3-LS1-1 What I Should Address

I decided to look at 3-LS1-1: Develop Models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but ALL have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

SEP: Developing and Using Models: My goal with 3rd graders is to help students develop models, by constructing drawings to represent phenomena, then use those models through simulations to test their designs! Examples may include them drawing a praying mantis with labels of its parts.  Another example would be to draw a car on a ramp, anticipating slope and speed. A physical model is a manifestation of a mental model, so lots of drawings and sketching in the early elementary stages. Google Sketch-up and netlogo were resources mentioned in the video.  I really appreciate knowing new technology to incorporate with students!

CCC: Patterns: In Science, teaching and doing many activities with patterns is important because they initiate questions from students which can lead to better explanations! My goal with 3rd graders is to get students to recognize patterns, classify patterns, and evaluate patterns. Students should start collecting data.  An example activity would be to have students draw the different phases of the moon. Then through their sketches, have them predict the next phase.  What would it look like?  How do you know? Classifying animals and plants is a good lesson also.

DCI: Growth and Development of Organisms: At the elementary level, I want to teach and focus students to Growth and Change. Growth is defined as a species showing size; getting bigger. Development shows change.  E.g. acorn to an oak tree, egg to a chicken, baby to mom to grandma to great grandma. With 3rd graders getting them to talk about changes in looks of animals, trees, humans sounds simplistic, but is important for building blocks to the next state of asexual/sexual changes.

Your article is very good and interesting, jacksmith thank you very much.

The creation of Snow Rider 3D has truly been a labor of love for me, and I am overjoyed to witness its immense popularity among gamers. Your comments and encouragement motivate me to keep creating games that people all over the world enjoy.

Great ideas for engaging 3rd graders with modeling! Visual representations are key. Remember the frustration (and learning!) playing Flappy Bird? Kids could model its flight with drawings, then simulate "collisions" with different obstacle sizes. Connecting abstract concepts to playful experiences boosts understanding. I'll check out SketchUp and NetLogo – thanks for sharing! #scienceeducation #modeling #elementaryscience