inside this issue: elementary science department...

Hillsborough Public Schools

http://science.mysdhc.org/

elemscience

Hillsborough County Public Schools

Elementary Science Department

SCIENCE NEWS

Volume 3, Issue 3

Spring 2010

Inside this issue:

What’s a Body To

Do? 2

H.A.E.S.T. Update 2

Taking Science to the

Streets 3

Gardening Year

Round 3

Lights, Camera,

Science! 4

Ballast Point Students

Love SMath! 4

Teacher Selected as Solar System

Ambassador! 5

April Calendar 6

Getting in Touch with the World

Around us…. 6

May Calendar 7

Operation Recycle 7

Science Fair Winners! 8

Weathering and

Erosion at it’s Best 9

Let Go of Our LEGO 9

Mendenhall Students

are Ready for FCAT 10

Are You Smarter

than a 5th Grader? 10

Ships Ahoy! 11

Growing Up 11

Computational

Cooking 12

Grants 12

Special points of interest:

Apr. 22nd - Earth Day

Apr. 22nd - HAEST Dinner Meeting

Apr. 24th -25th Nature’s Classroom Open House

May 10th - Hillsborough

Robotics Challenge

May 15th - Title I Elementary Science Symposium

Jonathan Gerlach, Editor

901 E. Kennedy Blvd.

P.O. Box 3408

Tampa, FL 33601-3408

School Mail Rte. #7

Elementary Science Supervisor Shana Tirado

E-mail: [email protected] 272-4848

Science District Resource Teachers Barbara Brightman

[email protected] Jonathan Gerlach [email protected]

thinking questions through-

out the day. Students who

were able to find correct

solutions to more than 80%

of the questions were given

a prize for their efforts. The

science fair awards program

was kicked off this year by

the Cahoon Magnet Drum-

line and Orange Grove Mid-

dle Magnet Steel Drum

band. These two groups got

the audience excited and

on the edge of their seats

for what turned out to be a

wonderful evening.

The three top winners who won Best of Fair were:

3rd Grade:

Will Nanosilver Leak Out of Socks When They are

Washed? - Dickenson Elementary -

Nathaniel Moura

4th Grade:

Free it the Green Way - Roosevelt Elementary -

Matthew Hart

5th Grade:

Is Your Bat All That? - Clark Elementary -

John Pease

Science Fair Success!!! The 2010 Hillsborough Re-

gional Science and Engineer-

ing Fair may have been the

most successful ever. This

year 96 elementary schools

competed submitting over

794 projects . Students

from third, fourth, and fifth

grades created individual

and group projects in catego-

ries ranging from physical

science energy to behavioral

science. Many weeks and

sometimes months were

spent in preparation of the

students sharing their re-

search as a young scientific community with sci-

ence experts, business leaders, and district per-

sonal. Students shared insight into topics such as

how to slow erosion, engineering the perfect

bridge, cleaning our environment and even how

video games could help you be more fit. Over 20

special awards were handed out this year by spon-

sors (see page 8) to honor some of the most inno-

vative and thought provoking projects of the fair.

This year students were challenged with Jumbo-

tron trivia which scrolled through higher order

over 20,000

across the world.

Teachers from all

over will share in

the expertise of

our own resident

experts. Science &

Children is always

looking for your

ideas, to submit

an article go to

www.nsta.org/

elementary.

Hillsborough Teachers Published AGAIN! Virginia Frissell from Twin

Lakes Elementary and Jona-

than Gerlach Elementary Sci-

ence DRT have both been pub-

lished in the last two issues of

Science & Children Journal.

Virginia’s article about man-

grove seeds and Jonathan’s

STEM engineering article show

how Hillsborough County Pub-

lic Schools are leading the way

of science education. Science

& Children has a readership of

Elementary Science Department Science News

know that the 5th grade presentations

had impacted other grade levels!

Students in 5th grade demonstrated

increased maturity as they discussed

body systems that were uncomfort-

able to discuss at the beginning of the

unit. Students chewed a cracker and

sent it down a digestive system (panty

hose) into the waste basket. Now stu-

dents are not saying “ugh, gross” but

are discussing the body system as

scientists! If you would like the rubric

for the group presentations on body

systems email

monitored heart rates and growth of class-

room bunnies. Students had a presenta-

tion by the service group More Health that

focused on the Brain and Nervous Sys-

tem. After the presentation students stud-

ied brain mapping to further their under-

standing of the nervous system.

Along with the group presentations the

culminating activity was making a life size

model of the human body system. Stu-

dents made an outline of one member of

the group and added the body systems in

multi-media. These models of

the systems of the body were

posted in a hallway for all stu-

dents in the school to view.

