The following documents are available below:
1) Systems EALRs grades 4 & 5
2) Force and Motion EALRs grades 4 & 5
Review of forces using this scenario: A wood block is sliding across a floor and slowing down.
~In our free body diagram, we only show the forces acting on the block, not the forces applied by the block to the floor.
Energy "Rules":
The total amount of energy remains the same (energy is not created or destroyed)
Energy is contained in objects
Energy can move from one object to another [Transfer]
Energy is of different forms and can change from one form to another [Transformation]
Energy "Rules" in the context of biological systems:
Chemical energy is stored in a substance (the molecules) of an object, not the object as a whole.
Chemical energy transfers happen when molecules rearrange (when a substances change)
The matter (atoms) of the molecules does not transform into energy, and energy does not transform into the material. In all chemical reactions, rearrangements of molecules happen, but the same amount of material is present before the transformation as there is after the transformation.
Often, each time chemical energy is transferred in living systems, some of it is concurrently transformed into thermal energy.
Biology Energy Scenarios
Use pictures, diagrams, energy theater, etc. to identify energy transfers and transformations in the following scenarios:
Scenario 1 - A person eats cooked pasta, then runs a marathon
Scenario 2 - Person eats pasta for several weeks and gains weight; later the person fasts for several days, drinking only water, while carrying out typical actvities (e.g., walking)
Scenario 3 - A plant grows
Scenario 4 - Food chain from grass > cricket > bird
Reflection prompts for Monday, June 28:
What is a learning you will remember 6 months from now? How did you learn this?
Were there times when you just wanted the instructor to tell you what you were supposed to see or learn? Why did you feel this way? Do your students ever feel this way? Do you still feel this way?
Is the way this class is being taught consistent with how you think people learn? If so how? If not how is it different from the how you think people learn?
Homework
~Think about a few scenarios related to your curriculum: 1) How you will you help your students understand the energy flow through those scenarios? 2) What questions or concerns do you have about teaching students the energy ideas in these scenarios?
~Read book excerpt "Who Eats Whom?" from The 10-Minute Ecologist.
~Also, if you have not done the Diagnoser question set on forces, please complete tonight so we can discuss tomorrow. (Your log-in information was handed out on Friday.)