One of the positives I have found in converting my curriculum into a digital format is that I am able to streamline the directions so that I can reduce student confusion and the number of the same questions asked over and over again. This lesson is a great example. The paper, scissors and glue version of the traveling nitrogen activity requires repeating the directions a number of times and walking students through the first couple of round before they get where to place their passport stamp etc. In this digital version, I was able to fix some of those issues so that the directions are much more intuitive. So even though I will miss students being able to move around the room and use shared supplies, there is definitely a silver lining to going digital. The nitrogen cycle is one of those topics that can be difficult to make interesting because beyond labeling the cycle diagram, what else could you do? Luckily, I have figured out a few different activities that make students a more active participant in their learning by applying the nitrogen cycle to different scenarios and interpreting data. The Texas TEKS discuss both nitrogen and the carbon cycle. I cover nitrogen cycle with ecology and the carbon cycle when we talk about photosynthesis and cellular respiration. It just seems to flow better that way. This is another google slides lesson, where there are built in areas for students to answer questions and input data. I have also reduced student confusion by formatting the slides so the only things students can click on are the boxes they need to use to complete the activities. I will be combining this with my other ecology lessons to create a "digital interactive notebook" for my students this year to reduce not only the amount of paper, but also reduce the amount of items physically being touched and exchanged. Here is the breakdown of this section: Title Slide Slide 1: Reading about the nitrogen cycle- Using the link on the slide, students use the graphic organizer to focus their reading on the nitrogen cycle and sift out the important information. Slide 2: Labeling the nitrogen cycle- Students are given a simple diagram of the nitrogen cycle. They have two tasks they must complete on this diagram. First, they must drag the appropriate labels to each section of the diagram. Second, they must color code some of the arrows to highlight some of the important sections of the nitrogen cycle, such as nitrogen-fixation. Slide 3-14: Traveling Nitrogen Activity- Students are now nitrogen atoms and will travel to different parts of the nitrogen cycle using a dice roll to determine which part they will go to next. They record their journey on the traveling nitrogen passport. Slide 15: Nitrogen Cycle Illustration- Students look back at their traveling nitrogen passport and create their own nitrogen cycle diagram, showing their nitrogen cycle journey. Slide 16: How to keep a fish tank clean?- In this section, students are shown a diagram of how nitrogen is processed in a fish tank. Students are given the scenario where they must analyze the diagram to determine the best way to keep the nitrogen levels in the fish tank low without changing the water constantly. This activity also exposes students to the different forms of nitrogen. Slide 17-21: Nitrogen and Eutrophication Lab- Students are introduced to the idea of eutrophication and the role that nitrogen in fertilizer plays. Students are given the scenario where a farmer needs to use fertilizer on his crops, but he wants to reduce the eutrophication in the nearby lake. First, students must determine the problem, experimental question, independent and dependent variables in the experiment. Then students are shown the experimental set-up. Students are then shown the results which they then must collect data for and interpret. Students complete a CER for the conclusion of the lab by filling in the appropriate sections. Interesting in this lesson? Check out my TpT store.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2021
Categories |