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Lesson Overview
In this science activity, students will go through the scientific process: by participating in a human balancing experiment. The group will collect and analyze data to determine if human balancing is affected by a person's eyes being closed or open.
What enduring understanding(s) does this lesson address?
- Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically-oriented questions, collecting evidence, forming explanations, connecting explanations to scientific knowledge and theory, and communicating and justifying explanations.
- A scientist understands why it is important to conduct a fair test.
- Human behavior and performance is influenced by biological and environmental factors.
What essential question(s) relate(s) to this lesson?
- Why is it important to have a fair test?
- Why do scientists gather, and interpret information and data?
- How do scientists gather, and interpret information and data?
Learning Objectives
Formulate a hypothesis, follow a procedure, collect data, and write a conclusion. Conduct a fair test by carefully following the procedure and collecting data.
Instructional Plan
Advance Preparation:
- The approximate time for this lesson is 45 minutes
- Copies of Balancing Handout
- Gather a stop watch, crayons for coloring the graph
- Create overhead transparency or posters of the Student Handout for modeling
Vocabulary:
fair test
balance
Background Knowledge: (for teacher)
The Human Balance System consists of three parts. The Visual (depth, velocity and motion perception), the Vestibular System (inner ear), and the Somatic Sensory or Somatosensory System (proprioception and exteroception).
Vestibular System (inner ear) - The most important part of human balance is the inner ear which contains three canals. In simple terms, teh three canals contain a gel-like liquid called endolymph and tiny hair cells. When both inner ears are working properly they give the brain information through the central nervous system about linear and angular positions of the body with respect to gravity.
Visual (depth, velocity and motion perception) - Visual input from the eyes send the brain information about the position of the body relative to other objects, their depth, velocity and motion. The eyes and ears compliment each other not only to maintain balance, but also to maintain clear vision during movemetn. The inner ear sends impulses that continuously adjust your eyes in coordination to even the smallest movement of the body such as your heartbeat or breathing.
Somatic Sensory or Somatosensory System (proprioception and exteroception) - The Somatosensory System provides the brain two valuable pieces of internal and external spatial information to maintain balance. One comes from internal sensors within the body called proprioceptors. Proprioceptors give the central nervous system information about the movement of body parts in relation to other parts of the body. This is called the sense of proprioception. Without the sense of proprioception, you would not be able to put food in your mouth without visually watchingyour hand moving to your mouth. A common test for loss of proprioception is walking the line during a sobriety test by police officers. The other Somatosensory information the brain uses comes from external body sensors called exteroceptors. Exteroceptors are pressure sensors located in your feet and hands that provide external spatial information abuot the topography of the ground or support surface. Exteroception also helps in your overall balance system by relaying information abuot ground movement. An example would be the difference between standing on solid ground and sinking into mud.
Lesson Activities:
Initiation:
Pose the Question to the class. Orally share student responses.
Question: Do people have better balance when they close their eyes?
- Pass out student worksheets.
- Hang large student worksheet (laminated so it can be written on) from the front of the room
- Read the question together, and have students think about their hypothesis.
- Have students record the word open or closed on the blank space in the hypothesis
Hypothesis: I think people have better balance when their eyes are ____________ (open or closed)
Ask students to explain why they made their hypothesis.
Model
<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1258279005177_974" />*Show the children the materials you will use for this activity.
- Tell them you are going to read the procedure and "Act out" each step for them to see.
- Read steps #1-4 of the Procedure
- Stand behind your desk.
- When you hear the word "Go" lift up one leg and stand on one foot.
- Stand on one foot as long as possible.
- If your foot touches the ground, or if your hands touch the tabel, sit down.
- At the end of 10 seconds count how many people in the room are still standing.
- Model steps #1-4 multiple times, each time making obvious changes in the way you lift your leg, your posture, or in the way you hold your arms.
- Ask student to reiterate the testable question, "What are we trying to find out?" Suggest teh possibility that maybe the way you hold your hands would influence balance, or maybe how high you raise your leg will influence balance.
