Standards and Objectives - Elementary

Farming for Fuel

Class time: 1 hour
Time Needed for set-up: 1 hr.
Target Age/ Audience: Grades 4 – 6

Goal
Alternative energy sources, with an emphasis on biofuels made from non-food plants, are appropriate for transportation and do not put as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as fossil fuels.

Objective
Students will discover that:

  • Sugar is the energy source we use for our bodies and will be the energy source for new biofuels.
  • Current vehicles that use other alternative types of energy such as solar, wind, electricity for power are impractical.
  • Our current engines use liquid fuels, which are being depleted, for their power source. Biofuels, renewable sources of energy, can replace current fuels.
  • Plants must be processed in order to release the energy stored in them. Some biofuel sources are not good choices since they are also food crops.
  • Thick cell walls of plants must be broken down to release the sugar that is wrapped in lignin and cellulose.
  • Fuel production from the fossil fuel sources we are currently using most is harmful to the environment because carbon dioxide is the bi-product.

Standards
Tennessee

  • 1.0 Cell Structure and Function
  • The student will investigate the structure and function of plant and animal cells.
  • 1.1 Know that all organisms are made of one or more cells.
  • 5.1.1 Know that all organisms are made of one or more cells.
  • 3.0 Food Production and Energy for Life
  • The student will investigate how plants produce food, and discover that plants and animals use food to sustain life.
  • 3.1 Realize that plants and animals use food for energy.
  •  3.2 Recognize the function of specific structures in organisms that allow them to obtain and use energy.
  • 5.3.1 Realize that plants and animals use food for energy.
  • Explain how plants produce their own food.

Georgia

  • S6E6. Students will describe various sources of energy and with their uses and conservation.
  • S5CS3. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating objects in scientific activities.
  • S5CS8. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific inquiry.
  • S5L3. Students will diagram and label parts of various cells (plant, animal, single-celled, multi-celled).
  • S5L4. Students will relate how microorganisms benefit or harm larger organisms.

Shocking Discoveries

Class time: 1 hour
Time Needed for set-up: 30 min.)
Target Age/ Audience: Grades 3-6

Goal
To familiarize students with the basic concepts of electricity.  Students will explore the three types of circuits (simple, parallel, and series) as well as examine static electricity and it’s function.  Students will use telegraphs that have electromagnets and see how they work.

Objective
Students will

  • understand the difference between static and current electricity. Static electricity can be explained as the negatively charged electrons in an atom are attracted to the positively charged protons in the atom’s nucleus. This force of attraction binds the electrons to the atom and distance causes it to weaken.
  • understand the difference between a conductor and an insulator and their perspective functions for different types of energy.
  • be able to identify the three types of basic circuits. (simple, series, & parallel)
  • be introduced to  how battery works to store energy. Use potatoes as batteries.
  • Recognize that various materials conduct heat and which are better than others.
  • Experience telegraphs that use electromagnets to relay messages over a distance.

Standards
Tennessee

  • GLE 0407.12.2 Observe that electrically charged objects exert a pull on other materials.
  • GLE 0407.12.3 Explain how electricity in a simple circuit requires a complete loop through which current can pass.

Georgia

  • GLE 0407.12.3 Explain how electricity in a simple circuit requires a complete loop through which current can pass. 
    1. a. Investigate static electricity.
    2. b. Determine the necessary components for completing an electric circuit.
    3. c. Investigate common materials to determine if they are insulators or conductors of electricity.
    4. d. Compare a bar magnet to an electromagnet.

Jump in to Geometry

Class time: 1 hour
Time Needed for set-up: 30 min.
Target Age/ Audience: Grades 3-6

Goal
This lesson acquaints the students with geometric shapes that are in everything around them, buildings, street signs, and most objects.  They will explore one, two, and three dimensional shapes and how to work with them.  Students will have gain experience with and a basic understanding of the difference between the terms of area, perimeter, and volume and ways to calculate them.

Objectives
Students will:

  • Identify the many geometric shapes in their environment and the occupations that must have knowledge of geometry to do the job successfully.  Including architects, construction workers, interior designers, and teachers among others.
  • Recognize 2-D shapes such as a square, triangle, or rectangle and how they form the base of 3-D shapes to make a cube, pyramid, and rectangular prism.
  • Measure geometric shapes to find the area, perimeter, and volume by locating the length, width, and height of the outside of the shape and applying mathematic functions.


Standards
Tennessee

  • GLE 0406.4.1 Understand and use the properties of lines, segments, angles, polygons, and circles.
  • GLE 0406.1.7 Recognize the historical development of mathematics, mathematics in context, and the connections between mathematics and the real world.
  • GLE 0406.4.3 Solve problems involving area and/or perimeter of rectangular figures.
  • GLE 0506.1.1 Use mathematical language, symbols, and definitions while developing mathematical reasoning.
  • GLE 0506.4.4 Solve problems that require attention to both approximation and precision of measurement.


