Sea Turtles and Magnetic Fields #4450

This is a discussion for the Sea Turtles and Magnetic Fields Experiment. Feel free to connect with the Learning Team here, or to discuss experiment tips, ask questions, leave comments or suggest experiment variations here.
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OH! This is AMAZING! I cannot wait to try this with students! What an engaging activity to teach them about magnets and the other activity with testing the strength of the magnet is also great. Magnets are not my favorite thing to teach but this is a terrific phenomenon to use. WOW!

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How cool is this!! I don’t teach biology but I do teach about the Earth’s magnetic field so this could be a cool way to demonstrate the activity and give students an applicable activity. Real, applicable science that fits with the NGSS improved standards. Students should be able to complete this activity on their own with my role being a facilitator.

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
This is my favorite lesson in the set. This fits into my magnetic filed study in grade 8.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I am completing these lessons with student volunteers, in hopes of having kits to use next year in a full time STEM course I will be teaching, I am using this an independent study and so far students have needed very little support. We have an advisory period and I am having students complete in during that time. I advise when needed.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
My students all want to participate so I am hoping their enthusiasm will help me defend my reasoning to purchase additional kits fo use next year.

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
While I thought this lesson was engaging and informative it does not seem to be a good fit for the Utah 8th Grade Standards. It would fit very nicely into the 7th grade unit on magnetic fields. I talked to one of our 7th grade teachers and they do a similar activity with magnets and trying to find the hidden magnets but they really liked the sea turtle aspect and we both agreed that the application and connection to real world issues would increase student interest and encourage deeper thinking.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
This lesson seems pretty straight forward and age appropriate that I think students could do it pretty much as is and be successful. I used a dry erase board and marker to make some marks on the board to help find the magnets.
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If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
You have given us some good background info for this lesson so I think the role of the teacher is just to model the process, ask thinking questions to the students, and ensure that they are following directions and recording their progress.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
I think that given the subject matter, this would be a fun lesson for students and they would be actively engaged in the process. Students would be assigned groups and specific roles within the group and held accountable to each other and to the teacher. There probably should be some sort of product that the students must do to show their understanding. (short writing assignment, labeled diagram, quiz, presentation, etc.)

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I had a similar thought, and it makes this lesson all the more powerful. We can use real world examples, problems, and technology to teach the basic science concepts in our curriculum. When you do that you get a whole other level of engagement and it opens up opportunities for enrichment! Some kids will want to ask questions and go deeper into this subject because of the way it is presented in class.

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Love the idea of using a dry erase board and markers!

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
This is a really fun lesson! This is not a traditional fit for my classroom, but I could use the “sea turtle” and the data collected and have my students chart the information into a spreadsheet.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
My students would love this lesson. I think with a little direction, they would be fine.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson? During this lesson, i would make sure that the students were engaged in their work.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
In my class, I can see partners working together to create the turtle and the magnet grid. The grid is the nest, where the magnets are placed are the eggs. Partners then allow other teams to “find the eggs” and chart their findings in Excel. This is kind of like a hands on battleship game, and my students would be very actively engaged!

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
This lesson fits in great within sixth grade standards and our curriculum while using the Stemscopes. During our earth science unit, we study layers of the earth to include the core as well as the earth’s magnetic tendencies resulting from the magnetic field produce by iron. I challenged a team of four young ladies to learn the concepts set forth in the lesson, construct the required items, and then teach a small group of second grade students, who study life science, about how turtles use the magnetic field. They all had a great time learning together!
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
Students would need extra support in areas of coding and placing the sensors. Some students may also need direction during inquiry and finding credible information.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I would act as a facilitator in this lesson, providing key moments for inquiry and expansion of mindset. A successful teacher would monitor student groups to ensure students are maintaining predictions and continuing a path forward. Teachers should be asking prompting questions so students remain curious, while maintaining an inquiry mindset.

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If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
Students would play an exploratory role during this lesson. Student success would be understanding how to apply variables, constants, and how to conduct an experiment while keeping it organized and recorded. More specifically, I believe being able to move forward through adverse times.

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Great idea with the Battleship scenario! That would be cool to integrate it into a Google Formin the end to see who had their final standing!

Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum?
Of course, any lesson about baby sea turtles would be a huge hit, the lesson actually applies best to my astronomy unit. We talk about how the Earth’s outer core is responsible for the planet’s magnetism and how this field protects us from the solar radiation. Astronomy is so abstract that it can be hard for students to truly grasp. The sensor will allow students to actually feel the pull of the magnet and see those readings of strength. If they can see this with some small magnets, we can better understand the existence and strength of the Earth’s field.

Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
I think that this would be the easiest of the experiments for students to set up since it doesn’t require the complex wiring on the breadboard.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I would talk to the students ahead of time about the importance of the Earth’s magnetic field and how it protects the planet from harmful solar radiation.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
I would like to see students testing out the sensor at various distances from magnets of varying strengths. Students are familiar with the term “magnetic field”, but I think that they really only associate magnets with refrigerators and white boards. The data will show the students that magnets truly have a field of power around them. The next step is to connect that field to the field around the planet.

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The Battleship game is a great idea Maybe if they miss they miss the “nest” they get eaten by a predator.
Sorry, too many nature documentaries for me!

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I agree about students not understanding a magnetic field. My students are always very surprised when we start learning about magnets and magnetic fields. Most students do not understand anything other than a magnet is what they use to hang their artwork on the frig.

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
This lesson was awesome and it fits perfectly in the 4th grade curriculum. We talk about behaviors and structures of animals as well as habitats. This will be a very cool lesson for my students to talk about a behavior of the sea turtles.

Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
I think this lesson is right on target with the skills of my students. I’m not sure they will need any extra support. Maybe only to help connect wires.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I think my role would be to make sure all students are engaged and materials are supplied and working.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?
There would be a need for partner or group work on this lesson simply because I have a diverse group of students, many with special needs.

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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum?
It doesn’t, as I am a tech integrationist. It could fit into biomes, magnets in a couple of grade levels.

How could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
I think it could fit into grade 4 work on endangered animals by researching more about the problems of protecting nesting areas

Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
No help with the basic wiring, but using the magnets I have… did not go really well. It works perfectly when the box is open and the strongest magnets are separated by distance as well as partitions. However, once the box was closed, the weaker magnets did not work. The strong ones are really not safe for this age group. I have had kids get hurt with them before. SO- I would have to find magnets that are strong enough to work, without being so strong that they squish fingers.

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
Set the stage and let them work

If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your student’s role during the class. What does “student success” look like?

I would like the students to understand both how the magnetic fields are working and about the nesting habits of the turtles. Video or written up in science journal.

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This is a general question- How can you record all incoming data from the sensorson your computer? I can see how on this one you click to record, but that is a time/screenshot. How does one get all of the data?

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This was a good activity. I again like the pre-teaching information. I had a little bit more trouble with the code and collecting data on this one though, the site kept freezing. We live on the Gulf Coast so this fits in perfectly as an activity that can be adapted to 4th grade curriculum. We study magnets and magnetic forces along with information about our coastal area. On a side note we just studied in our science weekly about how cows have an internal magnet and often will face all north or all south together in the herd when there aren’t power lines around to disturb it. I do magnetic centers every year when I teach this subject. They work with magnetic putty, figuring out if the magnetic force can go through different objects, and working with magnetic pictures. I like them being able to be more scientific about their approach and being able to chart data.

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I really like your game idea. I could see my students doing that.

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Thanks for sharing the picture!

Let us know if you still have issues with the site freezing. Thanks for your patience!