Gradelevel

/subject

7thGradeScience

Context
description

Studentsarebeginningtheirunitonearthsciencefocusedon
earthquakesandplatetectonics.Inthepreviouslesson,
studentsreadandcompletedareadingguideforabooksection
thatfocusedonearthquakes.Todayslabdaywillhelpthe
studentsunderstandthatscienceknowledgeevolvesasour
technologyevolves.Thelessonisdesignedtogivethestudents
asimulationofhowwhentheyhavemoreresourcesavailable,
theinformationthattheygatherwillbemorecomplete.The
priorknowledgehasbeenassessedwithabookworkpacket
thataccompaniesthetext.Studentsweregivenfeedbackon
theiranswersandgiventheopportunitytofixforadditional
points.

Standardsmet

EarthsCrustconsistsofmajorandminortectonicplatesthatmove
relativetoeachother.(8.ESS.2)

Concept
addressed

TectonicPlates+Seismology
Thisconceptisbeingaddressedtogivestudentsanunderstandingof
theearthsinnerworkings.Seismologyisinvolvedinmajorscience
conceptslikecontinentaldriftandvolcanoes,whichareincorporated
inthisunit.Inthiscourse,thestudentsareencouragedtoanalyzethe
worldaroundthemandtrytoseeconnectionstoourcoursework.
Althoughwearenotinalargeseismicregion,thiswillbeawayto
relatethecontenttosomethingthatstudentshaveheardaboutbefore.

Objectives

Thestudentswillbeableto:
1.
describeandgiveexampleshowscientificknowledge
evolvesinrelationtotechnologyandresources
available.
a. (Thisobjectivewillberepeatedacrossmultiple
unitsthisyear.Otherunitsthatwillbe
incorporated:Ecology,Genetics,Volcanic
activity.)
2. Explainhowearthquakesareofdifferentmagnitudesand
interpretdatatoshowthisdifference.

Academic
language

Compare/ContrastStudentswillcompareandcontrasttheavailable
technology.

VocabAddressed:
TectonicPlates
Earthquakes
Faults
Seismometer
Seismograph
Seismology

Learning
strategies

ExperimentsStudentswillusethetoolsprovidedtotestthe
earthquakeintensityanddirectionofit.
Trial+ErrorStudentswillhavetheopportunitytorepeatthetrials
multipletimestoseeiftheresultscompareandanalyzewhytheymay
bedifferent.

Materials
needed

ReplicaSeismographVase1pertable,6tablestotal
motionsensorcomputerattachment+Program1computerpertable,
4sensorspertable.6tablestotal.

Safetyneeds
andinstruction

StudentshavesignedtheFlynnSafetycontractandtheFlynnsafety
rulesareenforcedintheclassroom.Forreference
http://www.flinnsci.com/documents/miscpdfs/safety_contract.pdf

Instructional
outline

Engagement/Introduction/Hook:Platetectonicsongabout
alfredwegener:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1cES1Ekto

Warmup:ReflectonvideothatsayshowAlfredWegnerwas
originallyseenasbeingwrong,buttheworldeventuallycameto
knewthathewasright.Studentswillwriteoneideathatthey
hadasakidthattheylookbackonnowandrealizethattheir
understandinghaschanged.
Instructionalsequence:
Segment1:
Studentswillsetuptheseismographvasereplica
attheirtable.Thisconsistsofavasewithmarblesthatwillfall
whenthesurfaceitisonisdisplaced.Studentswillwritedown

