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Technological Design Lessons Aligned With Ohio Science Standards

First Grade

Fog Catchers . . . . . . . . . P. 2

Paper Tower . . . . . . . . . P. 10

Roller Coaster . . . . . . . . P. 11

Terrarium . . . . . . . . . P. 12

1st Grade Technological Design Lessons

Title of lesson: Fog Catchers

Grade level: 1st Grade

Science content statement addressed:Earth and Space ScienceSun, Energy and WeatherThe sun is the principal source of energy.

Overview: Students observe how the sun's heat evaporates water from a shallow pan. They also learn that fog is actually small water droplets in the air. They design a way to catch "fog" (steam) and save it in a container, using found materials

Duration: Eight 1 hour sessions

Materials: A cool-mist humidifier A plastic garbage bag or tarp Two different rolls of wire or fabric screen, cut into 3" x 5" swatches. Cut

one swatch of each screen for each child. One magnifying glass for each group of two to four students Enough "found" or modeling materials for each student to build a fog

catcher. I have found the following materials work well: Craft or wood strips Medium binder clips Aluminum foil Small paper cups

Other materials you or the students think of, as well as glue and/or tape and waxed paper (for gluing).

Procedure:Students observe how the sun's heat evaporates water from a shallow pan. They also learn that fog is really small water droplets in the air. They design a way to catch "fog" (steam) and save it in a container, using found materials and plastic wrap or sheets.

Assessment:Students should realize that the sun caused the water to turn to fog.

Bob Claymier www.technologyiselementary.com 2

http://www.technologyiselementary.com/


The lesson below is from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association’s elementary engineering publication, Technology and Children, December, 2005. Collecting sea fog: a real-life engineering challenge.

Fog catchers are made by people to collect water from fog. In several coastal, mountainous places around the world, such as northern Chile, people have set up large "fog catchers" to harness hundreds, or even thousands of liters of water per day. Even though they live by the ocean and its virtually endless supply of salt water, fog catching is the primary way these Chileans and people in other parts of the world obtain clean drinking water.

The Chile Connection and the Ocean

Fog is essentially a cloud of water vapor. In most places in the United States, the fog we see every day is "land fog." It often forms in the morning after a cold evening, as water condenses out of the cool air. Land fog dissipates once the temperature rises.

Places near the ocean also have fog, but there's a big difference.

"Sea fog" is also a cloud of water. But the water comes from the ocean and is carried by air currents over the land. Water ma), condense out of it, but the air currents are continually bringing in new fog.

People in northern Chile call this fog camanchacas. Even though they have traditionally been fishers, northern Chileans live in one of the driest inhabited places on earth. With the help of Canadian scientists, they have discovered fog catching to be the simplest, most efficient, and most reliable way to obtain drinking water.

Fog catchers look like giant volleyball nets. Water from the sea fog collects on the nets, and the wind causes the droplets to fall into troughs, which are angled so that the water is carried by gravity into containers of into pipes that carry it to the people in towns below. When the fog condenses, it has no salt or other contaminants.




According to the Canadian government, a fog catcher can collect 200 to 600 liters (50 to 100 gallons) of water per day! Groups of fog catchers, called "arrays," can catch 5000 to 15,000 liters per day. Some villages can easily collect more water than the people there need or can use!

The Task

Theresa Greenwood, Jim Kirkwood, and I first used this fog-catcher modeling activity in 1993 in Theresa's Muncie, Indiana classroom (Foster & Kirkwood, 1994). Since then, the project has changed substantially. A unit plan, student engineering journal, and other materials are available at www.teched.ccsu.edulfog.htm.

Implementation of the project, as described at this Web site, takes at least seven two-hour periods. In this article, I present an abridged, four-period version of the fog-catcher activity. In this version of the project, only two different types of screen are used (labeled BLACK and GRAY here). For this project, you will need:

* A cool-mist humidifier

* A plastic garbage bag or tarp

* Two different rolls of wire or fabric screen, cut into 3" x 5" swatches. Cut one swatch of each screen for each child.

