Science Unit

Science Unit:
Hopewell Rocks

By: Elizabeth Murray, Alicia Matthews,
Courtney Richardson & Leah St. John

Elementary Science Methods

February, 2014

Dr. Shaunda Wood

Introduction

This unit is thematically centred around Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of
Fundy and draws outcomes mainly from Unit 3 and Unit 4 of the Grade 4 curriculum.
However, we have structured the unit to focus on interacting with the real life
example of Hopewell Rocks through ideas such as habitat, erosion, and scientific
inquiry.

Throughout this unit, students will be engaged primarily with the concept of
project based learning. Given the locality and availability of information that is
student friendly, we thought it beneficial to allow the students to pursue the kinds of
information that they find interesting and motivational. As a result of the project
based learning, the students will become experts on a certain facet of the Hopewell
Rocks and be able to share their expertise with the rest of the class.

Lessons in this unit are typically structured with a lead mini-lesson, led by the
teacher, which gives students an introduction to specific facets of Fundy that lend
themselves to learning the curriculum outcomes, followed by in-class time allowed to
research and work on projects. It is important to allow class time for projects so that
the teacher can monitor the progress, answer questions, and prompt students when
necessary.

This 2 week Unit (depending on student need) would take place at the end of
school year during the dates May 12th-23rd. This allows for a field trip to the park
during the open season, while also allowing for flexibility on the end date in case
students require more work/think time than initially planned.

Curriculum Area: Science Leah St. John, Courtney Richardson,
Elizabeth Murray, Alicia Matthews.
Grade Level: 4 NSES Standards:Content standard C.
Content standard D.

Lesson #1: Introduction to Hopewell
Rocks Project & KWL
Time Required: 50 minutes for this lesson
but overall this process will be two weeks.
Instructional Groupings
Whole Group - sample and project
explanation
Small Group - researching and compiling
projects in pairs/small groups

Standards
204-1 propose questions to investigate and practical problems to solve
204-6 identify various methods for finding answers to given questions as well as solutions
to given problems, and ultimately select one that is appropriate
207-2 communicate procedures and results, using lists, notes in point form, sentences,
charts, graphs, drawings, and oral language

Materials, media, and resources list
Exit Cards
KWL Board (What you know. What you want to know. What is learned at the end.)
Choice board: (future choice projects)
Laptops for research (Youtube, articles, audio)
Bristolboard
Post-it Notes
Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to have students gain an interest in learning more about the
science aspects associated with the Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks. They will be
given visual cues and encourage to share what they already know and what they want to
know more about. Based on interest, a choice board for project assessment will be
developed afterwards.

Steps in Lesson

Engaging Question: Pre-Learning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDJ6_XpGfo
Show video clip of Hopewell Rocks to pique interest of students and get them thinking
about what they already know on the topic (10 minutes)
Exploration: As a class, complete a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learning Goal) base
on the topic of Hopewell Rocks (10 minutes)

During-Learning
Picture This - teacher will have students think of a time they are at the beach and what
they had seen, heard or touched and the students will visualize/draw what they feel that
experience would be. What do you think it would feel like to visit hopewell rocks? (10
minutes)
Elaboration: Website- Visit Hopewell Rocks website and explore. Allow students to direct
this activity by choosing where to go next. (10 minutes)
http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca
Stop and Jot - what was one interesting thing that you learned from visiting the Hopewell
Rocks website? (5 minutes)
Evaluation: Closure Activity/Wrap Up
Exit Slip - What aspect of The Bay of Fundy/Hopewell Rocks would you like to explore
more? (5 Minutes)
Post-Assessment
Based on information gathered from the Exit Slips and KWL, the teacher will need to
develop a Choice Board of options that the students can choose from for the research
project.
Resources
Hopewell Rocks Time Lapse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDJ6_XpGfo
Hopewell Rocks Website: http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca

Lesson #2: Centres on Hopewell
Grade Level: 4
NSES Standards:Content standard C.
Content standard D.

explanation

Standards

Based on last class exit slip and KWL we will have created a Choice Board to provide
choice for student projects.
Moon Centre- 2 buckets, 2 balls, string. View Appendix A & B
Erosion Centre- 3 trays, sand, water, ice cubes, straws and a spray bottle. View Appendix
C
Wildlife Centre- pictures of animals (land, cliff, shore, sea), Whiteboard picture
of Hopewell. Appendix D
Shorebird Centre - 2 square cake pans, sample of wet shore earth/ocean floor, petri
dishes, magnifying glasses, tweezers, small spoons.
Grading Rubric-Appendix F

Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to have students gain an interest in learning more about the
science aspects associated with the Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks. At each centre,
students will learn about a different aspect of Hopewell Rocks. Once the centres have
been completed, students will choose a topic from the choice board created based on last
class and student interest. This is allow them to be prepared to study their chosen topic
while at Hopewell next class.

