Electrical Charge Literacy

Literacy in Interactions

Karyn McConachie (Eppler Junior High) and Jennifer Marriott (Jeanette Junior High)

Brief Project Description

Over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, 9th grade students will explore the electrostatic interactions of objects by using the activities from within the Interactions Curriculum from Concord Consortium. During our 10-week unit, students will demonstrate their understanding of the interactions of charged and uncharged objects by completing an Instructional video with script following the initial four activities within Investigation 1 of the curriculum. Within the second investigation, students will work to do more self-directed activities and research to create an Infographic showing their level of comprehension of the factors that affect how strongly objects interact with each other. As a final assessment for this project, students will be required to complete a written assignment using the RAFTS format where they will answer our overall inquiry questions.

Inquiry Questions for Students

Overall: Why do some clothes stick together when they come out of the dryer?
Why do some things stick together and others things don't?
What are the factors that affect the interactions between objects?

NGSS Standards Addressed

HS-PS2-4 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.

HS-PS3-5 Energy

Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.

Cross Cutting Concepts

Patterns, Cause and Effect

Science and Engineering Practices

Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking, Developing and Using Models

CCSS Standards Addressed

Writing

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

W.9-10.2a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

W.9-10.2b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

W.9-10.2c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.

W.9-10.2d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

W.9-10.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

W.9-10.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research

Range of Writing

10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

W.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Speaking & Listening

Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

SL.9-10.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

ISTE Standards Addressed:

1. Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

1d Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

2. Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

2b Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.

2c Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.

3. Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

3a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.

3d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

4. Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

4b Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.

4c Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

5. Computational Thinker: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.

5c Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.

6. Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

6a Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

6b Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

6c Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.

6d Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

7. Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

7a Students use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning.

7c Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

Project Outline

Provide an overview of the lessons and activities

Prior knowledge

After the first four sections of Investigation 1, students will be able to:

1. Identify that some objects have charge

2. Identify how charges interact with charged and/or uncharged objects

3. Determine the charge of an object

Lesson 1

Students will create an instructional video following a student made script demonstrating their knowledge of Investigation 1.

1. A written script will be submitted and reviewed with teacher.

2. Video showing their demonstration will be done with phone or computer. Possibly technology usage could include Common Craft or Windows Movie Maker.

**Video will be shared with teacher via Microsoft OneDrive or link provided through school email.

**Completed video will not show student faces so they may be shared between Eppler & Jeannette Junior High Schools

Lesson 2

Students will use create an Infograph after completing an inquiry to solve: "What factors affect how strongly objects interact with each other?"

1. Students will use the Concord Consortium student portal to complete Investigation 2.

2. Students will use 'Piktochart' to demonstrate the knowledge acquired.

**Students will have five school days and two weekend days to complete and submit electronically via OneDrive.

**Investigation 2 will be completed on their own or with one partner.

**Samples and a cheat sheet will be given to provide examples of how to setup.

**Grading will be done using a given rubric.

Lesson 3

At the end of Part 1, students will complete a written RAFTS assessment which will demonstrate their understanding of Investigations 1 & 2 (Unit 1).

1. Students must demonstrate the key concepts of charge type, their possible interactions, and provide the factors that affect them.

**Students will be given examples and a copy of the RAFTS introduction sheet

**Grading will done using a given rubric.

Provide a list of opportunities for data collection

Collecting Background Knowledge & Lesson 1

Activities 1.1 through 1.4 have numerous opportunities for students to collect data pertaining to the behavior of the interactions between two charged objects and between a charged and uncharged object. Students will also collect data about the type (positive/negative). All of this data will be used to create an Instructional Video to demonstrate their understanding.

Lesson 2

Following the creation of the Instructional Video, students will work to investigate and evaluate their own data to help them synthesize the effects of distance and amount of charge built up on objects interacting.