Crystal P. LaVoie
I hope to spend some time discussing pollution that directly touches the lives of the students. Almost every student can relate to a trip to the gas station and the rising costs of filling a tank. They know from experience that an SUV will use more gasoline than a small compact car. Students need to realize that individuals and their governments can act to decrease the negative effects of the technologies so important to our thriving societies.
Many of these current issues can become the focus of homework after we have discussed concepts and terms in class. Students will read excerpts and look at charts and graphs from current news articles and magazines about relevant topics including gas prices, oil reserves, alternative heat sources, and global warming. We will talk about the homework assignments, both before and after the assignment is completed. These charts and graphs can be found in many of the resources in the bibliography and can be reproduced for classroom use. As the topics of fuel cells, hybrid cars, high oil prices and nonrenewable fuel supplies become increasingly mentioned on the news and in major newspapers, teachers and students can keep an eye out for current material to use in class. A possible homework assignment could also be to have students keep a running record with summaries of news articles and radio and television reports on the topic of pollution, the environment and fossil fuel issues that they encounter over the course of the unit.
Lesson Plan One: What is the greenhouse effect?
Rationale:
In order to access prior knowledge from the students, a brainstorming activity will be done first, followed by a lab where students begin to acquire their own knowledge about how the greenhouse effect works on earth.
Objectives:
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1) Students will list any prior knowledge they have about the greenhouse effect, and then will list additional questions they would like to know the answers to.
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2) Students will work in groups of two or three to construct models of the greenhouse effect and analyze the effect of different variables on the internal temperatures of those environments.
Background:
I like to do a K-W-L chart before each new unit. I solicit prior knowledge from the students by giving them a "journal prompt" on the board. They copy this into their journals, then try to answer it. Once they have had 5 minutes or so to contemplate their answer, I then go around the room and list each student's response on butcher paper. I then hang the paper up somewhere in the room so that we can refer to it as we proceed through the unit. I place a big "K" at the top of that page. Next, I hand out strips of plain white paper and ask them to write 2 questions on this "sentence strip". I collect these and read over them as I hang them on butcher paper. I place a big "W" at the top of this page and hang it next to the "K" page.
The lab is set up as a coupled inquiry lab. What this means is that I give the students the first question to answer, and then ask them to come up with a second question on their own, which they then must answer experimentally. I have a complete lab packet for this that is used as a handout for students. It is too long to include in this printing, but is available as part of a resource packet upon request (crystallavoielycos.com). During the lab, the students investigate how having an atmosphere allows the temperature of the planet to increase relative to a planet with no atmosphere. Once they compare the temperatures with "atmosphere" to "no atmosphere" by constructing a line graph of their data, they then ask a different question (e.g. "How does the composition of the earth itself affect the global temperature?) that they answer in a similar way. The second part of the lab will carry over into the second lesson.
Procedure:
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1) Journal prompt: What do you know about the phenomenon called "the greenhouse effect"? (allow students 5 minutes to think and write in their journals).
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2) List students' responses on butcher paper.
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3) Ask students to complete sentence strips.
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4) Hang sentence strips on butcher paper, reading them aloud as you do.
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5) Introduce and run first part of lab.
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6) Ask students to graph their data from their first experiment.
Assessment:
Teacher will read journal entries and assess them informally for their thoughtfulness and reflection on the ideas discussed. Graphs will be assessed for accuracy and completeness.
Lesson Plan Two: What variables can affect the greenhouse effect?
Rationale:
Students continue to work through an investigation of the greenhouse effect. As they conduct their experiments, it is important to go around to each group and solicit explanations for the phenomenon that they are observing. It is important to remind them of their lessons on thermodynamics and ask them to use the correct vocabulary from those lessons in their explanations.
Objectives:
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1) Students will use the models that they have constructed to analyze the affect of some variable of their choosing on the internal temperature of their terrarium.
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2) Students will graph their data and form valid conclusions based upon that information.
Background:
In the last lab activity, the students looked at a "closed" system versus an "open" system. This modeled a planet that has an atmosphere compared with one that does not. After constructing a graph of their data, the students should have been able to conclude that a planet with an atmosphere should maintain a higher average temperature than a planet without an atmosphere. In today's lab activity, students will ask a different question and then conduct a similar experiment to analyze how another variable might affect the average temperature of a planet.
Procedure:
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1) Journal prompt: What was the difference in temperature between the closed and open systems in yesterday's experiment? Why do you think this was so? (allow students 5 minutes to respond).
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2) Discuss journal prompt. Show a model graph from one of the student groups.
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3) Introduce and run second part of lab.
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4) Have students graph new data.
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5) Ask one student from each group to present the group's data to the class. Ask the groups lots of questions to try and lead them to conclusions about the greenhouse effect.
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6) Assign lab report.
