Science - Eva Varga

Misconceptions can be referred to as a preconceived notion or a conceptual misunderstanding. These are cases in which something a person knows and believes does not match what is known to be scientifically correct.

Concepts can be considered as ideas, objects, or events that help us understand the world around us. Misconceptions, on the other hand can be described as ideas that provide an incorrect understanding of such ideas, objects, or events that are constructed based on a person’s experience including such things as preconceived notions, non-scientific beliefs, naïve theories, mixed conceptions or conceptual misunderstandings.
Misconceptions themselves can be related to such things as misunderstanding factual information or being given conflicting information from credible sources such as parents and teachers.

A lot of people who hold misconceptions do not even know that their ideas are false or incorrect. When they are told they are wrong, they often have a hard time giving up their misconceptions, especially if they have held this understanding for a long time.

Be very, very careful what you put into your head because you’ll never, ever get it out. ~ Thomas Wosely, British Cardinal

What is especially worrisome about misconceptions is that people continue to build knowledge on their current understandings. Possessing misconceptions can negatively impact an individual’s learning.

According to the American Institute of Physics, Children’s misconceptions about science are vast. As a science educator and homeschool mom, it is my goal to help change that.

Each day this week, I will be sharing 5 common misconceptions in science. In doing so, I will also provide hands-on activities and lessons that you can utilize with your students to correct these misconceptions.

MISCONCEPTION #1

The water in a sink (or toilet) rotates one way as it drains in the northern hemisphere and the other way in the southern hemisphere. Called the Coriolis Effect, it is caused by the rotation of the earth.

To explore this misconception, I delight in taking you to La Mitad del Mundo – or the equatorial monument near Quito, Ecuador. It was here, while we were traveling in South America, that I experienced first hand how others use our misconceptions to mislead us – and often out of our money!

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Later this week I will be sharing:

Misconceptions in Astronomy

Misconceptions in Geology & Meteorology

Misconceptions in Chemistry & Physics

Misconceptions in Biology

You might also be interested in my 5 day tour through Peru, Discovering Peru. Here you will have the chance to win a travel guide of choice from DK Publishing.

This series is one of many hopscotch link-ups. Hop over and see what others are sharing.

This upcoming school year promises many new challenges and experiences for us. We are very excited to be moving back to Oregon, more specifically to the southern coast where Patrick and I both grew up.

While we will be surrounded by family, the transition will not be without obstacles. The homeschool community is much, much smaller compared to the previous two communities in which we have lived (Bend, Oregon and Redding, California). Therefore establishing connections may require a little more effort on my part.

Geneva will be entering 8th grade this fall while Jeffrey will begin 6th grade. I will continue to teach the same material to them both. Their skills are relatively equal in most areas so as a homeschool mom of two – it works. Best of all, it requires less planning on my part.

Science & Nature Study

These past couple of years, I have been coordinating STEM Club for our local homeschool community. With our move, I have decided to step back from this for awhile and see what opportunities are available. My daughter has also expressed interest in volunteering at the local interpretive center as well as initiating a long-term study of the impact of invasive turtles on the local ecosystem.

As we will be living on the Oregon coast, the ecology is significantly different than that of the High Desert or the Central Valley and Cascade Foothills of Northern California. I am very excited to explore the area more in-depth with the kids. We will thereby be resuming our regular nature studies in conjunction with Barb’s monthly Outdoor Hour Challenges at Handbook of Nature Study.

Both kiddos have asked to learn more about astronomy so I will be putting together lesson plans and projects to follow their interests. Thus while I will continue to develop my own curriculum for science, we will be engaging in lessons independently rather than with a small group of other homeschoolers. I will also be require more reading of each of the kids. I will be using CK-12 Life Science and CK-12 Earth Science in addition to other free science curriculum I’ve found.

Math

Life of Fred has been working very well for us since we transitioned from Singapore 6B a couple of years ago. Jeffrey is presently in the middle of Pre-Algebra 1 with Biology. Geneva is using Advanced Algebra. When they struggle with a concept, we have used Khan Academy.

