CC.3.6.9-10.B.

Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical

events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes

The History of Science – pre-Newtonian Timeline

Students will be tasked with creating timelines, specifically focusing on science before
Isaac Newton but including events up to the present day.

Porter, R. (1987). Man Masters Nature. Crown.

This book is a selection of 16 essays that individually discuss 16 of the most influential
thinkers, researchers, experimenters, and discoverers of science, going all the way back to
the Ancient Greeks and Aristotle. The individuality of each essay is useful for splitting up
a timeline into timeframes or individuals, making one timeline for the class instead of one
each. The lack of connection between each essay is convenient for this, and the more
narrative style may be netter suited for some students’ reading preferences than a more
technical text.

Clagett, M. (2012). Greek Science in Antiquity. Literary Licensing, Llc.

The preface presents the use of this book very well. To paraphrase, this book was written
for someone who is introducing themself into the sciences and has a background in
mathematics. Also, this is a more detailed text than the beforementioned text; the books
are just about the same thickness, but this one is all about Greek science instead of all of
science. I would use this text for the group or individual focusing on Greek science and
has a strong math background. This is a great opportunity to purposefully make a group
of students with strong math skills tackle parts of this text together.

Bynum, W. F. (2013). A little history of science. Yale University Press.

This text has 40 short chapters, averaging about 6 pages a chapter. This book also starts
with the basic building blocks of ancient science and progresses all the way up to the
internet. I would utilize the more succinct narratives as intro readings, where students
would be tasked with reading a few chapters, of their choice, and using them to pick the
topic they want to do more research into. This will keep engagement high and allow
students to take some control over their education. The text is also a good difficulty for
high school students, which is a difficult find for many science-historical narratives.

Trefil, J. (2012). Science in world history. Routledge.

This text is incredibly thematic and borderline philosophical and is written at a much
higher level than the average high school student. However, the thematic goal of this text
makes it very useful, because it can be difficult to link discoveries across centuries when
they do not seem to fit together. Also, the author makes the point to mention this text is
for introduction to the technical side of science, which is exactly what is needed for this
project. Written as a historical narrative, it is also less technical than other texts, lending
itself more to students who prefer narratives.
Weinberg, S. (2016). To explain the world: the discovery of modern science. Penguin Books.
This book is written with a personal feel; Weinberg sometimes writes in first person,
telling the times and places he learned things, and explain how they were taught to him.
This text, though full of the same general information as all the others, to some extent, is
simultaneously very unique because of the author’s background as a Nobel-Prize winning
physicist, not a historian. Because of this, the text is easy to read and follow than some
others; I would use excerpts from this text for all of my students because of its reading
level.

Websites
Teacher – Physics History | American Institute of Physics (aip.org)
The American Institute of Physics is a place for teachers to stay up to date on the most
recent events in the field. This may seem counter-intuitive to have for the history website,
but history is constantly being made, and this is a great place to get the most recent
noteworthy discoveries that will, in due time, end up on a student’s timeline.

Student - Free online timeline maker

Students can use the information they have found to create a timeline of scientific
discoveries in their selected timeframe. This is a fluid website that grants easy access to
building and sharing timelines.

Other Resources
https://youtu.be/J6qtNLZIWd0?si=zIGW-Vbkhbulu55F
https://youtu.be/5Sv-zcHPMbw?si=9fB0MExLG-00fBW8
These videos are titled “The History of Physics” parts 1 and 2. If students prefer to watch
videos instead of reading books, or if their reading ability would hinder their ability to
read the more complex texts, the videos would be very helpful.

Science in the Middle East (illinois.edu)

The other resources listed here do not cover the Middle East very much, so I thought it
fitting to add this to the collection, because many important discoveries have come from
that part of their world.
Learning to Explain Physics with a Flow Chart
One skill I see left to the wayside is the ability to articulate what you are learning, so I
want to have the resources to work that into my curriculum, giving students the
opportunity to develop that skillset.

Cruse, M. (2019). An illustrated history of science: from agriculture to artificial intelligence.