Second grade teachers com-

mented that on the pre-test for

second grade body systems

their students demonstrated

prior knowledge based on the

models 2nd grade students had

studied from the 5th grade dis-

plays. This was especially rewarding to

- Pansy Cowder and Christine Perez,

Lincoln Magnet

Lincoln Magnet students study Units of

Inquiry. The fifth grade unit was “What’s

a Body to Do?” with a focus on the hu-

man body system and how it compares

to plants and other animals. This was a

perfect match for the fifth grade science

standard Big Idea 14. During this unit

students kept a Health Journal to focus

on daily eating habits, vitamins the body

needs, and harmful effects of alcohol

and drugs on the body. Stu-

dents worked in groups of 3 or

4 to research and present body

systems. The rubric included:

main functions of the each

organ and system, diseases

that affect each system and

how to take care of each sys-

tem.

During this unit students built

models of the lungs and used stetho-

scopes to monitor heart rate. They also

cited to see over forty schools reaching

100% membership! These schools will

be recognized at our second annual

dinner meeting. For early membership

HAEST gave away a free annual pass

to Busch Gardens- Congratulations to

Tonija Pelt! Memberships are still

available, if you are interested email

Deborah Holloman.

Science Fair Awards:

Congratulations to our science fair

award winners. The judges had a diffi-

cult time choosing between all of the

primary projects. It was great to see so

much science happening at all levels!

Kindergarten: Which Height Caused

the Largest Splat

Susan King - Claywell Elem.

First Grade: Soil Secrets

Melinda Ring - Carrollwood Elem.

Second Grade: Rubber Bands for

Energy

Kay Reinhold - Forrest Hills Elem.

Michele Bubley for a nomination applica-

tion. Voting will take place at the Annual

Dinner Meeting on April 22, 2010.

Contests:

This year’s classroom contest is to create

a button. The task is for students to cre-

ate a button representing the science

Olympics. One per class can be entered.

The winning class will receive a subscrip-

tion to a science magazine. The teachers

that participate will also be in a special

drawing at the dinner meeting. For more

information email Michele Bubley.

Membership:

Our membership has grown this year! We

have over 2,300 members! We are ex-

Upcoming Events: GO BEYOND! Is our

theme for our second annual dinner

meeting. Please join us at The Tampa

Club on Earth Day, April 22. Pre-

registration is required this year the

cost is still $25.00 for a member and

$30.00 for guests or nonmembers.

Come meet, greet and socialize with

other scientists from our elementary

schools! Email Sarah Kemp for more

information.

Nominations:

HAEST is currently taking nominations

for board positions. The open positions

are: Secretary, President Elect, and

Treasurer Elect. All of these positions

are two year commitments. If you are

interested in nominating someone or

would like to nominate yourself, email

What’s a body to do?


Taking “Science” to the Streets about Physical Science. After the discussion was guided by the re-source teachers into the areas of motion, chemical vs. physical changes, and energy. Then the students branched out into three different stations where they ex-perimented with these concepts. The three stations in-cluded: Bottle Rocket Launchers, Alka-Seltzer Blasters, and Balloon Jets. At each station students were able to discuss and investigate the important science concepts in-volved. As the student’s began to get excited, parents also started coming by to see what the shoot-ing bottles were about. Students, parents, and teachers engaged in conversations about laws of mo-tion, chemical vs. physical changes, and energy. The “Science in the Streets,” event was a complete hit and we plan on continuing to take science to Robles Park. We even made contact with the after school program director there, and plan to donate time and enthusiasm to their program so that all students get to experience science.

tested and followed a time change. We next decided to try and generate some science excitement while involving our parents. Our thought was if we could motivate the parents, the student’s might follow. Unfortunately, we did not have much success bringing parents

into the science classroom. For this reason we decided to take Science to the Streets. On March 15th, Broward resource teachers took science to the streets of Robles Park. The teachers and stu-dents met in the common area at Robles to experiment with physical sci-ence. First, students sat down with the teachers and explained what they knew

- Amy Stockard, Broward Elem. As the Science FCAT was fast

approaching, Broward’s teachers had been closely monitoring their student’s achievement through mini assess-ments, item analysis and hands on classroom projects. Based on the data we collected, we began to target key science concepts in class through re-view and investigations. In addition, the fifth grade participated in a Jeopardy Challenge.

