Curriculum Areas:
Earth Science, Language Arts, Math, and Technology
Recommended Levels: Grade 6
Time Frame: 45 minutes lesson for five days. Charting dehydration for the rest of the month
Tribal
Affiliation: Santa Clara Pueblo
Geographic Location:
Southwest
Developed by:
Phyllis Jenkins
Email addresses of developers:
Phyllis_Jenkins@teachnet.edb.utexas.edu
Date lesson was developed: July 24, 2001
American
Indian Standards:
Standard 6:
·
Students construct number meanings through real-world
experiences and use of physical materials drawing upon both designs from Indian
artwork for examination and numerical analysis as well as manipulative derived
from Indian crafts (beads) or traditional foods (dried corn kernels, beans) for
practice.
Standard D1:
·
Science: Develop an understanding of properties of
earth, air, fire and water and how they served as a basis for traditional
American Indian production of clothing, housing, tools, and food. [Properties
of earth materials]
Standard 2.1:
·
Language and Literacy: Practices of Culture
Goal:
Students will
·
Gain knowledge of environmental ethics
·
Learn to determine how we will preserve and perpetuate
all life.
Behavioral
Objectives: Student will
·
Use solar energy to cook and/or dry food such as
pumpkins, watermelon, peaches, apples, apricots, corn, squash, and deer meat.
·
Explain how solar energy changes foods.
·
Compare and contrast solar energy with other forms of
energy.
·
Make a graph to analyze water loss in foods.
·
Describe traditional ways of preserving foods.
Prior Knowledge
Needed:
Know the terminology dehydration, solar energy, and the
procedure of dehydration.
Materials and Resources Needed:
·
Foil
·
Box
·
Black paint
·
Skewer sticks
·
Thermometer
·
Chart
·
Markers
·
Digital camera
·
Science log
·
Weighing scale
·
Aluminum pan
Resources:
·
Community Elders
·
Los Alamos Native Scientist
·
Santa Clara Environmental Science Department
Culture
Content and Strategies:
·
Community elders explain the use of solar energy in the
past
·
Learn Tewa names of each food item to dehydrate
· Class to visit Pueblo gardens in Santa Clara, San Juan, or Cochiti
Lesson Summary and Performance Tasks:
·
Lesson 1: Bring in an elderly who will explain the
procedure of drying food using solar energy in their time. Invite a Native scientist to explain the
usage of solar energy.
·
Lesson 2:
Collect materials for construction solar units. Students will state hypotheses for solar
energy experiment. Begin construction
of the solar units. Homework Assignment to bring in food items to
dehydrate. Set up individual Science
log booklets.
·
Lesson 3:
Students will do hand on activities which includes cutting up the food
items brought in. Weigh all food items
before placing them in the solar units outside on the wire mesh of the dry
rack. Science log entry begins with day one of dehydrating.
·
Lesson 4:
Students will record daily in their Science log. Students will weigh
food item once a week as they record and chart findings. Students will turn over food items daily.
·
Lesson 5:
Students will then make comparisons between all the food items
Assessment:
·
Rubrics for completing solar unit
·
Science board presented orally at the end of
dehydration period for each food item
·
Rubrics
for oral presentation
·
Science Log booklet will have recording of weekly water
loss graphs and charts
EXTENSION
Technology
Integration:
PowerPointÔ slides of how to make solar units and how solar energy
can dry food to preserve for the winter months.
Surf the Internet to find out what other tribes dehydrate
their traditional food.
E-pal chats about do a science project together using solar
energy.
Enrichment/Remediation:
·
Class to visit a Food Processing Plant in Albuquerque
·
Class to visit a slaughterhouse to see about how they
dehydrate food