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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 3:51pm | IP Logged
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We had just started discussing this topic on this thread. I thought it would be helpful to keep all of our general Montessori flavored science ideas and links together in one place, so with Jen's permission I'm starting with her ideas...
marihalojen wrote:
Would it be helpful if we brainstormed some topics or extensions for the older student?
Botany
*leaf shapes (we did this last year off a freebie)
*roots
*stems
*flowers
*fruits
*seeds
*parts of a bulb
*parts of a mushroom
*trees
*plant cells - cell wall, cell membrane, chloroplasts, vacuoles, nucleus, cytoplasm
Geography
*land forms (another freebie? Or maybe I just made my own?)
*Flags (we used a sticker book to make the cards)
*continents
*countries
Marine Science
*types of coral
*Local fish
*marine invertebrates
*water features
- types of currents i.e. rip, longshore, up and down wellings,
- types of waves i.e. spilling or rolling, dumping or plunging and surging, capillary, swell, fetch, water particle movement within a wave, wave length, height, trough, crest
- underwater geography i.e. abyss, abyssmal plain, trench, continental slope and shelf, mid-ocean ridge
Astronomy
*Moon phases
*Solar stuff (flares, sunspots, coronal mass ejections etc)
*Revolution & Rotation
*types of galaxies
*common constellations
These were from last year that I'm planning on expanding.
-------------------------------------------------------
These are new that I'm pondering for this year.
Microscope
*parts
Cells (good take-off from microscopes, right?)
Body
*cardiovascular
*digestive
*respirtory
*skeletal
*endocrine
*muscular
Periodic Table
*elements
*atomic structure
Electricity
(my dh loves electricity and is always bring up bits about it, I need to do more with it rather than just blow stuff up for them to fix)
*voltage,
*current
*resistance
*Electron
*Free electron
*conductor
*insulator
*circuit
*switch
*watt
Energy
*Kinetic & Potential
*mechanical,
*electrical,
*chemical,
*heat,
*nuclear
Keep in mind I'm doing this without training, manuals or catalogs handy, so chime in!!!
Gosh, this got huge! That's what happens when you leave a window open and wander off till you think of more stuff.  I did look up Montessori Science and got returns like this:
The Montessori middle school science curriculum is diverse and covers an array of topics with the aim of providing an introduction to the wide variety of sciences as well as a base of knowledge in many areas. Topics include: geology, astronomy, laws of motion, weather and climate, ecosystems, plants and animals, atmosphere, energy, and oceanography. The eighth grade curriculum rounds out the middle school base of knowledge and focuses on chemistry, physics, biology, and earth science. Students also attend health classes, which focus on the human body, the different systems within the body, and how to take care of your own body.
What topics are you all looking for? |
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Mackfam
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I'm really interested in getting your resources for your study of marine life, Jen!!! Just looking at your list is exciting me. I never knew there were different types of currents!!!
Did you use 3 part cards for these to build vocabulary and then head off on rabbit trails?
I'm striking off into a study of Earth Science and Paleontology and Zoology this year after a very fun and successful year of Botany last year!!! Those 3 part cards provided a great foundation for studying more focused parts of Botany.
I loved Andrea's link to In Print For Children and found some really great animal series, vertebrate/invertebrate cards and overlays. There's some really great stuff there!
I ordered and just got in a very neat program from Fossilicious with books on Fossils, Geologic Eras, and Periods and an 18 piece fossil collection. The kids are so excited - there is dinosaur poopy in the house! I'm hoping to find some 3 part cards to complement our study - something helping to distinguish the different eras and periods! Should be fun!
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marihalojen
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| Posted: June 21 2008 at 1:04pm | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
I'm really interested in getting your resources for your study of marine life, Jen!!! Just looking at your list is exciting me. I never knew there were different types of currents!!!
Did you use 3 part cards for these to build vocabulary and then head off on rabbit trails? |
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Gosh, I'm dropping in so quickly here today, just put the groceries away from our trip into Key West and need to grab a bit of lunch before setting up to dive on the bottom of the boat (to clean it - scrape the barnacles and other grossness, I'm sorry, marine invertebrate life off) but they were closely connected with a scuba course we took last year. Lots of great info there. I build alot of my cards myself, I figure that Maria Montessori sure didn't have laser printers and such in her slum in Italy and if her method is true and living I won't need it either!
Oh, gosh, gotta go, so rushed, I apologize! Hope this made sense and I'll be back when I get a chance!
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vmalott
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Mackfam wrote:
| I'm hoping to find some 3 part cards to complement our study - something helping to distinguish the different eras and periods! Should be fun! |
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There are some free resources at Fossil Facts and Finds, icluding a lesson on the Clock of Eras and related printables. And, duh, I just noticed this website is related to Fossilicious! 
