this was called, "The Fungus is Among Us"
I had some pool noodles that represented the pickle bacteria. Then I placed scented dryer sheets on the tables and chairs. These dryer sheets had such a strong scent that I correlated that to the fact that fungus can also have a strong scent. They were to try and place the fungus in the trash can only using the pickle bacteria pool noodles.
The game that we played for this was called, "The Fungus is Among Us"
I had some pool noodles that represented the pickle bacteria. Then I placed scented dryer sheets on the tables and chairs. These dryer sheets had such a strong scent that I correlated that to the fact that fungus can also have a strong scent. They were to try and place the fungus in the trash can only using the pickle bacteria pool noodles.
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After realizing that the pickle bacteria actually preserved the cucumber and saved it, Keesha now saw Ms. Frizzle as a hero for saving her cucumber.
Going through this book gave us an opportunity to use our vocabulary words in context. I handed out their vocabulary cards. You can find them here at our TPT page.
Going through this book gave us an opportunity to use our vocabulary words in context. I handed out their vocabulary cards. You can find them here at our TPT page.
Lastly, I brought in a fresh cucumber and some of my refrigerator pickles I made over the summer. One of the ingredients I used in my pickles were mustard seeds. I asked the students if they knew where in the Bible it mentions mustard seeds. I told them that if they have faith like a mustard seed, they can move mountains. All of them saw how very tiny a mustard seed is.
I had the students use the gifts that God has given them to observe the world around them. They were to see the difference between the cucumber and the pickle, feel the difference between them, smell the difference and then also taste the difference if they chose to.
I had the students use the gifts that God has given them to observe the world around them. They were to see the difference between the cucumber and the pickle, feel the difference between them, smell the difference and then also taste the difference if they chose to.
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On the students way out, I gave them the recipe that I used to make the refrigerator pickles at home so they too could observe the Mike Robe Gang at work.
Week 3: Cells: the rest of the story
Our devotion today came half from Louie Giglio's How Great is Our God devotion number 2 called "That's Impossible" and half from my testimony of becoming a science teacher.
This devotion talks about how wonderfully creative our God is and how He shares His creativity with us. The quote I love from this devotion reads "One of the coolest things about studying science is discovering how miraculously detailed God's creation is-from the tiny hairs on your head to the massive mountains and stars." I did not grow up loving science. In fact, I did not start loving science until I started to get to know our Creator God better through Jesus, my Savior. When I realized that God had intentionally planned and created all that I see, I fell that much more in love with Him. His creation is magnificent especially when you just watch and observe your children. They are amazing! |
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After our devotion, I passed out another copy of the Parts of a Cell for them to draw what we learned about last week and then to add the rest of the organelles we did not get to this week.
The organelles that we added this week were:
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)- this transports things around the cell and also gathers waste so it can leave the body. I love how Apologia's Human Physiology's analogy says that the ER is like the mailmen and garbage man of the cell. At this time, I had my friend, Megan, be the ER and transport some handmade cards to each student. I colored them in and while I did this, I prayed for each student. I also, placed a Starburst on each card. As they unwrapped their candy, I had Megan come around and collect the trash too. This is the Endoplasmic Reticulum
Centrioles- special organelles that help cells reproduce. We need these organelles so that we can keep growing and heal.
Nucleus- the control center of the cell. This is the largest organelle in the cell and holds the DNA and RNA. It also contains a nucleolus which makes ribosomes.
Ribosomes- read RNA recipe and make the right protein for the cell.
DNA- deoxyribonucleic acid. This is a molecule inside each cell that contains all the information about you
RNA- This is the messenger that tells your cells what kind of proteins to make.
Vacuole- storage; stores food for later or waste for removal
The organelles that we added this week were:
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)- this transports things around the cell and also gathers waste so it can leave the body. I love how Apologia's Human Physiology's analogy says that the ER is like the mailmen and garbage man of the cell. At this time, I had my friend, Megan, be the ER and transport some handmade cards to each student. I colored them in and while I did this, I prayed for each student. I also, placed a Starburst on each card. As they unwrapped their candy, I had Megan come around and collect the trash too. This is the Endoplasmic Reticulum
Centrioles- special organelles that help cells reproduce. We need these organelles so that we can keep growing and heal.
Nucleus- the control center of the cell. This is the largest organelle in the cell and holds the DNA and RNA. It also contains a nucleolus which makes ribosomes.
Ribosomes- read RNA recipe and make the right protein for the cell.
DNA- deoxyribonucleic acid. This is a molecule inside each cell that contains all the information about you
RNA- This is the messenger that tells your cells what kind of proteins to make.
Vacuole- storage; stores food for later or waste for removal
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Finally, we made a model of our cell!
Materials: Paper plates Glue Green food coloring Large Puff balls Lima Beans Pinto Beans Pony Beads Pipecleaners Larger decorative beads Procedure: 1. Draw the cell membrane on the paper plate. 2. Add a good amount of glue to the plate. 3. Place two drops of green in the glue and use a spoon or craft stick to stir and spread the glue all the way out to the cell membrane. 4. Begin placing all the organelles along with their labels on the cell model. |
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Here is what the original model looks like for reference. I encourage you to look around your house and see what you have available to make a cell model of your own. It is a great learning activity.
