A Day Late, and a Dollar Short...

Well, as it turns out, more than a day late! I've spent this week down the rabbit hole, had my observation on Monday (everything went well, hooray!), and then 100 report cards had to be completed by Wednesday night. That meant last minute review of 95 notebooks, which is actually a pretty good number. There are always those few who absolutely refuse to do their assigned work no matter what incentive you dangle before them; neither the carrot nor the stick will do the trick.

So I just figured out late last night that this blog entry was due LAST week, although the write up of the experiment wasn't due until today. My apologies to everyone, I feel as if I'm constantly chasing my own tail, and heaven knows what I would do with it if I ever caught it!

On to the experiment. I knew in advance what the results would be, no spillover, of course. The less dense ice floating in the denser water, displacing the volume to which it would melt (or close to the same volume... as water expands when it freezes, which helps to account for the weathering of rocks).

The interesting part was in the research. The opinions are SO heated... it seems funny when the image of the scientist is that of someone who is coldly logical, working off facts alone. There was a great deal of hedging in the language around the causes of global warming (or to be more politically correct, "climate change"). Yes, it is still in the hypothesis state right now, but all evidence suggests that the average temperature is indeed climbing at a rate not before seen in recorded history. The factor most likely to be implicated is the industrialization of the Earth, i.e., the burning of fossil fuels and other things that lead to the release of greenhouse gasses.

A great deal more research needs to be done, of course, but in the meantime, it is my opinion that it would be prudent do find ways to decrease human spurred release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or ways to counter such release... which would require a massive effort to "reforest" rather than "deforest", which is the direction we are currently headed in.

As to the experiment itself, it would be a good way to help students understand that the melting of the "North Pole" will not flood the Earth, but I believe that clouds the larger issue. I suggest that this experiment be paired with one showing what will happen when land based ice sheets melt, for example the ones covering Greenland and Antarctica. (The model could be created by placing modeling clay "land masses" into the bowls, placing the "glaciers" on top of the land masses, then filling the bowls to the brim with water.)

I think this would give students a much better picture of what can and will happen when the land based ice sheets melt. There should be some spectacular "floods" for them to witness.

Further, I think that they would need to follow up with some research about what happens to the animal and plant life of the Arctic region when the ice melts, perhaps even put tiny polar bear models on the original ice floes so the students can see that the bears will have no where to go once the ice melts. That should generate some thought provoking discussions.

All in all, a decent example of the inquiry method of science teaching. With supports, this could well illustrate the issue of climate change for my students, who live very far from nature.

Talk about an adventure!

I was late in submitting my lesson plan, and I'm very nervous about it. I've been horribly sick since Wednesday, and am having trouble at this point sitting up at the computer to compose this post! All I can say is "Thank you, Dr.King, for having your holiday tomorrow!"

As to the assignment. I remember doing lesson plans like this when I was an undergrad. I couldn't imagine actually having the time to do all this, for all the subjects, for every day of the week. I remember my cooperating teacher laughing at me, and showing me her real-world lesson plans, in which an entire week fit into a bunch of blocks on an 17x11 planning book.

Fast forward 16 years to this assignment. It took me about 5 hours to write this plan. Now granted, I'm not on top of my game today. Granted, that Word decided to eat about 1/3 of my template AFTER I completed it and for the life of me I could not figure out how to restore it, so I had to start from scratch. At least I was able to print out the remaining 2/3 and retype all of that. Still, so many hours for one lesson? I have to plan about 10 lessons a week (2 classes of 2 grades, 5 days a week.) I would be putting in another full time work week.

I am actually going to implement this lesson this week. I'm undergoing that favorite ritual of the classroom teacher, the principal formal observation. I will be giving him a copy of this 10 page lesson plan for him to peruse. That should get a reaction out of him, I'm certain!

On a positive note, this process did make me think in great detail about exactly what my goals and objectives are, what I need to do to be sure they are ready for this lesson (which is a barometer making lab). I will be sure to pack my gram scale for the demonstration lesson "does air have weight?" I expect that as always, with the best planned lessons, some unexpected contingencies will come up, and the "teachable moment" will take me off the carefully mapped path.

But it will be an interesting experience. I will say quite frankly, that I'm genuinely concerned about the workload for this class! This is the first time I have felt as if it will be very difficult for me to keep up. I also feel as if I may not have completed the assignment correctly, which for me is a very humbling and stressful feeling. The only good thing about this feeling is the empathy it gives me for the students in my class. I know there are times when they are not sure exactly what it is I'm asking them to do!

And so back to bed! Good luck to you all!