One of the biggest benefits of our move is being close to family. Patrick’s uncle is a retired high school math teacher. We will be reaching out to him in hopes of meeting once every couple of weeks to go over their assignments. This will be a huge relief for me as I always struggled with algebra myself. Additionally, we will be looking into the possibility of concurrent enrollment for math at the local community college.

Language Arts

Writing

As the summer was just getting started, we started using Cover Story which I had purchased at a discount from Homeschool Buyers Co-op. Cover Story takes middle school students – 6th through 8th grade – on a guided tour through the process of creating the content for their own magazine. In a single school year, students are led, step by step, on a fun, thought-provoking journey of exploration and creation. They write poems, short stories, non-fiction articles, letters, and many other short pieces. We’ve only just begun (having completed the first three weeks) but we look forward to jumping back in when the dust settles from our move. { Homeschool Buyers Co-op will again offer a GroupBuy savings for Cover Story on 07-27-2015. Save up to 20%. }

Literature

We utilized a few Brave Writer Boomerang single issues a bit last year. We liked it but I just didn’t follow through and plan ahead as I should have. I know I need to do better. My goal therefore is to create a plan or a list of books for each of the kids for the upcoming school year. I will be sharing more details on this when I’ve mapped it out better.

We will also begin an in depth study of the history of English utilizing King Alfred’s English. This unique combination study of both English and history will provide a look at words, grammar, Shakespeare, the Bible, and language. The supplemental activities and materials (including primary sources!) provided on the website will help guide us – we are very excited to explore our language from this perspective.

Foreign Language

Fluency in a foreign language is very important to me. My daughter expressed her interest in learning Chinese when we were just beginning our homeschool journey so that is the path we have followed ever since. I have shared a little about How I Teach Mandarin previously. Though Shawn has moved across the country, we have had success with continuing our Mandarin language instruction via Skype or FaceTime.

We will continue to use Discovering Chinese Pro, the middle school curriculum developed by Better Chinese. Our Road to Mandarin Fluency has been very rewarding as we’ve been able to travel to China as well as make life long friends. We have taken some time off these past couple months as Shawn was traveling back home to China, conflicts with summer camp, and soon our travels abroad. We plan to resume our regular twice a week sessions come late September.

At summer camp, the kids are learning Norwegian. I would really like to continue incorporating our ancestral language into our weekly lessons but I always slip up. Perhaps our move will ensure I stick with it. We shall see.

History & Geography

We love to travel and like most, we learn best by immersion and first-hand experiences. Thus, to really understand the history of ancient Greece and Rome (our focus this past year has been ancient times), we will be traveling abroad with Trafalgar. We will first spend ten days in Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples, Assisi, and the Italian Lakes) followed by Athens and the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. I will be sharing snippets of our trip along the way via Instagram and I’ll post more in-depth travel posts soon.

To prepare for our trip, we have been moving very slowly through Susan Wise Bauer’s The History of the Ancient World. We are only half-way through the book so we’ll continue to work through it upon our return. Hopefully, by January we will move on to the medieval times. So much for my original plan of following a four year cycle; it takes us 6 years! Additionally, we will continue to incorporate activities from North Star Geography. Designed specifically for middle and high school ages, it is an engaging Geography curriculum. We are excited to continue with this program and will be creating our own world atlases (one of the many projects described in the companion guide).

Performing Arts

The kids are both adamant they want to continue to study music. I am confidant we will be able to find a piano instructor for Jeffrey. I am a little apprehensive for Geneva, however. The preliminary leg work I have done thus far has only generated one name and she is only available intermittently for one year as she is a graduate student and will be relocating at the end of the school year.

The community has a great lab band but there is youth symphony is not an option. I’ll have to reach out to the local schools to inquire whether they accept string instruments.

The Big Book of Homeschooling

To get tons of great advice, and move beyond the basics of academics, pick up a copy of The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas. Topics include active learning, inquiry science in middle school, learning with video games, using LEGO bricks for learning, teaching on the road, learning with movies, high school literature, and stamp collecting.

