Book Trailer

TradeBooks

Severe Weather/Drought

Kendra Soule

Out of the Dust Karen Hesse, 1997, Scholastic Press, ISBN 0-590-36080-9

Synopsis of the Book 

Out of the Dust is a John Newbery Medal winner.  It is a lyrical free verse novel that tells the story of Billie Jo, a young girl who lives in the harsh reality of the Oklahoma panhandle during the 1930s Dust Bowl.  Despite the constant dust storms and the struggle to help her family survive, Billie Jo is happy with her life. But a tragic accident changes things forever. As she tries to escape her painful memories and injuries, Billie Jo flees on a freight train, leaving the dust behind.  But Billie Jo has not realized the dust is a part of her, and she must learn to forgive her father and most of all herself. Set against the backdrop of the Dust Bowl and the hardships faced by prairie living, the novel is a testament to the power of hope and the triumph of the human spirit. 

Science Connections

This book tells the story of life during the Great Depression.  Oklahoma experienced severe drought, dust storms, tornadoes, in addition to soil erosion from over farming.  This left the habitants with poor soil, no water and drought like conditions. This story can provide real life experience for living through this and be compared with how life was like, how it used to be, and how life is now in present day.  Lessons can be adapted to show how people accepted this life and/or what they did to adapt and prepare. During Drought conditions habitants often have to leave their homes, go without food or water, these are all side effects of the dust bowl and drought today.     .

Teaching Connections

This book can be used as a vocabulary lesson, as a ‘real’ experience for students to be able to write about or as a book group project on the tragedy of the Dust Bowl and how people survived it.  Out of the Dust tells the story of the sequence of events that led to the erosion of the soil, affecting the water cycle and creating dust storms and ecological disaster.  Review with students that when the grassland was plowed up for farming, the soil became more exposed and vulnerable to erosion and could not hold water as well.  For an introduction to understanding the dust bowl, read other poems or stories. have groups work together, using facts from the book and additional resources to create a diagram that shows the chain of events that led to the dust storms, and measures that helped the storms end.  Have students present their findings and discuss what lessons we can learn from the Dust Bowl.  

Resources

Come on, Rain! by Karen Hesse 

The Year of the Dust by Albert Marrin

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aadema

21 century Challenge!

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Physical Science Chapter 16-18

Physical Science
Matter and MotionChapter 16

This is were science lost me.  Physical science has so many concepts, terminology that still boggles my mind.  Teaching these concepts have always been a direct (learn and memorize) instruction base.  More inquiry-base instruction and cooperative learning to help engage and encourage students to learn.  

Matter
 kinetic molecular theory* chemical change*chemical changes*elements, compounds and mixtures*parts of an atom*nuclear energy

Motion
newton's law*gravity & motion*jet & rocket engines*flight*

Energies and Machines
Chapter 17

How Energy is Transferred
Conservation of energy*Energy Transfer

Electrical Energy
static electricity*current electricity*

Sound Energy
Light Energy
Heat Energy
Machines
Fiction

Physical Science Lesson Ideas
Chapter 18

Like I've said, science lessons were always so boring and overwhelming.  This chapter does provide many examples os inquiry-base instruction where students can apply there understandings and experience to new content.  Hands on experiences are a critical element for student learning.  WebQuest, experiments, projects, and discovery centers are great examples.  




  

Earth Science: Chapter 10-12

Earth & Space Sciences

chapter 10

Earth's Surface, Atmosphere, & Weather

There are so many wonderful lessons to be taught about earth.  

Topics:

Earth Surface, rocks, minerals, fossils, Rock cycle, land mass, 

Oceans, continental shelf

Model of the center of the earth.  styrofoam & paper mache

volcano with diagram of the inside of a volcano for labeling vocabulary 

Earth's atmosphere & weather-water in the atmosphere, violent weather, weather prediction, meteorologist, climage change and global warming

This is one of my favorite topics! I look forward to teaching students about the wonders of our world, and how it has changed from the beginning to continually changing.  

chapter 11  

The Cosmos

What is the Universe, ad how was it formed?

