Students generate questions about the migrations or other investigations
they're following, identify those they can answer themselves, and select
several to submit to Journey North scientists and specialists.
1 period and ongoing during the spring season
Journey North studies always spark students' curiosity and questions.
Each spring, your class is invited to pose questions to an expert who
works with each of the Journey North studies. Here is this
spring's schedule. These scientists and other specialists volunteer
their time to share firsthand knowledge about the animals or plants they
know so well. This
lesson will prepare your students to submit questions.
Explain to students that during the spring season, they'll have a chance
to ask a few questions of Journey North scientists and other experts.
Ask, How do you think we should decide which questions to ask? Accept
student responses and use them as a springboard for the ongoing activity.
- As your
students engage with Journey North News Updates, make local observations
of seasonal changes, build a KWL
chart, conduct lessons such as Life-Cycle
Sleuth, and so on, they will naturally generate a host of questions.
Routinely ask them — and encourage them to ask themselves —
these types of questions:
do I already know about this topic? What do I want to know?
could I go about finding answers? (For instance, they might
conduct their own observations or experiments, review collected
data, or consult books or Internet resources.)
questions can I ask a specialist because I can't easily answer
them another way?
students to try and answer some their questions about their species
or study by reviewing Journey North News reports, reading outside resources,
and conducting their own observations and experiments. As they do so,
they will pare down the list of unanswered questions.
have students review the list of questions they think can best be answered
by Journey North scientists and specialists.
have them "meet" the expert via a link from the Ask
the Expert page. Discuss
the significance of being able to work with some of the leading experts
on these migratory species. Remind students that this is a rare chance
to obtain firsthand information that may not be available anywhere else.
The research of many of these scientists is so current it's probably
not even published yet!
your class list down to three unique questions per class. You might
do this by voting, choosing questions that could lead you to further
research, or selecting questions that many students asked. Students
should refine the questions for clarity and grammar before submitting
Connections — Discussion and Journaling Questions
- What did
you learn from the expert's biography about how he or she goes about
answering questions? What did you learn about being a scientist?
- Did any
information shared by an expert conflict with information you have seen
in a book or other resource? If so, why do you think this might happen?
What new questions do you have? What questions would you ask the book
author if you had a chance?
- How do
the experts' lives compare with your expectations? What, if anything,
were the most surprising things you learned from the questions other
students asked each expert? What new questions do you have?
Science Education Standards
Science investigations involve asking and answering a
question and comparing that to what scientists already know about the
Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and groups engage
in a variety of scientific and technological work. (K-4)
Many people choose science as a career and devote their
entire lives to studying it. Many people derive great pleasure from doing