These are the Vocabulary cards for Week 3
Week 2: cells: Basic building blocks of Life
We began class with a warm up of vocabulary review from the vocabulary words that I sent home with the students last week. I thought we would play Swat the Word. I wrote each of the six vocabulary words on the board. Gave the students a clean fly swatter. As I called out the definitions, they had to find the word on the board and swat it. When the words were pretty much erased, we were finished.
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I shared with the students a devotion from Louie Giglio's Indescribable about how God created a material called laminin to hold all of our cells together in our body. If you look closely at the structure of the laminin, it is in the shape of a cross. It appears that God's fingerprints are all over His creation.
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This week and next week, we will be talking about the parts of a cell. I introduced half of the parts today and will finish next week.
I brought in some Legos and had the students build a city for me with three structures; city wall, grocery stores, and power plants. Each of these structures would represent a part of the cell.
City wall= Cell Membrane
Power Plants = Mitochondria
Grocery stores = Golgi Bodies
I brought in some Legos and had the students build a city for me with three structures; city wall, grocery stores, and power plants. Each of these structures would represent a part of the cell.
City wall= Cell Membrane
Power Plants = Mitochondria
Grocery stores = Golgi Bodies
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After we built our Lego cities, I passed out our Draw a Cell handout so we can begin learning about the different parts of a cell.
The parts of the cell that I focused on are also our vocabulary words for this week.
I began by drawing an amoeba-like shape on the board to represent the Cell Membrane.
The Cell Membrane is the first level of protection for the cell. It allows oxygen, water and nutrients to enter but it keeps intruders out. The cell membrane also eliminates wastes within the cell.
The next word I introduced to them was organelle.
An organelle is a small structure inside a cell that has a job to do. Examples of organelles are mitochondria, lysosomes, golgi bodies.
Mitochondria was the first organelle that I introduced. The mitochondria burns glucose to give energy to the cell. These are represented by the power plants that we built in our city. Some cells like muscle cells need more mitochondria than skin cells because the nature of the kind of cell that they are.
Golgi bodies are the next organelles. These structures are like our grocery stores, they store food and deliver it to us. Golgi bodies store protein and fat and sends them to anywhere in the cell that needs them.
Lysosomes are the policemen in our cities. The lysosomes protect cells by destroying intruders like bacteria, get rid of worn out organelles and break down nutrients into usable parts for the cell.
Finally, the cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance that contains nutrients and fills the cell and that the organelles float in.
Presenting the parts of a cell in this way was adapted from Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology.
The parts of the cell that I focused on are also our vocabulary words for this week.
I began by drawing an amoeba-like shape on the board to represent the Cell Membrane.
The Cell Membrane is the first level of protection for the cell. It allows oxygen, water and nutrients to enter but it keeps intruders out. The cell membrane also eliminates wastes within the cell.
The next word I introduced to them was organelle.
An organelle is a small structure inside a cell that has a job to do. Examples of organelles are mitochondria, lysosomes, golgi bodies.
Mitochondria was the first organelle that I introduced. The mitochondria burns glucose to give energy to the cell. These are represented by the power plants that we built in our city. Some cells like muscle cells need more mitochondria than skin cells because the nature of the kind of cell that they are.
Golgi bodies are the next organelles. These structures are like our grocery stores, they store food and deliver it to us. Golgi bodies store protein and fat and sends them to anywhere in the cell that needs them.
Lysosomes are the policemen in our cities. The lysosomes protect cells by destroying intruders like bacteria, get rid of worn out organelles and break down nutrients into usable parts for the cell.
Finally, the cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance that contains nutrients and fills the cell and that the organelles float in.
Presenting the parts of a cell in this way was adapted from Apologia's Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology.
To finish up the class, I placed a slide with a smear of human blood on the microscope for the students to look at. As they finished up their Parts of a Cell drawing, they were also able to look at some pictures in these two books.
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Here are the vocabulary cards with pictures of each organelle on the back of the cards along with the definition.
week 1: Magnification and microscopes
To introduce the topic of magnification, I placed extremely magnified pictures in different groups and asked them what they thought it was a picture of.
After everyone had shared their first guess, I then, gave them a picture of a slightly zoomed out picture of the same thing to see if their guess had changed with less magnification. Some did and some did not.
Then finally, I gave them the 'whole' picture so they could see what was magnified.
We then had a discussion about what we gain from magnification and what we lose from magnification. I introduced our vocabulary word, magnify.
Magnify is to make something appear larger than it is.
Sometimes when we magnify something SO much it gets blurry and out of perspective where we can't tell what it is. This can also happen when we focus so intently on a word in a scripture from the Bible. When we just look at the words and not the whole part, we lose the perspective and could apply the Word of God wrongly to our lives. We must look at where the word is in the scripture to understand the meaning of the passage.