* One magnifying glass for each group of two to four students

* Enough "found" or modeling materials for each student to build a fog catcher. I have found the following materials work well:

--Craft or wood strips

--Medium binder clips

--Aluminum foil

--Small paper cups




* Other materials you or the students think of, as well as glue and/or tape and waxed paper (for gluing).

After students test the two different screens during the first activity period, they use their findings to design, construct, and test a fog catcher from a variety of materials. Their goal is not only to capture water with their model, but also to collect it in a cup or bottle.

DAY I

Today, the students will compare two different types of wire and fabric screens--GRAY and BLACK--to determine which collects the most moisture per square inch. They will hold each screen sample up to a humidifier for two minutes and identify how much water the screen collects.

Before the activity, set up the humidifier using a plastic bag or tarp to protect the surface the humidifier rests on. Each student should have a fog journal (available: www.teched.ccsu. edu/fog.htm), and each group should have one gray sample screen, one black sample screen, and a magnifying glass.

GENERAL OUTLINE:

1. Divide the children into teams of four.

2. Make sure each student has a fog journal.

3. Give each group their two screen samples: one GRAY and one BLACK.

4. Ask them to think about which might collect more water, and WHY.

5. Instruct them to fill out the top of page 3 ("My Prediction") by themselves.

6. Demonstrate how to test a screen sample using the humidifier.

7. Discuss with the students the best way to count the number of droplets.

8. Show them how to record this information on the bottom of page 3 ("My Lab Report").




9. Have the first group perform a two-minute test of its GRAY screen. Here are the four jobs that need to be performed by members of each team. Since each team will be doing four tests (two each on two different samples), everyone should get a chance to do each job--screen holder, timer, drop counter, note taker.

10. After each group completes a test, they should record the results on their individual lab-report sheets immediately, before using the magnifying glass or doing any other tests.

11. For each group, record the group's initial prediction of which screen they thought would be best for collecting moisture. (If members within a group differ as to their predictions, record a group prediction of "Not Sure.") Then record the test findings of each group. The class will need these predictions and findings for Day 2.

DAY 2

Today we have two major goals for every student:

1. They will decide which screen they want to use for their own fog catcher--GRAY or BLACK. They have a few bases for making this decision.

2. By the end of this period every student should have a sketch of the fog catcher they will build in the next class period.

Materials:

Each student should have his or her fog journal and a pencil.

The teacher should also have samples of the following materials:

* Balsa wood

* Binder clips (medium-sized is best)

* Screen (their choice, gray or black)

* Glue and waxed paper




GENERAL OUTLINE:

1. Have the students review the data the class collected on Day I. Display these numbers on the board or on a handout.

2. Discuss the difference between a prediction and a finding.

3. Depending on the group's knowledge level, have the children work alone or in pairs to answer these questions:

How many groups predicted that the best screen was ...

* Gray

* Black

* Not sure

How many groups found that the best screen was ...

* Gray

* Black

* Not sure

4. Ask the class whether they notice anything interesting about the findings of different groups. Remind them that every group was testing samples of the same screens. Why might there be variability in the results? Direct the students to page 4 in their journals. Have the students help you work through graphing their predictions and findings.

5. Have the students choose which screen they want to use.

a. Remind them that they may base their choice on the class' findings--

b. But that we only did one type of test!

6. Show the students the balsa wood, binder clips, screen, glue, and waxed paper.




7. Ask them to imagine how they could use these materials to build a model of a fog catcher. Remind them that they do not have to use all of the materials.

8. Ask them what the role of each part of the fog catcher is. For example:

* The screen is to "catch" the fog.

* The wood could be used to support the screen.

* What else does the fog catcher need to do? What other parts would a model fog catcher require? Make sure that the following two items are discussed:

* A way to collect the water (a container).

* A delivery system.

9. How will the fog get from the screen to the container? Give them some time to sketch out their ideas. They should use the top of the Sketches page (page 5) first. If you choose, they can use the Bill of Materials (page 6).

