Resources: Secondary Science
From ORBIT
| Acids | Forensic Science Investigation | |
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A who-dunnit circus of activities This lesson introduces inquiry(ta)-based learning through the topic of forensic science. It engages pupils in higher order(ta) reasoning(ta) solving a variety of forensic problems.
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| Astronomy | It's full of stars | |
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Using a telescope and considering how those early astronomers may have worked Astronomy(topic) has been practiced for centuries and doesn't require expensive equipment! This first session aims to train the whole class(ta) to use a telescope and hopefully to provide an opportunity to engage in some active learning(ta). The lesson includes some naked-eye observations and describes how modern technology helps scientists know where to look. You can explore the scientific method(ta) and language(ta) at this point, using targeted questioning(ta)/differentiation(ta). Students may be able to engage in an inquiry(ta)-based project around this work, perhaps for homework(ta).
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| Astronomy | Gas laws | |
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What is happening inside the sun? Why does pressure double when volume halves? Is that what we mean by gas laws? The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand. The teacher keeps a clear focus to use open rather than closed questioning throughout.
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| Astronomy | Comets and Meteors | |
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When a comet approaches the sun its tail is behind it. When it is moving away from the sun the tail is in front. Go figure. Or read more. The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand.
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| Astronomy | From Earth to Moon | |
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Why the efforts to get to the moon in the 1960's might make you understand why we've not returned since. The race to the Moon was as much driven by politics as science, and this backdrop continues to influence space exploration and terrestrial research to this day. It was an amazing achievement to travel so far - guided by computers that were trivial set beside today's mobile phones. It is a story well worth telling to encourage engagement in science, scientific method(ta) as well as the understanding of the ethical(topic) context of this pursuit.
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| Astronomy | Rutherford, Marsden and Geigers experiment | |
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Ideas about the nature of matter have changed from it being air, water, earth or fire. The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand. The teacher keeps a clear focus to use open rather than closed questioning throughout.
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| Astronomy | Celestial Wanderers | |
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Why would we fly to another planet to study its rocks? Drawing on a rich range of sources, this presentation allows the teacher to introduce planetary geology(topic), something not normally studied until degree level. It uses the narrative(ta) of the Voyager Probes journey to illustrate the vastness of the solar system(topic) and also the challenges of designing a spacecraft to travel that far. It ends with a discussion of the history(topic) of Mars, and how the differences between it and the Earth resulted in Mars loosing its water and atmosphere whereas we have kept ours.
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| Astronomy | The Mystery of the Sun | |
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How can we tell what the sun is made from? What can light from the stars tell us? The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students are provided with mini-diagrams* around which they build up personalised notes about the lesson. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand.
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| Astronomy | Recreating the Big Bang | |
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An introduction to the creation of the Universe. This presentation offers a tour of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and explains why it is worth spending money on one experiment. It then delves into particle physics, looking at sub-atomic particles to offer analogies for what these particles are. The session focuses on whole class(ta) dialogue(ta) and higher order(ta) thinking skills as well as exploring scientific language(ta). This 4th session and the 5th are together the most theoretically complex and they present challenges to young peoples world views. As such they are led as much by their questions(ta) as by the presentation.
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| Astronomy | Cepheid stars | |
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How we know what we know: a slide presentation to explain how Goodricke and Leavitt measured the stars. The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students are provided with mini-diagrams* around which they build up personalised notes about the lesson. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand.
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| Astronomy | 88 Miles per Hour | |
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Aiming to win 'A level' recruits with a trip to the strange world of relativity and quantum mechanics The lesson initially looks at time travel, however the overriding theme is that of modelling(ta) and scientific method(ta). It aims to show students that it is acceptable to get a result that doesn't fit with what you expect. It just means you need to change what you expect next time!
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| Astronomy | Star brightness and star distance | |
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A slide presentation to explain how we measure the distance and brightness of stars. Students are challenged to put aside ‘modern knowledge’ of astronomy and consider the position of Huygens in the 17th Century. This lesson uses a story and humour to draw students into a narrative and place them in a dialogue with Christiaan Huygens, a character from astronomy history.
The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students are provided with mini-diagrams* around which they build up personalised notes about the lesson. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand. The resource would be used in a whole class setting although each chapter of the story focuses on small group discussion and feedback. The teacher keeps a clear focus to use open rather than closed questioning throughout.
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| Astronomy | Astronomy Master Class | |
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An overview of of six astronomy-related lessons resources (SC019 to SC0024) The Astronomy Master Class was developed to inspire the next generation of scientists and in particular physicists. Although this course of 6 lessons is framed mostly around the science of astronomy, it draws on many themes from physics and aims to show how they all can link together. Additionally, it is structured so that it deliberately does not cut across material in most standard GCSE science courses and does not aim to answer every question. A deliberate part of the design was to visit each topic area only briefly and leave students hungry for more.
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| Astronomy | Alien Life | |
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Are we alone? This last of six presentations to recruit students for A level physics, is more light-hearted and simpler than the two previous resources. It considers the arguments around whether or not humanity is alone and includes an initial look at the bizarre nature of many of the claims of alien encounters - including a fictional one for good measure - before moving onto the more serious side of alien hunting. It concludes with a probabilistic argument based on the Fermi paradox.
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| Astronomy | Stars change | |
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About the stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and how supernovae form at the end of a star's life The lesson model is that of active note-making. Students must not take notes from the board but instead must use their creativity to develop their own notes. They are encouraged to use colour, image, symbols, humour and metaphor to lead them through a richer learning experience. Students need help in achieving this but soon catch onto the idea. They become more independent with taking notes and more attentive to the subject at hand. The teacher keeps a clear focus to use open rather than closed questioning throughout.
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