We then moved into a discussion about how one word can mean many different things. Our next vocabulary word is scale. I asked the students what they think a scale is. One student answers that it was an instrument that weighs people. Another student thought of fish scales. Other students chimed in with snake scales and lizard scales. Finally, another student thought of the music scales. These were all correct meanings but the meaning that I am wanting is that a scale is a series of marks used for measuring.
If something has been magnified, typically, there needs to be a scale to provide a reference to how big something really is, not just how large something appears to be.
I showed the book Unseen Worlds by Helene Rajcak and Damien Laverdunt. This book is organized well and shows masterfully drawn microscopic worlds like your bed or a kitchen cabinet, the beach, a pond. Each picture has a key that labels all the microscopic animals that live around us unseen by our eyes.
Below is an example of one of the pages along with a scale that says 9cm = 1mm
If you need to get your kids to start cleaning, show them these unseen worlds and what lives with them when they choose not to clean their room.
After everyone had shared their first guess, I then, gave them a picture of a slightly zoomed out picture of the same thing to see if their guess had changed with less magnification. Some did and some did not.
Then finally, I gave them the 'whole' picture so they could see what was magnified.
We then had a discussion about what we gain from magnification and what we lose from magnification. I introduced our vocabulary word, magnify.
Magnify is to make something appear larger than it is.
Sometimes when we magnify something SO much it gets blurry and out of perspective where we can't tell what it is. This can also happen when we focus so intently on a word in a scripture from the Bible. When we just look at the words and not the whole part, we lose the perspective and could apply the Word of God wrongly to our lives. We must look at where the word is in the scripture to understand the meaning of the passage.
We then moved into a discussion about how one word can mean many different things. Our next vocabulary word is scale. I asked the students what they think a scale is. One student answers that it was an instrument that weighs people. Another student thought of fish scales. Other students chimed in with snake scales and lizard scales. Finally, another student thought of the music scales. These were all correct meanings but the meaning that I am wanting is that a scale is a series of marks used for measuring.
If something has been magnified, typically, there needs to be a scale to provide a reference to how big something really is, not just how large something appears to be.
I showed the book Unseen Worlds by Helene Rajcak and Damien Laverdunt. This book is organized well and shows masterfully drawn microscopic worlds like your bed or a kitchen cabinet, the beach, a pond. Each picture has a key that labels all the microscopic animals that live around us unseen by our eyes.
Below is an example of one of the pages along with a scale that says 9cm = 1mm
If you need to get your kids to start cleaning, show them these unseen worlds and what lives with them when they choose not to clean their room.
In order to magnify objects, we must have a lens. I introduced two types of lenses; convex and concave. Convex lenses curve outward and concave lenses curve inward. I passed around examples of these lenses for the students to figure out what each one of those lenses do.
The convex lens will make objects appear larger where the concave lens will make objects appear smaller.
After we discovered what these lenses did, I passed out magnifying lenses for them to use and look at objects such as feathers, sponges, cotton balls.
The convex lens will make objects appear larger where the concave lens will make objects appear smaller.
After we discovered what these lenses did, I passed out magnifying lenses for them to use and look at objects such as feathers, sponges, cotton balls.
Finally, I showed them that water can also be a magnifier. A drop of water naturally has a convex shape. I made each student a Water Drop Magnifier that you can find here.
You simply print this out on cardstock, cut out the square with an X-acto knife and then laminate.
The students could place a dime size amount of water on the clear part of the magnifier, look through the bubble of water and magnify their sponge or feather. They could also drop some water on the pictures themselves and magnify them this way as well.
You simply print this out on cardstock, cut out the square with an X-acto knife and then laminate.
The students could place a dime size amount of water on the clear part of the magnifier, look through the bubble of water and magnify their sponge or feather. They could also drop some water on the pictures themselves and magnify them this way as well.
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You can't have a class on magnification and microscopes without looking through a microscope.
The last part of our class we learned that a microscope is an instrument used to look at objects too small to see with the naked eye.
I also introduced the word structure which is the arrangement of parts in an object.
For our microscope investigation, we looked at a honeybee leg. The students were able to view it through a microscope.
The last part of our class we learned that a microscope is an instrument used to look at objects too small to see with the naked eye.
I also introduced the word structure which is the arrangement of parts in an object.
For our microscope investigation, we looked at a honeybee leg. The students were able to view it through a microscope.
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They were definitely able to see the structure of the leg in the microscope which was fascinating.
The six vocabulary words that I focused on were:
I have made some fun vocabulary cards that you can use to review these terms with your students at home.
The six vocabulary words that I focused on were:
- scale- a series of marks used for measuring
- magnify- to make something appear larger than it is
- convex lens- a lens that curves outward and makes things appear larger
- concave lens- a lens that curves inward and makes things appear smaller
- microscope- an instrument used to look at objects too small to see with the naked eye
- structure- an arrangement of parts in an object.
I have made some fun vocabulary cards that you can use to review these terms with your students at home.
