Our Driving Question Board for 4th grade has filled up with our models of initial thinking about roller coaster, and questions we have about how they work! Our unit started with a phenomena of watching a point of view roller coaster video that went through twists and loops. Students shared some of their thinking about the roller coaster ride and what they notices. Then they engaged in a roller coaster challenge from Picture Perfect Science. This involved students using insulation pipe, which allows flexibility to create turns, hills, and loops to model a roller coaster. After the experiment, student spent some time in Silent Sustained Writing creating a model of how roller coasters are able to complete a loop without falling down. Table groups came together to discuss their ideas, and collaborate on a consensus model for their table. The following day, we reviewed our models and developed questions using the Right Question Technique #QFT. Table decided on their 3 top questions and those were added to the Driving Question Board. As questions were added, students thought about how to classify their question by the Cross Cutting Concept it addressed. This allowed students to become familiar with #NYSSLS and the #CCC of the new standards.
The following day, we worked as a class to design and conduct an investigation to answer one of the most common questions on the #DQB, which was "How does the hill height affect the energy of the roller coaster?" We used some new technology to our lab, the Pocket Lab Voyager.
Pocket Lab Collects Data
This amazing little tool is really a mini laboratory! It has a number of sensors that transmit data to the students' ipads. It has many capabilities, but we used the magnetic field locator as a timing gate at the bottom of the ramp. The Pocket Lab fits into a Mini Hot Rod that rolls down Hot Wheel Tracks. Students designed the experiment to have 2 hills, one hill and one low. They did 3 trails on each hill, capturing data with the Pocket Lab. Next week, we will begin data analysis and create scientific arguments to communicate what we have learned.
The DQB has been an incredible tool in making connections for students! We review it at the start of every class, so students can recall where we started (our phenomena), and where we are going. We moved through the scientific process to explain our initial thinking using models, which are scientific and engineering practices #SEPS. Our models led to asking questions to help us understand the phenomena. As scientists, we then move to planning and conducting an investigation to help us answer that question. The DQB makes this sequence of scientific practices visible for students! As we analyze data and construct arguments, those too will be added to the DQB so that students continue to make connections!