This subject has changed so dramatically since I was a child.  There are more then 9 planets, and one of those planets is not even considered a planet anymore!! 

 topic subjects: big Bang Theory, Magnetars, Quasars, pulsars, & black holes, galaxies, constellations, the sun, the solar systems, the moon, planets, meteors, comets, asteroids.

Exploring the first steps of space; the space launch, there is a field trip that local schools take that have an exhibit about the launch.  There is a lot that can be done with this topic.  

Chapter 12

lesson Ideas

This chapter reflects on probes-determining what the students already know

probes-basic questions and simple activities that get children thinking and talking about particular topics.  Probes are great ways to get children talking engaging prior knowledge.  It's also a great way for teachers to assess what they my know.     

Starter Ideas for weather:  Weather Predictions,

Question: How do we know a storm is coming?

Unit overview: students identify the forms of technology used by meteorologists and build a model of at least one instrument used to gather weather observations. 

Read it! Chapter 7 Engineering

Integrating Science and Engineering

Science & ELA

• Science, Engineering and ELA can be integrated together as they cut across disciplines and are useful in understanding concepts.  
• Trade Books or textual resources are important to engage students and motivate them to think in inquiry-based research.  Trade books are not fictional stories on a topic or even text books, they focus on scientific adventures, the lives of scientists and science careers and provide factual material about stars,  planets, dolphins, etc.  
• Crossing subject matter barriers using language arts as the bridge is creative and effective. 

1. Literature-Based integration
2. Theme-based integration
3. Project-based integration

Language arts teaching strategies can be easily adapted to enrich and extend children's science experiences.  Writing stories along with a science topic.  My daughters had to create a story that went along with the concepts of gas, liquid, and solids.  One story was of an ice-cube who melted and froze and evaporated.  The second daughter wrote about a busy bee fly everywhere (that symbolized gas), then as the bees met each other and were moving less (liquid) then bees made a hive that was small so they could barely move (solid).  These stories helped them to understand the concept better and put it in different context.  It also helped them to use specific vocabulary associated with the subject matter.  

Science/Engineering & Math

• Computational Skills
• Data Collection and Expression
• Logical reasoning skills
• As students become more proficient in seeking explanations based on evidence, math will give students the tools to see patterns and express relationships.  

Science/Engineering & Social Studies

• Social issues provide contexts that often make the need for explanations or solutions to problems purposeful.  
• ex. designing user-friendly recycling bins demands an awareness of social issues, scientific principles, and engineering design for integration. 

Read it! Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5
Creating Science workspace

• discovery stations
• adding some life to the classroom eg. aquarium, plants
• consider other senses e.g sound of ocean, jungle, woodlands
• distributing materials 
• providing work areas
• providing clear directions
• create routines

Encourage science talk

• questioning strategies
• convergent-get children to think in ways that focus on basic knowledge
• divergent-think about a # of alternative answers
• evaluative-gets students to offer a judgement based on some critera
• wait-time/think time strategies
• give time 
• partner share
• Fostering active listening strategies
• science talk and the science circle
• recap, redirect, re-voice, restate

Encourage Collaboration

• teach social and small group skills

Chapter 6

Assessment of Understanding and Inquiry

Formative Assessments

Summative Assessments

Assessment Strategies

• Prompt and Rubric
• performance assessments
• portfolios
• Science journals
• Affective Development Checklists
• Science Conferences with Children
• Science probes
• Concept mapping
• Self Assessments
• End of chapter assignment
• quizzes
• unit tests
• Research Reports 
• Activity write ups

Weathering the lessons!

This blog is a reflection on my group and our lesson.  I couldn't have been happier on the outcome for our first run. As with any lesson, it takes a trial and adjustments to get it right.  There are definite things that I would like to have improved on, or in hindsight, done differently, but for our first time, and as a group effort, I thought we did great!  We worked really well as a team, everyone brought something creative and constructive to the table. We edited, questioned, added, critiqued each other.  There were no judgments, no taking control from anyone.  It was a beautiful cooperation.  And it definitely helped to go third!

