Real-World Connection Activities
Science Basics
Safety in the Lab
• Gather the following items and show them to the students:
Thinking Like a Scientist
• Remind students that scientists can use experimental
design to learn about the world around us. Scientists
make observations, ask questions, form a hypothesis,
make predictions, and gather data. Then they study their
results and draw conclusions.
• Have students work in small groups. Ask the groups to
design an experiment to answer the following question:
Does putting bread in the refrigerator keep it fresh longer
than putting it on the kitchen counter? Have groups write
the steps they would follow to answer the question.
safety goggles, a lab apron, safety gloves, a bar of soap
and a dish of water, a fire extinguisher, and a first aid kit.
Point out the fire alarm in or near your classroom.
• Describe a series of situations to students. Have students
tell or point to the object they would use in each situation.
Sample situations: You are going to work with a liquid that
could splash into your eyes (goggles). You accidentally
cause a fire in the lab (fire extinguisher and fire alarm).
• Then ask groups of students to brainstorm other situations
and the safety item to use in each situation. Have groups
describe their situations to the class, then have volunteers
tell how to respond to these situations.
Science Tools
Life Science
• Ask groups of students to make a list of jobs that they
believe fall under the category scientist. Tell students to
think about people who work with scientific information.
Have students list the kinds of science tools that might be
used by the scientists on their lists.
• Have groups share their lists with the class and describe
how each job fits into the category of scientist.
Metric Units of Measurement
• Divide students into pairs and have them calculate the
conversions below. Pairs can research the conversion
rates on the internet or in the school library.
1. A
pencil is 20 cm long. How many inches long is it?
(7.87 inches)
2. A
bag weighs 10 pounds. How many kilograms does it
weigh? (4.5 kilograms)
3. T he distance between two towns is 12 kilometers.
How far is that in miles? (7.45 miles)
4. A
cookie recipe requires 1.5 pounds of butter. How
much is that in grams? (42.5 grams)
The Cell
• Ask students to review the different parts of the cell and
the different jobs of each cell part on pages 22–24 of the
student book.
• Divide the class into groups. Ask students to think how the
jobs of cell parts are like the jobs in a factory. Have the
groups make sentences to explain how they are the same.
(For example: The nucleus controls all cell activities. The
manager controls all factory activities.) Have groups share
their sentences with the class.
Single-Celled Organisms
• Tell students that many single-celled organisms are
used to make food products, like yogurt, cheese, and ice
cream. With a partner, have students use the internet or
print resources to find out about one of the following:
(1) how algae are used to thicken ice cream, pudding, and
jello; (2) how fungi and bacteria are used to make cheese
and yogurt; (3) how yeast helps make bread rise. Have
students write a paragraph describing their findings.
Data Analysis
• Have students work in groups to locate graphs, charts,
maps, and other data displays from old magazines and
newspapers. Challenge groups to see if they can find each
of the seven kinds of data display discussed in the Data
Analysis lesson.
• Have groups cut out and paste each of the displays they
find onto a piece of poster board. Under each display,
have students tell the type of display it is (bar graph, pie
chart, flowchart), what the display is about, and what data
is being presented.
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Multicellular Organisms
• Ask students to review the jobs that red and white blood
cells do for the body on page 32 of the student book.
Explain that when a person is injured and loses blood,
a transfusion can save his or her life. Explain that many
hospitals have blood banks. So does the American Red
Cross.
mation about blood banks, blood typing, and transfusions.
Ask each group to brainstorm questions to ask a blood
bank representative, such as: What are the different types
of blood? Who can donate blood? Then have one group
member call a blood bank representative to ask their
questions. Tell the groups that the student who calls must
explain that the questions are for a school science project.
Ask groups to share their findings with the class.
to live. Then have groups investigate the area they chose.
Have them list the animals they see on their investigation.
• Ask the groups to calculate which type of animals they
saw the most of. Which type did they see the least of? Ask
them to discuss possible reasons why they saw certain
groups of animals more than others.
Invertebrates
• Tell students that many types of invertebrates are a
Plants
• Ask pairs of students to think of a delicious salad. The
ingredients must all be plants. Have the pairs make a
poster that includes a drawing of each ingredient and its
name, and instructions on how to make the salad.
