Scholastic’s Phyllis C. Hunter Classroom Library
Absent Narrative Lesson Plan – Grade 6
Title:
The Usborne Book of Scientists from
Archimedes to Einstein
Author:
Struan Reid and Patricia Fara
List of Titles Included
in Phyllis C. Hunter
Classroom Library
Grade 6:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/classroombooks/p
dfs/PCH_GR6-132989.pdf
Genre:
Non-fiction
Summary:
The Usborne Book of Scientists looks at the men and women whose research and
discoveries have changed the world, tracing the history of scientific ideas from ancient
civilizations to the present. As well as discussing the lives and careers of the most
famous scientists, it looks at lesser-known figures, including some long neglected women
scientists.
Subject Integration:
Science, math, media, language arts
Lesson Objectives:
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Science – Students will conduct simple science experiments.
Media – Students will create a PowerPoint presentation about the scientist of their
choice.
Math – Students will research (collect data) on a scientist of their choice.
4. Language Arts – Students will write an expository paragraph describing the
contributions of their scientist. Students will use correct grammar, punctuation and
capitalization in their PowerPoint presentations and expository writings about the
scientist of their choice.
Materials/Resources:
http://inventors.about.com/od/famousinventors/Famous_Inventors_Nationality_or_A_Z.ht
m
http://inventors.about.com/od/hispanicinventors/Famous_Hispanic_Inventors.htm
http://www.quickbabysite.com/mexicanscientist.shtml
http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/people/scientists.jsp
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmscientists1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_inventors_and_scientists
https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/faces.html
Pre-Lesson Activities:
Interest Inventory
Do a very simple experiment where the students are to use and review the scientific
method. A suggestion is to set up 3 or 4 exploration stations and have the students
choose one or two simple experiments to complete using the scientific method.
Experiment A (Surface tension) – Put about 3 cups of water in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon
of pepper to the water, put a squirt of hand soap on your finger and place your finger in
the middle of the bowl. Observe and describe what happened.
Experiment B (Static) – Get two pieces of scotch tape about 3 inches long, place the
pieces of tape on the edge of a table then quickly pull them off, slowly bring the two
pieces of tape close. Observe and describe what happened.
Experiment C – Make secret codes by writing a message in reverse (back to front).
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Minnesota Humanities Center
www.mnhum.org
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Next, place a mirror next to the words in order to see the message. Observe and
describe the process.
Engagement Activity:
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Lesson Plan:
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Define science. (A way of finding knowledge using the scientific method or an
organized body of knowledge gained through research.)
Discuss how science has an effect on our daily lives.
Instruct the students to categorize branches of science by placing the words physical
science, earth science and life science on the chalkboard. Ask some students to
come up to the board and list sciences that correlate to the correct branch of
science. For example:
Physical science
Earth science
Life science
physics
geology
botany
chemistry
oceanography
zoology
astronomy
paleontology
genetics
meteorology
medicine
Read and discuss page 3, the Introduction.
Ask and discuss the question, “If science is the gathering of knowledge, do you think
that scientists have existed in every culture past and present?”
Read pages 4 and 5, Early Scientific Ideas.
Read any other pages of interest.
Discuss the evolution of science and how people’s knowledge and understanding of
the world has changed over the years.
Display this multicultural list of important people in the world of science: Shirley Ann
Jackson, Benjamin Banneker, Steven Chu, Madam Marie Curie, Ada Baron (Lady
Lovelace), Ellen Ochoa, Ben Carson, Albert Einstein, Lydia Villa- Komaroff, Sarah E.
Goode, Lewis Latimer, Arcadio Poveda, Raphael Lee, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Daniel
Hale Williams, Charles Drew, Guillermo Haro, Clara Barton, Archimedes, Amar
Bose, Mae Jemison, Ernest Everett Just, and Jonas Salk
(http://www.lf67.org/students/resources/science/greatamsci_files/greatamsc.html)
*Note: This is a suggested list. The classroom teacher can compile a list. However,
the list should represent both male and female scientists and scientists from many
different cultures.
Ask the students to choose one scientist to research and create a PowerPoint
presentation to explain how this particular scientist improved people’s lives.
Explain to the students that when their PowerPoint is complete, they will share their
knowledge with the class.
Give the students time to choose a scientist, do research about the scientist (a
suggested research sheet is attached) and present information about their scientist.
Assessment:
As a class, create a simple rubric to grade the research project. Example:
Scientist Research Rubric
This project is worth a total of 100 points.
• Up to 25 points for completing the research data sheet.
• Up to 25 points for writing and completing an expository paragraph about an
important scientist. The paragraph must have acceptable grammar, punctuation and
capitalization.
• Up to 25 points for a creative PowerPoint with a minimum of 5 slides.
• Up to 25 points for the presentation of your PowerPoint using appropriate speaking
skills.
Closure:
Ask students to volunteer and tell the class what they’ve learned by saying, “Now I know
that science is…”
Challenge Activity:
HeLa Cells are immortal cells that are used in scientific research. HeLa cells were
harvested from an African American woman named Henrietta Lacks. Many of today’s
scientific breakthroughs have been made from the use of HeLa cells including Jonas
Salk’s polio vaccine. Challenge some students to research the controversy about how
HeLa cells were acquired. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-
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nature/Henrietta-Lacks-Immortal-Cells.html, http://www.virology.ws/2009/02/09/theamazing-hela-cells-of-henrietta-lacks/, http://www.jhu.edu/jhumag/0400web/01.html
Teacher Reflection:
This lesson allows students to have a choice and a voice in their learning by choosing a
scientist of their interest. They have the opportunity to research about people from their
own gender, culture and/or from the genders/cultures of others.
Lesson created for the Minnesota Humanities Center by LaTosha Washington, Omaha
Public Schools.
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Minnesota Humanities Center
www.mnhum.org
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