Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994 Page: 26
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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accompanying bulletin board and are excited to tell me
how the process works and what year they learned it.
What more could I ask for?
Another example? Digestion and processing
of nutrients.
Have you ever made a stomach and digested
food? My students have. How about measuring the
length of your small intestine? By using manipulatives,
my Life Management class now understands the di-
gestive process. What did we do?
*Day 1 - An experiment about the mouth
involved chewing (and not chewing) crackers in order
to learn about mouth bacteria and its influence. Couple
that procedure with a continuing experiment in which
raw eggs are placed in vinegar to dissolve the calcium
in the shells, and the experiment expands to a study of
tooth decay.
Day 2 - An experiment in which each student
"makes" a stomach. It's not as difficult as it sounds.
All that is needed for each stomach is a plastic zip-lock
bag, cottage cheese, orange juice, potato chips, and of
course, a little "spit" to provide saliva. As the students
squeeze the bag, they produce a product much like
chyme. Enthusiasm runs high.
Day 3 - An experiment to judge the length of
small intestines. Do you know that the small intestine
is about four times a person's height? My students
know after measuring their height, computing the
length of their intestines and, of course, measuring the
intestines from yarn and wearing them in the correct
location on their body for the class period. They won't
forget the information.
Day 4- The large intestine can be simulated by
use of a 2 liter bottle cut lengthwise along one side, 30
or so marbles, salt water, and a towel. The studentslearn about absorption of nutrients as well as produc-
tion of waste products.
The result of the study - another two-day
celebration!
Whether creating a "cut and paste" collage
which describes family values, or using catalogs to
shop for home furnishings, the more concrete, the
more realistic the activity, the more effective the
instruction.
As a part of the Basic Skills curriculum, every-
day skills such as telephone use are made more
realistic with a little creativity. Students complete
personal address books, practice reading alphabetical
lists, and record numbers from dictation. The need for
modification and manipulation, however, prompts a
few additional steps. Real telephone directories from
various cities are brought to class in order for students
to practice their use. An in-class telephone system
was set up so that students may make practice calls to
local and long distance information, the operator,
emergency services (911), and businesses. The final
step is to place calls to actual businesses requesting
educational materials. There is no cost to the school
because students access "800" numbers of major
corporations. At the end of the course of study,
student confidence is high.
How does a student master the concept of
resource management? In a modified, manipulative
classroom - through the use of a scavenger hunt. I am
amazed at the uses my students have for objects found.
After identifying each object with the term"resource,"
the students describe that:
a. an oak leaf can be decorated and used as a
Christmas ornament.
b. a branch can be cleaned and used as art.26
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Tarleton State University. Effective Schools Project. Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 1, 1994, periodical, 1994; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201678/m1/26/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.