• Have pairs use their poster to present their salad to the
class. Discuss the most common plants and the most
unusual plants in the salads with the class.
source of food for humans. Ask students to make a list of
invertebrates for sale in their local supermarket next time
they go shopping. Tell them to look in the canned, frozen,
and fresh food sections. Mollusks (snails, clams, mussels,
oysters) and crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimp) should
be easily located. Ask students to record the countries
where the seafood was packed. Once students have done
their research, make a master list of invertebrates and
their countries of origin.
Kinds of Plants
Vertebrates
• Ask students to name some plant products and the way
• Have students work in small groups to watch animals in a
we use them (we use wood from trees to build houses, for
example). As students mention items, make a list on the
board under two headings: Plant Products and Uses.
• Divide the class into groups and have them copy the chart
on the board and continue listing the ways we use plant
products. Bring the class together and make a master list
on the board.
Photosynthesis
• Remind students that plants make food through photosynthesis. Elicit what plants need for photosynthesis
(sunlight, carbon dioxide, water). Ask the students where
plants get water (usually from soil that enters the plant
through the roots). Ask the class if plants need soil (not
if the plant is able to get water some other way). Tell the
class that hydroponics is a method of growing plants in
water without soil. Have pairs of students research how
hydroponics works on the internet or in the school library.
Have them write their findings in a paragraph and report
back to the class.
Animals
• Have groups of students work together to investigate the
animals found in or around your school.
• First, have groups think of an area where they think they
might find some animals. Ask the groups to consider
where the animals would find food, shelter, water, and
other things they need to live. Have them write sentences
describing why a certain area is a good place for animals
Real-World Connection Activities
• Have groups of students work together to research infor-
natural setting.
• First have students make simple feeders from pie tins
or plastic milk cartons, or coat a pinecone with peanut
butter and roll it in birdseed. Hang the feeders from a tree
branch or place them on the ground.
• Have students observe what animals come to eat. Have
them make a chart with their observations. Ask them to
identify whether the animals are vertebrates or not, and
if so to which group of vertebrates each animal belongs.
What type of body covering does each animal have—fur,
feathers, scales, smooth, or spiny? Are the animals coldblooded or warm-blooded?
• Have each group choose one of the vertebrates from their
charts, and make a poster with drawings or photos of the
animal, its chief characteristics, and where it lives.
The Human Body
• Have groups of students work together to find out how
they can keep their circulatory systems healthy. Have
each group look on the internet or in print sources to
research the effect of one of the following factors on heart
health: diet and being overweight, cigarette smoking, high
blood pressure and cholesterol (or fat) in the blood, and a
regular physical exercise program.
• Have groups make posters to share their findings. Posters
should include specific suggestions for lifestyle changes,
such as healthy eating choices or an exercise program,
as well as the reasons why these changes will keep their
hearts healthy and reduce the risk of heart attack or
stroke.
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Real-World Connection Activities
Asexual Reproduction
• Tell students that seedless fruit is the result of a kind of
vegetative reproduction called grafting. Have pairs use
the internet or the school library to research how seedless
oranges reproduce through grafting. Have students write
their findings in a report and present their report to the
class.
Sexual Reproduction
• Write the following information on the board or provide
the text as a photocopy:
Luther Burbank was a plant scientist. Burbank
observed plants in nature. He found many differences
or variations. Some of these differences helped the
plants stay alive. Others gave them useful features.
New plants were produced by combining sex cells
from parent plants that had the features. Burbank
carefully bred the plants together. He created
hundreds of new plant varieties. One such plant
was the Burbank russet potato. It is used today to
make french fries.
• Ask groups of students to discuss the following questions
and then share their ideas with the class:
1. What features might help a plant stay alive?
2. What kinds of useful features should scientists try to
breed into plants?
Genetics
• Tell students that sometimes a gene is defective or
abnormal. These genes can stop the body from working
properly. Sometimes parents can pass these genes to
their children. The gene can cause disease in children.
These diseases are called inherited diseases. Have
students work in pairs to research the following
questions:
1. Tay-Sachs disease is an inherited disease caused
by a recessive gene. What are the symptoms of the
disease?
2. Huntington’s disease is caused by a dominant gene.
What are the symptoms of the disease?
3. What do genetic counselors do? How can they help
families?
Changes Over Time
• Remind the class that new species have variations that
help them survive in their surroundings.
• Divide the class into small groups. Have each group work
together to design an imaginary animal that is adapted
to live in a given environment. Good habitats to select are
xxvi
desert, marine, cave, rain forest, and arctic environments.
Have groups first make a list of the features their animal
would need to survive there.
