Scientific ideas library project
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Aims:
This is a cross curricular project based on science but intended to
highlight aspects of history, geography, IT and English by utilising
library skills.
In terms of the science National Curriculum;
Pupils should be given opportunities to:
* use .... secondary sources of information
* choose ways of using IT to collect, store, retrieve and present
scientific information
* consider how applications of science, including those related to
health, influence the quality of their lives
* consider the importance of evidence and creative thought in the
development of scientific theories
* relate social and historical contexts to scientific ideas by
studying how at least one scientific idea has changed over time
Also (not specifically in the National Curriculum)
* take greater responsibility for their own learning
* support each other's learning
* work co-operatively on a collective project
Outcomes:
Each group should produce a booklet displaying the findings of the group.
Each group member should make an identifiable contribution to the
booklet. The booklet should contain a bibliography.
Preparation:
Book library and IT room well in advance. Discuss teaching roles with
librarian.
Timing:
6 X 1 hour lessons
Teaching:
Explain the aims and outcomes. Hand out pupil sheets and go through the
key points. Set up groups (of 2-4) and go to the library.
Differentiation:
This will occur through the open nature of the project, through teacher
support and through peer support. Pupils will be able to choose materials
which they find suitable.
The following is the text of the pupil worksheets. Highlight, copy and paste into a word processing or DTP package for use.
Scientific ideas project
Introduction
Scientific knowledge and ideas are the result of many years' work and alter because of the world around the scientists involved. The idea of this project is that you study a scientific idea and find out how it has changed and developed over the years. Here are the ideas:
The Universe - from earliest times to the big bang theory (cosmology).
The Earth and Solar System - From early ideas of the stars being holes in a large bowl covering the Earth and the belief that the Earth was flat to our current ideas about the Sun at the centre of the Solar System, the Earth as a sphere and black holes.
Elements and compounds - from the Greek ideas about fire, earth, air and water, through the Alchemists of the middle ages to current ideas.
Development of the periodic table (similar to 3 but not as wide a topic).
Anatomy of humans
Development of medicines (choose one ancient civilisation e.g. Romans, Chinese, Medieval and compare their medicines to current medicines)
What to do
* Your group should choose one idea to research, check with the teacher or librarian first.
* The research is to be done mainly in the library.
* You have 9 lessons and 3 homeworks to complete and write up your
findings.
* Your findings should be written up as a booklet and poster.
* Include illustrations where appropriate - photocopies or printouts are not acceptable.
* The booklet can be produced on computer if you wish, or it can be hand written.
* Each group member must make a contribution to the booklet, you must
identify your contribution for marking.
* Poor quality work will be rewritten.
* The booklet should contain a bibliography of references that you
used to obtain your information.
How to do it
* Use your library skills and common sense. There are some help sheets
available with key words to get you started.
* Look up the key words in a dictionary or encyclopaedia first, write
down something about the key words.
* Work from these to find out more about your chosen topic. Once you
get a start, more information will quickly come to light.
* Do a simple time line to show how the ideas have changed over time.
* Work with each other rather than against each other.
* Plan who will be doing what, this will help you work as a team.
* You will need to find out about some of the following as you do the
research:
* How the idea affects the quality of your lives e.g. how does a
better understanding of chemistry make your lives better or worse?
* What evidence has been used to support the idea at different times -
was there any or was it pure guesswork?
* how were the ideas affected by factors outside of science e.g. the
church in the middle ages did not like the new idea of the Sun being
at the centre of the Solar system so the put Galileo under house
arrest and banned his book.
* Find out something about world events which were going on during the
times you have studied.
* Work in rough until you have collected enough notes, then get
together as a group, plan and write your booklet.
Key words
Many of these are the names of people involved with the developing ideas,
use the biographical dictionary as well, when it is available. Please
think of others, do not hog it for more than a few minutes.
1 The Universe - from earliest times to the big bang theory
Cosmology, Babylonian astronomy, Egyptian astronomy, Greek
astronomy, Arab astronomy, Hubble, expanding universe, Big Bang
theory, Steady State theory,
2 The Earth and Solar System.
Aristotle, Crystal spheres, Copernicus, Kepler, Ellipse, Galileo,
Gravity, Newton, Adams, Le Verrier, Herschel, Tombaugh.
3 Elements and compounds - from the Greek ideas about fire, earth, air
and water, through the Alchemists of the middle ages to current
ideas.
Greeks, egyptian alchemists, jabir (perhaps there as Geber), magic
square, elixir, philosopher's stone, Al Razi, Avicenna, Robert
Boyle, Lavoisier, Davy, Dalton, Bohr, atoms, molecules
4 Development of the periodic table (similar to 3 but not as wide a
topic).
Avicenna, Robert Boyle, Lavoisier, Davy, Dalton, Bohr, atoms,
molecules, Cannizzaro, DÖbereiner, Newlands, Mendeleev
5 Anatomy of humans
Avicenna, Harvey
6 Development of medicines (choose one ancient civilisation e.g.
Romans, Chinese, Medieval and compare their medicines to current
medicines)
Herbs, herbal medicines, homeopathy, penicillin, drugs, cures
Writing it up
* Do an illustrated cover for the booklet
* Write out a contents page, a logical way of doing it would be with
the oldest ideas first
* Produce the written work for each chapter. Use illustrations,
photocopies are not acceptable
* Your booklet should include something about the following:
How the idea affects the quality of your lives
What evidence has been used to support the idea at different times -
was there any or was it pure guesswork?
How were the ideas affected by factors outside of science
World events which were going on during the times you have studied
* Do a time line, conclusion and bibliography of references
* Do a poster to inform other people of the key points from your research
