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Tick tock, Adkins on the clock - and once again he is getting kid's brains moving at top speed! |
Social Studies
Explore Location
How do you know exactly where you are the Earth? By measuring latitude and longitude to pinpoint location, of course. Use this Minute to introduce or reinforce how to use latitude and longitude measurements to establish your geographic location. Share the idea of geocaching, and then see if there is any treasure nearby (check this open caching site).
Explore the Prime Meridian
What is it? Where is it? And why is it there? What led to the defined Prime being in Greenwich England? Why isn’t it in China or the United States? Having students explore the answer will lead to some very interesting questions and social studies concepts!
Explore historical occupations
Author Adkins tells the reader that Harrison was a carpenter who wound up making timepieces. How were these two occupation connected? What other occupations existed a the time ? How and why do new occupations emerge in a society? Who decides?
STEM
Explore the process of problem solving
Unpack John Harrison's process in problem solving. Have students first determine the problem Harrison was trying to solve. Use that as the title of a chart which lists the challenges on the left, and potential solutions to those challenges on the right. Students can begin finding their information within the minute, but then encourage them to expand their search to include their own thinking and reliable information they can find doing print and/or internet research. Understanding the process outlined here can be used as a model for their own problem solving in the STEM classroom.
Explore ratios through gears
Have students take a close look at the provided animation of the grasshopper escapement. How does it work? What kind of ratio is involved between the movement of the larger gear to the smaller gear? How can we use this knowledge to make other things move? Provide students with some gear wheels, a bit of imagination, and a challenge to create and explain!
Research Skills
Explore keyword searching
Ask students to use this Minute to develop a researchable question and then brainstorm a list of keywords to find the answer. Have them do the search first using only the library catalog. Then have them try the search using subscription databases. Lastly, have them complete the search on the internet using search engines. At each step, have them document the keywords they used and the results they got, explaining changes to keyword use based on results. When they are finished, guide table talk to generate a list of effective keyword search strategies for each platform.
Explore Location
How do you know exactly where you are the Earth? By measuring latitude and longitude to pinpoint location, of course. Use this Minute to introduce or reinforce how to use latitude and longitude measurements to establish your geographic location. Share the idea of geocaching, and then see if there is any treasure nearby (check this open caching site).
Explore the Prime Meridian
What is it? Where is it? And why is it there? What led to the defined Prime being in Greenwich England? Why isn’t it in China or the United States? Having students explore the answer will lead to some very interesting questions and social studies concepts!
Explore historical occupations
Author Adkins tells the reader that Harrison was a carpenter who wound up making timepieces. How were these two occupation connected? What other occupations existed a the time ? How and why do new occupations emerge in a society? Who decides?
STEM
Explore the process of problem solving
Unpack John Harrison's process in problem solving. Have students first determine the problem Harrison was trying to solve. Use that as the title of a chart which lists the challenges on the left, and potential solutions to those challenges on the right. Students can begin finding their information within the minute, but then encourage them to expand their search to include their own thinking and reliable information they can find doing print and/or internet research. Understanding the process outlined here can be used as a model for their own problem solving in the STEM classroom.
Explore ratios through gears
Have students take a close look at the provided animation of the grasshopper escapement. How does it work? What kind of ratio is involved between the movement of the larger gear to the smaller gear? How can we use this knowledge to make other things move? Provide students with some gear wheels, a bit of imagination, and a challenge to create and explain!
Research Skills
Explore keyword searching
Ask students to use this Minute to develop a researchable question and then brainstorm a list of keywords to find the answer. Have them do the search first using only the library catalog. Then have them try the search using subscription databases. Lastly, have them complete the search on the internet using search engines. At each step, have them document the keywords they used and the results they got, explaining changes to keyword use based on results. When they are finished, guide table talk to generate a list of effective keyword search strategies for each platform.
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