The Jeopardy Challenge con-sisted of the entire fifth grade splitting up into teams of 5-6 and rotating through different jeopardy stations that were manned by the resource teach-ers. We organized the rotation like a double sided March Madness bracket. No team was left out. Winners played winners, and the teams that still needed practice met with other like teams until we had two winners. The winning team received a trophy made from science related items, including an actual dead bug, on the Morning Show. Even though our Jeopardy challenge was such a hit, we still had a lot of anxiety about science testing. To add to our stress it was the last area

the plants weekly and record data in their plant journals. They cared for their plants by watering, weeding, pruning, fertilizing (with worm excre-ments), and providing TLC. The students observed and cared for their plants for 4-6 weeks. They learned a valuable lesson on plant

survival as their garden fell victim to the “Florida Freeze.” At this time, stu-dents are now cultivating straw-berries and con-tinuing their gar-den all year round.

vated their land. Mr. Adkins taught the students about the Three Sisters gar-dening method. He explained the im-portance of preparing the soil. Next, the students were given the seeds (corn, beans, and squash) and re-created the Three Sisters method. In addition to these plants/seeds, students also planted peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and onions. Then, students read and discussed the life cycle of the vari-ous plants, such as beans and to-matoes. The students would observe

Paula Carter and Josetta Pietri, Lopez Elementary Students in Mrs. Carter’s First grade class and kindergarteners in Mrs. Pietri’s class at Lopez Elementary School in Seffner, Florida began an exciting cross curriculum unit in sci-ence and social studies. Our class learned about planting a garden at the beginning of the school year. John Bard, the Media Specialist built the raised beds. Master Gardener Ben Adkins gave the students hands-on lessons on how to plant and maintain a garden. The students first researched how Native Americans lived and culti-

Gardening Year Round

- Anne Fordyce, Turner Elementary

Science is in the spotlight at Turner

Elementary School this year. After

attending the Florida Educational

Technology Conference in Orlando, I

got the idea to start an after school

technology club. Lights, Camera, Sci-

ence is a club for stu-

dents that are interested

in science, writing

scripts, and acting. I

opened the club up to

my 5th grade class and

my suite mate's class.

Next year, I hope to

open it up to all 5th

grade students.

Thirteen students from

our two classes volun-

teered their time to

make science movies!

Every Monday in January and Febru-

ary for two hours they stayed after

school to write, produce, and act in

these educational videos that aired on

the morning show! The students were

broken into 2 groups and each group

cooperatively researched an assigned

topic. Each group then filled out a

movie making "story board" highlight-

ing the props they would be using, the

script, and the camera angles they

would like taped.

Group “A” started off the club making a

movie about scientific tools, and Group

“B” focused on the scientific method.

First, they researched their topics using

the internet and textbook. Then, the

groups each created a PowerPoint pres-

entation. Group “A” describing each

scientific tool and Group “B” highlighting

each step in the scientific method. Next,

they wrote their script and completed

their storyboard. Group “A” decided to

have each member dress up as their

selected tool, such as the “Hip New De-

tective: Hand Lens” and demonstrate its

use. Group “B” created Channel 2 Sci-

ence Action News where an anchor in-

terviewed the other group members.

Each member dressed up as a quirky

character, such as Dorothy Draw Con-

clusions, to explain their importance in

the scientific method. After much prac-

tice and hard work, the taping began. At

the end of each video the groups nar-

rated their PowerPoint as a wrap-up/

review of their topic. The end

result, were creative, informa-

tional videos designed to edu-

cate children from all elemen-

tary grade levels about the sci-

entific tools and scientific

method. Included at the end of

each PowerPoint were grade

appropriate Questions of the

Week based on the science

topic. Students throughout our

school that submitted correct

answers received a prize.

These videos and questions

encouraged Turner Elementary

students to gain more knowledge on

science related topics.

Currently, the students are working on

two new videos: All About Energy and

Physical & Chemical Changes. Feel

free to contact me about starting your

own Lights, Camera, Science technol-

ogy club. All it takes is a little time, ef-

fort, creativity, and a love for science!


- Shannon Hayes, Ballast Point

The Third Grade math students at Bal-

last Point Elementary have enjoyed the

addition of SMath to our

curriculum so much, they

pleaded to create their own

projects to present to their

classmates. Their wish was

granted when they were

assigned the task of captur-

ing images, writing math and

science questions, creating

a display board, and pre-

senting their SMath projects

to their peers. The presenta-

tions were amazing as each presenter

took on the role of the teacher by posing

questions and facilitating the discussion

regarding each photograph. It

was also an extra surprise to see

how this simple project turned

into a family-involvement activity

for many of the children. One

family went on a special trip to

take photographs, another

chose a bike riding outing to

take pictures, while another

planned a brownie cooking activ-

ity to tie in the math and science

(the brownies were even part of

the presentation-yum!). Thanks SMath

Guys for developing this wonderful website

to motivate our students and generate

more excitement about science and math!

Ballast Point Students SMath!