- Discuss the term fair test. "To make sure we are finding the answer to our question, (whether closing your eyes makes a difference) we must make sure we do everything else the same.
- As a class set rules: same leg each time, raise leg same height each time, arms must be down at sides at all times, it should be silent during all trials...
Independant Practice
- Have students stand and do a "practice run" by doing steps 1-4 of the procedure to make sure everyone knows how to do a fair test.
- Record how many people are still standing in the data chart.
- Repeat Step 1-6, but this time close your eyes when you stand up behind your desk.
- Do this experiment ten times.
- Create a circle graph to show your results
- Introduce the "I'm Still Standing Data Table" by pointing to your large poster and explain how we will keep track of our results. Discuss why it is important to write down the results.
- Conduct the experiment, using the stopwatch to time exactly 10 seconds for each trial.
*Count the number of students still standing at the end of ten seconds and record in the data table.
*Alternate back and forth between Eyes Open and Eyes Closed. Have students record the results on their sheet as you record the numbers on the poster.
Results:
I'm Still Standing Data
Trial Eyes Open Eyes Closed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
- After 10 trials have the students look at their data.
*Work together to analyze each trial.
*Look at trial 1. Which had more children standing? Eyes Open Group or the Eyes Closed Group? Put tallies in the tally chart to indicate which column had more in each trial.
Tallies: Put a tally in the box to show which one has more children standing.
Eyes Open
Eyes Closed
*Create a circle graph to display the results. Choose one color to represent eyes open and another color to represent eyes closed.
*Have students color in their circle graphs.
Circle graph: Do people have better balance with their eyes open or closed?
Closure:
Discuss the results. Introduce the idea of forming some conclusions based on results.
Have all children complete the conclusion that has been started for them on their handout.
Conclusion:
I did an experiment to find out whether people have better balance with their eyes open or closed.
I found out that __________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Discuss ideas for further research. What else may influence a person's balance? Other ideas to test may include...
*Do you balance better on your left or right foot?
*What about if you had to hop on one foot?
*Does loud noise affect balancing?
Content:
Students will understand that a fair test is a test where all variables stay the same except for the variable you are trying to test.
Skills:
*Observing
*Communicating
*Predicting
*Formulating hypotheses
*Experimenting
*Interpreting data
*Critical thinking and scientific problem solving
*Communicating results of scientific investigations in oral and written form
Assessment:
*Teacher observation during activities and experiments.
*Informal assessment in the form of class discussion when reviewing the objectives during the closure.
*Accurate completion of student worksheet.
Technology and materials required
*Copies of student worksheet, "Balancing Lab"
*Posters of student worksheets for modeling.
Forms:
Name _________________________________
Question: Do people have better balance when they close their eyes?
Hypothesis: I think people have better balance when their eyes are __________________________ (open or closed)
Materials:
Stop watch Crayons
Procedure:
1. Stand behind your desk.
2. When you hear the word "Go" lift up one leg and stand on one foot.
3. Stand on one foot as long as possible.
4. If your foot touches the ground, or if your hands touch the table, sit down.
5. At the end of 10 seconds count how many people in the room are still standing.
6. Record how many people are still standing in the data chart.
7. Repeat Step 1-6, but this time close your eyes when you stand up behind your desk.
8. Do this experiment ten times.
9. Create a circle graph to show your results.
Next Form:
Make it a Fair Test!
A Fair test is an experiment where all factors stay the same except for the factor you are testing.
Results:
I'm Still Standing Data
Trial Eyes Open Eyes Closed
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Tallies: Put a tally in the box to show which one has more children standing
Eyes Open _____________
Eyes Closed _____________
Next Form:
Circle Graph: Do people have better balance with their eyes open or closed?
(In this area, draw a pie chart here cut into 10 pieces. On the side put an explanation of which color will be Eyes Open and which will be Eyes Closed)
Conclusion:
I did an experiment to find out whether people have better balance with their eyes open or closed.
I found out that _______________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
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