• If students need help getting started, prompt them with
questions such as: Would the animal be active during
the day or night? How would it get food and water? How
would it stay warm or keep cool? Would it need to swim?
and so on.
• Students can make models using art supplies or draw
pictures of the animals. They can write brief descriptions
of how the animal is adapted to where it lives. Have each
group explain their creature design to the class.
Classification Systems
• Explain that the Dewey decimal system is a system libraries
use to classify books by grouping them into categories and
subcategories. For example, Science is category 6 and Arts
and Recreation is category 8. Applied Physics is subcategory 621 and fiction is subcategory 813.
• Nonfiction books are shelved by their subject’s category.
Fiction books are shelved in alphabetical order by the
author’s last name. Fiction and nonfiction books are
shelved this way so you can easily find the book of your
choice.
• Have students visit your school library and ask them to
find the following:
1. A fiction book by an author named King. Have them
write the book’s title.
2. A nonfiction book about garden crops (634s). Have
them write the name of the book and author.
Biomes and Ecosystems
• Tell students that each year, plants or animals that are not
native to the United States are brought in either purposely
or accidentally. These organisms are called introduced
species, non-native species, or exotic species. They can
be plants or animals, insects, bacteria, or fungi.
• When a new species is brought into any country, the
species that already live there may be harmed. The new
species may eat the food that native species depend on.
Then the native species can become extinct and be lost
forever.
• Have students work in pairs. Have them use the internet
to research one of these non-native invaders: the Asian
black carp, zebra mussels, kudzoo, or Asian longhorn
beetles. Have students find out where the invader came
from, how it was introduced, and what effect it has had on
native species. Have pairs make posters to explain their
findings.
Conservation
• Write the following information on the board or provide
• Write the following information on the board or provide
the text as a photocopy:
the text as a photocopy:
Each level of an energy pyramid shows how much
energy living things can pass on to the next level. The
higher levels are smaller than the base. Producers
make up the base. The next level up is the herbivores.
They eat plants. The next level has carnivores. They eat
small herbivores. The top levels are also carnivores.
They eat larger animals. Many producers are needed
to support only a few consumers.
California condors were once almost extinct. At one
time, only 22 condors were left. People caught the
last free California condor in 1987. A program to
raise them was developed. An egg laid by a captive
condor was first hatched in 1988. In 1992, the first
captive condors were set free back into the wild. These
condors have begun reproducing. California condors
numbered almost 280 birds in March 2007. Almost
130 now live in the wild. The California condors fly free
once more.
• Divide the class into groups. Ask students to think where
they fit into a food pyramid. Have them work together to
name and describe the producers and consumers in their
own ecosystem. Have groups present their conclusions to
the class.
Cycles in Nature
• Divide the class into groups. Have groups think about how
the lesson of saving the condors can help people save
other endangered animals. Explain that one way we can
help is to tell others about endangered animals. Invite
students to make posters or to write illustrated stories
about the successful condor recovery program.
Real-World Connection Activities
Energy Transfer in Living Things
• Have students work in pairs. Remind students that cities
need plants and trees to help replace the oxygen taken in
by people and animals when they breathe. Have students
think of locations of plants and trees in the urban areas
of your community and write down a list of at least five
specific “green spaces” (indoors or out) where they can
be found.
• Have pairs follow up by creating a map that shows the
location of these places. Display the maps created by
different pairs of students on a class bulletin board under
the heading Plants in the Oxygen-Carbon Dioxide Cycle.
Responding to the Environment
• Give student pairs four corn seeds, a paper towel, a
plastic cup, a marking pen, and some water. Have
students fill the cup with a lightly moistened paper towel.
Have them place the seeds between the plastic cup and
the paper towel. Tell them to space the seeds around the
cup and point the tip of each seed in a different direction.
Use the marking pen to draw arrows on the outside of the
cup in the same direction as the tip of the seeds.
• Have students put the cups with the seeds in a well-lit
area in sunlight or under a lamp. Tell them to keep the
seeds moist and add more water if needed. Have students
observe the plant growth for one week. Have them
draw what happened to each seed. Have students write
sentences describing their results using vocabulary terms
such as gravitropism and phototropism.
• At the end of the experiment, bring the class together to
eARTH SCienCe
Space
• Ask students whether they have ever seen movies or read
books about space. Ask: Do you think there are life forms
in space? Why or why not?
• Explain that during the 1970s space probes carried
messages in the form of pictures about Earth. Ask
students to imagine sending such a message into space.
