Next Gen Sci Guy

In Brief: In this activity NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) aligned activity, students 1) use a website to design and simulate the performance of three different wind turbines, 2) use the data to design their own turbines (using simple materials), 3) construct a wind turbine, 4) test the ability of the wind turbine to lift a small object 5) use simple formulas to calculate the power of their turbine, 6) evaluate their design Time Frame: This lab usually takes two classes or so (obvio

This activity proceeds as follows: 1. Students brainstorm about why it is important to estimate the population of organisms 2. Students learn how to estimate population using the “sampling” technique 3. Students learn how to estimate population using the “mark and recapture” technique 4. Students design a study to estimate a real population, and carry out their study. 5. Extension Activity: Students read an article about the overfishing of Bluefin tuna, which is down to 4% of the population that

Peppered Moth Activity – Grades 3 through 8 The language, depth, vocabulary, data representation, and size of the activity has been differentiated to meet learners 3rd through 8th grade. In this activity NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) aligned activity, students (Part 1:) Read background information on camouflage, evolution, and the peppered moth. In Part 2, students use manipulatives to inform a hypothesis about how well the peppered moths will survive in differing forest landscapes.

In this activity NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) aligned activity, students (Part 1:) design and carry out a study to calculate how much water will be saved if they turn the water off while brushing their teeth, and (Part 2:) design and carry out a loner-term study at home to calculate how much water can be conserved. The lesson proceeds as follows: 1. First, students watch a short video on water conservation, and the growing water shortage crisis worldwide. They answer a few questi

This activity proceeds as follows: 1. First, learn about the theory of Tragedy of the Commons, using a short video link 2. Then students describe a real-world example using a website (provided) as a resource 3. Then students walk around the school (in pairs), or as an entire class (teacher lead), and must identify examples of Tragedy of the Commons around the school 4. Students generate possible solutions to the problem areas that they located 5. In conclusion, students choose two real-wor

In Brief: The lab proceeds as follows: 1. Students briefly research Berlese Funnels, and answer some basic questions about the setup of the apparatus. 2. Students design their Berlese Funnel on paper, including proposed materials, sizes, and arrangement 3. Students collect material (soil or leaf litter) for the funnel, and collect data over several days 4. Students attempt to identify the organisms they have trapped using a dichotomous key 5. Students evaluate their design. A. NEXT GENERATION

Brief: In this Next Generation Science Standards Aligned lab, students write rules for a game that simulates how a food chain works. They play two games: In Game 1, they play their first iteration of rules, taking 12 rounds of population data, and graphing the data. In Game 2, students play revised rules; tweaking their original set of rules to make the game a better model for a real ecosystem. They, again, graph their data, and analyze the results by answering conclusion questions. This ac