ExCL : projects





		Creativity Kits Mini lesson plans complete with materials that help teachers extend learning using recycled materials
			A History of the Dream Catcher The dream catcher originated in the Ojibwe (a.k.a. the Chipewa) culture. The Ojibwe, whose homeland is the Great Lakes region, say that in the ancient world Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) helped bring Wanabozhoo (sun) back to earth at dawn. If you are awake at dawn, look for her home to see the miracle of how she captures the sunlight as it sparkles in her dew-dropped web.
		It became tradition to hang dream catchers over cradles and beds of young children to capture bad dreams in its web. The hole in the center is to let good dreams through and the bead on the web represents the Spider Woman. The circle represents the arched path of the sun and the feather hanging from the center is to show the movement of air to young children. Encourage your students to create imagery in their dream catchers to represent elements of their own life or imagined mythology!
			Classification & the Physical Science Curricula In this exercise, students use a binary classification system to divide objects, then justify their scheme. The task assesses primary students' ability to perform process skills such as classification using differences and similarities. This task is designed to take students approximately 8 minutes to complete.
		Here is an abbreviated list of topics included in National Education Standards which this exercise touches upon: • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry • Properties of Objects and Materials • Understanding Patterns, Relationships, and Functions • Formulating questions that can be addressed with data • Understanding measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement
			Fast Facts About Our Solar System Our solar system consists of THE SUN; THE 9 PLANETS; more than 130 SATELLITES of the planets, a large number of SMALL BODIES (comets and asteroids), and the INTERPLANETARY MEDIUM. The INNER SOLAR SYSTEM is the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM is Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The inner and outer solar systems are divided by an ASTEROID BELT. The approximate scale of the model your students will be building is 1:1,000,000,000
		SOURCE: www.seds.org
			Fast Facts About Density Take a look at the two boxes below. Each box has the same volume. If each ball has the same mass, which box would weigh more? Why?
		The box that has more balls, has more mass per unit of volume. This property of matter is called density. The density of a material helps to distinguish it from other materials. Since mass is usually expressed in grams and volume in cubic centimeters, density is expressed in grams/cubic centimeter. Density = Mass / Volume
		SOURCE: www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/density.html
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