This book can carry you through all your years of homeschooling, covering the stages your children will mature through: preschoolers, elementary grades, middle school, and high school. As your life situation changes, you will find new chapters that apply to you. You can view the full table of contents to see all 103 topics!

Our Homeschool Planner

Working from home as well as homeschooling my kids requires me to be organized. As I have every year for the past six years, I will be using the Well Planned Day homeschool planner. I have tried a few others when we first began homeschool and I have perused others, yet I keep coming back to this one. It just works for me.

I love that it provides templates for meal planning as well as keeping track of the books the kids have read and an ongoing record of their grades. They have student planners available as well but my kiddos prefer that I send them an email each week. They thereby create a note on their iPad and delete each assignment as they go.

This post has been linked to the 2015 Not Back to School Hop. Join the fun!

One of our favorite outdoor activities involves just a few materials and is both challenging and fun. With a just a compass and a map, a variety of activities and obstacles courses can be designed to accommodate everyone. It is the perfect summer activity and can be easily integrated into your science or history curriculum.

Orienteering is what is called a lifetime sport; there’s something for everyone to enjoy, regardless of age or experience. Most events provide courses for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

This post contains affiliate links.

The history of Orienteering begins in the late 19th century in Sweden where it grew from military training in land navigation into a competitive sport for military officers. Eventually civilians caught on to the sport and the first public orienteering competition was held in Norway in 1897.

Orienteering courses can be set in any environment where an appropriate map has been made and a number of variations have been developed over the years. Some of the more intriguing variations include Night Courses, Trivia, and Relay Orienteering.

Orienteering with Kids can be a lot of fun. It is also a great confidence booster as they develop their navigational skills and can find their way through unknown territory.

To introduce kids to this wonderful sport, I have developed a simple introductory compass course activity to introduce the basics of using a compass for upper elementary and middle school students. It has been very popular with our local homeschool community and I am delighted to share it with you.

In my eBook, Introduction to Orienteering, I have included detailed instructions on the use of a compass and outlined a simple Compass Course activity to introduce kids to the sport of Orienteering. In addition, I have compiled numerous enrichment activities that incorporate the use of a compass and topographical maps.

With the Introduction to Orienteering unit study, students will develop the navigational skills and experience to feel confidant in participating in larger, community-wide Orienteering events. You can find more information about these opportunities by visiting the Orienteering USA website.

The Compass Course activity is also a part of my Earth Logic: Our Dynamic Earth curriculum, a 10 week hands-on earth science curriculum unit study on the geology of our Earth.

While the compass has not changed dramatically since it was first invented by the Chinese during the Han dynasty, many other navigational tools have been invented. We loved reading about the tools early explorers used to navigate in North Star Geography and have enjoyed using some of these tools ourselves. I have shared a few of our activities in my post, Sailing Ships & Navigation.

When I was in the public school classroom, one of my favorite units was an engineering and design challenge – Toothpick Bridges. It required little teacher preparation, kept the kids focused and engaged, and best of all, the kids LOVED it!

When we first began homeschooling, my son was fascinated with bridges. I knew we had to build toothpick bridges. He was pretty young so I made a few modifications to the original lessons and jumped into the unit study. You can read about their first experience in my previous post, Building Toothpick Bridges.

Now that they are older and summer is upon us – I thought it would be fun to revisit this challenge. In fact – I want to provide this opportunity to all of YOU!!

I have put together an eBook, Engineering Marvels: Bridges, that includes a materials list, templates, supplemental lesson plans, bibliography, and additional resources. The online course whereby I will also provide access to instructional videos to walk your children through the process of creating a toothpick bridge of their own will take place in July.

This would be an excellent activity for a co-op!

I’m very excited and wanted to let you know of this opportunity today so you can plan ahead. So gather a few friends together and get ready for a friendly competition.

This opportunity is available FREE to my newsletter subscribers. If you already subscribe – just watch for the next newsletter for the download links and video access codes.