Sirius Publishing, A Division of Arcturus Publishing Limited
This book offers a perfect way to differentiate my students. Some will be more adept at
acquiring information through diagrams and pictures than narrative or technical writing,
and this book gives them the opportunity to learn in that way. Also, it is full of examples
of the author’s work to explain science phenomena in clear and effective ways, or find
ways in which she could improve, making their project more effective and developmental
for their abilities.

Shermer, M. (2002). Why people believe weird things: pseudoscience, superstition, and other
confusions of our time. A.W.H. Freeman/Owl Book
Shermer writes this book entirely as a skeptic of what he is told; but none of his claims
are outlandish or without basis. His work is supported by personal experiences and
confirmed theories and laws of science while he puts to bed many other theories that ae
borderline or outright conspiracies. There is a chapter regarding beliefs about the creation
of the world, and I would love to utilize this chapter if I got to teach in a Christian setting,
because the author is Christian and is telling a great story that is informative and
applicable for the students to practice explaining his lines of reasoning.

Christian, H. (2016). QBism. Harvard University Press.

This is a hard read, there’s no shying away from or denying that. This was also not
written for high schoolers. With that said, I still love the idea of having this book as a
resource for those occasional students who want to go above and beyond. I truly believe
in challenging students to improve from where they are, regardless of the standards or
average, and this book is a way to help me do that. Most students would never want to
touch this book, but I will have it for the day I do this project and I have a student willing
and able to tackle some of its theories. Also, the diagrams it has are easy to understand
and do a solid job of showcasing the complex concepts, setting an example for how
students can draw models to explain topics too.

Chown, M. (2010). We need to talk about Kelvin: what everyday things tell us about the
universe. Faber And Faber.
Let’s be honest, a lot of the time, science class is boring and hard in high school.
This book can let me fight that, at least a little. Chown writes in an accessible way, which
is convenient, but not as convenient as the fun way he makes connections and introduces
hard physics concepts. Since this project focuses on learning how to explain, it is nice to
have a book that explains things in a fun way.
Websites
Student - Easy Flowchart Maker | Free Online Flow Chart Creator & Software (smartdraw.com)
This gives students the ability to put their thoughts together and further develop their
understanding of the difficult concepts they attempt to explain in an easy-access
flowchart.

Teacher - Improving language skills in a differentiated science classroom | Brighter Thinking

Blog | Cambridge University Press
This site can help teachers better understand how to teach individuals of differing levels,
so using this site can help them become more knowledgeable for their students as they
take on this challenge. Some students will be better equipped to tackled this project than
others, so being able to differentiate within the class is key to success and engagement.

Other Resources
ChatGPT (openai.com)
Students can learn from ChatGPT’s ability to explain the same concepts in simpler terms,
or for someone more advanced, the AI chat bot can use complex vocabulary and task the
student with simplifying the language.

Physics Questions | Science Questions with Surprising Answers (wtamu.edu)

The site name says it all; this is a fun place to find practice concepts for students to
develop their explaining skills, as well as learn some funky new physics facts.
CC.3.6.9-10.C. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Writing Lab Reports Professionally, or Not

Students will be tasked with preparing lab reports in various fashions throughout the year,
with most of the variance coming from the level of formality. This gives them to opportunity to
practice their formal science writing, but also learn when and where to use it.

Janice Pratt Vancleave. (1985). Teaching the fun of physics: 101 activities to make science
education easy and enjoyable. Prentice-Hall.
The subtitle says these are for elementary students, and while those kiddos would find
these experiments fun as demonstrations there’s no way they would be able to understand
the physics behind what is actually happening. These are perfect for high school physics
classes, and all the different chapters cover a wide array of the course, and present
varying levels of difficulty for the students, so I can ability group this project easily.

Webster, D. (1974). How to Do a Science Project: A First Book. Franklin Watts.

This text is written in language that is, at first glance, below my grade levels, specifically
the upperclassmen of high school where most physics is taught. However, upon further
review I found the simplicity of the language to make it easy to understand, replicate, and
apply to project and lab reports. It also covers a wide range of papers depending on the
type of experiment, observations, or projects done. I can see myself using the book as a
baseline for showing my students the differences between different sets of expectations
for science reports.

