Prior Knowledge Assessment

1. Prior Knowledge Assessment Kylie Ford – Wondrous Water Activity

2. Why Water Properties? • Cooperating teacher said students often have misconceptions about water properties • Water is used in everyday life, students think they already know about it • Great discrepant events to cause cognitive dissonance

3. SOL Standards and Purpose • SOL 6.1 I: models and simulations used to explain phenomena and systems • SOL 6.4 D: atoms interact to form bonds • SOL 6.5 B: properties of water (covering liquid only) • Purpose: Given a demonstration and an experiment students will be able to observe and explain the properties of water including specific heat, adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension.

4. Student Interviews • Students were chosen with input from my cooperating teacher • He helped me to chose students from different achievement levels in the 6th grade class, lower, middle, and high achieving.

5. Student Interviews • Why do you think the air is hot but the pool is cold in the beginning of the summer? Student A: Because heat rises Student B: Because the chlorine might have dry ice Student C: Because the water hasn’t had time to warm up, could not explain why it takes time to heat up

6. Student Interviews 2. How do you think water droplets form? Student A: Gravity Student B: Maybe because it takes a long time to drop, could not explain why Student C: Gravity

7. Student Interviews 3. Why do you think water climbs up this paper towel? (demo – showed the difference between water and oil) Student A: Water wants to go where its dry and has more room to move Student B: Because water is made of H and O and no rocks Student C: Paper towel has little air pockets that draw the water up the paper towel and doesn’t let it escape

8. Student Interviews • Why can water striders (water bugs) “walk” on water? (students were familiar with water striders) Student A: small and light so they float Student B: they have walk on water shoes (part of body) and are thin and light so they don’t sink Student C: So light that they wont sink

9. Student Interviews 5. Why do belly flops hurt? Student A: Because the whole body is hitting at once so the water hits harder Student B: Makes a big pow so you stay on top of the water longer since you’re spread out Student C: More surface area hitting you – matters because water hits you in more places

10. Engage • 2 Demos • Pepper floats, sinks when soap added • Paper clip floats, sinks when soap added • Students thought light objects could float, discrepancy shown when added soap, not extra weight, makes things sink

11. Explore • Penny Drop Lab • Students fill in the blanks for hypothesis, independent, dependent variables • Students conduct 3 trials and record findings and observations • Done with water then with oil or vinegar • Open ended questions asked about their findings

12. Explain • Asked open ended questions about observations • Talked about sources of error • Guided note taking using ActivBoard about water properties using real life examples and discussion • Explain how waters polarity gives it its properties • The pool and ocean for specific heat • Water sticking to glass and not to rain jackets for adhesion • Water droplets for cohesion

13. Elaborate • Capillary action demonstration • Can you apply what you just learned? Explain how the properties of water make capillary action possible.

14. Evaluate • Activity sheet collected and graded via the rubric below • Students were given a chance to expand on their answers and resubmit if they were given a zero or one

15. Post Interviews • Why do you think the air is hot but the pool is cold in the beginning of the summer? Student A: Because air heats up faster Student B: Takes longer to heat up water Student C: Specific heat of water makes it take longer to heat up than air

16. Post Interviews 2. How do you think water droplets form? Student A: Gravity, couldn’t explain Student B: Water drops because its attracted to other water Student C: Cohesion – the molecules are attracted to each other and it forms the drop

17. Post Interviews 3. Why do you think water climbs up this paper towel? (demo – showed the difference between water and oil) Student A: Water needs somewhere to go and is attracted to the paper towel Student B: Because it was soaking it Student C: Cohesion causes water molecules to stick to each other and adhesion causes them to stick to the paper towel so they move up

18. Post Interviews • Why can water striders (water bugs) “walk” on water? (students were familiar with water striders) Student A: Its small so it floats Student B: Because of the way their legs are on the water they don’t fall through the strong surface Student C: Surface tension. If you put soap on the water he would sink cause it messes up the bonds

19. Post Interviews 5. Why do belly flops hurt? Student A: Body goes in all at once so water bonds don’t have time to break Student B: You’re trying to move water too fast and it doesn’t move Student C: More surface area hitting your skin, surface tension

20. Standards: INTASC 6 – multiple assessments • Pre and post interviews with open ended questions • Open ended questions, charts, and opportunities for drawings on activity sheet • Teacher checks for understanding during lab activity, note taking, and elaboration phase

21. Standards: NSTA 2c – address preconceptions • Use of discrepant events to cause cognitive dissonance • Hands on interactions • Open ended questions that address their alternate conceptions

22. Standards: NSTA 3c – fair assessment • Use of activity sheet with activities causing cognitive dissonance with their preconceptions • Gave students opportunity to correct/ elaborate answers after initial grading • Open ended questions • Multiple ways for students to show knowledge • Discussion with students throughout the lesson

23. Standards: NSTA 5a – evidence of knowledge gained/corrected • Pre and post interviews with students • Questions asked to students during their explore and explain phase compared to their elaborate answer • Unit test