If you don’t yet subscribe, do so today. You will have lifetime access to a multitude of additional science printables and resources.

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This post contains affiliate links.

Marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, whose writing on pesticides helped to launch the modern environmental movement, was born on 27th of May in 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Carson published her famous work Silent Spring in 1962 which documented the dangers of indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides, especially on bird populations. Though its publication was met with strong opposition from the chemical industry, the scientific community largely supported her conclusions. Silent Spring also served as a rallying point for the young environment movement just gaining momentum at the time of its publication.

In nature nothing exists alone.

The book fueled public interest in environmental and public health issues and, within a few years, the Nixon Administration formed the Environmental Protection Agency. Much of the EPA’s early work focused on issues raised by Carson’s work such as a 1972 law regulating pesticides and a US ban on the agricultural use of DDT.

Biography

Rachel grew up in a tiny, wooden house with no electricity, heat or plumbing. As a young girl, she was fascinated with the outside world. She spent a great deal of time in the woods and beside streams learning the names of birds, insects, and flowers.

Rachel’s best friend was her mother, Maria Carson, with whom she enjoyed taking long walks with in their nearby woods. Maria had been a teacher before she married and she taught Rachel the names of plants, birds, insects, and animals they encountered. It didn’t take long before Rachel was able to identify dozens of wild things.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find resources of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

In Rachel’s second year of college, she took a biology course that sparked her interest in this area. She graduated from college with honors and decided to specialize in Marine Biology- the study of animal life in the ocean. In 1929, she won a full scholarship to John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland to obtain her graduate degree in this field of study.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins in 1932 (MA in Zoology), she began a career in the federal service as a scientist and editor and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to the well known Silent Spring, she wrote several other articles designed to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world, including “Help Your Child to Wonder,” (1956) and “Our Ever-Changing Shore” (1957). Woven throughout her writing was the view that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished primarily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly.

Man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.

Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

Bring It Home

With Rachel Carson as a guide, students can learn how environmental concerns affect their lives and community. High students should be encouraged to read Silent Spring. Middle school students may be more comfortable reading selected chapters; I recommend the first chapter “A Fable for Tomorrow,” which can be previewed online. [Tip: Do a search on the chapter title to find the full text, which is available from various sources.]

Read a biography:
- Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World for ages 5 to 8
- Rachel Carson: Preserving a Sense of Wonder
- Who Was Rachel Carson?
- Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists (for ages 10 and up)
- Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World(recommended for teens and adults)
Watch the compelling documentary film American Experience: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
Have the students write a short story about how they think the world will change in the next ten years.
Ask students how they perceive our oceans being polluted today and let them come up with ways we can contribute to the efforts of protecting our sea life.
Have students research the toxic effects of DDT on the body, where it might be used today, and what alternatives can be used in its place.
Ask students to make a booklet on ways to live that can reduce an individual’s impact on the environment. Examples of subjects include saving water, gardening, cleaning and maintenance around the house, your car, renewable energy, air pollution, and the environmentally aware consumer.
Interview a person who has lived in the community for 30 years or longer. Suggested questions might include:
- How has our community’s environment changed over the time you have lived here?
- What was the environment of our community like when you first lived here?
- What changes made the greatest impact on the environment?
- Have the changes been for the better? Why do you feel this way?
- In retrospect, compare the benefits and detriments of the impact of people on the land.

What about us? Can we avoid the “silent spring” that Carson predicted? In the 53 years since Silent Spring first appeared, people have grown far more aware of our impact on the environment. But we still use many potentially deadly chemicals.”There remains, in this space-age universe,” wrote Rachel Carson, “the possibility that man’s way is not always best.” We would do well to remember her warning.

The middle school years, grades 5 through 9, are a time of tremendous physical, emotional, and cognitive changes for students. It also is a pivotal time in their understanding of and enthusiasm for science.

While science is my favorite subject to teach, I realize that not everyone feels the same. I know it can be a struggle – especially if you aren’t comfortable with the subject yourself.