Construction and Testing

The final two periods should be used to build and test the fog catchers. If possible, have more than one humidifier available for students to test their models. During the construction phase review the examples of the Chilean fog catchers found at www. teched.ccsu.edu/fog/FOG-Unit Plan-Nov-04.pdf; ask the students to consider these questions:

1. How do our fog catchers compare to "real" ones used in Chile?

2. How do our design, sketching, and construction relate to the way the engineers in Chile constructed their fog catchers?

Once they have tested their fog catchers, these questions should be germane:

1. How can our fog-catcher design be improved?




2. In what ways do scientists and engineers improve their designs after completing initial testing?

3. How do scientists and engineers develop questions for further research?

If time permits, you may want to have the students rebuild and re-test their models. Ideas for these activities, as well as rubrics and links to technology and science standards, are available at the above Web address.

Happy fog catching!

Reference

Foster, P. N., & Kirkwood, J. J. (1994). Fog catcher: Kids don't care if it's low-tech. Technological Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Students, 6(1), 16-23.

Patrick N. Foster teaches at Central Connecticut State University. His e-mail address is [email protected].




Title of lesson: Paper Tower

Grade level: 1st grade

Science content statement addressed:Physical EnergyMotion and materialsProperties of objects and materials change.

Overview: Students make the tallest free standing tower out of 4 sheets of newspaper and 12 inches of masking tape that will support a tennis ball at the top.

Duration: 30 minutes

Materials:NewspaperMasking tapeTennis ball

Procedure:Students make the tallest free standing tower out of 4 sheets of newspaper and 12 inches of masking tape that will support a tennis ball at the top.

Assessment:Students observe that the properties of paper can change according to how the paper is shaped.




Title of lesson: Homemade Roller Coaster


Science content statement addressed:Physical ScienceMotion and materialsObjects can be moved in a variety of ways, such as straight, zigzag, circular, and back and forth.

Overview: Students experiment with marbles to learn how to make them move in different ways (rolling straight, turning, dropping, stopping), then use found materials (cardboard tubes, paper plates, foam tubing for pipe insulation, blocks, etc) to create a track for the ball to move in two different ways.

Duration: One 60 minute session

Materials:MarblesFound materials (cardboard tubes, foam insulation tubingMasking tape

Procedure:Students experiment with small balls or marbles to learn how to make them move in different ways (rolling straight, turning, dropping, stopping), then use found materials (cardboard tubes, foam tubing for pipe insulation, blocks, etc) to create a track for the ball to move in two different ways.

Assessment:Students learn to make the marble move in a variety of directions




Title of lesson: Terrarium


Science content statement addressed:Life ScienceBasic Needs of Living ThingsLiving things have basic needs, which are met by obtaining

materials from the physical environment.Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs.

Overview: Students study the needs of a green plant (marigold?) and design a terrarium that will provide a plant with its basic needs.

Duration:

Materials:

Procedure:Students study the needs of a green plant (marigold?) and design a terrarium that will provide a plant with its basic needs.

Assessment:Students will understand the basic needs of plants through the construction and study of a terrarium.

The following activity is adapted from the book GrowLab®: A Complete Guide to Gardening in the Classroom. This book provides everything you and your students need to know about indoor gardening, from planning and planting an indoor garden to tackling pests and other challenges. Click here for more information or to order this book.

Copyright© 2006 National Gardening Association




Activity: Building a Terrarium

The following activity is adapted from the book GrowLab®: A Complete Guide to Gardening in the Classroom. This book provides everything you and your students need to know about indoor gardening, from planning and planting an indoor garden to tackling pests and other challenges. Click here for more information or to order this book.

Introduction

A terrarium is a miniature garden grown inside a covered glass or plastic container. It is a low maintenance way to incorporate plants into your classroom and an excellent tool for teaching children about the water cycle as it demonstrates evaporation, condensation and precipitation. In the presence of light and heat, water evaporates from the plants through transpiration and from the soil. Since it is an enclosed environment, when the water vapor hits the side of the container, it condenses. Once enough water accumulates or the temperature decreases, the condensation will then precipitate down the sides of the container back into the soil.