Bullock, R. H. (2019). The Norton field guide to writing. W. W. Norton & Company.
I am not a writing major, so I am definitely not an expert in this field, which is why I
wanted to have access to at least one reference for properly formatting research papers.
This book provides that and then some for me and my students. I know that not all
schools have the same level of technology, so knowing about this physics text is great for
a school that does not have as much tech access. Also, some students may enjoy reading a
book instead of a website, and this gives the opportunity for that small change in the
classroom.

Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2017). “They Say/I Say : The Moves That Matter In Academic
Writing. W. W. Norton & Co., Cop.
Knowing when to write formally or informally, and how to differentiate is difficult, and I
am certainly not educated on that topic to be able to teach it on my own. This book can be
a guide for my students and myself as we explore academic writing throughout the
course. I can have them write their research paper or lab reports in specific ways that
practice some topics within this text too, so they can see how they would apply it to their
writing and how it fits in their brain.
Websites
Student - The Scientific Teen | Youth Science Magazine
This is a magazine run by high school students, so the level of work is good examples of
the level of writing expected in the classroom. Differentiation will be applied to students
with lower writing skill levels, but high expectations can still be held.

Teacher - Physics Lab Station Investigations - Lab Experiments | PASCO

Pasco is a great resource for lab equipment and ideas; this page is specifically experiment
ideas for the teacher to use in the class, depending on the materials they have access to,
and the level of their physics class.

Other Resources
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/index.html
The Purdue OWL is a credible place for students to get their questions regarding
formatting and citations answered. I am not an English major by any stretch of the
imagination, so this will also be helpful for me in answering their questions, as well as
my own.

https://youtu.be/v7UkrUtRfm0?si=uybkL7UbLIlJhHBL
A video to help students write strong works cited and bibliographies for their reports.
This is, again, not my strong suit, so it made sense for me to find extra resources to cover
these bases.
CC.3.5.9-10.F. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a
procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to
address

Comprehending Complex Scientific Concepts

This project will be a challenge for any physics class I teach, so much so that I probably
would not use it to this extent with most of my classes. However, I see so much good in giving
students the opportunity to push themselves outside their academic comfort zone to learn some
crazy new things. Building confidence in one’s abilities to figure out hard things, or to ask for
help and find the information when needed is so important, and I think this a way I can
incorporate that into my higher-achieving classrooms.

Flood, W. E. (1960). Scientific Words: Their Structure and Meaning. Duell, Sloan and Pearce.
There are a lot of scientific terms and vocabulary words out there, and some of them are
an absolute pain to learn and remember. This book puts meanings behind the words by
breaking them into their roots, making them easier to understand, and allowing students
to translate this knowledge of roots to explain other terms. A student has no chance on
understanding if they don’t know the words they’re reading, and this book helps mitigate
that problem.

James Roy Newman. (1963). The Harper Encyclopedia of Science. Harper & Row.
Students, speaking from experience here, need to be better at patiently acquiring answers
to their questions, and actually searching for the answers. I like the idea of using
encyclopedias for this reason; they force students to search more, and they add that extra
level of effort is required. This is a convenient way to set a higher standard and high
expectations for my students.

Einstein, A. (2021). Einstein’s Miraculous Year. Princeton University Press.

The goal of this project is to attempt to comprehend complex things, and a collection of
Einstein’s five most important papers is a pretty stinking hard set of concepts. These also
connect well with the academic writing bits of the class, since these are his published
research papers. Would most students I have use this book? Absolutely not, only those
taking physics for their second year, or those who have shown an abnormally high ability
or level of interest.

