ECMSP has prepared this Pre visit Activities, Program Description with (curriculum
support) and Post Visit instructions to assist teachers in preparing for and attending the science portion
of the 2009 5th Grade History & Science Program. Please submit any questions or suggestions to
Overview - This Year the program will focus on South Carolina's RIvers, Estuaries and Watersheds as Chemical Systems
3. Post Visit Work - Through the input of your classes's data into our research data base, the students will be able to communicate their findings to other students participating in the program. . Each week, the research web site will be updated with the participating schools data, such that the students will be able to analyze their findings with those of the other participating students. Performance Standard Goal
for all of our Programs ECMSP’s programs are structured
such that the Students will identify (basic level) and demonstrate (proficient
level) an accurate understanding of the science content discussed in the
context of major concepts required by the South Carolina Standards. Our hands
on salinity experiments pose a question; form a hypothesis; design and
safely conduct an experiment demonstrating a systematic process of collecting,
organizing, analyzing, and reporting data to form a valid conclusion. Since all
experiments are part of actual research being conducted at Patriots Point,
Students engaged in further investigation by inputting their findings from
their classrooms into research web sites maintained by ECMSP and the South Carolina
Department of Natural Resources. Finally, through Socratic teaching methods,
our instructors challenge the students in all of our programs, to make
connections that go beyond those required at the standard’s proficient level.
Scientific
Inquiry Water
Quality Experiments - Interactive Classroom & Floating Dock Observation Station
Standard Project Discussion 5-1.1 Identify questions suitable for
generating a hypothesis. A water sample will be taken from the Floating Dock Observation Station. Students will use hydrometers in the Interactive Classroom to determine the salinity level of the site's brackish water.
A research
form can be downloaded at RESEARCH DATA SHEET . The form gives the Students an outline of the test they are
going to conduct during the visit. From it, they are asked to develop a
hypothesis of the experiment on the brackish water sample.
5-1.2 Identify independent (manipulated),
dependent (responding), and controlled variables in an experiment. The students
calibrate the various tools for the salinity test, first using fresh water in
the hydrometer, next discussing the effects of the tides on the salinity
factors of the harbor water tested, to the controlled factors of the amount
of solution used in the PH tests. 5-1.3
Plan and conduct controlled scientific
investigations, manipulating one variable at a time. The students
discuss the expected differences between fresh water and the brackish water
sample from the harbor. Students also discuss the math concepts of medium and
mode methods of determining the results of the tests, and why each method is
the correct method used in calculating the students’ findings. 5-1.4
Use appropriate tools and instruments, safely and accurately when
conducting a controlled scientific investigation. Experiments
1. Salinity test
2. The dissoluble nature of salt in water. This activity
provides the hands on experience of an actual experiment conducted using
proper control and experiment techniques. 5-1.5
Construct a line graph from recorded data
with correct placement of independent (manipulated) and dependent
(responding) variables. Post-visit Activity Students
review their findings, and compare those of other students. 5-1.6
Evaluate results of an investigation to
formulate a valid conclusion based on evidence and communicate the findings
of the evaluation in oral or written form. If you do not
have the RESEARCH DATA SHEET , download the form, use the form as a
guide and have the
students input their findings at South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ web site SCORE DATA BASE . The web site contains experiment findings
by students that participated in the program since 2005.
5-1.7
Use a simple technological design process
to develop a solution or a product, communicating the design by using
descriptions, models, and drawings. Ecosystems: Terrestrial and
Aquatic Observations
Standard 5-2: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of relationships among biotic and biotic
factors within terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. (Life Science)
Standard Project Discussion 5-2.2 Summarize the composition of an ecosystem,
considering both biotic factors (including populations to the level of
microorganisms and communities) and biotic
factors.
Program Site: A plankton pull will be conducted on the morning of the program. The sample will be viewed by the students using the projection microscope within the interactive classroom. The students will also conduct a inventory of the underwater habitats maintained at the Floating dock observation station.
From the floating dock observation station, students have a wonderful view point of the harbor and its marine
environments. There are numerous examples of biotic
and biotic factors. Instructors discuss the concept of living (biotic) and
non-living (biotic) factors as they pertain to
ecosystems. 5-2.3 Compare the characteristics of
different ecosystems (including estuaries/salt marshes, oceans, lakes and
ponds, forests, and grasslands). 5-2.4 Identify
the roles of organisms as they interact and depend on one another through
food chains and food webs in an ecosystem, considering producers and
consumers (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores), decomposers
(microorganisms, termites, worms, and fungi), predators and prey, and
parasites and hosts.. Students will
discuss and identify the organisms that make up the various environments that
make up 5-2.5 Explain how limiting factors
(including food, water, space, and shelter) affect populations in ecosystems Post- Visit Activity: Download Worksheet The students
discuss the impact of the ecosystem by natural and human factors such as
developmental growth and changes in the make up of the ecosystem by natural
causes. A Habitat
Work Sheet is available at for download and discussion. Landforms
and Oceans - Stream Table Experiments
- Floating Dock Observation Station
Standard 5-3: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of features, processes, and changes in Earth’s land and
oceans. (Earth Science) Standard Project Discussion 5-3.1 Explain how natural processes (including weathering,
erosion, deposition, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and floods)
affect Earth’s oceans and land in constructive and destructive ways. Students work
with trays that demonstrate the effect of water as a force in runoff and soil
deposit through rivers. Using a map
of Working in
teams, the students use the erosion/weathering trays to demonstrate the
creation of rivers and the effects of weathering and erosion as a geological
process in building the beaches in and around 5-3.4 Explain
how waves, currents, tides, and storms affect the geologic features of the
ocean shore zone (including beaches, barrier islands, estuaries, and inlets).
Using the
erosion/weathering tables, students discuss and demonstrate how waves and
storms redistribute the sand on the beaches in and around 5-3.5 Compare the
movement of water by waves, currents, and tides. The students discuss the movement of the water in
5-3.6 Explain how human activity (including
conservation efforts and pollution) has affected the land and the oceans of
Earth. Using the
erosion demonstration tables, the students discuss
Standard 5-1:
The student will demonstrate an
understanding of scientific inquiry, including the foundations of technological
design and the processes, skills, and mathematical thinking necessary to
conduct a controlled scientific investigation.