Cooperative Learning Activities for Science
Two brains are always better than one: That is the basis of cooperative learning theory. Cooperative learning is based on social learning theory. Students learn best through social interaction with their peers. Cooperative learning activities generally involve students working in groups of two to four. Science experiments are traditionally by students working in pair or groups. Therefore, these experiments are ideal activities for cooperative learning.
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Sensory Balloons (Second or Third Grade)
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Fill balloons with these solids: rice, beans, flour, salt and sand. Use a different color balloon for each substance. Divide the class into groups of three to four students. Provide one balloon with each solid for each group. Instruct students to use their senses, other than taste, to determine the contents of each balloon. Have students write down their guesses on sticky notes with markers matching the color of the balloons. Allow students to put their sticky notes on the board. Discuss the guesses as an entire class. Have students explain what clues they used to make their guesses. Reveal the actual contents of the balloons and compare them to the hypotheses.
Fahrenheit/Celsius Temperature Activity (Fourth or Fifth Grade)
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Allow students to choose a partner for this project. Provide the groups with four beakers with water of different temperatures: 35 degrees Fahrenheit (F), 70 degrees F, 100 degrees F and 150 degrees F. Instruct students to find the temperatures of each vial of water and convert them to Celsius temperatures using the formula: Celsius temperature = 5/9 (Fahrenheit temperature - 32). When groups are finished with their calculations, have each group share one of their findings with the entire class.
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Hiking Trail Design Activity (Middle or High School)
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Divide the class into small groups or pairs for this activity. Instruct the students that they will use their knowledge of topographic maps to design a hiking trail system. The trails should include a beginner trail and an intermediate trail. These trails should cover a variety of different habitats and offer picnic areas and access from a main road. Tell students they are required to include a topographic map, a data sheet explaining the details of the trails and a brochure to advertise the hiking trails. See the article in Resources for a handout to accompany this assignment.
Momentum and Energy Loss Activity (Middle or High School)
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Divide the class into small groups of three or four students. Provide each group with four different balls, such as a soccer ball, tennis ball, super ball, Ping-Pong ball, golf ball and ball bearing. Each group will also need a laboratory balance and a meter stick. Instruct students to measure the mass of each ball using the balance. Tell students to drop one of the balls from one meter onto the ground and measure how far the ball bounces back up. Using the distance of one meter and acceleration from gravity of 10 meters per second, students should calculate how long it took the ball to reach the ground. Instruct students to calculate the velocity of the ball. Velocity equals distance divided by time (v = d/t). Tell students to calculate the momentum of the ball by multiplying the velocity by the mass of the ball. Repeat the procedures with the other balls. Graph the differences. Extend this experiment by testing the momentum of each ball on different surface types.
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References
Resources
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