- Mary Vaughn, Fishhawk Creek This past February I traveled to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for a very unique training. The training I attended was a result of being selected as a Solar System Educator for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena, California. This institute was sponsored by the JSC Teaching From Space Of-fice, in support of Educator Astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger’s up-coming flight on the STS-131 Space Shuttle mission. While in Houston, our team of twenty-two teachers met with scientists and education staff from NASA. We learned about the basics of human spaceflight and robotics related to the STS-131 Shuttle mission (April 5th, 2010 6:21 am) to complete work on the International Space Station. The Stardust lab was one of our first visits. The Stardust mission launched in 1999. Its primary goal was to collect samples of a comet and return them to Earth. Comets were formed further than the farthest planet and scientist expected the comet to contain materials that the solar system formed from. In early 2006 the Stardust sample return cap-sule parachuted to Earth. Since 2004, scientists at the Johnson Space Center have found multiple particles which contain what they believe are the ancient building blocks of the solar system. This has been one of the greatest discoveries!

TEACHER SELECTED AS SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADOR!

Of all investments into the future, the conquest of space demands the greatest efforts and the longest-term commit-

ment ... but it also offers the greatest reward: none less than a universe.

— Daniel Christlein

On our visit we also were able to see the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility where all of the lunar samples that the astronauts brought back from the Moon on the Apollo Missions are housed. The lunar samples are

amazing and to know that part of each lu-nar sample has been preserved in a vault for future generations to study. Teachers can take a training through various facili-ties such as Kennedy Space Center and throughout the coun-

try so that they can have the samples loaned to their classrooms. We were also given security clear-ance to visit some buildings where prototypes are being built for future missions. One, nicknamed the pumpkin, because of its shape, is a prototype for future living and working facilities on the Moon and beyond. We were also able to see the Lunar Electric Rovers. These will allow for the astronauts to travel further dis-tances on the Moon untethered. The Next Generation Space Suit en-gineers (mostly all females) pre-sented what goes into designing a space suit, including the most impor-tant piece, the primary life support subsystem. The PLSS supplies oxygen, removes carbon di-oxide, houses a battery for

electric power, and a two-way radio. All of these items are worn together like a backpack. NASA engineers continue to test out spacesuits at the Johnson Space Center. As teams, we also learned about Ro-bots and Robonaut a humanoid ro-botic sys-tem that can keep humans safe in space by completing dangerous or repetitive tasks. Ro-botics will be used in the STS-131 mission in April. We were able to work with robotic activities that simulate how astronauts will be using robotics in this mission. Another highlight of our training was to listen to Astronaut Chris Cassidy speak of his experience this past July on Space Shuttle Endeavor -STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Chris performed three spacewalks totaling about 16 hours where he completed the con-struction of the KIBO Japanese Ex-periment Module and installed scien-tific experiments on its eExposed Facility. I am very excited to continue sharing this awesome NASA/STEM information with my students and with teachers through our district sci-ence trainings. For more information about the Solar System Educators Program you may visit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssep/index.cfm or you may contact Mary Vaughn at [email protected]

*** *** Don’t forget to check out our website for important information! http:.//www.science.mysdhc.org/elemscience *** ***


Getting In Touch With the World Around Us……..

- Georgianna Castellano & Cecile Stewart

As teachers, we all have great ideas for

innovative projects; however, school

budgets are limited. Donor’s Choose

makes getting funding, ordering materials

and thanking donors easy. We were able

to write and submit a proposal which was

funded in a matter of days. Thanks to the

generosity of an anonymous donor

through Donors Choose.org, Dickenson

first graders had the opportunity to ex-

plore science centers and activities. All

21 students were able to explore puzzles,

centers, and discover and feel bags to

learn more about the Earth around them.

Each student was paired with one or two

fellow scientists to think about and an-

swer the essential question: What living

and non-living things can be found on

Earth’s surface? They worked with their

partner to explore and appropriately

explain if the objects they were observ-

ing were living or non-living. Students

made predictions prior to using their five

senses to describe their items by num-

ber, shape, size, texture, weight, color,

and motion. The question, “How do you

know?” could be heard all around the

April 2010—Science Trainings and Important Dates

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3

4 5 Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

6 7 World Health Day

8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 Great San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

19 20 21 22 Earth Day

23 World Laboratory Day

24 Science Training Astronomy Day

25 26 Richter Scale Day

27 28 29 30

Arbor

Day

classroom. Observations were recorded in

each student’s science journal by using a

t-chart and drawing pictures to classify

their items as living or non-living things as

well as where the item would be found on

the surface of the earth. The unit ended

with a class display and discussion of each

of their findings. Each student was able to

lay out their findings on a table and the rest

of the class took a “walking tour” around

our classroom to see and share what their

classmates had learned. It was like taking

a field trip to MOSI. Each group was able

to present their findings as an exhibit in a

museum or science center. Thanks to Do-

nor’s Choose, our students were truly able

to be experience science and the world

around them. They were able to become

scientists who were able to see the world

around them in a whole new way!