Point out that this message could not use language but
rather other forms of communication that are easily
understood such as pictures or music.
• Divide the class into groups. Have the groups discuss
what they would include in a message to outer space
telling other life forms about Earth. Have them design the
message that they would send. Have each group share
their ideas with the class.
Stars
• Give pairs of students a star map of the night sky that is
visible at that time of year. Have the pairs find constellations on their maps and connect the stars using colored
pens. Ask students to try and find the constellations on
their maps in the night sky after school. Ask students to
report back to the class on which constellations they were
able to identify in the night sky.
talk about the results. Ask: Does it matter which direction
you plant seeds? (no) How did the roots grow? (down)
How did the stems and leaves grow? (up) What caused
the seeds to grow in the way they did? (gravity)
xxvii
Real-World Connection Activities
Our Solar System
Minerals and Rocks
• Explain to students that astronauts have visited the moon,
• Explain that our bodies need certain minerals. Tell
and one day they may visit Mars or one of the other
planets or their moons. Ask students what planets need
to have in order for humans to be able to survive on them
(water, air, right temperature, food).
• Have students work in small groups. Assign each group a
planet. Have them use the internet to find out more about
that planet. Is there air? Is there water? How warm or cold
is it? Do you think people could live there? Have them
present their findings to the class.
Earth, the Moon, and the Sun
• Ask: What do we do to the clocks in the spring and the
fall? (set them ahead or back) Explain to students that
in most parts of the United States, we set the clocks
ahead an hour in the spring. Tell them this is called the
beginning of Daylight Saving Time. In the fall, we set them
back an hour. This is the end of Daylight Saving Time.
Have students use the internet to research the following
questions:
Why do we have Daylight Saving Time?
On what dates do we change the clocks?
Which states in the United States do not observe
Daylight Saving Time?
Discuss their findings as a class.
students that 4 to 6 percent of human body weight is
made up of minerals. Make a large three-column chart on
the board with the headings Mineral, What It Does, and
Food Sources.
• Divide the class into eight groups. Assign each group
one of the following minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, chloride, iron, fluorine, and
potassium.
• Ask each group to research their mineral. Have them find
out what it does in the body and what foods are good
sources of their mineral.
• Have each group add their information to the chart on the
board.
Earth’s Structure
• Divide the class into four groups. Assign each group one
of the following organisms: mesosaurus, glossopteris,
lystrosaurus, cynognathus. Tell students that fossils of
these organisms helped support the theory of continental
drift.
• Have each group research their fossil organism and
answer the following questions about it:
1. What kind of animal or plant was it? In what places did
it live?
2. On what different continents were its fossils found?
Eclipses and Tides
• Tell students that the change in sea level between high
and low tides has an impact on coastal communities and
the people living there. Elicit a few examples of this from
the class (for example, it affects navigation near shores
and fishing boats using harbors).
3. Which continents were connected when this organism
lived?
• Have each group make a poster that shows what their
organism looked like. Have them write the answers to the
three questions on the poster as captions.
• Display the posters in the classroom.
• Divide the class into groups and have them brainstorm
how tides affect coastal communities. Bring the class
together and make a master list on the board.
Space Exploration
• Explain that many kinds of satellites orbit Earth. They
serve many different purposes, for example telecommunications, satellite navigation services on Earth, research,
and weather monitoring. Divide the class into five groups.
Have each group research one of the following kinds of
satellites: weather satellites, Landsat satellites, communications satellites, GPS satellites, and space-based
telescopes like Hubble.
• Have students find out what their kind of satellite is used
for. Have each group find pictures and make posters that
illustrate the uses of their satellite. Have student groups
use their posters to present their satellite to the class.
xxviii
Earth’s Surface
• Have students work in pairs to find the names of as many
bodies of fresh water and salt water as they can that are
either in their state or border their state. Have the pairs
use classroom maps, the internet, and the school library
to find the information. Have the pairs share their lists
with the rest of the class to create a master list.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
• Explain that many people live in areas where earthquakes
occur. For example, many people live in California near
the San Andreas Fault. Earthquakes have occurred along
this fault in the past. Towns and even cities, such as San
Francisco, are close to this fault.
people and city authorities should take if they live in
an earthquake hazard area. Have students share their
suggestions with the class.
the Today section. After students have recorded the actual
weather and their predictions for three days, have them
bring their journals to class and compare the accuracy of
their predictions with a partner.
Our Changing Earth
Extreme Weather
• Explain to students that each day, the surface of Earth
• Divide the class into six groups. Give each group an outline
changes because of weathering and erosion.