If you join the Montessori Makers Culture Yahoo group, there is an incredible 25-page pdf in the files section titles "Timeline Labels" (in the main section) that would be GREAT extension work for the Timeline of Life chart. I think they could be adapted into 3-part cards.
Valerie
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Valerie
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 23 2008 at 1:31pm | IP Logged
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Thank you soooooo much, Valerie!  I'm going to go look at this later this afternoon, but it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.
 Thanks!
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Jen Mackintosh
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vmalott
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You're welcome, Jennifer. My 12yo son was really intrigued by the Timeline of Life chart once I got around to adhering it to some leftover blue mat board (leftover from our sandpaper letters ). He made his own activity with the various eras/periods that I printed off the Yahoo groups file, placing them under the appropriate places of the timeline...I believe everything is fairly well color-coordinated.
I like the timeline chart so much that it is sitting on our mantle, with some of our fossils and shells sitting in front of it.  I have some other fossil-related links on my blog in the left sidebar (scroll down to science). The Cincinnati area is apparently a really good place to find Ordivician fossils.
Valerie
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: June 24 2008 at 8:36am | IP Logged
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I just checked out the yahoo group and the information there is wonderful. Thank you Valerie! The docs on moon phases are really nice. Lots of stuff here to use with our older kids.
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Jackie
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This is a great resource Valerie, thanks for linking it as I'd forgot about this one 
Your son sounds adorable.
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Meredith
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 24 2008 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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vmalott wrote:
There are some free resources at Fossil Facts and Finds, icluding a lesson on the Clock of Eras and related printables. And, duh, I just noticed this website is related to Fossilicious!
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I spent last night bookmarking away! That sight is just so awesome. I had already downloaded the Timeline of Life from ??somewhere?? maybe Montessori Materials? BTW, that's a great idea to mount the timeline to a mat or board! Anyway, finding it again and the site you linked to really rounded out the rest of my focus on Paleontology! Thanks again, Valerie! Hoping to pop by your blog later today and check out some of your links!
Janet (ALMOM) has graciously offered me her backyard to go fossil hunting in...apparently they have an abundance of fossils in their backyard! How cool is that?! And we live near a river bed that actually has a ton of fossils mixed amongst the river rock. It is turning into an exciting study! The river rock also provides a number of cool specimens for our foray into geology - flint, granite, quartz, shale...it's wonderful when a study just sort of falls into place as this year's science is.
Anyway, just wanted to come back and thank you again, Valerie.
Anybody else find any other helpful resources to add to this thread?
I'll add a couple of sights I found really helpful in our Botany study last year.
Wildflowers and Weeds
eNature
and...in case you're doing a study on birds...we find this to be super fun!
Cornell Lab of Ornithology Nest Cams With this program you can sign up and become a "Camclickr" and actually watch nests and help scientists classify breeding behaviors. The kids and I plan on incorporating this into our days next year.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: June 25 2008 at 8:37am | IP Logged
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Here are some Science sites we enjoy:
For middle school age science activities:
Science Spot
flash cards of animals according to how they acquire food for various games:
Flash Cards
descriptions and photos of all the animal kingdoms verts and inverts for classification lessons:
classification
originally liked for its link to a carbon dating online game (at top), but also like the science facts:
explore it
rock identification site:
Rocks
soil insect identification:
soil insects
Jennifer...I really like the nest cams! I'm watching them this morning. We really got into birds this past spring, especially the 3 year old. So, this is perfect!
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Jackie
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mooreboyz
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| Posted: July 07 2008 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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Just want to add this site that has some nice downloads for older kids...parts of a flower, phases of the moon, skeleton, heart, lemon battery steps, etc..
sparklebox2
sparklebox
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Jackie
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marihalojen
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| Posted: July 14 2008 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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It never fails, as soon as a super interesting thread opens up my life explodes! How does that happen??? Yesterday we were topping up the batteries which on our boat are stored under the bed in the Capt. Quarters and I found an entire roll of music cards that I'd had laminated for last year, stored and forgot. How embarressing is that? But it did remind me of this thread, so it's all good!
So I'm going to try and dive right back in...
With Marine Science we were using Jeppesen's Dive Manual (you can read through some of it there) for our scuba course. A few of the cards I simply handcopied directly out of the book, others I cut and pasted from a source online, like Wikipedia if it looked somewhat like the book's illustration.
Alot of the time I cut up pix from all the local stuff available, free dive magazines and such. Key West based Reef Relief offers some great stuff like Coral Reef Teacher's Guide (big pdf) and for identification we always turn to their 3-Part Reef Set.
One source for a variety of animal life cards (heavy on the Pacific though) is the Monterey Bay Aquarium Critter Cards from their Sea Searchers Handbook.
