The University of Waikato Private Bag 3105 Hamilton, New Zealand 0800 WAIKATO waikato.ac.nz

1. Using picture books to open the door to investigating in science Tauranga Moana Cluster Conference Friday 1st June 2012 Mary Loveless Science Facilitator The University of Waikato Private Bag 3105 Hamilton, New Zealand 0800 WAIKATO www.waikato.ac.nz

2. What are the opportunities for: Science learning?Modelling a Blended e-Learning approach? It’s all about: partnerships, collaboration, balance, making science learning meaningful, having fun and engaging learners

3. What is the Nature of Science? The nature of sciencestrand is the overarching, unifying strand. Through it, students learn what science is and how scientists work. They develop the skills, attitudes, and values to build a foundation for understanding the world. They come to appreciate that while scientific knowledge is durable, it is also constantly re-evaluated in the light of new evidence. They learn how scientists carry out investigations, and they come to see science as a socially valuable knowledge system. They learn how science ideas are communicated and to make links between scientific knowledge and everyday decisions and actions.NZC page 28

4. What is the Nature of Science? A body of knowledge A set of methods/processes A way of knowing Reference: Teaching the Nature of Science: Three Critical Questions Randy L. Bell, Ph.D.

5. What is Science?Curly Question • You have been given three pieces of paper, which are the same size. Fill three shallow containers with water and place each of the pieces of paper carefully onto the surface of the water, one per container. Each piece should sit flat, not touching the sides of the saucer • Observe closely for 30 seconds • What is happening to each piece of paper?

6. What is Science?Frisky Fish Place the cellophane fish on the palm of your hand Observe what happens Now place the cellophane fish on a hard surface Observe what happens Dampen a paper towel by dipping it in water and squeezing out as much water as you can. Flatten the towel on the table and place the fish shape on top Observe what happens What questions do you have about what you have just observed?

7. What is the Nature of Science?Mystery boxes • Leave your box on the table and use your sense of sight to begin making their observations, not inferences. “It is red” is a valid visual observation. “It is pretty” or “It would make a nice box for a gift of fudge” are inferences. • Once you have shared your visual observations, make as many observations as you can with all your senses without opening the box. For example, feel the box, smell it and shake it to listen to it. •  Share and record your observations. Now use these observations to make a prediction about what the object(s) inside the box is. What is the Nature of Science in this activity? Reference: Science Learning Hub: http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Nature-of-Science/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Student-activity-Mystery-boxes

8. What is the Nature of Science?Scrambled Sentences • The words you have been given form one long sentence that also tells a story. The goal is to figure out the story from the words as you turn them over.   • Turn over five cards at random what do you think the story is about? (Hypothesis 1). • Turn over five more cards. What do you think the story is about now? (Hypothesis 2). Has your idea of the sentence changed with more information? • Turn over five more cards. What do you think the story is about now? (Hypothesis 3). • Turn over all the cards; do you need to revise your hypotheses? (Hypothesis 4). Why don’t you all have exactly the same sentences? What is the Nature of Science in this activity? Reference: Science Learning Hub: http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Nature-of-Science/Teaching-and-Learning-Approaches/Student-activity-Scrambled-sentence

9. Investigating in science is one of the methods or processes of the Nature of Science that focuses on students: Carrying out science investigations using a variety of approaches: classifying and identifying, pattern seeking, exploring, investigating models, fair testing, making things, or developing systems. Achievement Aim, Nature of Science NZC

10. How? Picture books are one way of engaging students with science, and introducing the key aspects of investigating in science (see The National Science Exemplars progress indicators) http://www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/sci/matrices/matrix_investigating_e.php

11. So what does:Exploring a situation Asking questionsMaking predictions Processing and interpreting Reportinglook like in a classroom using the picture book, The Man Who Walked Between The Twin Towers?The Man Who Walked Between The Twin TowersAuthor: Mordicai GersteinPublisher Roaring Brook PressISBN 0-7613-1791-0

12. Google: The Man Who Walked Between The Twin Towers for more information, images and videos The book tells the story of Philippe Petit, a young French aerialist who threw a tightrope between the two towers in 1974, and then spent almost an hour walking, dancing, and performing tricks over 402 metersupin the sky. • Twin Towers Tightrope Walk - Phillipe Petit.flv

13. What questions do you have about Philippe’s escapades?

14. Possible questions about Philippe’s escapades? • How can people walk along a narrow wire or rope? • What do they use to help them? • Could I balance on a rope? What would I need to help me balance?  • Does the type and thickness of the wire or rope matter? • What are the forces acting on the wire walker? • How can we explore these forces? • What is this thing called, ‘Centre of Mass”? (This term would need to be introduced and explored as part of investigating the physics of wire rope walking)

15. How can we find out more? Balancing Rocket; Centre of gravity / balance Using only four skewers and plasticene, make a space rocket that can balance on your finger. Can you use the long piece of wood to extend the rocket? Add another skewer to make a giraffe, or a spider! What questions do you have about your balancing object?

