Using the “Window” inTeaching Science

Gary Carlin, CFN 603917-714-7448

gcarlin@schools.nyc.gov

System of 4: The “Window”

1. Start Entry (Basic) Task Collect Information Open Opposite A

2.

Collect Information Open Opposite B

3.

Closed Process/Thought Conclusion

4. Finish Most Challenging Task Closed Process/Thought Next

Observations

Color: Major Shape: Outline

Size: Estimate or Other Object

Connection

Pictures Tell Stories

1. Always Start with Observations (see)2. Explain the “Action”3. Make a Connection4. Ask a Question

1-Picture Story: Fluorescent Light

RedY2O3

GreenCeMgAl9O19

BlueBaMgAl10O17

White Light

Hge-UV Radiation UV Absorptive Coating Noble Gas

O-A-C-Q

Observations (O) Action (A)

Connections (C) Questions (Q)

Object/Process• A Mature Forest Community …

… includes … … provides …

… is important because …

… will most likely …

Object/Process• Oceanic crust …

… is … … contains …

… often … … is involved in …

DDC: Define, Describe, ConnectLE: Avian (Bird) Flu

ES: Is the Earth Gaining Weight?

Virus-------------------------

Earth

Vaccine-------------------------

Dust Strain-------------------------

Asteroids

Respiratory Tract-------------------------

Comets

Guided +NotesPower plan calls for windmills

off beach

Windmill Power

Energy Fear

Connect Asbestos to …

Mineral Fiber

Exposure Risk/Threat

Conduct An ExperimentVariable:

Hypothesis:

Procedure (• steps)

Conclusion(s) Test Next:

• An investigation was carried out to determine the effect of temperature on the rate of cellular respiration in yeast. Five experimental groups, each containing five fermentation tubes, were set up. The fermentation tubes all contained the same amounts of water, glucose, and yeast. Each group of five tubes was placed in a water bath at a different temperature. After 30 minutes, the amount of gas produced (D) in each fermentation tube was measured in milliliters. The average for each group was calculated. A sample setup and the data collected are shown below.

• 10 The diagram below shows a laboratory setup. The rubber band holds filter paper across the base of the open tube to hold the soil sample. The tube was placed in the water as shown. The upward movement of water is represented by arrows. The height of the water that moved upward within the soil was measured. Students repeated this procedure using soils with different particle sizes. Results of the experiment are shown in the data table.

Humans Cause ChangeHuman Activity Location

Species Change(s)

• 13 In an area of Indonesia where the ocean floor is littered with empty coconut shells, a species of octopus has been filmed “walking” on two of its eight tentacles. The remaining six tentacles are wrapped around its body. Scientists suspect that, with its tentacles arranged this way, the octopus resembles a rolling coconut. Local predators, including sharks, seem not to notice the octopus as often when it behaves in this manner. This unique method of locomotion has lasted over many generations due to

• (1) competition between octopuses and their predators

• (2) ecological succession in marine habitats• (3) the process of natural selection• (4) selective breeding of this octopus species

Tell Me About the …Material(s)Object(s)People

Process(es)

Location(s)Time

ProblemQuestion

Old Man’s Loss Felt in New Hampshire

• FRANCONIA, N.H. — Crowds of visitors were drawn to Franconia Notch on Sunday to mourn the loss of New Hampshire’s well-known symbol — the Old Man of the Mountain granite profile.

• The 700-ton natural formation was just a pile of rocks after breaking loose from its 1,200-foot-high mountainside perch. It was unclear when the outcropping fell because clouds had obscured the area Thursday and Friday; a state park trail crew discovered the collapse Saturday morning.

• The famous mountain’s history dates millions of years. Over time, nature carved out a 40-foot-tall profile resembling an old man’s face, and it eventually became New Hampshire’s most recognizable symbol.

MC: Living Environment

OrganismStructureMaterial Location

ProcessEvent

DefinitionExampleDescription

ReasonResult

Comparison

MC: Earth Science

Location Movement

ProcessAction

ESRT