Wyland's Ocean Cards (scroll down to p.13-24) he has others here: oceans, estuaries, wetlands, rivers, lakes.
More ocean cards here these are painted by Wyland, not photos, which I think is the coolest thing ever!
NOAA has some good graphics on Rip Currents including this Safety Sign, more here. NOAA also has a huge educational coral reef/oceans area here including one for grades 6-12 and more here that are divided from grades 3-5, 6-12.
Ocean's Alive! had some good graphics of currents and waves I resized and printed as cards.
My husband worked at Aquarius for years, so we had access to alot of this through the guys there. They have their own education area online too.
Mostly I was inspired by Montssori Materials free downloads, esp the Land and Water Forms and Command Cards which are completely adaptable and still allow the kids to pick and choose their own activities somewhat. And yes, I suppose I did use it to build vocab but it was entirely tailored to that Dive Manual, we had to pass a monster test at the end that the dive instructor had written for his college level course so I was super nervous about it! We'd do things with the cards like arrange the ones of scuba gear in the order you would put it on, (those cards were just made from Divers Direct catalogs) or match picture cards of various swimming kicks that I drew to the description of when they'd be useful (For instance - This kick provides a restful interlude for tired leg muscles during long surface swims resulting in a lessened likelihood of cramping = Frog Kick).
I think I'll copy this before I post, I'd hate to lose all these links!
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hsmom
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I joined the Montessori Makers Culture Yahoo group. There was a lot of neat stuff there. Trouble is, is I don't really understand how to use the stuff. For example, a leaf with different parts color coded for the parts. Do they just study it that way or is there something else to do? Also, leaf shapes and descriptions. Do they match those up. Is this appropriate for an upper elementary child? I've always wanted to include some montessori type of things, but....just never seems to happen. I've read about it in the past. Maybe there is a book I need to get again???? thanks, Valerie
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Jennifer, this is amazing, thank you for all your links!!
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hello, curious here, are any of you using acutal science programs (RS4K, Living Learning, etc.) or just montessori with the cards, albums experiments etc?
i am right now researching science programs for next year for my 2nd grader, but am starting to think, i was most free and successful when i ditched the program i was using toward the end of last year, and followed botany in a day, lori's products, living books, and a nature journal.
where are you getting info. for science presentations, or experiments? i am referring to chem. and physics, where you really need to show what is going on.
thanks!
lisa
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marihalojen
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As little as your princesses are, Lisa, I personally would go with what has been working!
We're kinda brainstormin' along here, I have an 8th grader this year, which boggles the mind! Potentially what we do this year could be counted for high school credit - wow! Where'd the time go? 
I read that the recommended sequence for high school science is Biology, Chemistry, Physics plus one advanced like Oceanography or Astronomy leaving Earth or Physical Science for 8th grade. So I'm pondering that currently.
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Angel
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marihalojen wrote:
We're kinda brainstormin' along here, I have an 8th grader this year, which boggles the mind! Potentially what we do this year could be counted for high school credit - wow! Where'd the time go?
I read that the recommended sequence for high school science is Biology, Chemistry, Physics plus one advanced like Oceanography or Astronomy leaving Earth or Physical Science for 8th grade. So I'm pondering that currently. |
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I've just now gotten around to reading this thread, which I have been meaning to do for a long time... and I clicked over and read the thread you linked to, Jennifer, and... oh my! The other thread talks about transcripts for high school credit courses in the 8th grade and...this year I have a child who is *technically* in the 6th grade but will conceivably start doing stuff I need to put on a transcript as early as next year!  I believe I may hyperventilate.
This is a great thread, btw. I hope to have time to click through all the links. For this year, I'm thinking about whatever gaps we have before science has to go "formal" for my oldest. So far we've kind of cruised through almost everything except physics. Garrett got a taste of chemistry last year, but it would be nice to do some experiments, and for some reason weather is a bit of a bare patch as well...
So I guess it's mainly physical sciences for us this year, with of course some rabbit trails and a lot of nature thrown in. For my 6th grader, I really want to emphasize Backyard Ballistics, because a)we already own it and b)my oldest is a boy. I think Theresa used it last year, didn't she? I think this will be good to tie into our ancient history this year, too.
I haven't gotten too far into planning yet, though, and it looks as if flexibility may be key this year for us. So we may be doing all this with a minimum of stuff.
--Angela
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lapazfarm
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We got Backyard Ballistics and ds started in on a project (potato cannon) but never finished because we had to turn our focus to moving, etc. But he hopes to pick it up again soon. We even brought along his unfinished potato cannon so he could finish it up here. Another book he likes is called something like Whoosh!Bang!Splat! He made a cool marshmallow shooter from that book.I think the projects in that book are a bit simpler, but I have not done a thorough comparison of the books.