theirobservationsaboutthelabsetupandwhattheythinkitwill
helpthemdetermine.
Transition1:
Studentswillallturntheirbacktothetablesand
teacherwillwalkaroundandbumpthetablefroman
undisclosedside.
Segment2:
Studentswilllookattheresultoftheearthquake
andtrytorecordasmuchinformationastheycangetfromthe
vase.Studentsinthissetupshouldbeabletotellthefollowing:
Thatanearthquakehappened.Whichgeneraldirectionthe
earthquakecamefrom.Studentswillnotbeabletotell:
Intensityoftheearthquake.Aftershocksoftheearthquake.
Transition2:
Vaseswillberemovedfromtableandcomputer
withmotionsensorswillbeplacedonthetable.Thesemotion
sensorattachmentshave3receptionpointsthatwillbeplaced
equidistantlyfromthecenterofthetable.
Segment3:
Studentswillwritedowntheirobservationsabout
thelabsetupandwhattheythinkitwillhelpdetermineabout
theearthquake.
Transition3:
Studentswillallturntheirbacktothetablesand
teacherwillwalkaroundandbumpthetablefroman
undisclosedside.
Segment4:
Studentswilllookattheresultoftheearthquake
andtrytorecordasmuchinformationastheycangetfromthe
vase.Studentsinthissetupshouldbeabletotellthefollowing:
Thatanearthquakehappened.Whichgeneraldirectionthe
earthquakecamefrom.Intensityoftheearthquake.Aftershocks
oftheearthquake.Studentswillthenbepromptedtoreflectin
theirlabpackethowthiscomputermethoddifferedfromthe
originalvasemethodandhowtheadvanceintechnology
enhancedtheirunderstandingoftheearthquake.
Closure:
Askthestudentshowtheadvancesintechnology
changedtheirconclusionabouttheearthquakesandrelateitto
theirchildhoodknowledgeandhowithaschanged(fromwarm
up)

Modifications

Studentsintheclassroomwillbegivenaccommodationsaccordingto
theirIEP
Thisclasscontains6IEPstudents.Eachofthesestudentreceiveextra
timeonassessmentsandclasswork.Sofartheyhavemanagedthe
classtimeverywell.

Students1,2,3,4and5receiveextratimeontheirassignments.In
general,allassignmentsthataresubmittedbeforetheendofthe
quarterareacceptedandnotcountedlate.
Student6hasaphysicalimpairmentwhichlimitshisuseofhisright
arm.Thisimpairmentshouldnotaffecthisworkintheclasstoday,as
allhewillhavetodoislookatthedataandwritethelabreport.

Studentswhoaregiftedwillbeabletorunmoretestswiththe
availabletechnology.Theywillbeinstructedtodothecomputer
seismographwithonlyonesensor,twosensors,threesensors,thenall
foursensorsandanalyzehowtheirdataandconclusionschanged
basedoffofthenumberofsensors.

Assessmentsof
learning

Formativeassessments:
Teacher(s)willbecirculatingtheroomduringthelaband
engagingthestudentsindialogueaboutthesubjectat
checkpoints.Checkpointswillconsistofaskingstudentshow
theavailabletechnologyhasinfluencedtheiranalyzingofthe
earthquake.Thecheckpointwillberepeatedasthetechnology
availableincreases.Whenteacherisateachlabgroup,they
willgivespecificfeedbackandaskquestionsaboutthestudents
reasoningandlogic.Thecheckpointswillassesswhetherornot
thestudentsaremeetingthelearningobjectiveofdescribeand
giveexampleshowscientificknowledgeevolvesinrelationto
technologyandresourcesavailable.

Warmup/Closurewillbeusedtohelpdetermineifstudentsare
understandinghowknowledgecanchangeasmoreinformation
comesavailable.Thewarmupandclosurewillbeusedto
assesshowthestudentsoriginalunderstandingofevolutionof
knowledgehasdevelopedthroughthelesson.

Studentslabpacketswillbegradedandfollowinginstruction
willbepacedoffofstudentscomprehension.Thiswillbeused
toassesswhetherornotthestudentsaremeetingtheobjective
ofExplainhowearthquakesareofdifferentmagnitudesand
interpretdatatoshowthisdifference.Theywillbegivenpoints
basedoffof1)Theircorrectidentificationofthemagnitude2)
theirreasoningbehindhowtheyfoundtheiranswer.

Summativeassessments:Therewillbeasummativeexamat
theendoftheunitaboutearthquakesandspecificallyhowthe
understandingofearthquakeshasadvanced.Theexamwill
haveaseismographthatthestudentswillbeaskedtoanalyze
anddeterminetheintensityoftheearthquake.Thesummative
examwillhavequestionsaimedatassessingbothobjectives
fromthislesson.