Science and Integrated Art Curriculum for 6th Grade Marine Science

Class 1 (11/17/2004)

• Wrap up examination and discussion of "mystery boxes":
  • basic theme of each - different sciences
  • teamwork among scientists sharing ideas
  • oceanographic expedition & team: sailors, maintenance staff, reporters, writers, photographers, filmmakers, SCIENTISTS
• Riddles, magic tricks, and mysteries are fun!
• Seeing a magic trick and figuring out the mystery of how it works combines all this fun
• Nature does magic tricks, and scientists are people who figure out the mystery of how those tricks work
• Not just for fun - sometimes these mysteries must be solved for our very survival! (e.g. death of Jamaica Bay, global warming)
• Complicated mysteries need teamwork, with specialists of all sorts working together

Class 2 (11/24/2004)

• Take out "GEOLOGIST", "CHEMIST" and "CONCHOLOGIST" mystery boxes and review w class (w TV pix?) (also bring in more: e,g, coral, seastar)
• Repeat "magic trick" of chalk from nowhere, have the students do it themselves, observe record, discuss
• Seashells and adaptation - examine a range of CaCO₃ shells &c. in Nature (mollusks, echinoderms, coral, chalk)
• Investigate other carbonates via reaction with vinegar: NaHCO₃, chalk of experiment, & from board, limestone, shells
• Talk about how chalk and limestone formed
• Have them examine NaCl salt crystals & brine shrimp eggs w naked eye, then microscope (via camera & TV?) - describe and draw!

Class 3 (12/01/2004)

• Review last week's experiments with "salty chalk soda" - solicit explanations of "mysteries" (e.g. salts disappear, then reappear)
• Discussion of measurements as type of observation, with numbers and UNITS
• English and metric system ideas; metric basis on powers of 10
• Preliminary study and practice measurement:
  • measure water with a graduated cylinder
  • measure salt (or baking soda) with triple-beam balance (including "tare" for paper under the salt)

Class 4 (Tuesday 12/07/2004 by special arrangement)

• Experimental methods - dissolve salt (measurements of weight, volume of water), observe, record (write, draw, etc.), compare results with other groups
• Compare and contrast to melting of ice
• Try to explain what happens (Hypothesis)
• Scientific method - develop a system to test guesses/hypotheses
• Solicit hypotheses re disappearing, crystal shape

Class 5 (12/15/2004)

• Get them to describe process of dissolving - breaking into small pieces
• Get them to name and describe atoms and molecules
• Make molecular models of NaCl, H₂O (HANDS-ON ACTIVITY)
• Heat as atomic/molecular jiggling motion
• Solutions - the "solution" to the mystery of the disappearing salt
• Predictions of our hypotheses
• Try cold vs. hot water for dissolving salt (be sure to record observations!)
• Other predictions of our theory of heat and atoms (e.g. melting, boiling, expansion, hammering a nail)
• Leave some of salt water from experiments in evaporation trays, for daily observation and description in diaries (write & draw!)

Class 6 (12/22/2004)

• Examine evaporation tray, describe & record present state - on TV if possible, & pictures for Web pages later
• Energy: different kinds (motion, heat, Sunlight, chemical, electrical), interconversion, needed for life processes
• Fuels and burning
• How life uses atoms to capture energy (& HANDS-ON molecular modelling of it)
  • photosynthesis
  • respiration

Class 7 (1/5/2005)

• Bring in (minimal - few animals, a bit of alga) brine shrimp aquaria, one for examination by each group (promise they'll make their own anon) - keep diary on them! written descriptions and drawings
• Project aquarium on TV, then distribute to groups for close-up examination
• Distribute cameras after describing use; each student takes picture of their best work
• Group uses camera, paper & pen[cils], &c. to make report on ideas discussed so far
• Brine shrimp aquaria as closed systems, but for inflow of Sun energy

Class 8 (1/12/2005)

• "Cartoon" of ecosystem to capture main ideas graphically:
  • Sun and energy (light, heat, motion)
  • plants and photosynthesis: H₂O + CO₂ -> "carbo-hydrate" CH₂O + O₂
  • animals and respiration ("burning fuel"): CH₂O + O₂ -> H₂O + CO₂
• Announce "play" next time
Remind of aquaria, announce their return to class in near future

Class 9 (1/19/2005)

• "Play" of photosynthesis and respiration, w students acting as C, 2H, 3O, Sun. plant, animal
• Repeat "puppet show" in parallel to reinforce ideas in model form

Class 10 (1/26/2005)

• Review play, "quiz", molecule models, and fill-in-the-blanks observation guide for shrimpwatch through week
• Distribute aquaria, emphasize relation to "cartoon" and play - what will the shrimp need to survive?
• "Slide show" with brine shrimp life cycle; have them draw what they see
• TV "slide show" of pictures students made two weeks ago, and description of how these can be used as "frames" of Web version of "cartoon"

Class 11 (2/2/2005)

• Soda-water vs. water: what's the difference?
• pH testing for CO₂ detection (Bromthymol blue) - test on soda
• Testing breath
• CO₂ solubility, & effects of water temperature
• Hypothesis as to why cold dissolves better than hot
• Implications for aquaria

Class 12 (2/9/2005)

• WiFi laptops for "quiz game" to assess and reinforce material learned in corse of the workshops
• Backup activity if computers don't work properly: "Float the Potato"
• If time & TV: slide show of artemia life cycle