PLE Week 7--Science Challenge

This week we created a science challenge where we use technology to teach a science principle. I chose to create an activity for 2nd graders to use. I am basing my activity on the Utah Core Curriculum, 2nd Grade, Science, Standard 3, Objective 2b: Measure, record, graph, and report changes in local weather. We will be focusing on measuring and graphing the information about the weather.

As an activity we will record the weather every day for a week as a class. The students will then record the weather for a week on their own using Kidspiration 3. They will use a science activity on Kidspiration where weather can be recorded. This is a fun, interactive computer program where pictures and words are used to record weather. After collecting data for a week on their own (using pictures and words) and bringing their findings to class the, class will graph the information using a bar graph to see what weather happened the most during the two weeks.

The pedagogy behind this is is very simple...collecting data will be the activity. The class collects data about weather for a week together. This is to model how to correctly collect and record information. The students are then able to experiment with data recording on their own. They record weather for a week using pictures and descriptions. They will then bring their information to class. Using the two weeks worth of weather, as a class a bar graph will be created. This is a good introduction on how to graph information that the students have collected. This is a good fit for the activity because the teacher is modeling correct use of how to collect and record data and the students are able to experience hands-on, personal collecting of data. Kidspiration is a wonderful fit for this activity because it is simple and easy to use. It allows for any kind of weather to be described in a simple way.

This activity uses dynamic representation because the students are viewing things using technology and they are able to manipulate the technology. It is interactive and allows them to add information to it. This is good for this activity because students are able to collect data on their own; hands-on experience always makes something more meaningful.