Operation Recycle - Etsu Bradshaw-Caines, Kenly Elementary

Have you ever looked in your school trash can at

the end of the day? If not, then take a look, next

have your students take a look. What did you see?

Want an adventure, then come along with me – you

may want to roll up your sleeves and wear gloves.

After looking in your trash can and pondering the

contents, weigh your bag of trash, spread a table

cloth or trash bag over a table and dump the trash

on the table. UCK! Yes, this investigation does

have an UCK factor! You will want to use plastic

gloves for the next phase of our adventure. Now

really look at what is inside your trash can. Sort the

trash into piles by attributes. Discuss the contents

with your students. Ask the questions: Are there

any renewable resources in the trash can? Food

scraps that can be composted? Paper that could

be recycled? Aluminum cans that could be recy-

cled? How much plastic was in the trash? Take all

the recyclable items out of the pile, weigh each

group, then measure

the amount of trash

that is left. Graph your

results. If you are

really adventurous try

this investigation with

one trash can from the

cafeteria after lunch.

This wondering and

pondering led a group

of teachers to investigate recycling options. We

started with aluminum recycling in the teachers’

lounge. For a year we had our students bring in

cans for recycling, but we found that the parents

were recycling to earn money and the response

was not what we desired. After investigating

paper recycling we decided to go with GreenFiber

recycling. The company puts a large green

dumpster inside the fenced in area of the school.

Each month they come and empty the dumpster

and pay you for your trash! You can graph your

pounds of recycling for the school

year. Please, don’t get too excited

about the money – we earned

$3.45 our first month for 660

pounds of paper. The money was

not the goal, but helping the envi-

ronment was. We noticed our trash

cans have very little trash now and

our recycling bins are over flowing.

Each day two students empty the recycling class-

room bin. A side benefit to this project is the jani-

torial staff loves the project! Their loads of trash

have been cut by 2/3. Mrs. Bradshaw-Caines’

First grade class jumped into this project with great

enthusiasm and the result was a very good looking

recycling robot. Inside the robot is their recycle bin.

The students feed their robot everyday! The stu-

dents presented their robot and information about

recycling on the Kenly Morning News. Happy

recycling! Saving the Earth one scrap at a time...


May 2010—Science Trainings and Important Dates

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 4 Teacher Day

5 6 7 8

9 Mothers Day

10 Foldables Trainings

11 12 13 14 Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch

15

Elementary Science Symposium

16 17 18 19 20 Foldables Trainings

21 22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29

30 31 Memorial Day


Science Fair Special Award Winners... HCEMC Mathematics Award

Windmills: Blade Shape Affects Power Output - Maniscalco - Julian Alvarez

Household Science Award Sponsored by Krampf Educa-

tional

Ants Never Truly Surrender - Roosevelt - Connor Davis

SMath Award by

WhereistheSMath.com

The Case of the Invisible Peanut - Gorrie - Marie Hartwell

Realtor Award Sponsored by Robert Armstrong & Cinzia

Morelli Real Estate Team

Which Stain Remover Removes Stains the Best on White Cotton Fabrics? - Kingswood - Jacob Rothman

How Badly Does Talking on the Phone Affect Your Driving? - Alafia - Ryan Kehrmeyer

The Barnes and Noble Going

Green Initiatives Award

Conserving Water at Home - BT Washington - Angel Amores-Casas

The "Investigative Mind" Award Sponsored by Jaeger

Corp.

Down Force: Can Drag Flaps Af-fect the Turning Distance of a Slot Car - Potter - Kali Rus

Research Award Sponsored by

Britannica Digital Learning

Horse Play - MacFarlane Park - Clarisse Chatfield

Sticking Together: Does the Tem-perature Affect the Strength of Magnets - Lewis - Alan Boss-Shelby

Floating Eggs - McDonald - Emily Smith

Fisher Science Innovator Award

Stealthy Shapes - Clark - Shreya Nidadovolu

Educational Innovations Future

of Innovations Award

Increasing the Energy - Lomax Magnet - Duncan Watwood

The Science Kit/Boreal Labs

World of Difference Award

Toilet Tissue Bio Battle - Independ-ent Day School - Cameron Schrader

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Collaborative Excellence Award

