COURSE DESCRIPTION:
By doing a variety of hands-on experiments, teachers will investigate the causes of night and day, the Earth's seasons, the phases of the Moon, and the tides using simple and inexpensive objects. An emphasis will be placed on answering teacher-generated questions using data analysis and developing models that confirm the data we have regarding the Earth, Moon, and Sun system.

SOL Science: 3.1, 3.8, 4.1, 4.7, 6.1, 6.8, plus the .1's

Faculty Instructor                                                                
Marcia Yochum, MS                                                                                           
Physics Teacher                                                                       
Virginia Episcopal School                                  
Lynchburg, VA                                         
myochum@ves.org

Assistant
Melissa Busse
3rd Grade Teacher
Amherst County
mbusse@amherst.k12.va.us
                                         
Class Hours:
Thursday, June 25 through Saturday, June 27
Daily 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, with a one hour lunch break

Class Rooms and Labs:
Class will meet in the Guion Science Center Room 018.

Course Materials:
All course materials will be provided.  Some items will be given to teachers to take to their classrooms after this course is completed.

Course Requirements:
To receive credit for the course, the following must be completed.  Failure to complete all the tasks will result in being withdrawn from the course:
            - Completion of the on-line, pre-course survey
            - Attendance at all class meeting hours
            - Completion of homework assignments that may be assigned
            - Completion of the on-line end of course survey

A pass/credit/no credit option may be available rather than a traditional A-F letter grade.  You would have to discuss with your instructor. 

Schedule:

	Thursday, June 25	Friday, June 26	Saturday, June 27
Morning 9:00 - Noon	Seasons: Investigate -Possible reasons for seasons -Earth-Sun system -Days and nights	Review Homework Phases of Moon: -Develop hands-on Earth-Sun-Moon model -Analyze Moon data	Review Homework Tides: Investigate -Gravity (rotation about center of mass) -Investigate motion of water balloon on string -Analyze patterns of tidal data
	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
Afternoon 1:00 – 4:00	Seasons: Investigate -Tilt of Earth -Angle of Sunlight -Refine Seasons Model	Phases of Moon: Investigate -Angle between Sun and Moon -Solar and lunar eclipses -Observation activities	Tides: -Propose contributing earth sun moon relationships -Refine tidal models -Watch Simulation of tidal causes

 

Assignments and Grade Weighting:

Required Pre-Course On-Line Survey: 10%                                                                        
(if completed, full credit; if not completed, automatic failure)

Participation: 15 %                                                                                                                
active, engaged participation in all class activities, discussions, and labs is expected of all teacher-participants

Homework: 40 %
Assignment 1 due on day 2 and Assignment 2 due on day 3

In-class assignments: 15 %

End-of-Course On-Line Exam: 20%                                                                                  
Instructions and deadline will be given on the last day of class

 

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