Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Standards
1. Putty Experiment:
a. 2 containers (1 smaller than the other, preferably a film
canister)
b. Water
c. Food colouring
d. PVA glue (a type of white glue also known as Elmer's
glue)
e. Borax solution (ratio of about 1 Tbsp of borax to a cup
of water)
2. Elephant Toothpaste
1) A clean 16 ounce plastic soda bottle
2) 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (20volume is a 6% solution, ask an adult to get this from a
beauty supply store or hair salon)
3) 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast
4) 3 Tablespoons of warm water
5) Liquid dish washing soap
6) Food coloring
7) Small cup
8) Safety goggles
3. Soda/Mentos Experiment:
1) Large bottle of Diet Coke
2) About half a pack of Mentos
3) Geyser tube (optional but makes things much easier)
4. Procedural instructions handout for both putty and
elephant toothpaste experiment
Procedures
Resources/References
putty instructions:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/crazyputty.ht
ml
elephant toothpaste: https://sciencebob.com/fantasticfoamy-fountain
soda/mentos:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/dietcokeme
ntos.html
standards:
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standards/scie
nce/2010-Science-Grade05.pdf
Part B
When we started brainstorming about our project, we wanted to do something unique
and interesting that the kids would really enjoy. We considered doing something with horticulture
and take the kids to the greenhouses, but instead decided to focus our lesson around chemical
reactions and the scientific method. We thought that demonstrating some cool experiments
would get the kids interested in the lesson and would be something they would share with their
parents. We used Google to find kid friendly science websites to find the procedures for these
experiments.
The experiments that are conducted in our lesson plan are inspired by our personal
experience. The experiments used in the lesson are experiments we have personally conducted
as children or even young adults. We remembered doing these experiments for a reason;
because they are engaging, enjoyable, and impactful. This is why we were inspired to include
these chemical reactions in our lessons, because we feel that if we remembered them then
other children would be likely to remember and enjoy them as well.
References list
Science Bob. (n.d.) Fantastic foam fountain. Retrieved from
https://sciencebob.com/fantastic-foamy-fountain/
Science Experiments for Kids. (2015, February 6). Crazy putty. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/crazyputty.html
Science Experiments for Kids. (2015, February 6). Diet Coke and Mentos eruption. Retrived
from http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/dietcokementos.html
Part D
Ejiwale, J. A. (2012). Facilitating teaching and learning across STEM fields. Journal of STEM
Education: Innovations and Research, 13(3), 87-95.
This article is addresses the need for a paradigm shift in the way teachers teach STEM.
Teachers are no longer dictators in the classroom but instead become facilitators. More
importantly, the article goes on to focus on how teachers can be effective facilitators of this new
kind of educational experience. It suggests that teachers realize that their methodology matters
and the correct answer is less important than how they got the answer. It also suggest lessons
be tied to the real world, teachers think on their feet and use teachable moments and finally
that students are engaged in their learning experiences. A large part of our lesson is designed
around these concepts. For example, in developing if/then statements, we want to students to
create their own, and as long as they have all the parts and its a reasonable prediction, what
they actual predict matters less than the process of writing the statement themselves.
Morrison, J., Bartlett, R. V. (2009). STEM as a Curriculum. Education Week, 28(23), 28-31.
This interesting and informative article suggests that teachers already know how to teach
STEM, but theres a far better way to integrate it into the classroom than teaching the individual
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Benefits:
Creating the objectives first gave us a vision for what our lesson/procedures would look like. It
gave us a foundation for success.
Looking at fifth grade standards gave us a basis to the start of the lesson plan. This gave us an
outlook.
Using the fifth grade standards allowed us to set a goal for what we wanted our lesson to cover
and what we wanted students to learn overall.
Challenges:
Making the procedures match up with the objectives was challenging at points. We had to make
sure we were veering away from what we want our students to learn from the lesson.
Having young students perform a chemical experiment in a lab is challenging, because we want
the children to have responsibility of doing the experiment, but we want them to remain safe in
the process. Because of this, developing the procedures was a challenge because we had to
decide how much responsibility to give to the students, and what responsibilities we were going
to give to the mentors.
Locating fifth grade science standards that could be used for an engaging lesson was initially
challenging. The scientific method does not seem like an interesting topic, but we have
managed to create a lesson that involves fun and excitement while also effectively teaching the
scientific method, covering the fifth grade standard.