Assessment:
Teacher will read journal entries and assess them informally for their thoughtfulness and reflection on the ideas discussed. Graphs will be assessed for accuracy and completeness. Assess oral presentations for understanding and for validity of conclusions based upon data. Lab reports will be assessed as an exam grade.
Lesson Plan Three: What is the phenomenon we refer to ask the greenhouse effect and how does it contribute to global warming?
Rationale:
Students will examine an overview of the phenomenon of the greenhouse effect. This will be done through a traditional lecture and note-taking session, directed by me using a power point presentation (available from resource packet). Topics that will be included in the lecture include: the greenhouse effect, the electromagnetic spectrum, evidence to support global warming on earth, comparison of the run-away greenhouse effect on Venus. Students are expected to take their own notes during the lecture. In the last 15 minutes of class, students will be given a worksheet with pertinent questions taken from the lecture. They will use their notes to answer the questions and then hand this in as a class assignment. If they do not finish during class, they can finish it for homework.
Objectives:
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1) Students will take notes from teacher-directed lecture.
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2) Students will use their notes to answer questions.
Background:
After completing the lab activity, students are starting to get an idea for how the greenhouse effect works on earth. Additionally, they have been able to draw from prior knowledge that the gained during the heat transfer unit, and can apply some of those concepts toward explaining this phenomenon. During this lesson, students are given factual information that will either support or deny the conclusions that they made during the lab activity. They will be asked to incorporate this content into their lab reports.
Procedure:
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1) Journal prompt: How does the greenhouse effect contribute to global warming on earth? (allow students 5 minutes to respond).
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2) Discuss journal prompt.
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3) Deliver lecture while students take notes.
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4) Have students answer questions using only their own notes.
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5) If time permits, go over answers. If not, assign for homework and go over answers during the next class.
Assessment:
Teacher will read journal entries and assess them informally for their thoughtfulness and reflection on the ideas discussed. Answers to questions will be assessed for accuracy and understanding.
Lesson Plan Four-Six: Is global warming really affecting our planet? What, if anything, should we do to prevent global warming?
Rationale:
Students will work in teams to conduct research on a topic that remains controversial in our political arena. To do this, students will be given access to the internet as well as print resources and each student will be assigned a specific role within the team. Planning sheets will be used to help students organize their research and also to validate their information. It is important that the facts they choose to present are confirmed by more than one source, so there is an area for this on their planning sheets (available from resource packet). Finally, each student will be asked to prepare a small (5 slide) power point presentation on the area of research they were responsible for.
Objectives:
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1) Students will choose a debate topic.
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2) Students will research their debate topic using planning sheets.
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3) Students will prepare oral arguments to defend their debate topic.
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4) Students will prepare a poster that summarizes their arguments and visually represents their stance on the issue.
Background:
I often use debates in my class to make students think more critically about a scientific issue. Debate forces them to take the knowledge that they've gained during class and apply it to a current issue. Students will be asked to prepare both the con and the pro side of the issue during the planning stage, and then on the day of the debate they will flip coins to decide which side they will actually defend. This will allow students to become "experts" on both sides of the issue, so that they will not only be able to present their side well, but can also answer the questions from the other side well.
There are many topics that could be used for a debate of this type. Some examples are:
1) Should the United States have supported the Kyoto Protocol?
2) Should the United States support and fund drilling for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge?
3) Should the United States support and fund hydrogen as an alternative fuel source?
4) Should the United States consider using nuclear fusion as an alternative to carbon fuels?
I have found that students struggle with research. For this reason it is extremely important that the teacher continue to circulate throughout the research time and redirect students that are having difficulty. It will be helpful to have a list of trustworthy websites ready for students that do not know where to begin. Also, allowing some flexibility with time will be important as sometimes this can take longer than you think it will.
Procedure:
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1) Journal prompt: Diagram the greenhouse effect as it occurs on earth. Label the diagram using the terminology we discussed during yesterday's class. (allow students 5 minutes to respond).
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2) Discuss journal prompt. Have at least two students come to the board to draw and discuss their diagrams.
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3) Introduce debate topics. Assign debate teams.
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4) Allow students to sign out computers. Distribute planning sheets. Tell students that the planning sheets will be graded in addition to the debate itself.
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5) Collect all material at the end of class and hold on to it until the next class.
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6) As student groups begin to finish their research, ask them to mock debate among themselves.
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7) Conduct debate in a traditional debate format. Have students that are observing complete assessment sheets for the teams. Ask them to indicate a "winner"
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8) Give students one class period (60 minutes) to design and complete their posters.
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9) Assign power point presentation.
Assessment:
Teacher will read journal entries and assess them informally for their thoughtfulness and reflection on the ideas discussed. Debate planning sheets will be assessed for accuracy and use of resources. Debate presentations and posters will be assessed for clarity, understanding and use of evidence. Power point presentations will be assessed for accuracy, neatness, and creativity.