How to Build a Terrarium

Reuse a plastic soda bottle as a terrarium.

1. Find an appropriate container. Glass jars, fish bowls and tanks, clear plastic bottles and food containers, and the like can all make fine terrariums. Just make sure you have enough room to reach your hand into your container for planting and maintenance.

You may choose to create one large terrarium as a class project (using a large fish tank perhaps) or you may opt to have students make smaller individual terrariums. Many teachers make terrariums by cutting off the tops of large, clear plastic soda bottles, leaving a container that is approximately 8 inches tall. After planting in the soda bottles, you can either tape the top back onto the soda bottle or just cover it tightly with plastic.

2. Clean the container using soapy water and rinse well. Dry completely.




3. Cover the bottom of the container with ½ inch (for small containers) to 1-1/2 inch (for large containers) of pea gravel for drainage. This mimics the bedrock found under our soils and allows access water to drain from the soil.

You can also add a few granules of filtering charcoal (not the type used for barbecuing) to the top of the gravel to help remove odors. The charcoal is optional and is not needed if your terrarium maintains proper moisture levels.

4. Next fill the container to approximately one-third to one-half full with moist potting mix. The amount of soil you put in will depend on the size of the container (you need to have enough room for plant roots).

You should use a sterilized potting soil mix to avoid problems with molds and fungi (small bags of potting soil are available at most garden centers). The moisture level of the soil when you put it into your terrarium is very important. Pour the soil into a bowl or tub and mix with water until the soil is moist enough to cling together in a ball when pressed into the hand. If water drips from the soil when pressed into a ball, then it is too wet and you should add more dry potting soil to your mixture. Once you find the perfect balance, place the soil in your container. Try to avoid getting soil particles stuck on the sides of the container above the soil level.

Many potting mixes contain slow release fertilizers. If the soil you purchased does not contain any fertilizer you may want to add a small number of slow release fertilizer pellets or some organic fertilizer like worm castings to your mix before planting. You want your plants to stay small and grow slowly, so you do not need much.

5. Next add your plants. You need to look for plants that are small, slow growing, and perform well in humid environments. How you arrange the plants will depend on the size and location of the terrarium. If you will be viewing the terrarium from one side, then place the tallest plants in the back and shortest plants in the front. If your terrarium will be viewed from all sides or you plan to rotate it, plant the tallest plants in the middle and the shorter plants along the outside.

There is a wide range of plants to choose from. Most garden centers have an area reserved for indoor plants and you can usually find a variety of plants in 2 to 4 inch pots. Some recommended plants to use include:




African violet artillery fern false aralia jade plant miniature peperomia nerve plantoxalis pink polka dot plant prayer plant small ferns small peace lilies small philodendronsspider plant strawberry begonia Swedish ivy

These are just a few suggestions. Experiment with different plants. If they appear to grow too vigorously or respond poorly to the humidity, remove them and try something new. You can also try growing plants from seeds and cuttings.

6. In addition to plant material, you can also allow your students to be creative and add other objects to create mini-landscape scenes. For instance you may want to add decorative rocks, small animal figurines, small bridges or mirrors to look like mini ponds

7. After planting, attach the container lid or cover with plastic. Place the terrarium in a windowsill with indirect lighting or under grow lights. Do not place it in strong direct sunlight or water will evaporate too quickly and plants may scorch.

Observe your terrarium closely for the first few days to make sure you have the proper moisture level.

You’ll know that the terrarium contains the right amount of water if the sides and top get misty with water droplets when in bright light. If there is no moisture along the sides, then you need to add some more water. If the sides are always very wet and it is hard to see the plants, then there’s too much water and you should remove the top for a few hours and allow some of the excess water to evaporate. Once you achieve the perfect balance, it will not need frequent attention.

8. Check on your terrarium periodically. Prune or remove plants with excessive growth. You want to avoid plant leaves touching the sides of the container as much as possible to prevent constant water sitting on the foliage. Also check on the moisture levels as some water may be lost over time.



title of lesson: - duplin county schools / · web viewtitle of lesson: paper tower grade...

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