Digital Photo Journal

By Greg McGrath

Abstract

I have attempted to make meaningful connections between science, math and engineering within my daily life. In an

attempt to connect meaning and purpose to the learner I have composed a number of digital photos that project an essay of

visuals that represent the disciplines of science, math and engineering to a 3rd grade class.

NJCCCS Standards AddressedIn some cases the lesson that is related to a particular discipline such as engineering will also incorporate certain learning aspects of science too.

• Engineering Picture:– 8.2 Technology Education, Engineering, and Design: All students will develop an understanding of the nature and

impact of technology, engineering, technological design, and the designed world, as they relate to the individual, global society, and the environment.

– 8.2.4.B.1Develop a product using an online simulation that explores the design process.– 8.2.4.B.4Compare and contrast how technology transfer happens within a technology, among technologies, and

among other fields of study.• Science Picture:

– F. Climate and Weather :  Earth’s weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions between land, ocean, ice, and atmosphere.

– Forms of Energy :  Knowing the characteristics of familiar forms of energy, including potential and kinetic energy, is useful in coming to the understanding that, for the most part, the natural world can be explained and is predictable.

– 5.2.4.C.1Compare various forms of energy as observed in everyday life and describe their applications.– 5.2.4.C.3Draw and label diagrams showing several ways that energy can be transferred from one place to another.

• Math Picture:– Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects.– 2. Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and

liters (l).1 Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem.2

– 5. Recognize area as an attribute of plane figures and understand concepts of area measurement. A square with side length 1 unit, called “a unit square,” is said to have “one square unit” of area, and can be used to measure area.

Science &Engineering

Counter Forces

Momentum

Friction and Thrust

Why do road bikes have thin tires, while mountain bikes have fat tires?

What is a gear ratio? 

What forces keep the bicycle from falling over?

How do gears help make the bicycle so efficient?

Engineeringa.) I took these pictures as I feel they represent many aspects of engineering and that they are also

representative of what many of us do, cycle. One must be able to understand the mechanics (mechanical engineering) of a bicycle in order to maintain, use and fix a bike especially if one breaks down on their own. Many us use bicycles for recreational purposes or as a means to commute thus it is very relatable information. It will also lead onto high level of thinking by understanding how bicycles are powered and lead us onto understanding energy, learning about different forces, and why some bicycles are shaped differently.

b.) Bicycle are full of fascinating gears, levers, bearings, forces, counter-forces, momentum, inertia, fulcrums, pivots, friction and thrust.

c.) To begin the lesson and get students motivated to learn, I would bring in my racing bike with my indoor bike treadmill allowing me to cycle indoors in a fixed point. I would start to ask the students what keeps the bike from falling over? Why does my bike have such thin tires compared with other mountain bikes which have thick tires? We would use the bicycle as a platform to introduce the topic of forces. We would learn about forces and the use of energy such as kinetic and potential to move the wheel. This would lead onto understanding why some bikes have thin wheels and others have thick wheels and why more energy is needed for bikes with thicker wheels. Then we could move onto understanding what transfers this energy to the wheels, such as drivers and gears thus moving onto a more mechanical engineering discussion. Perhaps to inspire kids to want to learn I would ask the day before if anyone has a bike that they ride to school so we could venture to the playground for the second part of the lesson and put our theories to practice by conducting some experiments using the bicycles, such as taking the bike apart and having a closer look at how the gears work. We could even attempt as a class to make our own gear system using different materials.

d.) See pictures for questions on previous slide that would lead onto a higher level of thinking.

ScienceWhy can't humans drink salt water?

Why are oceans made of salt water?

How are waves formed?

What are rip currents?

Sciencea.) I took these photos after spending most of the summer at the beach surfing; what I realized after having to

make a rescue and constantly seeing the lifeguards also making rescues was that adults and children know little about the ocean. I had to help an eleven year old boy who got caught in a rip tide and he knew nothing about the ocean and the dangers that they pose. After handing him to the lifeguard we spoke to which he confirmed that many adults too no nothing about the formation and movement of the ocean.

b.) I decided to search for information regarding the Ocean and found it under Ocean Science, I found this to be very relevant to the topic of science and to everyday life. Understanding the Ocean where many children spend their summer days is not only relatable to a science lesson but to a life saving one too.

c.) To begin and inspire students to learn, I would set up the smart board and launch the  National Geographic Wave Simulator which will allow students to experiment at creating waves of varying sizes. Students can learn the components of a wave, and then discuss the meaning of wave height and wavelength. We would also learn about climate and weather and how this has an impact on the waves in the ocean. It is also important to understand and speak about the tides and what causes them, how are rip currents formed, something that kills more people at the beach than any other thing. We would finally conduct a wave experiment with a clear measuring bowl filled with water that will allow us to measure the wave height and length.

d.) See pictures for questions on previous slide that would lead onto a higher level of thinking.

Math

What's difference between metric and imperial?

Milligram

Kilogram

Cubic centimeter

Square inch

Ounce

Math (p.1)

a.) These photos are of me cooking, when cooking one needs to understand many different aspects of Math, from basic addition and subtraction to volume, weight, area and temperature.

b.) These images can be connected to the subject of math. Cooking is part of our everyday life and in order to be a good cook that is capable of cooking for not only yourself but others one needs to be able to read instructions which a primarily related to math and be organized with different measurements, by following a set of mathematical instructions.

c.) I like to incorporate social interaction as much as possible especially in an inclusion setting, thus I feel using cooking combined with math would make for a great socially engaged and interactive lesson. I would start by revealing warm homemade cookies, and explain to the students that I made them at home. To motivate the students we will also make our own homemade cookies, but first we need to understand some of the concepts and words we will come across when reading the recipe. We will attempt to make cookies, and as we work down the instructions, we will stop to work as a class to understand what the recipe is asking us to do. We would start by understanding some of the terminology; 1 cup flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 cup butter

Math (p.2)

• Relationships between quantities: That ingredients have relationships to each other in a recipe is an important concept in cooking. It's also an important math concept. In math, this relationship between 2 quantities is called a ratio.

• Working with proportion: All recipes are written to serve a certain number of people or yield a certain amount of food. You might come across a cookie recipe that makes 2 dozen cookies, for example. What if you only want 1 dozen cookies? What if you want 4 dozen cookies? Understanding how to increase or decrease the yield without spoiling the ratio of ingredients is a valuable skill for any cook.

After which we will put our skills into practice and each group will make a different number of cookies and test their skills.

• d.)See pictures for questions on previous slide that would lead onto a higher level of thinking

ConclusionI feel it to be vital and important that not only can we relate what we teach to real life, but that we

can also come up with ways to inspire students to want to learn. I hope that I am always able to inspire and relate different subjects in a relatable and exciting format so that students are

self-motivated and aware of the importance of such a subject.