Thursday, February 25th, 2009

Subject: Earth Space Science
Periods: 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6/7, 10
Length: 50 minutes
State Standard ES. 1.28 Discuss geologic evidence, including fossils and radioactive dating, in relation to Earth’s past.

Lab: Understanding Radiometric Dating

Break the students up into groups of 4. One recorder, one counter, one timer, one motivator.

The students cycle between 5 stations, each with baggies containing two different types of beads that represent parent and daughter isotopes inside of fossils.

Each group of students is to rotate between the each of the 5 stations and complete the following tasks:
1. Count and record the number and color of each of the two types of beads in the bag, without opening the bag.
2. Determine which beads represent the parent atoms and which represent the daughter atoms.
3. Determine the half-life of the parent atom (using the graph provided).
4. Calculate how long ago each fossil formed (by estimating the age from the half-life).
5. Create a time line to determine the order that the fossils formed in.

The formula for determining the percentage of parent isotopes remaining in the fossils is this:
(# parent)/(#parent + #daughter)
... don't forget to covert to a % on the graph and to get the number of half lives!
Use the charts provided by the teacher to know what the time estimates of the half lives for each of the radioactive isotopes are.

Wednesday - February 25th, 2009

Subject: Earth Space Science
Periods: 1, 2, 3, 4/5, 6/7, 10
Length: 50 minutes

State Standard ES. 1.28 Discuss geologic evidence, including fossils and radioactive dating, in relation to Earth’s past.

Schedule

• Entry Work: What is radioactive decay (what is changing into what)? 3-4 minutes
  
• Go over yesterday's assignment for comprehension. 5-10 minutes
  
• Introduce today's review assignment. 30 minutes

Today the students will be working on the end of chapter assessment (minus the problems that had to do with section 4 as we did not cover that section). This is on page 574-575, #1-23.

We will be going over these answers at the beginning of next class.

Tuedsay Febrary 24, 2009

Subject: Earth Space Science

State Standard ES. 1.28 Discuss geologic evidence, including fossils and radioactive dating, in relation to Earth’s past.

10 Minutes: Go over homework from last week: end of section assessment from page 561, questions 1-6. Makes sure the students have complete comprehension.

Big Ideas for the Day: Absolute-Age Dating of Rocks

1. Radioactive isotopes are in all materials and can be used to date the age of rocks, fossils, and organic remains.
2. Radioactive substances have different numbers of protons and neutrons that changes as the element emits nuclear isotopes. The element changes as the number of protons and neutrons change. The original radioactive element is called the "parent" and the new element is called the "daughter."
   
3. Radiometric dating is where scientists determine the percentage of parent nuclei to daughter nuclei to give the absolute age of the sample.
   
4. A half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive same to change from a parent element to a daughter element.
   
5. Carbon 14, Uranium 238, both used in radiometric dating.
   
6. Other ways to determine age include counting tree rings, seasonal climatic changes, and distinctive sediment layers.

5 Minutes: Students will review what an atom is, what a proton is, and what a neutron is. Students will review the meaning of the word "Isotope" and that they happen all over the world and to all of the elements in the periodic table.

10 Minutes: Students will read together the definitions of the words in this section and practices putting them into their own words. These will go into their Cornell Notes for this week.

10 Minutes: Students will play half-life bingo for candy prizes. If given the % of parent element, % daughter element, years elapsed, or number of half-lives, they should be able to fill in a prepared chart for commonly used isotopes that will be on the board. The students will fill in the missing slots.

Independent Practice: Students will complete Questions 1-4 on Page 565.

Welcome to InsaniTeach - Lesson Plans

This is a blog kept by a teacher in an inner city school in a major metropolitan city in the United States.

Here's some background: In my personal blog I noticed that in my transition from being a researcher in clinical trials for cancer therapy (I'd tell you more but I'd have to kill you) to being a teacher in an inner city school that teaching was dominating my writing. Therefore, I have decided to create a blog specifically for teaching and teaching in urban, high-risk schools.

I will not state where I teach, nor in what major city. I just wish to discuss my experiences in entering the education field, the organization in schools, my students in general, culture shock at working in an urban, high-risk school, and in general about how much I love teaching and my students.

The web address for InsaniTeach: Teaching At the Edge of Reason is http://insaniteach.blogspot.com/. Feel free to come by and check out the part where I blog about my experiences. This blog is where I post my lesson plans to keep myself organized and have a backup. Also, for any teachers out there that want to steal any of my ideas (hey, some might) feel free. Information is to be shared in this day and age.

Welcome to InsaniTeach.

Monday February 23 2009

Subject: Earth Space Science

State Standard ES. 1.28 Discuss geologic evidence, including fossils and radioactive dating, in relation to Earth’s past.

10 Minutes: Go over homework from last week: end of section assessment questions 1-6. Makes sure the students understand why each question was answered that way.

Moving on: Chapter 21.2 page 557-561 in text. Relative-Age Dating of Rocks.

Big Ideas to cover

1. uniformitarianism - processes that occur today have been going on since the Earth formed
2. relative age dating rocks - inacurate process done by comparing one rock layer to another
3. original horizontality - the rocks were originally put down flat
   
4. superposition - the oldest rock layers are at the bottom and younger ones are at the top
   
5. cross-cutting relationships - invasive rock layers are younger than what they interrupt
   
6. constantly changing Earth makes it hard to find undisturbed rock to date an age of
7. unconformity - gaps in the rock record
   
8. correlation - matching areas or rock from one area to another
   

15 - 20 Minutes: As a class, we are going to read together the first three paragraphs of the section and pull out the important information in cornell notes style on the overhead. I will have the students take turns reading or I will help them by reading.

10 Minutes: Then I will have them read the next two paragraphs themselves (4-5 minutes each) and pull out 5 facts each for the cornell notes on the overhead.

10 Minutes: When they are done, we will practice writing together what the cornell notes look like and practice SUMMARIZING because my students don't know how.

The independent practice is the section assessment on page 561 #1-6.