Students Become Teachers in 7th Grade Science
by K. Kallembach
November 20, 2008
7th Grade students have been learning about physical and chemical properties and changes in science class over the last couple of weeks. They have learned that physical properties can be observed while chemical properties are not seen until they act. A demonstration was shown to see a chemical change when dish soap began breaking down fat particles in milk and spun food coloring all around in a tray. Students practiced measuring density in a lab activity and learned about acids and bases while they witnessed coins being cleaned by the acid in Pepsi Cola.
With all this new information, students constructed a short book for 3rd graders. Many of the 7th graders at Brookwood Junior High School have younger brothers or sisters in that age group, so they were able to put the material into pages that 3rd graders can understand. 6 topics were to be included in each book including physical properties and changes, chemical properties and changes, acids, and bases. The layout of each book was up to the students in the group as long as each topic was covered with illustrations for each.
Students worked on this project for 2 full class sessions and part of a 3rd. A great deal of creativity was used in making the books along with learning the science material. 7th grade science students can now explain not only about physical and chemical properties and changes and acids and bases, but also that sometimes a great way to learn something is to help someone else to understand it.
