Objectives: Students will learn
how scientists classify the natural world.
Related Web-Activity: Reflecting
on Macroinvertebrates
Subjects: Science, Geology
ELRS: Science 1.1
Size: Whole class or groups
Setting: Outside or Inside
Duration: 15 minutes
Materials: Enough fist size or smaller
rocks for each student.
Background
When scientists discover new information about nature, they categorize
it and relate it to previously known or discovered facts. Consequently,
they have created taxonomic nomenclature to organize the species
of the earth. Plants and animals are usually organized by their
family tree (origin) and by their physical and genetic characteristics.
Geologists do the same with rocks, which are usually organized by
their origin and by their physical and chemical characteristics.
To have a better understanding of nature and as one of the initial
steps of scientific understanding, it is important for humans to
organize nature into groups.
Procedure
Explain to the student why scientists classify nature.
Teachers, lead your class outdoors where they can find rocks or
pebbles of various sorts. A shoreline is an ideal place. Allow students
five minutes to search for one rock that fits into the palm of their
hand. Have them each bring their favorite rock to a location.
Choose one student to classify the rocks into groups by rearranging
them on the ground. He or she should do the organizing silently.
Then ask another student to try to guess how the first student organized
the rocks. After the student's method has been discovered, choose
another student to organize the rocks in a different way and have
someone else guess their organizational strategy.
Eventually the students will exhaust all of the significant methods
of classification. Discuss how scientists use very similar methods
to classify every aspect of nature. Afterward, plan to discuss with
the class the ideas proposed in Science
That Doesn't 'Fit In'.
|
