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Teacher Resources Solar Cooking
Unit 4th-5th
grade focus Rowena Gerber Our
solar cooking unit spans a six-week time period, and is fully integrated
across the curriculum. We
are a private school and are not responsible for covering the Florida
Sunshine State Standards, though we pride ourselves in developing
challenging programs tailored to meet out students needs, abilities,
and interests. How does
this unit measure up against the Florida Sunshine State Standards?
As I looked at a typical week's assignments in this unit, I
found that the students were actively engaged in over thirty SOL's
covering health education, language arts, mathematics, science, social
studies, visual arts, and technology. The
following objectives are an important part of the unit, as they provide
inquiry based science opportunities. The students' questions, experiments, and discoveries give
them a full understanding of the basics of solar energy, its power,
and its uses. Each
of these objectives will be completed through the "scientific
process" and scored using a rubric adapted from the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory:
The "scientific process" is a National Science Standard
and a Florida Sunshine State Standard.
It is particularly difficult for students to master, so the
step by step process is used and reinforced in all the following objectives. I will write out the entire text for clarification and refer
to it by number in the written objectives. Florida
Sunshine State Standards Grade Level Expectations: Benchmark SC.H.1.2.2
The student knows that a successful method to explore the natural
world is to observe and record, and then analyze and communicate the
results. The student
plans and investigates experiments in which hypotheses are formulated
based on cause and effect relationships; distinctions are made among
observations, conclusions/inferences and predictions: a limited number
of variable are controlled; and numerical data that are contradictory
or unusual in experimental results are recognized.
Score
Description 0
Lab sheet missing Given
a lab sheet outlining the "scientific process", a flashlight,
pencil, ruler, clay, and flat surface,
working initially in
small groups conducting the experiment as demonstrated by the teacher
and with prior knowledge of the five components of the scientific
process, the student will use the
question "How does the shadow of a gnomon change as the
light shining on it changes angles?"
to form the basis of his/her hypothesis, and
will correctly complete each step of the scientific process to record
findings on individual lab sheets to demonstrate 100% mastery
of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process"(BenchmarkSC.H.1.2.2
Sunshine State Standards.) Given
a lab sheet outlining the "scientific process", two identically
sized empty soup cans (one covered in white paper, the other covered
in black), thermometers, and pencils,
with prior knowledge of the five components
of the scientific method and working in pairs the students will
place the cans in direct sunlight and monitor and record the
temperatures in the containers every minute for ten minutes, the
students will use the question "Does color affect heat energy
absorption?" to form the inquiry for his/her individual hypothesis,
and will correctly complete each step of the scientific process to
record the findings on the individual lab sheet to demonstrate 100%
mastery of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process"
(BenchmarkSC.H.1.2.2 Sunshine State Standards.) Given
a solar cooker, 1 quart of water in a black pot, thermometer, and
a lab sheet outlining the
"scientific process",
with prior knowledge of pasteurization
temperature levels and prior knowledge of the five components of the
scientific method, working in groups of four the students will place
the water in the solar ovens in direct sunlight for two hours before
taking a temperature reading, the
students will use the question "can solar cookers pasteurize
water?" to form the inquiry for his/her hypothesis,
and will
correctly complete each step of the scientific process to record
the findings on the individual lab sheet to demonstrate 100 % mastery
of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process"
(BenchmarkSC.H.1.2.2 Sunshine State Standards). Given a lab sheet outlining the "scientific process", a solar cooker, two pie tins, two bowls of equal amounts of salt water, two oven bags, and two hangers for constructing domes, after watching the teacher construct a desalinization model and with further coaching when necessary, and with prior knowledge of the "scientific process" the students will work in groups of four to build two desalinization models, placing one in the solar cooker and one next to the solar cooker and measure the fresh water collected in the pie tins after 24 hours, the students will use the question "can solar cookers speed up the desalinization process" to form the inquiry for his/her hypothesis, and will correctly complete each step of the scientific process to record the findings on the individual lab sheet to demonstrate 100 % mastery of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process" (BenchmarkSC.H.1.22 Sunshine State Standards). Objective
#5 Which material forms
the best heat trap for solar ovens, oven bags or polypropylene? Given two solar box cookers without heat traps, an oven roasting bag, a sheet of polypropylene, oven thermometers, and a lab sheet outlining the "scientific process", with prior knowledge of the five components of the scientific method and working in groups of four after watching the teacher demonstrate heat trap construction, the students will use the two materials to form two different heat traps and compare and record their oven temperatures every fifteen minutes for an hour, using the question "which material, oven bags or polypropylene, forms a better heat trap?" to form the inquiry for his/her hypothesis, will correctly complete each step of the scientific process to record the results on the individual lab sheet to demonstrate 100% mastery of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process" (Benchmark SC.H.1.2.2 Sunshine State Standards) Objective
#6 Which is a better
insulator, air or newspaper? Given
two box cookers without insulation, torn newspaper, oven thermometers,
and a lab sheet outlining the "scientific process",
with prior knowledge of the five components
of the scientific method and working in groups of four, the
students will fill the insulation cavity of one cooker with torn newspaper
and leave the other one empty, place them in the sun for an hour and
record the temperatures every fifteen minutes, using the question
"does air or newspaper make a better insulator?" to form
the inquiry for his/her hypothesis, and
will correctly complete each step of the scientific process to record
the results on the individual lab sheet to demonstrate 100% mastery
of the five essential steps of the "Scientific Process"
(Benchmark SC.H.1.2.2 Sunshine State Standards) **Other Sunshine State Science Standards covered in these objectives are: SC.A.1.2.1; SC.A.1.2.2; SC.A.2.2.1 Strand B; SSC.B.1.2.2; SC.B.1.2.3; SC.B.1.2.4; SC.B.1.2.5; and SC.B.1.2.6.
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