INVENTION!
By
Dr. Bob Valiant
Children are great inventors. They have not developed the inhibitions that restrict many of us from exploring far-out ideas and novel solutions. The trick is to come up with ideas for what to invent and then to organize for possible solutions. Here are some ideas for the teacher and for the students to come up with some exciting new inventions.
Scientific Inquiry Performance Tasks
Task Author: Judy T. Sweeney
Task Title: How Surface Area Affects Evaporation
Grade Level: 3 Foss Kit Title Water Activity #3
Earth/Space Science Grade3 benchmark
Brief Overview of Task:
Students will design an investigation exploring how surface area affects evaporation.
Targeted Benchmark:
Identify and describe examples of change over time. Read more…
Designing learning environments involves many people across a wide range of disciplines but must include, in our opinion, a much greater role for the clients (teachers, students, and parents) who will actually use the building. We have outlined here a process that we believe gets planning off on the right foot. The process is ordinarily called the development of Educational Specifications. Read more…
Native American Culture Curriculum Unit 8.5
SPONSORED BY THE FRONTIER LEARNING NETWORK, NCESD
Task Author: Bob Valiant
Task Title: Visitors From the East
Grade Level: 6-8 Activity # 8.5
History Grade 8 benchmark
Brief Overview of Task:
Students will use the PBS Lewis and Clark video as well as online, print, and other resources to develop a graphic display of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with an account of tribes encountered, geography, plants, animals, and weather. Wherever possible, they will present events both from the point of view of the explorers and of the Native Americans they meet along the way. The product will be a graphic display of the events of the journey. Each student will identify a one-month portion of the trip and will write a narrative of the journey from the perspective of either one of the explorers or of one of the Native Americans they meet.
Targeted Benchmark:
Represent and interpret data and chronological relationships from history using time lines and narratives.
Identify and create chronologies of events.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL PROJECT, CLICK HERE
Native American Culture Curriculum Unit 8.4
SPONSORED BY THE FRONTIER LEARNING NETWORK, NCESD
Task Author: Bob Valiant
Task Title: In the Bag
Grade Level: 6-8 Activity # 8.4
Geography Grade 8 benchmark
Brief Overview of Task:
Students will be given the problem of transporting goods from one place to another. They will be given a quantity of local materials to design and construct containers for this purpose. They will then research methods used by Plateau Indians to construct baskets and other containers. A paper will be written describing the availability of resources as a factor influencing cultural characteristics such as basket making or art.
Targeted Benchmark:
Identify and compare physical and human characteristics of major regions and significant places in the world.
Recognize relationships between the physical and cultural characteristics of a place or region.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL PROJECT, CLICK HERE Read more…
Native American Culture Curriculum Unit 8.3
SPONSORED BY THE FRONTIER LEARNING NETWORK, NCESD
Task Author: Bob Valiant
Task Title: A Trip to the Market
Grade Level: 7-8 Activity # 8.3
Geography Grade 8 benchmark
Brief Overview of Task:
Now that the band has horses, their range is greatly increased. Students plan a trip to Celilo from their home location including possible routes, travel time, stopping points, etc. Once at Celilo they try to determine the kinds of goods they can trade for. The primary challenge is to determine the reasons for the location of “Oregon’s Oldest Town.”
Targeted Benchmark:
Identify and compare physical and human characteristics of major regions and significant places in the world. Locate and identify population centers and geographic reasons for their locations.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL PROJECT, CLICK HERE Read more…
Native American Culture Curriculum Unit 8.2
SPONSORED BY THE FRONTIER LEARNING NETWORK, NCESD
Task Author: Bob Valiant
Task Title: Mapping Your Space
Grade Level: 6-8 Activity # 8.2
Geography Grade 8 benchmark
Brief Overview of Task:
Students will be given a problem to solve as a member of an Indian band (circa 1750) located on the site of their community. Given information regarding the “seasonal cycle” of the local band, they will be asked to solve the problem. The students will then explore various resources to learn how Native Americans used the land and its resources to solve the problem. Since horses arrive in the region about 1750 students are asked to predict how use of the horse would affect the solutions already devised.
Targeted Benchmark:
Identify economic, cultural, and environmental factors that affect population and predict how the population would change as a result.
FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL PROJECT, CLICK HERE Read more…