Professional Development: Project Learning Tree

I think of Project Learning Tree (PLT) as the third member of the "Project" family, along with Project WILD and Project WET.   It was the third "Project" that I learned of, but recently was informed that it was the first one to come into existence. 

PLT's mission is to teach students how to think about the environment, not what to think.  A wide range of topics are covered by the curriculum, including forests, wildlife, water, waste management, community planning and energy.

As with the other Project programs, PLT is available to teachers or other leaders for low or no cost.  You'll need to contact your state's PLT coordinator to find when and where the program is scheduled. 

And, also like the other Project programs, you'll receive a fabulous curriculum guide.  That book alone would be worth any price of admission!

I'm also pleased to let you know that I am officially trained as a Project Learning Tree facilitator.  If you live in my area and are interested in bringing Project Learning Tree to your faculty or other group, send an email my way and we'll get it scheduled.

Reminder: Sign Up Now for Natural Things Swap

Just a quick reminder: you have through Friday night to sign up for the Natural Things Swap.  A few of the objects you can expect to receive in your swap box:

• Ohio flint
• Shells
• Slate
• Magnolia seed pods
• Skate egg sacs
• Golden rod galls
• Black walnuts

Add your object to the list and join the fun! 


PS For those of you who have already signed up: an email with more details will be on its way Friday night or Saturday.

Inertia: The Non-Rolling Marble

To prepare:

Glue a thin washer onto a piece of paper.

Set a marble in the washer.  Quickly pull the paper out. 

If you move quickly enough, the marble will remain where it was.

Researching Biomes & Ecosystems

The Missouri Botanical Garden has a great website for researching the world's biomes and ecosystems.

When you visit the web page devoted to each biome/ecosystem, you will find lots of user-friendly information:

• description of the biome
• where the biome can be found
• plants found in the biome
• animals found in the biome

Clicking on an individual animal will provide you with lots of detailed information regarding the animal's size, diet, classification, and so on. 

The Missouri Botanical Garden site is a great place to allow students to explore and research on their own as part of your biome/habitat study. 

After students have collected their information, they could complete any number of projects or assignments with it. 

Some ideas:

• create a brochure to promote a visit to that biome
• create a board game incorporating facts about their biome
• give clues to other students to see if they can "Guess the Biome"
• create a food chain/web that would exist in that biome

Tornado: Make Your Own Tornado Tube

I'm sure many of you have seen the little tube/connectors you can use to connect two 2-liter soda bottles to make a tornado tube.  Like this:


I've wondered at various times, whether one could create the tornado tube without that little plastic connector, which I don't happen to possess, and while quite inexpensive, have never gone ahead and purchased.

I was pleased to find instructions for creating my own tornado tube in Janice VanCleave's 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping, and Bouncing Experiments.

The materials you'll need:
--a flat metal washer - one that's the same size as the mouth of the bottles
--duct tape
--two 2-liter soda bottles

Fill one of the bottles half-way with water (feel free to add a little food coloring and/or glitter, if the mood strikes you).

Dry the mouth of the bottle well.  Place the washer over the mouth of the bottle.

Place the second bottle upside down, on top of the washer.

Tape the bottles together with the duct tape - don't skimp, make sure things are secure!

Turn the bottles upside down.  With one hand on the top bottle and the other on the bottom, move the top bottle in a small circle.

Set the bottles down and watch the tornado vortex form.

I was pleased with how well the tornado formed.  However, despite my best taping effort, some water leaked out every time we used it.  If it's something you're going to do repeatedly, it's probably worth a couple bucks for the special coupler.  If it's likely a one-time thing, this definitely works and is less "stuff" to have around the house.

Update: Natural Things Swap

I'm getting together a nice group of people participating in the Natural Things Swap, but would love to include more.  It's truly an activity that will be enriched with every addition to the group. 

I know there are some of you debating participating, but feeling like you don't have anything unique to contribute... I just wanted to share a quick story and let you know that the things you walk by every day and take for granted are great objects to swap.

When I was deciding what I should contribute to the swap, I initially considered including maple leaves or helicopters (maple seeds) because they are simple enough for me to collect - I just have to walk a few feet outside my door.  But, I sort of rejected that idea because living in the upstate New York/Vermont region, maple trees hardly seem like anything unique or worthy of swapping.  They line my street and just about everywhere else around here. 

Ironically, one of the people participating in the swap commented to me that she really hoped she'd get some "big leaves" from the northern part of the country as part of the swap.  She lives in southern Texas, and her students have no idea how large leaves grow to be.  Needless to say, I'll be including some maple leaves in my swap packages after all (unless, of course, someone else would like to include them, in which case I'll use something else).

At the end of the day, those common objects (the ones you've already crossed off your list of possibilities) are probably some of the best to include.

If you're looking for lessons in which to include your newly acquired natural artifacts, Sheri's Specimen Collection and Classification activity may be a good place to begin.  It's focused on the animal kingdom, but you could use it as a jumping-off point to create a similar activity to include the plant-based objects.

Also, I wanted to quickly mention that while this blog is largely written for educators (formal and informal), you don't need to be a teacher to participate.  My 5 year old son is having a ball talking and thinking about what objects we should include in the swap and is nearly bursting to find out what other people will be sending  us.  I think it will be a fabulous experience for him, as well as a chance for me to build up my collection of objects for teacher workshops and my someday-return to a classroom.


So, consider joining in the fun.  Click here for the details of what's involved and then send a message my way to get your name on the list!  And, if you're still unsure or have questions, send them my way. 

Natural Things Swap

Are you looking to expand your collection of natural objects to make learning more interesting?  Interested in starting a collection of objects to play What Is It? 

Consider joining the Natural Things Swap. 

You'll collect a bunch of, for this example let's say, acorns.  You'll place each acorn in its own small bag and label it (or find a way to label it without the bag).  You'll mail all of the labeled acorns to me.  In return, you'll receive a box containing a sampling of the objects other people collected and sent to me. 

Ideas for objects to collect:
Seed pods (acorns, small pine cones, gum balls, buckeyes, etc.)
Pressed leaves
Shells/Egg cases
Small fossils
Nice rock specimens

Make sure you don't send anything that could rot or otherwise begin to smell...

How Many Objects:
Next week I will let you know how many people have expressed an interest in playing along.  You're welcome to send enough for everyone, and in turn you'll get back an object from everyone participating.  You're also welcome to only send a few objects, but keep in mind that you'll only receive back as many objects as you send. 

Cost:
You'll need to pay for the postage to mail the objects to me.  You'll also need to send $5 to cover the cost of mailing the collection back to you.  I'll provide you with my PayPal information, or you can include the payment in the box you mail me. 

If you want to play along...

1. Send me a message letting me know you want to play and what object you plan to send my way (only one person per object - we don't need to all exchange acorns...)
2. Share this swap with your friends, so they can play along too!
3. Collect your objects.  Clean them if appropriate and label them.
4. Mail the objects to me by the end of October (that date could be negotiable, let me know if you have a conflict and I'll consider making a change).
5. Make sure you've made your $5 payment - if you don't pay, you won't get a box back!
6. Check your mailbox for your arriving collection. 

So, what do you think???  You've got until 11:59 pm EDT on September 9, 2011 to let me know you're interested!