GEMS project

(2.1) Scientific Processes. The student conducts classroom and field investigations following home and school safety procedures. The student is expected to:

(a) demonstrate safe practices during classroom and field investigations; and
(b) Learn how to use and conserve resources and dispose of materials.

(2.2) Scientific processes. The student develops abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry in the field and the classroom. The student is expected to:

(a) Ask questions about organisms, objects, and events;
(b) Plan and conduct simple descriptive investigations.
(c) Compare results of investigations with what students and scientists know about the world;
(d) Gather information using simple equipment and tools to extend the senses;
(e) Construct reasonable conclusions using information and prior knowledge; and
(f) Communicate explanations about investigations.

CONCEPT STATEMENT: What is found at the scene of the crime?

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES: To understand that observation is important to solving a mystery. All students will learn that a mystery is something that is not explained and that it is important to pay attention to the clues. While most students will learn that a mystery can be solved by figuring out what happened through observing carefully, and some students will learn that observing, thinking, and testing ideas to come up with an answer that fits can solve a mystery and that careful observation is very important to do before considering theories.

RESOURCES:

LHS GEMS Mystery Festival TE

KWL chart

Crime scene

Crime Scene Map

Suspect Footprint Sheet

Engagement		Time: 10 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Introduce the session. Explain to them that they will observe a scene where something happened.	What is a mystery? How can you solve a mystery? Can we tell who did it just by the way people looked? Who solves mysteries?	Caution students not to jump to conclusions about who had done it.

Exploration		Time: 12 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Explain to the students that they are going to observe a crime scene. Tell them that someone borrowed a stuffed animal that did not belong to them without asking to borrow the animal. Stress that each group is to look at the crime scene and observe all the details. Have the groups break down the crime scene in their own way.	What is a clue? How do we know that it is a clue?	Caution students not to jump to conclusions after observing the crime scene.

Explanation		Time: 10 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Introduce terms “clue,” as a fact that might help solve the mystery and a “suspect,” as someone who MIGHT have borrowed Mr. Bear without permission, and “evidence,” as anything that might help solve the crime, such as a finger-print, a note, what a “suspect,” or witness says, etc.	What is a suspect? What is evidence?	Not understanding terms, such as, clues, suspect, evidence, etc. Someone might even jump to a conclusion without knowing what happened.

Elaboration

Time: 15 minutes

What the Teacher Will Do

Probing Questions

Student Responses

Potential Misconceptions

Have a guest speaker come in and talk to them about how they would solve a crime scene.

What kind of job does the guest speaker have?

Caution students not to jump to conclusions after observing the crime scene.

Evaluation

Time: 10 minutes

What the Teacher Will Do

Probing Questions

Student Responses

Potential Misconceptions

Evaluate students understanding of clues, suspects, evidence, data sheets and charts and how they are constructed in their journals.

What is a chart and how is it made?

How do I construct a data sheet?

When do I add entries into my journal?

Disagreements on Data sheets with partners. Differences on who borrowed the stuffed animal.

5E Lesson Plan # Session 2

AUTHORS’ NAMES: Lauren Natho

TITLE OF THE LESSON: Who Borrowed Mr. Bear?

TECHNOLOGY LESSON (circle one): Yes No

DATE OF LESSON: 06/12/2008

LENGTH OF LESSON: 1 hour

NAME OF COURSE: The Story

SOURCE OF THE LESSON: Mystery Festival: Lawrence Hall of Science

TEKS ADDRESSED: TEKS 112.4 Science, Grade 2

(2.1) Scientific Processes. The student conducts classroom and field investigations following home and school safety procedures. The student is expected to:

(a) demonstrate safe practices during classroom and field investigations; and
(b) Learn how to use and conserve resources and dispose of materials.

(2.2) Scientific processes. The student develops abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry in the field and the classroom. The student is expected to:

(a) Ask questions about organisms, objects, and events;
(b) Plan and conduct simple descriptive investigations.
(c) Compare results of investigations with what students and scientists know about the world;
(d) Gather information using simple equipment and tools to extend the senses;
(e) Construct reasonable conclusions using information and prior knowledge; and
(f) Communicate explanations about investigations.

CONCEPT STATEMENT: What is found at the scene of the crime?

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES: To learn more facts about the suspects and what happened at the scene of the crime? You’ll introduce the distinction between what the students know for sure (“hard evidence”) and their guesses or ideas (“inferences”) about what must have happened.

RESOURCES:

Crime scene map from Session 1

1 roll of masking tape

1 piece of butcher paper, about 4 feet by 4 feet

A yard stick and felt-tipped marking pen to make lines on Clue Board

Pictures of suspects (masters on pages 40-44)

Clue Board Illustrations (masters on pages 45-47)

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: Caution when using scissors. Safety precautions same as Session 1.

SUPLEMENTARY MATERIALS, HANDOUTS:

Crime scene map from Session 1

Journals

Pictures of suspects

Clue board/illustrations

Engagement		Time: 12 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Introduce the session and present the story. Explain the chart on the wall to record clues that they learn today about “The case of the Borrowed Bear.”	What did we learn from Session 1? What was found at the scene of the crime?	Caution students not to jump to conclusions after doing one or two stations.

Exploration		Time: 12 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Ask students to raise their hands every time they hear a clue that they thinks should be put on the clue board. Help them discriminate between clues and non-clues.	What is a clue? How do we know that it is a clue?	Caution students not to jump to conclusions after doing one or two stations.

Explanation		Time: 12 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Introduce terms “clue,” as a fact that might help solve the mystery and a “suspect,” as someone who MIGHT have borrowed Mr. Bear without permission, and “evidence,” as anything that might help solve the crime, such as a finger-print, a note, what a “suspect,” or witness says, etc.	What is a suspect? What is evidence?	Not understanding terms, such as, clues, suspect, evidence, etc.

Elaboration		Time: 12 minutes
What the Teacher Will Do	Probing Questions	Student Responses Potential Misconceptions
Read the story again, sticking clues to the Clue board at the appropriate points in the story. You may want to read the story one more time, this time leaving out crucial words, and having the students fill them in orally.		Caution students not to jump to conclusions after doing one or two stations.

What the Teacher Will Do

Probing Questions

Student Responses

Potential Misconceptions

Evaluate students understanding of clues, suspects, evidence, data sheets and charts and how they are constructed in their journals.

What is a chart?

How do I construct a data sheet?

How do I make a chart?

Disagreements on Data sheets with partners.

How they report on data sheets.