Stop, Look, but Don’t Listen - Roo-sevelt - Amy Hall & Katie Quacken-bush

Save our Planet Award

Sponsored by ETA/Cuisenaire

Compare the Air - Lake Magdalene - Jessica Smith

Climate Change in a Jar - Turner - Margo Helmke

The Effect of Development on Wa-ter Quality - Lincoln Magnet - Emily Walker

Discovering Our Future Award

by EducateMotivate.com

How Craters are Made - Heritage - Brynn Clancy

Scientific Literacy Award by

Usborne Books

Cake Top Bubble - Buckhorn - Camila Tingo

Thinking Outside the Box Award Sponsored by Lakeshore Learn-

ing

Looking at Germs - Limona - Kirsten Carranza

Engineering our Future Award

Sponsored by LEGO Education

Speed Up - Rampello Partnership - Sybrice Tucker

Science Today Award Sponsored

by Teacher Created Materials

Oil Spill Clean Up – Natural vs. Manmade - MacFarlene Park - Wil-liam Duryea

Busch Gardens

Horseplay - MacFarlene Park - Clarisse Chatfield

Lowry Park Zoo

Plankton or Bust - Mitchell - Angel LeFevre

Oil Spill Clean Up – Natural vs. Manmade - MacFarlene Park - Wil-liam Duryea

Florida Aquarium

Which Lake has the Best Water Quality - McKitrick - Billy Gibbs

Hillsborough County Environ-mental Protection Commission Outstanding Project in Environ-

mental Sciences

Aerator Conserves Water - Turner - Pragnya Kulharni

Tampa Bay Pediatric Dental Association Dental Health &

Hygiene Award

Pearly Browns - Roosevelt - Ryan Hicks

City of Tampa Water

Conservation Award

Aerator Conserves Water - Turner - Pragnya Kulharni

Guy Cacciatore Memorial Award

Greasy French Fries - Cahoon Magnet - Lina Nguyen

Sylvia Rosello Memorial Award

How Does the Ratio of Sand to Ce-ment Affect the Strength of Con-crete? - American Youth Academy - Mohannad Marie

- Kevin Moon, Forrest Hills Elementary Forest Hills Elementary School, along with 11 additional schools

in the district, is participating in the Lego’s Serious Play Pilot

Program. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY facilitates and develops the

skills needed for constructive, creative, and developmental proc-

esses of reflection and communication. The method is intended

for students who are six years of age or older. LEGO® bricks

are used to create a reflective dialogue process in which stu-

dents “Think with their hands and listen with their eyes” by build-

ing three dimensional models to represent their thoughts about a

given topic. During Lego Serious play, the teacher serves as a

facilitator and poses open ended questions (The Challenge).

Students then have a certain amount of time to build a model for

the challenge question. Once the building phase is completed,

all students take turns sharing a

story based upon the model they

have built. The teacher then

probes for deeper meaning behind

the student’s model by expressing

interest and curiosity in their mod-

els, as opposed to giving direct

feedback. It is important for the

facilitator to avoid judgmental com-

ments. Benefits of using Lego

Serious Play in the classroom in-

clude: an open ended approach to

learning, accommodating multiple

learning styles, differentiated


Weathering and Erosion at it’s Best - Jessica Teston-Loadholtes, Mango Elem.

Calling all students for a fun filled week

with weathering and erosion! My fourth

grade students at Mango Elementary did

a week full of hands on experiments

learning about and creating their own

weathering and erosion investigations. I

began the week by building the students

background knowledge about weather-

ing and erosion and the differences be-

tween the two. I provided my students

with real world

pictures of the

events occurring

in Florida and

other places

throughout the

world. We dis-

cussed the fol-

lowing questions

prior to conduct-

ing the experi-

ments: How does weathering and ero-

sion occur? What is the result of each

type of weathering? Where in Florida

does erosion happen? During the next

few days, students were sent to various

stations experimenting with the proc-

esses of weathering and erosion. Sta-

tion one consisted of students testing

rock samples with carbonated water

verses tap water. Station two was test-

ing the effects of vinegar (acid rain) on

copper pennies. Station three was com-

paring and recording the

reaction of antacid tab-

lets in water. The com-

parison was with one

whole tablet and one

crushed tablet. Station

four was observing the

reaction to chalk

(limestone) in water

verses vinegar. Station

five was testing the effects on a sugar

cube when placed in a jar of gravel and

shaken up. Lastly, station six was to use

a hair dryer (wind) against a hill of sand

(beach) and observer the pattern that

occurs. It was truly amazing to see the

student’s faces when they saw the

changes occurring in front of their eyes.

Even after weeks have passed, they are

still discussing events that cause weath-

ering and erosion. Now that is what I call

a true long term investigation.

instruction, and active partici-

pation. Lego Serious Play

allows for an open ended

approach to learning where

students do not feel pressure

to come up with a specific

correct answer. Students

develop the skills needed to

explore topics and communi-

cate their thoughts about the

topic with others. Independent thinking is a skill that is highly

evident when students are creating and explaining their models

to the challenge question. Lego Serious play taps into different

learning modalities. Our Kinesthetic learners benefit from using

their hands to build models while our visual and auditory learners

benefit from hearing and seeing the other students models as

they share. Lego Serious Play allows for differentiated instruc-

tion in our classrooms. The program allows all students to par-

ticipate regardless of their current content level, because there

are no wrong answers. The program allows students to become

actively engaged in classroom discussions, as they are given a

way to express themselves, listen to other’s thoughts, learn

through use of their hands by becoming involved with the chal-

lenge, and recognize their contributions are taken seriously.

