Work unit 3
How the light passes through various substances (water, milk and distempers)
Sequence:
The lesson develops in five parts
1. Presentation of the reading. After the previous experience, we choose to make a letter
arrive from an imaginary extraterrestrial being, immediately called Alien by the
children.
2. Repeated aloud reading by every child of the text on which then the exercises were
going to be performed.
3. Execution of the experiments.
4. Answer to Alien’s letter (in the following sentences the children’s errors remain).
5. Execution of the drawings and, finally, a new game: “join the dots”.
Software materials: a copy for each child and therefore for each computer
Reading 3 (to subdue to the software in use)
Questionnaire 3 (to subdue to the software in use)
The drawing program installed on every computer.
Different materials:
different transparent containers
different liquids: in particular water, milk, oil and distempers
different objects to dip
“join the big dots”: 1 copy for each child
Process:
• This time we began the lesson by reading the letter coming from an imaginary inhabitant
of another planet that had written to one of the teachers. In this moment, a dialogue is
established between the children and this character that brought the children to writing the
mails reproduced in the final page of this unit.
• Reading of the text, working and exercising on Lectra after an aloud voice (Reading 3 and
Questionnaire 3).
• Examination of one of the conditions important to life: the presence of light and, on this
purpose, the experiments begin.
• Water, milk and distempers are set on the table; the children pour the selected liquids in
the transparent containers and they insert objects inside the containers. From outside we
observe and we deduce.
17
Two moments of the work: pencils dipped in the water and in the distempers. On the right, the third visible
container contains water and milk.
•
•
The children made interesting remarks and they gathered them in a small notebook. This
notebook will be useful at the end of the activity when they will build the placards for the
exhibition “Life in the Universe”. This last work will help to relive together all the
activities, constituting an extremely important moment for the memory as well.
The last part of the work was constituted by drawings of how the children imagined
themselves on the planet where Alien lives. The images were obtained thanks to the use of
Paint.
Alien presence and its information resulted very interesting for the
children who wanted to replay to its letter.
In the following pages, where the children’s letters are reported, we
decided to leave all the errors the children made just to put in evidence
all the problems and the difficulties.
The computer use revealed itself extremely important in every phase of
the work, also in the drawing one.
A final game “join the dots” was added. The purpose was to make the children write the
numbers over the dots.
This numeration resulted particularly difficult for the children,
perhaps also because it developed at the end of a long and as a whole
hard-working activity including the individual writing on the computer
of a letter to Alien.
18
Reading 3
Siamo sul pianeta Surmo.
La stella che ci illumina si chiama Nor.
Il nostro è un pianeta strano: non c'è atmosfera, o meglio l'atmosfera non è formata di
gas, ma di un liquido strano; in alcuni momenti è giallognolo, in altri scuro, in altri
ancora quasi trasparente.
Sono milioni di anni che sul nostro pianeta c'è vita e noi ci siamo adattati all'ambiente:
per muoverci usiamo delle specie di ali che si sono sviluppate al di sotto di quelle
che, per voi umani, sono le braccia.
Ma è molto difficile usare la vostra lingua per descrivere il nostro corpo e il nostro
pianeta! Noi comunichiamo a segni...
We are on the planet called Surmo.
The star that shines upon us is Nor.
Our planet is a strange one: there is no atmosphere, or rather, the atmosphere isn’t made of
gases, but of a strange liquid; sometimes it is yellowish, sometimes it is dark, sometimes
almost transparent.
Life has been existing on our planet for millions of years and we have adapted ourselves to
the envirnonment: in order to move we use a sort of wings that developed under what you the
human beings call the harms.
But it is very difficult to use your language to describe our body and our planet! We
communicate by signs…
Risky words: atmosfera (atmosphere), liquido (liquid), giallognolo (yellowish), trasparente
(transparent), comunichiamo (communicate).
Questionnaire 3
The atmosphere of Sumro is
•
A mixture of gas
•
An amount of dusts
•
An amount of liquids
Had light passed through a liquid atmosphere, made of water, how would we see the objects?
•
As we see them through the air
•
They would seem broken
•
They would seem of different colours depending on the liquid
19
Join the big dots inventing a figure and give a number to the dots one after the other.
20
The children's letters
Dear Alien, I live on the planet Earth, our star is called Sun, I’m called Alessio, instead.
Our planet is very interesting and very big and also the Sun is interesting.
I live in via orveo 27\2 my name is alessio and I live in Bologna and you can write me by
mail.
Alessio
dear alien
My name is Chiara, I am 9 years old.
If you want to call me phone at 051 0000000.
I sing you a song: give me three words sun heart love.
Bye
Dear Alien I’d like to know if you could come on the Earth and I’d like to know how you
grew up I have grown up in Bologna we don't use signs but we use the words my name is
Giulio and I am a child, I am 9 years old my favourite sport Karate I wear glasses and I have a
brother called Lawrence.
Dear Alien what a pity that you aren’t on this planet because it is very beautiful indeed,
full of nature, of men etc. We are made of organs: the eyes, the nose, the ears, the mouth, and
the hands. I bet you that you are different from me.
Bye your friend ISOTTA.
Dear Alien, I don't know how you are done, I don't know who you are but I only know that
you are curious to know us.
I am curious too to know you as I would like to see Surno or Nor, your star. But I imagine that
even you are anxious to know us, to know our planet, to know the star that shines upon us (the
sun).
Best regards and good luck.
By Leonardo
21
Dear Alien, our star is called Sun our planet is called Earth and it is compound by gases my
name is Lorenzo my telephonenumber is 051 0000000
A LETTER FOR ALIEN,MY FRIEND.
We are on the planet Earth, the star that shines upon us is called Sun. Ah, how careless I am I
haven’t introduced myself: I am Nicola. Our planet is very interesting and as your planet it
has an atmosphere but made of oxygen, and we use the harms instead of the wings.My
telephone number:051/000000. Best regards.
NICOLA
Dear Alien I wanted to talk you about the strangeness of your planet.
Our planet is called Earth instead.
But our star is called Sun. Our atmosphere, isn’t made of liquids but it is made of oxygen.
Nicolò
Dear ALIEN we don't have wings but we have the harms instead of the wings and you are an
extraterrestrial being our planet is the EARTH and your planet is SURMO I am
PIRUSHANTHI andmy father is called SELLIAH
and my mother iscalled GNANASAKTHI my telephone number is 051/000000.
DEAR
ALIEN
ALIEN DO YOU KNOW THAT OUR STAR IS CALLED SUN AND OUR PLANET
EARTH? HAVE YOU EVER COME ON OUR PLANET? DO YOU KNOW THAT I
WOULD LIKE TO COME O YOURS? WE WALK WE DON’TFLY UNFORTUNATELY.
BYE
BY TANIA
22