Science is like a child looking at a butterfly
Transcript of Science is like a child looking at a butterfly
Learning Science is like
a child looking at
a Butterfly V1.1
jschmied©2016Credits are hyperlinked
A child’s journey
through the layers
of science
learning.
• After 20 years of teaching 7th and 8th grade science I began to reflect on how to really prepare students for the long science journey they were about to engage in. I’d done well, year long overviews, unit engagement plans… but attaining a big picture that resonated within the hearts of my students was elusive.
• During a long mountain hike a couple months back I began to revisit what first got me interested in learning science… seeing a Monarch Butterfly in all its splendor.
• This got me thinking how I could use my experience to build a tool to prepare new students for the journey ahead… one that each student could use to look back at and enjoy their layers of science learning… to celebrate the layers of learning before preparing themselves for the journey ahead.
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Two Wings on top & also on the bottom.
Let’s look more!
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Everything’s the same on one side of the body as the other!
Look Again!
This butterfly has a head, thorax and an abdomen.
Let’s look again…jschmied©2015
Common Name:
Monarch butterfly
Scientific Name:
Danaus plexippus
These
are
Males!
Males have
two scent glands.
One on each lower wing.
Let’s look some more!
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jschmied©2015The wings have ribs!
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The wings have
colored scales.
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The scales hang onto even more “ribs”
There are six legs & two antenna!
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The legs are jointed & have hooks!
jschmied©2015Big tongue!.
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Each eye is
made of
many eyes
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The eggs are tiny
& so are the caterpillars!
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Monarch
caterpillars
are
colorful
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Caterpillars completely
rearrange their insides & outsides
to become butterflies
jschmied©2015The butterflies fly a long way for the winter & back.
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Looking deeper
at butterfly
chemistry will
help solve how
monarchs find
their way out
and back home.
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Learning Science is like a child looking at…
…a Butterfly
About the author:
John Schmied has been a secondary science school teacher for 20 years and is involved in developing practical, yet innovative, hands on curriculum for teens. In addition he is a Chemical Hygiene Officer and also created, developed and manages a 6 acre Environmental Center at his school site.
John’s presentations have been viewed worldwide & have been in the top 5% of Slideshare for multiple years.
During this time John served as the Strategic planner for the Friends of the Hidden River a 501(C)(3) non profit.
• Over the past 13 years Friends helped King County, WA design, fund, construct & develop the 14,800 sqftBrightwater Environmental Center in Woodinville WA.
• John is the Director & a principal developer of the Ground to Sound STEM Environmental Challenge course, a locally popular cutting edge environmental program that merges, Science, Tech, Art, Multimedia and other disciplines with Leadership studies at the Center
Prior to this period John served as a U. S. Coast Guard Officer primarily involved in ice, navigation & search and rescue operations. His specialties are Ship handling, Diving and Oceanographic Operations.
John can be contacted via Linked In.