Fifth grade students at Forest Hills enjoy and look forward to the

next building challenge that comes their way. Each student has

a way to take ownership of their learning and apply it with some-

thing that they would not expect to find in a classroom, a

childhood favorite, LEGO’s.

Let Go of Our LEGO!!!


- Alyssa Mormon & KV Brown, Just Elementary

Our students naturally respond to a challenge. On Saturday, March 6, 2010 that’s just what they did.

Teachers Karen-Vanessa Brown, science resource, and Alyssa Mormon, 5th grade math and science, at Just Elemen-tary, arranged for 5th grade students from Just Elementary to battle 8th grade students from Monroe Middle school in a

game of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” during Satur-day Academy.

Students answered FCAT style practice questions in the

subject areas of reading, math and science. Although initially both groups of students were very nervous, they found comfort in knowing that neither group had ever seen the questions be-fore, and that the questions were multiple choice. Each team received a point for every question answered correctly and after an hour of going back and forth with everyone in sus-pense over who would come out on top, 8th graders from Mon-roe had to admit that they were not smarter than 5th graders. Just Elementary brought home another victory with a final score of 25 to 19. The win over Monroe has given our students the confidence needed to conquer the Science FCAT.

The collaboration between Just and Monroe Middle School was rewarding for both teachers and students. Ms. Brown and I are looking forward to any opportunity that may arise in the near future to do so again.

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader???

Mendenhall Students are Ready for the FCAT!

Journals they kept throughout the school year to review the concepts and designed posters to illustrate them.

More than forty posters line the main hallway to the cafeteria at Mendenhall! Fifth grade students view the posters each day on their way to and from lunch as well as their specials classes. Questions and discussions about the science concepts learned this year take place among the fifth grade teachers and their students right there in the hallway sev-eral times each day!

As students view the

long hallway of information, they are impressed with themselves and what they have learned this school year. The fifth grade teachers are also im-pressed, very much at ease, and confident their students will do well on the Science FCAT.

-Linda Kniskern, Mendenhall Elem.

Oh no! It’s that dreaded time of year again. It’s time for the FCAT! Third, fourth, and fifth grade teach-ers are in a state of panic. They are asking themselves, “Did I cover everything my students need to know? Do my students remember everything I taught them this year? How can I review everything before the big day?” Fifth grade students at Mendenhall Elementary have put their teachers’ minds at ease. They are ready for the Science FCAT!

Science Resource Teacher, Linda Kniskern, and fifth grade teachers, Tom Scoleri and Nicole Bates, came up with the idea of a “Science Word Walk”. The teachers as-signed each pair of students an important science concept, tool, etcetera covered during the school year. Students used the Science

- Jennifer Whalen, Witter Elementary

“So, what type of grow medium did you use?” “We used rock

wool cubes and placed them in our net

pots!” Students around Witter Elementary

School have been heard speaking about

Hydroponics. What is the hydroponic proc-

ess you ask? Very simply, it is the process

of growing vegetation and flowering plants

without soil. The roots of the plants are

supplied with a type of special solution,

which contains all necessary nutrients for

successful plant growth and development.

These plants grow and develop more rap-

idly than plants in soil because they ex-

pend less energy than plants that get their

nutrients from the soil.

Mr. Volpe, who is our Witter Technology Specialist, heads up

this project which is open to all the grade levels and our staff.

He feels that it is important to be a part of cutting edge technol-

ogy and to bring it to the students at Witter to expose them to

real world and alternative growing solutions. Our hydroponic

lab is hosted in our Media Center where any and all students

can stop and ask questions about the process. Right now our

school has sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and snap peas

growing successfully.


Ships AHOY!

Mr. Volpe is also currently the recipient of a large hydroponic

system donation from Worm’s Way; one of Tampa’s largest

selling hydroponic retail stores. Witter will now host four differ-

ent types of hydroponic labs

throughout our school where

students will be responsible for

the care and maintenance of

the plants that they choose to

grow. We feel that we are ex-

posing our students to alterna-

tive methods that will engage

them in hands on scientific

processes and allow them to

experience what growing vege-

tation and plants in the future

will be like. This project also

encourages students to take

charge of their learning and contribute positively to our Witter

learning community.

Just recently, Mr. Volpe applied for a grant through the Hillsbor-

ough Education Foundation that, if approved by the Board, will

allow our school to further our study of hydroponic growing

processes and to continue to inspire our students to look to-

wards the future of agriculture and explore the learning process

of growing plants and vegetables right here in our home.