• Have students work in pairs to answer this question:
“How would the surface of Earth be different if there was
no weathering and erosion?” Have students write if/then
statements to focus their thinking. For example: If there
was no weathering, then mountains would never wear
down. If there was no erosion, then the Mississippi River
would have no delta.
• Bring the class together and make a master list on the
board.
map of the United States that includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Assign each group one year from the last six years.
• Tell each group to use the internet to find out how many
tornadoes there were in each state during their assigned
year. Have them write the numbers in the outlines of the
states on their maps.
• Have students write the five states with the most
tornadoes and their numbers, and the five states with the
fewest tornadoes and their numbers. Then have them
write the name of your state and its number of tornadoes.
Real-World Connection Activities
• Ask groups of students to discuss precautions ordinary
• Ask each group to list their information on the board.
The Atmosphere
• Write the following information on the board or provide
the text as a photocopy:
Cars, trucks, buses, trains, and planes all add carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere. The burning of coal, oil, and
gas also adds carbon dioxide to the air. Carbon dioxide
helps to trap the sun’s heat, just like a greenhouse.
Scientists think that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing Earth to become warmer.
• Divide the class into groups and have them discuss the
following questions:
1. What effect will a warmer Earth have on people,
plants, and animals?
2. What can we all do to help reduce the amount of
carbon dioxide that is being added to Earth’s atmosphere?
• Bring the class together and discuss the questions as a
class.
Come together as a class and look at the data. Ask: Are
there any states that did not have a tornado during these
six years? Which five states had the most tornadoes?
Which five states had the fewest? How does our state’s
number of tornadoes compare?
Natural Resources
• Have groups of students brainstorm ways the school could
conserve natural resources (for example: reuse paper by
writing on the back of used paper, recycle paper, donate
old books to charity, turn down the heat).
• Have each group share their ideas with the rest of the
class. Have the class organize a school-wide conservation
plan to submit to the principal.
PHYSiCAL SCienCe
Nature of Matter
• Draw a picture of a hammer on the board, or show
Weather and Climate
• Have students create a weather journal using three pieces
of paper stapled together. Each paper should be divided
into two parts:
Today’s weather
Tomorrow’s weather
Date:
Date:
Description:
Prediction:
Tell students that for three days, they will write about or
make a labeled drawing that shows the day’s weather. At
the same time, they will make a prediction about tomorrow’s weather, using a written description or a labeled
picture. Tell them to watch or read weather reports and
use actual temperatures and weather data to complete
students a hammer. Ask: What is a hammer used for? (to
pound objects) Say: Tell one property of the head of this
hammer. (it is made of x, it is hard) Ask: If the hammer
head was soft, would the hammer still work? (no) Explain
that an object’s properties are very important for completing tasks.
• Place students in groups. Have groups think of everyday
items and their important properties. For example, it is
important that a knife is sharp, so we can use it to cut
things.
• Have students write their responses in a three-column
chart with the heads Item, Property, and Why It Is
Important.
xxix
Real-World Connection Activities
Measuring Matter
Radiation and Radioactivity
• Brainstorm a list of things that people measure every
• Write the following information on the board or provide
day with the class. Explain that they may measure things
without even realizing it, such as how much milk to
pour into cereal or how much peanut butter to put on a
sandwich. Explain that these are approximate measurements that depend on each student’s preference. Tell
students that some things require exact measurements,
such as the ingredients for a recipe or the correct dose of
cough syrup or other medicine.
• Have students work in pairs. Ask each pair to come up
with three other examples of situations where exact
measurements are necessary. Have them explain their
lists to the class.
Most of the radiation around us is from natural
sources. Radon is a radioactive gas that is formed
when uranium in Earth’s crust breaks down. This is
a natural process. Radon can become a problem.
Sometimes radon can leak into basements and build
up. High levels of radon can make people sick. People
can test their homes and buildings for radon. If there is
a radon problem, it can be fixed.
• Ask groups of students to research what they can do to
make sure their homes and schools do not have high
levels of radon.
Atoms and Molecules
Forces
• Tell students that many of the elements on the periodic
• Have students work in groups to think of ways in which
table were named for places and people. Have students
use the internet to find the places and people that the
following elements were named for:
Places: berkelium (University of California at Berkeley),
gallium (Latin for France), polonium (Poland), ruthenium
(Latin for Russia), strontium (a town in Scotland)
People: nobelium (Alfred Nobel), einsteinium (Albert
Einstein), bohrium (Niels Bohr), curium (Pierre and Marie
Curie)
Compounds and Mixtures
• Explain that people add many compounds to the atmosphere. Some of these compounds include carbon dioxide,
nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. These compounds
cause air pollution.
