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| School District of Philadelphia Finletter Elementary School Ms. Marjorie Trapp's Classroom June 7, 2001 At Finletter Elementary School in Philadelphia, Marjorie Trapp and her second grade students were exploring the relationship between balance and weight when they hosted a visit by Keystone Science Network staff members Shelby Jackson and Molly McLaughlin in early June 2001. Although this was her first experience with using STC's Balancing and Weighing kit, Marjorie incorporated the lessons smoothly into her classroom, skillfully managing materials and keeping active young students engaged in their investigations. She reported that her students loved the hands-on activities, and the kit helped her provide experiences that support the inquiry learning emphasis encouraged by the Science Education Standards. |
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| When we arrived students were deeply involved in comparing objects using an equal arm balance, a tool that they proudly mentioned they had made themselves. In an earlier lesson, they had also learned to level the crossbeam by placing tiny pieces of clay on one side at a time. Around the classroom is other evidence of what the students have been doing and learning in their exploration of balance and weight. Their own experiences provide a foundation for kit-based activities such as building structures and mobiles. |
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| In the first lesson, the experience of balancing a symmetrical object provided opportunities for pre-unit assessment. After experimenting with paper butterflies, Marjorie used the KWL strategy to help students think about what they know and want to know about balancing. Later they had used Venn diagrams to compare beam and equal arm balances. Now working in pairs, students were engaged in comparing objects by putting them in buckets. |
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| "Where should we put the clay to make it balance?" Some students found their crossbeams needed re-leveling. Marjorie took advantage of the opportunity to remind them of the new vocabulary word—"equilibrate"—for what they were doing. Explaining their work, students told their visitors how they compared pencils, pens, lab books, and other objects—including those borrowed from the visitors. |
| Students record their observations, choosing appropriate binary symbols to indicate whether an object in one bucket is lighter than, heavier than, or equal to the object in other. Talking with a partner often leads to finding and correcting your own mistakes! |
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| In the next lesson, students apply what they've learned about comparing weights. Marjorie explains that their task is to develop a strategy for putting four objects—a plastic cup, a plastic spoon, a ping pong ball, and a wooden block—into serial order, from heaviest to lightest. |
There's more! Continue on to the rest of the visit.
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| The Franklin Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the National Science Foundation and Unisys Corporation. | |||
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The Franklin Institute is the Demonstration Site for the
Eisenhower
Mid-Atlantic Consortium, providing science and math
resources for teachers.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9819641. © 2003. All rights reserved.
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