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To search for teaching materials that address particular concepts in our conceptual framework, visit the teaching guide for your grade level:
K-2, 3-5 , 6-8, 9-12, or College
Found 11 resources:
Luminous
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- Sam Smartt
Resource type:
- classroom activity
- Science Story
- video
Discipline:
- Space science
Time: 2-8 hours
Overview
The film LUMINOUS (now freely available through many libraries and the Kanopy platform) tells the story of astronomer Larry Molnar as he investigates a distant, double-star system, about which he makes a daring and explosive prediction. Interviews with Dr. Molnar’s diverse set of colleagues, collaborators, and skeptics highlight science as a community and intensely human endeavor, debunking the myth of the lone scientist conducting dispassionate research. The Luminous Science Education Toolkit provides classroom activities to support students' interpretation of the film.
The science checklist applied: Cold fusion
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about an investigation of cold fusion and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
Beyond the prototype: Animal psychology
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about an investigation of animal navigation and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
The science checklist applied: CFCs and the destruction of the ozone layer
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about the investigation of the hole in the ozone layer and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
The science checklist applied: Solving DNA’s double helix
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Have your students read about the investigation of DNA's double helix and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
Benjamin Franklin: STEM Activity Toolkit
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- PBS and WETA
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Earth science
- Physical Sciences
Time: 1-6 hours
Overview
Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential figures. This STEM Activity Toolkit frames the context of the film series, and provides guidance for viewers to engage in discussions and activities around science, technology, engineering, and math.
How scientific is it?
Grade Level(s):
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- General
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Students are given six knowledge statements and asked to rank them according to how scientific they feel the statements are. A group discussion ensues. This activity is adapted from Scharmann et al. 2005. Journal of Science Teacher Education.
What do you think it means to be human?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- Life Science
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
This first lesson of the "What does it mean to be human?" sequence sets a scientific frame of mind for students as they begin to explore the question, "What do you think it means to be human?" This lesson sets an important tone by highlighting that other lines of human inquiry outside of science are important for answering this question on a personal level, but the class will focus on a scientific definition of "humanity." Students learn to distinguish questions that could be addressed by the methods of science and those that could not, and they practice applying these criteria.
Umbrellaology
Grade Level(s):
- College
Source:
- Johnston, Adam
Resource type:
- classroom activity
Discipline:
- General
Time: 30 minutes plus
Overview
Based on a classic philosophical exercise (Somerville, 1941), students are asked to read a letter that describes detailed data collected on umbrellas. Their task is to determine whether or not umbrellaology represents science.
A science prototype: Rutherford and the atom
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- classroom activity
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Physical Sciences
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Have your students read the full article on Rutherford's investigations of the atom and compare it to the Science Checklist in order to explore the key traits that make science science. Get more tips on using Science Stories in class.
The science checklist applied: Studying variable stars
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- College
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Science Story
Discipline:
- Space science
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Students can use this reading, along with the Science Checklist, to investigate the features that make science science while learning about an early female astronomer. Get tips for using science stories in class.
