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Enrichment Classes
Alignment
The Learn NCSSM Enrichment Catalog lists Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) sessions that enhance core instruction for Elementary, Middle and High School students as well as provides instruction for teachers in “hard to teach” concepts. Instruction is aligned with the competencies and objectives listed in the N.C. Standard Course of Study, and the AP Calculus Topical Outline.
Length
Each session will provide approximately 1 hour of two-way, interactive programming unless otherwise specifi ed.
Scheduling
To register for a session, please contact Karl Coleman at coleman@ncssm.edu.
Help Us Spread The Word
Tell others that The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Distance Learning Department offers interactive videoconference sessions.
Please send copies of the catalog to surrounding area schools for others to come to your campus for these sessions. Please share our web address: www.dlt.ncssm.edu/ivc/
Other Opportunities
Students, parents, and teachers may talk to an admissions department representative from NCSSM in Meet with the NCSSM Admissions Department.
Students, parents, and teachers may learn about the four-week inter-institutional program of the University of North Carolina System in Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics.
| Course Title | Grade Level(s) | Enrichment Description |
|---|---|---|
| Balance and Motion | 1 Science |
In this session the students will explore balanced and unbalanced systems, and discover ways to manipulate the center of mass of an object. This interactive session includes supplies for the hands-on activity. |
| Be a Geologist! Investigating the Layers of the Earth | 6 Science students |
Students will have fun making observations about an imaginary sample from the fictional planet “chocolatopia” to discover how a core sample can explain the history and the make-up of a real planet such as the earth. Students will learn about the layers of the earth and what happens to those layers through the motion of the tectonic plates. Students will talk about geologists and what they do. All the materials needed for this session will be provided in kits sent to participating schools. |
| Dice and Randomness | 5-6 |
The students will enjoy a hands-on determination of mathematical “facts”, followed by a discussion of the theory behind it. The receive site teacher will work with the NCSSM teacher prior to the broadcast session to establish which real world examples they will want to use to meet the needs of their class. A supply kit will be sent to the receiving site. Elementary school students use a die to “compare” short term randomness for obtaining a certain number versus long-term probabilities. Students “discover” that they are more likely to roll a seven than an eleven when playing Monopoly, and then talk about the probability behind it. (This requires one pair of dice per pair of students.)
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| Forces and Motion | 5 Science students |
In this session, students will review what a scientist does, what a force is, explore the concept of balanced and unbalanced forces, and the concept of inertia. They will build a vehicle that uses the force of air to move. This interactive session includes the supplies for the hands-on activity.
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| It’s A Gas! | 1-2 Science |
Students will become a scientist and take a look into liquid physics and participate in hands-on activities where they will bag matter, saturate solutions and overreact. There is great chemistry in our bizarre party where we will have oozing, dripping, bubbling frantic fun.
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| Magnetic Effects | 4 Science students |
Students will learn about ferromagnetism by experimenting with the forces exerted by magnets on each other and by magnets on iron objects. They will also investigate how and why magnetic compasses work. They will see how magnetic forces get weaker with distance and how they can be exerted through non-magnetic substances. Finally, they will build a simple electromagnet to see how electricity can be used to make a magnet. Some applications of electromagnetism in their everyday lives will be discussed.
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| Stalking the Neanderthal: Using DNA, fossils and climate data to reconstruct the replacement of Neanderthals by Homo sapiens | 9-12 Science students |
Students will examine evidence that casts light on an important event in human history: the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans 30,000 years ago in Europe. Neanderthals (Homoneanderthalensis, our sister species) had survived in the harsh and changing climate of Ice Age Europe for more than 200,000 years, but did not survive their encounter with our species, Homosapiens, who had recently migrated north from Africa. In order to understand what happened scientists are comparing Neanderthal and human DNA, tools and bones. Did humans kill Neanderthals? Did humans have more sophisticated tools, ideas and language that enabled them out-compete Neanderthals? Did climate change push Neanderthals to extinction or do their genes still live within us? Listen to the evidence, examine their tools and bones… and judge for yourself! |
| The Box Problem - 5 thru 7 | 5-7 Math Students |
Suppose you have a rectangular piece of cardboard that you want to use to make a box for storing marbles. The box will be made by cutting squares from the corners and folding up the edges. It will have no top. How large should you cut the squares in order to make the box that has the greatest volume?Prealgebra and algebra students will investigate this problem using physical models, tables, and graphs. Computational calculators will be needed for computation. |
| The Box Problem - 8 thru 9 | 8-9 Math Students |
Suppose you have a rectangular piece of cardboard that you want to use to make a box for storing marbles. The box will be made by cutting squares from the corners and folding up the edges. It will have no top. How large should you cut the squares in order to make the box that has the greatest volume? Algebra students will be guided to defi ne a variable representing the size of the square and to write a function for the box volume. Graphing TI-83+ calculators are required to create a table with more values and to graph the function.
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| The Box Problem - 9 thru 11 | 9-11 Math Students |
Suppose you have a rectangular piece of cardboard that you want to use to make a box for storing marbles. The box will be made by cutting squares from the corners and folding up the edges. It will have no top. How large should you cut the squares in order to make the box that has the greatest volume? Prealgebra and algebra students will investigate this problem using physical models, tables, and graphs. Computational calculators will be needed for computation. |
| The Lemurs of Madagascar | 4-5 Science students |
Niki Barnett Education/Development Associate - Education Manager at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, NC. This interactive presentation focuses on lemurs and what makes them one of the most unique primates in the world. Madagascar has been isolated from other land masses for 80 million years. As a result, the plants and animals of Madagascar have adapted in unique and special ways. More than half of the plants and animals in Madagascar cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. This includes lemurs. The main discussion points include: What is a lemur? What are some of their characteristics and behaviors? What are some of the interesting aspects of individual species? What are the main threats to lemurs in Madagascar? The function of the Duke Lemur Center as well as what students can do to help the conservation of lemurs is also covered.
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| Who says I can’t be Sherlock Holmes? | 3-4 Science |
Students will use their observation skills and memory skills playing detective in two staged “crime scene” situations. Students will understand how useful observation and memory skills are in real life situations and how important a written record is. They will also talk about “hard evidence” that detectives use and time permitting see their own fingerprints.
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