Click here for slide show

Our group of students was smaller then we planned for.  We had thought we would have one student per grade for our inquiry project groups.  This is where we had to do a lot of adjusting.  Our investigative questions were written based on grade.  Lower level questions were for our younger students while more higher thinking questions were for the older students.  But unfortunately, our groups were only partners of younger students while the oldest was solo.  My group of two boys were eager to do the project, but had no interest in the books.  They enjoyed the videos, and listened and analyzed what they were learning.  Boy "M" did not like to read, and was beginning to get anxious, but when I gave him a task of making the letters for the poster and had be the poster designer adding from already written notes, he settled in.  We assigned boy 'J' as note taker.  These roles were approved by them and things got more organized.  Both boys contributed to the poster and it turned out great, maybe a little unorganized, but they had freedom to create it their way.  

The direct lesson was on the difference between weather and climate and how global warming and climate change are affecting weather.  We broke our students into small groups and had them research a severe weather and connected it to climate change.  They utilized books, videos and websites as sources for their research, and were able to answer preassigned questions.  They created a poster based off what they learned from their research and shared their knowledge with their peers by presenting their findings.  During our lesson, one child would talk out, use funny voices, and fell off his chair.  A teacher would usually stand by him as a reminder to check himself.  Though he was the one student to act out, he was also the to student in the Kahoot Quiz!

  

We ended the lesson with the students creating a tweet to post to their school's twitter account as an independent practice.  

So proud of them and my fellow colleagues!!

Science in the News: Climate Change, It's Real!

Click for link

Climate Change, Is It Real??

The debate about climate change is insane to me.  The denial that the world is getting warmer, the iceburgs are melting at a rapid speed, rivers and watering holes are drying up is real.  Science and research has proven this.  I don't belive that there is much we can do about it, but try to slow it down.  The ball is rolling and it's going to take a miracle to stop it.  Animals are already becoming extinct at alarming rates, causing a spiraling effect on other lifeforms.  The reality of it all can be desperate, I worry for Greta Thunburg.  Her superpower is strong and incredible, she is able to use her disability to help the world, but I do worry that her strong focus will consume her.  She has started the movement to care and activate young minds that they can achieve the impossible.  The world needs her and this is her time.  

Global warming has been causing havoc in a variety of way across the globe.  Extreme drought, stronger hurricanes, unprecedented flooding, heat waves, and snow & polar vortexes in areas not accustom to them.  

Just within a few months, extreme weather has been plaguing the globe...
I couldn't settle on just one article, I kept finding a new one almost daily, so I have included titles of different news articles found in the last few weeks involving my topic of climate change.  I did not include any interviews with Greta Thunberg as she has been in the news spot light a lot.  But her fight it real!

Here are my articles on how climate change is affect the world.  It is true that the world is heating up glaciers are melting, water levels are rising, lands are heating up, destroying crops, creating horrific fires that burn so hot, that they are creating their own weather patterns.  Action is required to help save our home, and it begins with education.  

Italy in the News

Venice flooding closes St. Mark's Square as city faces another 'tough day' of exceptional high tides

Fox News

Australia in the news

Australia has been experiencing extreme drought due to global warming causing dangerous condition that has lead to horrific wildfires.  

Australia bushfires: How extreme 'firestorms' make their own weather

Click here for Article

BBC

By Frances MaoBBC News, Sydney

Zimbabwe, Africa in the news

CNN Article 

• This is an article that I found on CNN that broke my heart.  I wanted to add this to my lesson, but forgot in the planning.  It would have gone perfectly with my groups plan; it would have connected more to them.  

California in the news
California Wildfires Result of 7 year Drought

Also, the California's wildfires are a desperate cry to global warming and the heating and drying of the earth.  What a place not to live right now.  the constant threat of fires that seems to hover over that state is incredible.  As it dredges through seven years of drought, the destruction and fear of fires has been present.
The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season ever recorded in California, with a total of 8,527 fires burning an area of 1,893,913 acres.  This year, because of preperation and quicker alerts, the season has not been so bad, but the season is still on, and fires are still raging.  

click here for article



These are videos that I wanted to have access to for my lessons. Climate change has long been left out of elementary school curriculum.  The new Next Generation standards have started to introduce the concept, so now it's up to teachers to incorporate it into their lesson plans.  I will admit, I was not sure if students were ready for the harsh reality of Climate Change and all the catastrophes that are occurring, but after teaching the concept in my whole lesson plan, I am a strong believer that it needs to be included.  Even in small ways.