Learning Links
Architecture / Photography / Transportation / Computer-Aided Design / Model Rockets / Maps / Musical Scores / Dollhouses / Theatre Sets / Flowcharts / Electric Trains / Sizing
Related Concepts
Models: Physical, Mathematical, Conceptual
Scale: Time Scales, Physical Dimensions, Measurement Scales (Fundamental and Derived Units)
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Investigate models that represent objects, events, or systems.
• Investigate models to determine how things work.
• Represent a real event, object, or concept with a model.
• Use models to depict the function of an object, event, or system.
• Investigate the significance of perspective.
• Evaluate appropriateness of components and scale to a real object being modeled.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Formulate multiple perspectives through the use of a model.
• Evaluate the functions, behaviors, and limitations implied by a model.
• Investigate properties that change or remain constant with changes in scale.
High School Demonstrators
• Use a model to analyze or predict behavior of objects, materials, or living things.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of the scale of a model and its effects on the model's behavior.
• Identify assumptions underlying a model and evaluate their effects on the appropriateness of the model.
• Represent an idea, structure, or system with various types of models (e.g., physical, conceptual, mathematical).
Sample Teaching/Assessment Strategies
Collaborative Process: Cooperative Learning / Community-Based Instruction: Field Studies / Continuous Progress Assessment: Conferencing, Self-assessment \ Graphic Organizers: Advance Organizers, KWL / Problem Solving: Heuristics, Case Studies, Debate / Technology/Tools: Distance Learning, Telecommunications / Whole Language Approach / Writing Process
These sample strategies offer ideas and are not meant to limit teacher resourcefulness. More strategies are found in the resource section.
Ideas for Incorporating Community Resources
• Visit a planetarium to study available models of the universe.
• Locate local rocketry and/or airplane hobbyists who will demonstrate their models and explain how the different parts work together.
• Explore the use of topographical maps by different agencies in the community (e.g., phone company, gas company, soil conservation, municipalities, agricultural extension agency).
Core Concept - Models and Scale
Sample Elementary Activities
• Design and create a wave-generation system to investigate wave patterns, reflection, and refraction. P
• Create a topographic map of a 3-dimensional model of a hill, knob, or mountain. PE, OE
Observe and illustrate a 3-dimensional object from different perspectives (e.g., top, front, bottom, sides). PE, OE, P
• Diagram the energy flow of a food web from the energy source to the final consumer. Include at least one producer, two consumers, and one decomposer in your diagram. PE, OE
• Find alternate routers to a specific location (e.g., home, cafeteria, playground). Draw a map to scale showing at least one route. PE, OE
• Construct a model of a building. Compare the model to a real structure. Identify the limitations and advantages of the model. P
• Compare photographs of objects to real things in terms of perspective, scale, proportion, dimension. Present your observations. PE, OE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Create a body mask to represent a specific science concept. Write a story and use the mask to tell about the concept. P
Mathematics
• Map the school playground to scale. PE, P
• Draw a life-size model of a large animal (e.g., dinosaur, blue whale, elephant) in an open space (e.g., gym, ball field). Decrease the size of the drawing to a scale that will fit on an 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of paper. P
Social Studies
• Create a survey on a specific issue which samples a portion of the school population. Investigate various conclusions that might apply to the entre population. P
Arts and Humanities
• Observe and study types of cloud formations. Create models of the cloud types using various materials. PE, P
• Make a model of the solar system using other students to represent the planets. Choreograph movements to show the rotation of the planets and their moon(s). PE, P
Practical Living
• Design, build, label, and explain a cell model and its parts. PE, P
• Investigate the interactions that occur in a landfill by burying various types of trash (e.g., food, aluminum cans, styrofoam cups). Retrieve the trash after several months to observe the changes. PE, P
• Prepare mock-up layouts of the school to help new students locate places and people. PE
• Use a sewing pattern to create a costume for a production. PE, P
Sample Middle School Activities
• Design a scale model of an ideal middle school. Consult with an architect about your design. Present your plan to the school council or school board. PE, P
• Use simple machines to explain mathematical relationships (e.g., direct and inverse relationships). OE
• Investigate and describe the functions, behaviors, and limitations implied by body-system models. Use findings to determine the effectiveness of the models in communicating the concept. PE, OE, P
• Display various perspectives of a classroom (e.g., such as a teacher's view, students' views, the electrical system's view). PE, P
• Create a shadow box that allows viewing from multiple perspectives. Illustrate each perspective. PE, P
• Brainstorm various phenomena that could be modeled with a single object. P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Variations on a theme: Architecture and Design
Language Arts
• Create a database of analogies, similes, and hyperboles using architectural or construction terms (e.g., as hard as a rock). P
Mathematics
• Identify various structures whose designs are based on geometric shapes found in nature. Collect a series of pictures and draw the corresponding shapes to scale. PE, P
Social Studies
• Investigate the architectural environment of your community. Conduct a photo survey of the structures to compare style, age, and original purpose. Compile findings in a book for the local library. P
Arts and Humanities
• Compare the designs of various theaters and opera houses. Design a portfolio of the characteristics. P
Practical Living
• Chronicle the manner in which dollhouses have changed over the years. Build a futuristic dollhouse which incorporates designs you think will be part of a house in the 21st century. P
Vocational Education
• Design and build a scale model of a home typical of a foreign country. P
Sample High School Activities
• Create models of bridges, and test the structures to identify which one functions best. PE
• Develop two different types of models illustrating homeostasis. PE, P
• Redesign a model to a different scale (e.g., airplane, map); defend the appropriateness of the new model for a specific purpose. P
• Compare models used in the evolution of the atomic theory. OE
• Demonstrate and explain the effects of the volume of water, slope of a river, and substrate materials on a river's ability to erode the landscape. Use a stream table and document the demonstration in video form. P
• Use a recipe to illustrate stoichiometry (quantitative chemical properties and composition). PE
• Design and construct two types of models (mathematical, conceptual, physical) which illustrate the relative position and motion of the earth, sun, and moon. PE, OE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Rewrite an early science fiction story using up-to-date, accurate information. OE, P
Mathematics
• Create a mathematical model representing the energy of an ocean wave. PE Use geometry to predict the position of the moon in the night sky at a given time based on the angular relationship of the moon, earth, and sun. Draw the corresponding moon phases visible from your location on the earth. PE, P
Social Studies
• Construct a model of a landfill that would reflect community needs and concerns. P
• Plan a political campaign for an elected official. Include illustrations of strategy, special events, schedules, and budgets. P
Arts and Humanities
• Create scale drawings of a stage setting for a school performance. Build a model from the drawings. PE, P
Practical Living
• Explore the concept of levers by determining the optimal limb and trunk position needed to generate maximum force production during weight-training exercises, P
• Create a scale model of a futuristic home. Design both the interior and exterior of the home. P
Vocational Education
• Design a program to lower the body's "set point" by ten pounds. Include maintenance procedures. P
• Build a geodesic dome. Investigate its effectiveness as a greenhouse design. PE, P