• Divide the class into three groups. Assign each group one
of the three compounds. Have them use the internet or the
school library to find answers to the following questions:
1. How does this compound get into the air?
2. What harm does the compound do?
3. What can people do to help solve this problem?
Chemical Reactions
• Place an iron nail in a plastic cup and add enough water
to almost cover the nail. Place a small piece of fine steel
wool in another cup and add the same amount of water.
Ask the class to predict what will happen overnight (rust
will form on the items). The next day compare the amount
of rust on each item and elicit how surface area affects
chemical reaction rates (the steel wool will have more rust
because it has a greater surface area).
xxx
the text as a photocopy:
friction is helpful in daily life. First, ask students to think
about things people do each day and where friction
occurs in those situations. Example responses: friction
between car tires and streets helps cars stop; friction
between rubbing hands produces heat.
• Have groups draw pictures and write descriptive
sentences for three different situations in which friction
occurs. Have groups present their situations to the class.
Forces and Motion
• Have students work in groups to find pictures in
magazines and newspapers that relate to Newton’s first
and second laws. Have students arrange the pictures on a
piece of poster board. Have students write a sentence or
phrase under each picture to explain how it relates to the
laws of motion. For example, students might find a picture
of a soccer player kicking a ball and write, “The ball’s
velocity changes when the player kicks it.”
• Tell students they can combine different pictures together
to create new situations. For example, they can place a
picture of a couch next to a picture of a car and write,
“The couch stays in one place until the car pushes it.”
Work, Power, and Machines
• Have students recall some of the simple machines
described in the lesson (lever, wedge, screw, pulley,
inclined plane, wheel and axle). Then have students work
in small groups to think of everyday examples of the
simple machines in use (for example, a bicycle, a ramp for
wheelchairs). Have students create a poster that illustrates simple machines in use. Have the groups use their
posters to describe the simple machines to the class.
Energy Transformations
• Draw a picture on the board of sound waves bouncing
• Tell students that many common devices transform
off a hard surface. Tell students that when sound waves
bounce off surfaces, you can hear an echo. Ask students
to conduct the following experiment at home:
1. Stand in a room without furniture (perhaps a
bathroom). Shout your name very loudly. Listen for the
echo.
2. Stand in a room with furniture and a carpet and shout
your name very loudly. Listen for the echo.
3. What was the difference between what you heard?
What do you think is the cause? (Students should
conclude that soft objects absorb a lot of sound so it’s
hard to hear an echo.)
Light
• Have students try to create as many different shades
of green as they can by mixing blue and yellow paint in
different proportions. Have them create a “spectrum” from
yellow to green to blue on white paper. Suggest that they
start with a small amount of yellow paint and add very
small quantities of blue until the mixture is mostly blue
paint.
Forms of Energy
• Write different kinds of energy on separate index cards:
thermal energy, light energy, sound energy, electrical
energy, and chemical energy. Divide the class into five
groups and give each group a card.
• Have groups identify sources of that type of energy and
how they use that type of energy in daily life. Groups can
make posters to display their information and then use
their posters to present the information to the class.
electrical energy into other kinds of energy. Elicit some
examples from the class (a toaster transforms electrical
energy to thermal energy, a stereo transforms electrical
energy to sound energy).
• Have students work in pairs to brainstorm a list of other
devices that transform energy. Bring the class together
and make a master list on the board.
Energy and Life
• Write the following on the board or provide the text as a
photocopy:
A family wants to plant a vegetable garden. They can plant
the vegetable garden in an open part of the yard. They can
also plant the vegetable garden under some trees in the
yard. The trees have large leaves.
Real-World Connection Activities
Waves
• Ask pairs to discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of each location. Encourage them to think about what the
vegetables will need to grow.
• Have each student write a paragraph explaining the
reasons for their choice.
Electricity and Magnetism
• Have groups of students use the internet or the school
library to research Earth’s magnetic field. Have them
research the following questions:
1. What causes Earth’s magnetic field?
2. Where are Earth’s magnetic poles located?
3. How far out into space does the magnetic field extend?
• Have groups make a poster that explains their findings
and then have them use their posters to present their
findings to the class.
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