SOAR-High Unit Overviews
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Pre-Unit Welcome to SOAR-High ESS - 1
week
In this first unit students and teachers will
use an html editor to develop web pages introducing themselves to all
project participants.
Students will review the SOAR-High website and become familiar with
course expectations, tools, and technology to be used.
In a video conferences students will introduce themselves and get to
know one another.
Science portfolio guidelines will be shared and portfolios will be set
up.
Unit 1 Understanding Earth as a
System - 4 weeks
Students will review facts about the Earth and become familiar with
the various components of the Earth system.
Students will learn how to conduct daily local environmental
measurements useful to the scientific community through participation in
the GLOBE program.
A basic study of how energy flows through the system will be
conducted and results from each locality will be shared with the other
participating schools.
Students will read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring to gain
understanding of society's developing awareness of our fragile planet and
humanity's complex role.
Finally, students will explore problems in getting off the Earth's
surface as they design, build and launch air-powered rockets. The movie
"October Sky" will provide students a look at the beginnings of the
science of rocketry in our country during the 1950's which led to the
Space Age.
Unit 2 Using Data, Exploring the
System - 12 weeks
Students will review the electromagnetic spectrum, leading to a basic
understanding of
the use of technology for remote sensing and data collection.
Through a study of the Earth's celestial position and annual motion
students will learn the basis for seasonal variation in Earth system
parameters.
Students will gain an appreciation of the complexities of Earth as a
planet through a study our only natural satellite, the Moon. Students
will review man's exploration of the Moon during the 60's and 70's, and
use online data sets to investigate questions about the Moon.
The movie Apollo 13 will provide a sense of some of the hazards
present in exploration of regions outside Earth's protective
atmosphere. Our studies will then return to Earth as students learn
about a natural system, the Asian Monsoon, in which they will also learn
the basics of using data and graphing to answer scientific questions.
After gaining background information on the related El Nino phenomena,
students will develop their own research questions, locate
appropriate data, and produce a research report on a topic related to this
unit's studies.
Unit 3 System Processes: Earth's
Atmosphere - 8 weeks
Students will examine two current issues in society during this unit,
ozone depletion and
global warming. Exerpts from the book Between
Earth and Sky will provide a historical context for the study of
ozone.
Students will learn the difference between tropospheric and stratospheric
ozone, will conduct measurements of troposphere ozone in their
locality, and will share their results with the other schools.
In the study of global warming, students will learn to gather data on
a global warming simulation experiment, graph the data, and report the
results.
Students will develop their own research questions, locate
appropriate data, and produce a research report on a topic related to this
unit's studies.
Unit 4 The Earth-Sun Connection
- 6 weeks
Students will develop an awareness of ways the Earth and the Sun
interact through the study of the structure of the Sun, the Earth's
magnetic field, and interactions with the solar wind. Students will
observe daily changes in the Sun through sunspot observations.
Science fiction author Arthur Clark's fictional short story "Wind
from the Sun" will provide a basis for discussion about future
technologies that depend upon an understanding of Earth/Sun interactions.
Students will develop their own research questions, locate
appropriate data, and produce a research report on a topic related to this
unit's studies.
Unit 5 ESS Research Projects - 4
weeks
Students will select a project representing their best work from the
year and polish it in preparation for presentation at a Scientific
Conference, to be held at MSSD on Friday, May 12, 2000. Students may
present from either a web page, hypertext, or a power point
presentation. The presentation will include a brief introduction and
rationale for the question under study, a description of the data and
analysis, the students' conclusions, and suggestions for further study.
During this unit students will also complete their science
portfolios. Quality projects may be submitted to Project AESOP, NTID, for
web publication.
With the time remaining, students will investigate biographies of deaf
men and women who have made contributions in the various fields of
science.
Student Science Portfolios
Culminating this year of study, students will produce a portfolio of
their work showing learning and accomplishment in science. Lab reports,
book reports, question sets as well as other kinds of projects may be
selected by the student. Students will include a personal glossary of
science words developed over the year. A CD-ROM of polished computer
projects will be featured.
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Copyright © 1999 Gallaudet University
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
All Rights Reserved
Mon Jan 6 05:23:32 2003 |
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