Structures & Mechanisms
Grade 7: Structures & Mechanisms
Form & Function
For PDSB Educators: if you are looking to reach out to the Peel Field Centres for further ways to connect your learning to the environment visit the PDSB Field Centre Share Point site.
Nature Journaling: I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of...
Nature Journaling is an incredible tool for students to investigate the form and function of various species and how this enable their survival. Their nature journal allows them to write/draw their observations helping to cement the concepts being taught.
At this age all three prompts "I notice..., I wonder...?, and "It reminds me of..." become very intuitive. However the statement "I wonder..." becomes very important at this age all the way up to 18 years as students deepen their understanding of the world around them. Encourage students to begin writing using single words, simple sentences, lists, point form, paragraphs and even poetry. Please note that spelling is not a focus in the nature journal. At this age you may start to see art fears - please ensure you are re-iterating it is not about a pretty picture. It is about their observations. Please see the link feedback at the bottom of this lesson for tips on this. Using words, pictures and numbers allows the students multiple tools to document their observations. With permission Bethan Burton has allowed us to link to her website as she has written a blog post for Teaching nature journaling at all ages.
Here are some more ideas to get you started.
Engage the fives senses (whenever possible)
Make leaf prints ( paint the leaf and press the print into the journal)
Make leaf rubbings
Trace the items they are looking at
Add leaves into the journal using tape
Count the birds/squirrels/insects etc.
Measure as much of the phenomena as the students can using non standard and standard units of measurement.
Here is a downloadable lesson from John (Jack) Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren book: How to Teach Nature Journaling. All resources shared with permission. "I Notice..., I Wonder...?, It Reminds me of..."
GIVING FEEDBACK here is a fantastic resource from Jack and Emilie
NOTE: You are encourage to spend time in the outdoors Nature Journaling. However, you can also bring nature inside, look out your wonder window, have a refrigerator Safari or even observe a house plant or pet.
Strong Structures
This activity requires the student to do some online research. They can use E-books through PDSB BYOD or other sources.
Look around inside or outside your home at the items that have structure. Pick one item like a chair, table, shelf, tree or shed.
For your item study and explore the following:
How does the structure support its load?
What materials is it made of?
Is the structure doing what it is intended to do?
Is the structure safe?
What type of structure is it? solid structure (e.g., a tree or dam), frame structure (e.g., goal posts, tables, chairs), or shell structure (e.g., airplane wings)
What forces act upon it? external forces (e.g., wind, gravity, earthquakes) and internal forces (tension, compression, shear, and torsion)
What factors could cause your structure to fail?
Now that you have studied structures the next step is to build one of your own. Look around your house for materials to use (marshmallows, spaghetti, popsicle sticks, elastics, paper clips, recycling items such as cardboard or foam). The CHALLENGE is to build a structure using the best items to support a weight. When finished building your item, test it out and share what you have learned with a partner.
Based on your conclusions, research how natural structures have influenced how we build human made structures.
NOTE: This can be used with the Nature Journaling activity at the top of the page.