Our SGMS classes take every opportunity to integrate and bolster students’ learning material with hands-on, experiential activities. Below are just a few examples of these recent lessons in our science courses:
Creating a scale model of our solar system on the football field, where the eight planets (sorry, Pluto) are represented by 6th grade students. With the sun at the 0 yard line, Mercury is counted as one yard, Venus at two yards, Earth at three yards, Mars at five yards, Jupiter at 17 yards, Saturn at 37 yards, Uranus at 64 yards, and Neptune at 100 yards.
Learning about genetics by creating Punnett squares* for the classroom wall. The students used known genotypes* to visualize the phenotypes* of troll babies. The students then learned about natural selection* and adaptation* when an ogre showed up to the troll colony as a predator.
Participating in a lab on natural selection,* where students “competed” for food sources using different types of bird beaks.
Participating in a lab on artificial selection* with different cultivars* of apples, where students had the opportunity to try five different apples and taste the different traits selected for and cultivated by growers.