Growing Up

fer. They were able to see how the suns radiation warmed the water and some-times made it disappear or evaporate. The class kept detailed records and cre-ated charts and tables to explain their observations. Recognizing the importance of communication among scientists, the students communicated electronically to several water related businesses such as

Crystal Springs Preserve, the Tampa Desalination Plant and Tampa Bay Watch. Students were able to compare and contrast several different options as to how to best help our water supply and maintain a safe environment for both people and animals. They shared their ideas by creating posters and will have them on display for World Water Moni-toring Day coming up on Monday, March 22, 2010. The culminating activity is an expedition to Tierra Verde Island, com-pliments of Tampa Bay Watch and South West Florida Management District on April 1, 2010. Students will take a boat ride through the estuaries of Tampa Bay where they will see and discuss the importance of keeping our waterways clean. Notes and pictures will be taken and collaboratively the students will cre-ate a news article for our school news-paper. Students will emphasize the health and safety concerns of water con-servation, as well as the economic im-pact. No – one wants to visit a dirty beach. Ships Ahoy!

- Jane Wells & Kathryn Edler,

Cahoon Magnet

Second graders from Ms. Edler’s class at Cahoon Animal Science Elementary Magnet School have had a great time integrating their core curriculum into a fun filled science unit focusing on the Florida Water Shed. They embarked on their adventure by reading “Time for Kids” articles on water conservation and pollution. Students made infer-ences on how human behavior impacts the health of our water supply. With the monetary support from the S.W.F.W.M.D. Splash grant, our school was able to purchase an interactive model of the Florida Water Shed. Over several months students conducted long term investigations on the impact of various liquids onto different types of soils and other surfaces such as con-crete or grass. They were able to make connections as to how gravity affected the process and caused the contami-nants to travel downward into the aqui-

The Captain Planet Foundation gives grants to projects that promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, promote interaction and cooperation within the group and help young people develop planning and problem solving skills. Grants awarded by the Foundation are $250 - $2,500. Applications due June 30th, 2010 http://captainplanetfoundation.org/default.aspx?pid=3&tab=apply National Weather Association Sol Hirsch Teacher Grants K-12 teachers are eligible for one of five, $500 grants available to improve students' education in meteorology. Teachers selected will be able to use the funds to attend a relevant workshop or conference or purchase scientific materials or equipment for the classroom. Applications due June 15th, 2010 http://www.nwas.org/grants/solhirsch.php Awards for Excellence in Educating Students About STEM American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation Classroom Grants are awarded to encourage excellence in educating students about math, science, technology, and engineering. Maximum Award: $200 Deadline: Rolling http://www.aiaa.org/content.cfm?pageid=244 SAMSUNG TECHWIN AMERICA 2010 “Active Learning” Grant Many educators agree that students who actively engage with the material and with other students are far more likely to recall the information shared. Active Learning that involves role playing, debate and group participation all result in greater student engagement. Our 2010 “Active Learning” Grant Program is simple. We are offering 50 SAMCAM 860 document cameras to worthy ap-plicants based on need. Applications due June 01, 2010 http://www.samsunggrants.com

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GRANTS/Fellowships

Don’t forget to apply for

grant opportunities. We

love to see recipients

from Hillsborough!!!

- Michele Bubley, Foster Elem.

Foster Elementary held its first annual Computational Cooking Event. It was a math and science initiative spearheaded by our Math and Science committee. Our math and science team decided we wanted to get our community and family involved in exciting hands on science and math. We held a computational cooking night. After receiving a gener-ous grant from HCEMC- the math coun-cil we were able to fund our project. We asked every grade level to create a “cooking” booth. Every grade level chose a recipe, wrote two math related questions and two science related ques-tions. We then invited our community and families to a parent night in our


County School Board Susan L. Valdes, Chair

Doretha W. Edgecomb, Vice Chair Members—, Jennifer Faliero

April Griffin,

Carol W. Kurdell Jack R. Lamb, Ed.D., Candy Olson

Computational Cooking

Café. We had so much fun cooking with the families and sharing how you can combine math and science in our every day activities. The families had to com-plete a “menu” of questions from each cooking station. They turned in these menus for great raffle prizes, such as

gift cards from Publix, recipe baskets, and snack baskets. Families all had a great time, left with a full stomach, a menu of easy kid friendly recipes, and ways to incorporate math and science.

The follow-up to this fabulous night in-cludes a Foster Family Feast. This time the parents are submitting recipes to us. We will compile them into a Foster Cookbook- including general math and science questions. On another parent/community night we will be inviting the families to come and share their favorite recipe having a “Pot Luck Dinner.” This event was our most attended parent night and it was a great relaxing way to prepare our families and students for the FCAT.

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