Georgia

  • M3M2. Students will measure length choosing appropriate units and tools.
  • M3M3. Students will understand and measure the perimeter of geometric figures.
  • M3M4. Students will understand and measure the area of simple geometric figures (squares and rectangles).
  • M4G1. Students will define and identify the characteristics of geometric figures through examination and construction.
  • M4G1. Students will define and identify the characteristics of geometric figures through examination and construction.
  • M5M2. Students will extend their understanding of perimeter to include circumference.
  • M5M4. Students will understand and compute the volume of a simple geometric solid.

 

Geology of Rocks and Minerals

Class time: 1 hour
Time Needed for set-up: 30 min.
Target Age/ Audience: Grades 3-6

Goal
Explore the properties of rocks and the minerals that make them up.  Explore how to differentiate between types of rocks and how they are formed by looking at their physical attributes. Explore fossils and discuss extinct species and what causes extinction.  Finally, students will explore the effects of wind and water that cause erosion.

Objectives
Students will

  • Explore the effects various geological events on rocks and minerals, both constructive and destructive.
  • Investigate the difference between sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks.
  • Experience fossils and classify them as extinct or non-extinct.
  • Practice some basic tests on rocks to determine their origin and make-up according to their physical attributes of shape, color, texture, and hardness.


Tennessee

  • TNGLE 0307.7.2 Recognize that rocks can be composed of one or more minerals.
  • TN GLE 0407.7.1 Investigate how the Earth’s geological features change as a result of erosion (weathering and transportation).
  • TN GLE 0507.7.1 Compare geologic events responsible for the earth’s major geological features.

Georgia

  • GA. S5E1. Students will identify surface features of the Earth caused by constructive and destructive processes.

Simple Machines

Class time: 1 hour
Time Needed for set-up: 30 min.
Target Age/ Audience: Grades 3-6

Goal
Children will experiment with simple machines and be introduced to the idea that simple machines make our work easier. They will explore the relationship of force needed to the amount of mass to be moved and how the direction of an object is affected by unbalanced forces.

Objectives
Students will discover that

  • Wheels help make our work easier by rolling around an axle.
  • Pulleys help us lift heavy loads.
  • Gears help machines move parts.
  • Inclined planes help us move things up and down.
  • Wedges help us break things apart.
  • Screws help hold things together.
  • Levers help lift things.


Tennessee

  • Standard 11:  Objects move in ways that can be observed, described, predicted, and measured.
  • GLE 0307.11.1  Explore how the direction of a moving object is affected by unbalanced forces
  • GLE 0307.11.2 Recognize the relationship between the mass of an object and the force needed to move it.

Georgia

  • S4P3.  Students will demonstrate the relationship between the application of a force and the resulting change in position and motion on an object.
    1. a. Identify simple machines and explain their uses.
    2. b. Using different size objects, observe how force affects speed and motion.

SIZE IT UP

Class time: 1 hour
Set-up Time needed: 30 min
Target Age/ Audience:  Grade 3-6

Goal
Provide students with introductory experience with all forms of measurement that they encounter in their daily lives and to familiarize them with units of measurement.  Students will also work with the tools and techniques to determine and estimate measurements in many areas.

Objectives  

  • Introduce both standard forms of measurement including metric and non-standard forms of measurement.
  • Explain the concept of density and provide experiences evaluating density.
  • Discover the relationship of size to volume and measurements for both solids and liquids.
  • Explore use of a balance scale and ways to record measurements.


Standards
Tennessee

  • GLE 0506.4.4 Solve problems that require attention to both approximation and precision of measurement
  • GLE 0506.4.1 Use basic formulas and visualization to find the area of geometric figures.
  • GLE 0506.4.2 Describe polyhedral solids and analyze their properties, including volume and surface area.

Georgia

  • M3M2. Students will measure length choosing appropriate units and tools.
  • M4M1. Students will understand the concept of weight and how to measure weight.
  • M4M2. Students will understand the concept of angles and how to measure them.

Meteorologists & Water

Set-up Time needed: 30 min
Target Age/ Audience:  Grade 3-6 


Goal
Students will be introduced to basic understandings about weather by using weather instruments, the water cycle, and creating their own weather maps using weather symbols.

Objectives

  • Students will explore meteorologist instruments and their uses.
  • The students will examine the process of the water cycle
  • Gain experience with weather maps and their data to be interpreted.
  • Create various cloud types and their effect on the weather.
  • Describe the effect of surface features and how they affect the weather or how the weather affects them.

Standards 
Tennessee

  • GLE 0507.8.1- Analyze and predict how major landforms and bodies of water affect atmospheric conditions.
  • GLE 0407.8.1-Recognize the major components of the water cycle.
  • GLE 04.07.8.2-Differentiate between weather and climate.

Georgia

  • S5E1. Students will identify surface features of the Earth caused by constructive and destructive processes.
  • S4E3 Students will differentiate between the states of water and how they relate to the water cycle and weather.
  • S4E4 Students will analyze weather charts/maps and collect weather data to predict weather events and infer patterns and seasonal changes.
  • Elements:
    1. a. Identify weather instruments and explain how each is used in gathering weather data and making forecasts (thermometer, rain gauge, barometer, wind vane, anemometer).
    2. b. Using a weather map, identify the fronts, temperature, and precipitation and use the information to interpret the weather conditions.
    3. c. Use observations and records of weather conditions to predict weather patterns throughout the year.
    4. d. Differentiate between weather and climate.