Brann, E. (2001). What, Then, Is Time? Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Time is so confusing; we each understand how it is applied to our everyday lives, but
when asked to explain it without using the word time, it’s pretty much impossible to do it
justice. That is why I was so hyped to find this book, because it explains time, as thought
of by people way smarter than us, in understandable way. But the language is not too
easy, or else I would not have put it in this section.
Websites
Student - Five tips to learn complex concepts | UNSW Online
Students can use these tips to practice and learn what works best for them, because this
project is more about learning about one’s own brain and how it works than the actual
material. (But they won’t be told that)

Teacher - 7 Effective Ways To Understand Difficult Topics (vedantu.com)

I like this site because of how challenging teaching physics is, so it is nice to have a
reminder of different things to try to help improve student understanding, within and
beyond this project.

Other Resources
ChatGPT (openai.com)
Students can ask the program to simply language so they understand it better and they
can receive it on a manageable level, very similar to the use from the earlier project.

https://youtu.be/_f-qkGJBPts?si=TBYZGgJH6EDwdS9p
A video of the Feynman Technique to understanding complex things. He was incredibly
well-regarded for his ability to explain his insanely complex ideas to students clearly, and
his mastery of studying and the acquisition of knowledge.
https://youtu.be/ZihywtixUYo?si=u3DgPWmwS0VdM8Kt
“The Map of Physics” is a way students can find a topic they want to explore deeper,
because it briefly discusses all aspects of the field, including the gaps and where research
is being done in modern times.
CC.3.5.9-10.I. Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other
sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict
previous explanations or accounts.

Finding Good Sources for Research

We all know there are good sources and bad sources, but are we actually that good at
telling the difference? This is how students will practice and develop that skill. (And help
meet a standard)

Börner, K. (2010). Atlas of science: visualizing what we know. Mit, Cop.

I can pretty much guarantee that my students will have never seen a book like this before
and will have had no clue a text like this even existed, and that is the point of using this.
The content is helpful because every article has its main contributors connected to it on
the first page, showing great crediting skills and reference diligence. Also, the references
section in the back is cool to be able to show students a good way to find sources to
check their previous research.

Harrington, J. N. (2007). The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County. Farrar, Straus and
Giroux (Byr).
The story, while engaging and a fun change of pace, is not what I was looking for. This
book is riddled with literary devices that make “scientific” claims, with no researched
proof! While it is obviously a children’s book and not a scientific work, I find it a fun and
silly example of a terrible place to do research. If the author sited their sources as to how
they know a chicken runs as fast as a mosquito, then this annotation would be completely
different, but alas; no sources, no scientific respect.

Smith, D. E. (1958). History of Mathematics Volume 2. Dover Publications.

The content of the book is also pointless for this specific assignment, but the bibliography
is immaculate. Dozens upon dozens of texts are cited and referenced, and this sets a
perfect example for students as to how researched professional writing is, and the level of
detail required in the professional realm. While I would never require that many sources
from my students, I think it is fitting to have at least one elite example for them.

Bethell, T. (2005). The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science. Simon and Schuster.
This text is absolutely perfect for this type of discovery by students. It is full of highly
opinionated writing, and the author cites a ton of credible sources. The text offers a
platform for discussion on how legitimate Bethel’s claims are based on his sources and
offers an opportunity to talk about bias in research and publishing as well. Also Bethel’s
writing is not technical like a physics textbook that is full of equations and diagrams; he
is a journalist, and he writes like one.
Websites
Student - Wikipedia
There are good and bad things on Wikipedia, and students will have to sort through and
be able to pick out the good stuff. Other teachers may not like it, but this is such a great
website for practicing finding credible information and double checking what you have
found.

Teacher - 75 Educational Websites for Teachers: The Ultimate List | Albert Resources
I, as the teacher, should have a “master list” to point students in the right direction, and be
able to help myself in the process. This list is by no means all-inclusive, but it still a great
start for my own further research too.

Other Resources
https://youtu.be/m_EAxomGhNY?si=o2d-LlFn5resUZMp
“How to Know If a Source Is Reliable by Shmoop” Again, this goes back to my
background, and how it is not in English and research. So, I find it best for the students to hear
from a more reliable source.

Google Scholar
A search engine to find reliable sources. Also, I would add the local library to this list,
wherever I end up teaching, because they may have a good search engine, similar to what
McCartney Library has.