Grade 5 Human Body Systems Web Site

: BBC siteThe Human Body Grade 5

How we think about science

If you have found yourself to be interested in our conversations about What Science is and How to Think about Science you might like to listen to these. My favorites are episode 1 and episode 4 so far.
CBC Radio 1 9pm Wednesdays
Broadcast Schedule

Episode 1 - November 14 - Simon Schaffer
Episode 2 - November 21 - Lorraine Daston
Episode 3 - November 28 - Margaret Lock
Episode 4 - December 5 - Ian Hacking and Andrew Pickering
Episode 5 - December 12 - Ulrich Beck and Bruno Latour
Episode 6 - January 2 - James Lovelock
Episode 7 - January 9 - Arthur Zajonc
Episode 8 - January 16 - Wendell Berry
Episode 9 - January 23 - Rupert Sheldrake
Episode 10 - January 30 - Brian Wynne

Listen to them through this link

The New Elementary Science and Technology Curriculum

You can download a copy of the new curriculum through this link to the Ministry of Education website
Science and Technology Curriculum Grades 1-8 2007

About using models for theories: such as the particle theory of matter

“…the fundamental fact about learning: anything is easy if you can assimilate it into your collection of models…what an individual can learn, and how he learns it, depends on what models he has available." (Papert)

Models and computer simulations can be extremely useful for allowing scientists and students to visualise theories such as the particle theory of matter. It must be remembered that models are only representations; they are not real . The link takes you to a short article about using models in science education. The article is from the Junior science site for teachers in Ireland About using models

Classroom meetings

Classroom meetings are a great habit to develop. They provide an opportunity for students to engage in important conversations. Although I have used classroom meetings, I have never developed a formal stategy for how to run them. The link is to a chapter from a book by Marvin Marshall about how to run classroom meetings. I really enjoyed this chapter. Classroom Meetings

Useful link for Biodiversity Grade 6

Great ideas

Eddie and the Hagfish

This short video is excellent as a real attention grabber for the biodiversity unit. Thiese creatures have an interesting adaptation Eddie and the Hagfish