I have thereby compiled advice from homeschool experts – homeschool parents just like you and I – who have been teaching our own children for a number of years.

How I Teach Middle School Science

Middle level students should have multiple opportunities every week to explore hands-on labs. This provides students with experience with calibrating equipment as well as troubleshooting when issues may arise. Additionally, students learn measurement error and have the skills to aggregate, interpret, and present their data.

Inquiry-based laboratory investigations at every level should be at the core of the science program and should be woven into every lesson and concept strand. As students move through the grades, the level of complexity of laboratory investigations should increase.

For more information about inquiry-based science, see my post What is Science? Transitioning to Inquiry Based Instruction. I also contributed a chapter to The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas titled, Inquiry Science with Middle School Students.

To engage middle school students in science it is important to:

Nurture curiosity about the natural world and include “hands-on, minds-on” inquiry-based science instruction.
Engage students in laboratory investigations rather than on vocabulary based worksheets and comprehension activities.
Incorporate independent and cooperative group learning experiences. See my post on science co-ops to learn how to get started.
Encourage informal learning experiences to support the curriculum. For example, see how a visit to a university allowed us to learn more about The Periodic Table of Elements.
Integrate science with other curriculum subjects in a multidisciplinary approach, such as through theme-based learning.
Applying content and skills learned in science class to students’ own experiences. I go in more detail in my post, Learning Science While Exploring Interests.
Connecting the classroom to the community through field trips, speakers, and local partnerships.
Providing students with real-life experiences, such as mentoring and apprenticeships, that enable them to develop an awareness of science-based careers and an understanding of how science is relevant to their lives. See my post Collaborating with Resource Specialists for examples.
Provide opportunities for decision-making activities and for involvement in community-based problems. Consider Service Learning with Roots & Shoots.

Advice from Homeschool Experts

Tonia @ The Sunny Patch

“Middle school is a great time to start handing over a little more responsibility to kids so interest-led science is a natural fit. Give them guidelines and a basic framework but let them choose their topics and experiments. They will be more invested in their learning if it’s something that interests them.”

Tina @ Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus

“Don’t give up valuable hands-on activities because you hit the middle school grades. Though it’s true you want to teach your middle school kids to learn to document what they are learning, don’t substitute just book learning and note writing for valuable interactive learning. Even if they don’t choose a science related career, science has improved the lives of millions and our children need to respect that.”

Megan & Susan @ Education Possible

“At home we make sure our middle school science lessons include a lot of hands-on activities. This is a great age for starting to understand cause and effect so often I gather the supplies and offer a general overview, and then allow the kids to create a hypothesis and test out their ideas. We also include as many field trips as possible – nature walks, science centers, planetariums, zoo & aquariums, etc. offer opportunities to talk to experts and learn about subjects in more detail.” ~ Susan

Michelle @ The Heart of Michelle

“Middle school can seem overwhelming. Not only are you teaching science, but you may feel that you have to bump up your game now that your child is preparing for high school. This is one of the points when parents may become fearful of continuing forward in the homeschool journey. Online classes and nature studies are two ways to make teaching homeschool science to middle school kids easier.”

Super Easy Ways to Teach Middle School Science

Annie @ Annie and Everything

“We have always used Apologia, starting with Exploring Creation with General Science in seventh grade. These are great for beginning to teach the student how to study for a test that is not just multiple choice — where they have to study the chapter and remember key points to answer application questions. We work up to that slowly through the chapters of the book, starting in chapter one with an open-book test and progressing with more and more accountability as the chapters go by. This year we have started using the Notebooking Journal to go along with the text. This has been a WONDERFUL hands-on resource — I wish it had been around for my older kids!”

Marcie @ The Homeschool Scientist

“Middle school is a great time to get hands-on and really test all that science knowledge acquired throughout elementary school. This is when it all starts coming together. Experiments, videos, and field trips are all great to spark interest and achieve understanding. Don’t forget to keep lab notebooks for experiments and to write about various science topics. These really help students understand what they are studying.”