16. How can we find out more?Balancing Bonanza • Using the following items: • Skewers • Plasticene • Polystrene blocks • A long piece of string stretched across the room Make a balance object that uses a skewer to balance on the tightrope stretched across the room Hint: placing a small blob of plasticene on the bottom of a central skewer will increase the contact area and make balancing your creation easier

17. A Balance Object could be like this: • Insert a skewer vertically through a block of polystyrene with a short length protruding from the bottom • Insert two more skewers at an angle of about 45 degrees into the bottom of the block • Attach blobs of plasticene to these two skewers • Place your creation with the central skewer balanced on the string • Adjust the angle and length of the skewers and the size of the plasticene so that the block balances on the tightrope strung across the room Hint: placing a small blob of plasticene on the bottom of the central skewer will increase the contact area and make balancing your creation easier

18. Balancing Bonanza – Defying GravityThe Science Ideas: What’s Going On Here? Centre of mass: The point at which the whole mass of a body may be considered to be concentrated. This is the same as the centre of gravity, the point at which the whole mass of a body may be considered to act What questions do you have about your balance object? Think about: Changing masses and distances, altering angles, length of legs, and the direction of legs

19. Now What?What have we found out?What other questions do we have?How could we find out more? Could we change position or the length of the skewers on our polystyrene block, to more resemble Philippe Petit’s balancing pole?

20. Could we make a model of the towers and the tightrope?

21. What other examples can we think of where the Centre of Mass is important? For example: on the balance beam, gymnasts have to keep their centre of mass right in the middle of their bodies, otherwise they will fall off the beam.

22. Your Task: For each of the following headings: • Exploring a situation • Asking questions • Making predictions • Processing and interpreting • Reporting List the e-learning tools, processes and strategies that would support each particular stage of the science investigation process Think about: The process having a blended e-learning approach 

23. By blending science content knowledge and e-learning understandings together, we can engage and motivate students to explore and make sense of their World Science subject content knowledge E-learning tools, processes, strategies It’s all aboutpartnerships, collaboration and balance!

24. Other picture book ideas Cat and Canary: Michael Foreman (Kites) My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes: Eve Sutton (Light) The Slimy Book: Babette Cole (Properties of Materials) The Tunnel: Anthony Brown (Light) Pop’s Bridge: Eve Bunting (Bridges, Structures) How the Birds got their Colours: How The Birds Got Their Colours (Colour) Who Sank the Boat? Pamela Allen (Floating and Sinking, Buoyancy) The Paperbag Prince: Colin Thompson (Recycling) The Violin Man: Colin Thompson (Shadows) The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley: Colin Thompson and Amy Lissiat (Properties of Materials) Mr Gumpy’s Outing: John Burningham (Floating and Sinking) The Mixed-Up Chameleon: Eric Carle (Colour) The House that Grew: Jean Strathdee and Jessica Wallace (Structures)

25. Other picture book ideas The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch: Ronda and David Armitage (Balance, light, pulleys, wheels) The Legend of the Seven Whales: Mere Whaanga-Schollum (Water, Buoyancy) The Hidden Forest: Jeannie Baker (Underwater Seascapes) Cork on the Ocean: Mark Somerset (Density) The King’s Bubbles: Ruth Paul (Surface Tension) George Saves the World by Lunchtime: Jo Readman (Looking after the environment) The Three Fishing Brothers Gruff: Ben Galbraith (Management of resources) The Secret Birthday Message: Eric Carle (Secret messages, invisible ink) The Smelly Book: Babette Cole (Senses, smell) Tangaroa’s Gift: Mere Whaanga-Schollum (Sea, currents) The Man who Walked Between the Twin Towers: Mordicai Gerstein (Balance, forces)

26. Related Resources:  Figure It Out – Mathematics in science contexts – Forces High Wire pages 14 - 15 NZMaths http://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/high-wire Building Science Concepts: Book 51, Standing Up, especially activity 3: Testing Our Balance, p. 15 NZ Physics Teachers’ Resource Bank: www.vuw.ac.nz/scps-demos/Man on Wire: Philippe Petit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire and www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/Pictures of tightrope walkers: www.timboucher.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chinese-tight-rope...http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/2007/11/large_petit.jpgHow to find the centre of mass: www.sciencefair-projects.org/physics-projects/fi nd-centre-of-gravity.html orhttp:/teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/judi/forces/activities/gravity.htmlBalancing and centre of mass activity: www.csiro.au/helix/sciencemail/activities/balancingglass.htmlBalancing spoon and fork on a glass: www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-balance-a-spoon-and-fork-on-amatch-on-a-glass-162897/ CAST Science Writer, Making writing a science report easier: http://sciencewriter.cast.org/welcome;jsessionid=507A2BCD7F2F8A0ADD6E4A3FC5345B24