I also picked up a book at Denali Park a couple of days ago called Alaska Science Nuggets, which is a compilation of articles (written for newspapers, etc) about science of Alaska like permafrost, northern lights, etc(did you know you can tap birches just like maples? I didn't, but I do now!LOL!),and ds is excited to dig into it. We have too good of a hands-on science opportunity here to waste it, you know? Perhaps there is something similar for the states you live in?
Oh, and I also got the book "Roadside Geology of Alaska", which I know is a series put out for many states. I've started reading it myself and am excited about the possibilities of learning geology right here, alongside my kiddos. I already put some of it to use in Denali Park, being able to recognize and point out some formations, rock types, fault lines, etc that I would not have known before!I love a book that I can read one day and use the next!
As far as how to use these books? Well, the us-schooling way is to play it by ear, of course! When we come across something interesting outside (like the birches in our new yard), we'll read up on it. That tends to inspire more exploration, and we go from there on and on...
Conversely, we may pick up the book first and that will lead us to discover something outside we didn't know about. So we'll head outside to check it out!
Backyard Ballistics is more of a "I'm bored, what can I do today?" type of book.Just pick a project that looks interesting and go for it!
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Mackfam
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Lisa,
I use various books as a guide - I like the Janice van Cleave books a lot. Also, I use the Discover Nature in the...(weather, around the house, winter, etc.) series. We use living books and experiments and real life for the rest. Google takes care of any researching we need to do. I'm with everyone else - stick with what works and don't change it!!!
Jennifer,
That is such an awesome resource listing! Thank you for linking it all!
I have been collecting and adding to our science treasures for the year through used book stores and am really excited about some of my finds - Life Story by Virginia Lee Burton is exciting to read as well as Prehistoric America(oop Landmark Books).
We found a neat set of Schleich dinosaurs that my ds has fallen in love with. The dinosaurs coupled with the dinosaur poopy, the other 17 fossils, and a few lovely picture books, Valerie's links above and the children are beyond excited to start with science this year.
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| I've just now gotten around to reading this thread, which I have been meaning to do for a long time... and I clicked over and read the thread you linked to, Jennifer, and... oh my! The other thread talks about transcripts for high school credit courses in the 8th grade and...this year I have a child who is *technically* in the 6th grade but will conceivably start doing stuff I need to put on a transcript as early as next year! I believe I may hyperventilate. |
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I was really helped when planning out with the CM big picture planner, Angela (in terms of how to lay out a science plan/rhythm through high school). This year I have a 7th grader whose Algebra counts as high school credit. I intend to document her science studies this year in case it counts as well.
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Jen Mackintosh
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mooreboyz
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To add to your Geology units I recommend:
How the Earth Works
this is an awesome book full of activities/experiments/games...love it!
Dinosaurs to Dodos
which is a fantastic guide of life from the very beginning with fantastic pictures and descriptions...great for this age level.
The Island that moved
explains plate tectonics and how our continents ended up where they are in a nice picture book like format.
Pebble in my Pocket
follows a rock from the beginning of the earth to today.
Rocks in his Head
about a man who loved collecting rocks.
These are great sites:
Rocks for Kids
includes lesson plans and experiments
The Dynamic Earth
Rock Key
useful for identifying rocks.
My 8 year old is a total rock hound and so he did an independent unit last year on rocks. We learned so much and had a great time. I swear there was some kind of tasty snack like experiment for everything he did from seeing the layers of the earth in a snickers bar to seeing the rock cycle in making rice krispie treats to using pop rocks, which was sooo fun.
He already had a rock specimen collection which I would recommend getting for this unit so the kids can do the various tests for identification. I can't tell you enough how wonderful How the Earth Works is. It will give you a fantastic unit study all on its own and the directions are simple enough that the kids can work pretty much independently if you organize it for them with some goals.
I did the First Great Lesson before my son did this unit and for all the great lessons I really like using
Miss Barbara
She gives you a narration to read if you want and lots of ideas for research/books/experiments. Just Wonderful. She even gives ideas for command like cards to get research rolling.
What I did last year was presented the 1st great lesson and then had my 6 year old do a dinosaur unit, my 8 year old do a rock unit, and my 10 year old worked on Theresa's Harry Potter Unit (THANK YOU!!!). We probably should have done the 2nd great lesson before these unit studies, but we ended up doing that later. It all worked out fine though. They all worked more or less independently using binders I put together for them ahead of time with goals, some worksheets, and experiment instructions. We did this during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season which worked out really well because I got the extra time to do the extra things I needed to do and they got to work on their own schedule and have lots of fun during this exciting time of the year.
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Jackie
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Montessori Science-Older students