Steps in Lesson

What can we discover at Hopewell Rocks?
Exploration: During-Learning (40 minutes)
A group of four to five students will be put into groups for each centre.
The groups will rotate clockwise through each station in order to discover four aspects of
Hopewell. Each centres directions are attached in the appendix.
Elaboration: (10 minutes)
Pass a loose leaf sheet of paper around the class and ask students to indicate on it their
choice project interest based on the centres and choice board. Collect the loose leaf at
the end of class.
Collect all group worksheets on the centres to ensure student understanding.
Post-Assessment
The teacher will look over the loose leaf that was passed around during the Elaboration
stage of the lesson. This is allow the teacher to know what areas students should be
focusing on during next class field trip to Hopewell Rocks.
Resources

APPENDIX A (WORKSHEET FOR STUDENTS)

YOU WILL NEED
High and low tide: plastic bowl, water, plastic ball to represent the world.
The tidal bulge: strong glue, one 8in length and two 16in lengths of thin string, plastic
ball to represent the world, plastic bowl, hand drill, water.
High and low tide
STEP 1
Place the bowl on a firm, flat surface, then half fill it with water. Place the ball gently
in the water so that it floats in the middle of the bowl, as shown in the picture.
STEP 2
Place both hands on top of the ball, and push it down into the water gently but firmly.
Look what happens to the level of water. It rises in a "high tide".
STEP 3
Let the ball gently rise again. Now you can see the water in the bowl dropping again.
So the tide has risen and fallen, even though the amount of water is unchanged.

APPENDIX B (HOW TO CREATE CENTRE FOR STUDENTS)
THE TIDAL BULGE
STEP 1
Glue the 8in length of the string very firmly to the ball and leave it to dry. Meanwhile,
ask an adult to drill two holes in the rim of the bowl, one on each side.

STEP 2
Thread a 16in length of string through each hole, and knot the string around the rim.
Half fill the plastic bowl with water and float the ball in the water.

STEP 3
Ask a friend to pull the string on the ball toward him or her. There is now more water
on one side of the ball than the other. This is called a tidal bulge.

STEP 4
The Moon pulls on the water as well as the Earth. So now ask the friend to hold the
ball in place, while both of you pull out the strings attached to the bowl until it
distorts.

STEP 5
There is now a tidal bulge on each side of the world. One of you slowly turn the ball.
Now you can see how, in effect, the tidal bulges move around the world as the world
turns.

Read more at
http://www.kidsgen.com/school_projects/tides.htm#E550mWOqkS4G7rAQ.99

APPENDIX C (EROSION CENTRE)
Water, wind, or glacialwhich type of erosion causes the biggest changes? To find
out, set up three identical pans with firmly packed dirt as shown. Perform the
following actions: pan Aspray the dirt with five squirts of water; pan Bslide a
piece of ice down the dirt pile five times; pan Cuse a straw to blow across the soil
five times. After the first cycle, try each of the three steps again and have students
record their observations and predict which type of erosion is causing the most
damage. At the end, have students make their final observations and conclusions.
(Results may vary due to soil type and room temperature.) Then reveal the type of
erosion demonstrated in each pan (Awater, Bglacial, Cwind).

Materials needed: 3 trays, sand, water, ice cubes, straws and a spray bottle.

APPENDIX D
Each group of students will pull out animal cards of creatures that live at Hopewell
Rocks. They must divide the animal cards up and place them on the picture of
Hopewell to where they would be found.
The choices are in the forest, the cliff of Hopewell, on the shore or under the water at
high tide.
As a group they must predict where each animal would be found on the picture of
Hopewell.

Write down as an exit slip an animal they have not heard of and whether they could
find it on land, in the water, on the rocks or on the shore.
After looking at the answer key students must put the animal cards back into the box
so the next group will have a chance to start from the beginning.
This will be an example used on the
whiteboard for students to place different pictures on.

APPENDIX E

Working with a partner, examine what is in the soil in your cake pan. What could a
shorebird eat from this sample?

Step 1 - Use the spoons to gently dig through the dirt and water to see what you can
find. This could include bugs, other small creatures, or plant life.

Step 2 - gently remove what you find and put in in your petri dish so that you can
examine what you find. Use your magnifying glass.

Step 3 - In your science journal, draw and label pictures of what you find.

APPENDIX F
RUBRIC-Science Evaluation
Name: Date:
Choice Board Option:
K I C A Rubric 4 3 2 1
Knowledge and
understanding of
your Hopewell
- I understand
my topic and I
can explain it
- I understand
my topic but
have difficulty
- I somewhat
understand
my topic but
- I have
difficulty
understanding
Rocks Topic in my own
words
explaining it
in my own
words
have
difficulty
explaining it
in my own
words
my topic and
have difficulty
explaining it in
my own words
Inquiry Thinking
and planning skills:
Focusing research,
gathering and
organizing
information. Use of
creative and critical
thinking skills
-In depth
research
obvious
-
Information
collected is
very well
organized and
presented
- Research
obvious
- Information
collected is
organized and
presented
- Very little
research
shown
- Information
collected is
somewhat
organized and
presented
- No research
present
- There is little
to no
organization in
the collection
and presentation
of my topic
Communication:
Presenting your
knowledge of your
Hopewell Rocks
topic using an
option from the
choice broad.
- My
presentation
method is
well
organized and
easy to
understand
- Effort is
obvious
- My
presentation
method is
organized and
somewhat
easily
understood
- Effort
present
- My
presentation
method is
somewhat
organized but
difficult to
understand
- Some effort
present
- My
presentation
method have
very little
organization
and is difficult
to understand
- Very little
effort
Application: Can
make connections of
the topic with real
world events and
situations
-I have shared
with the class
real world
examples
- I can
also relate it
to a given
scenario
- I have
shared with
the class real
world
examples but
have difficulty
relating it to a
given scenario
- I have
shared one
real world
example with
the class but
cannot relate
it to a given
scenario
- I havent
shared any real
world examples
with the class
and cannot
relate it to a
given scenario

Lesson #3: Field Trip to Hopewell
Rocks
Grade Level: 4
Content standard D.

Time Required: Field Trip to
Hopewell Rocks all day.
Whole Group - sample and project explanation
Small Group - researching and compiling projects
in pairs/small groups

Standards

Camera
Lunches
Paper
Pencils
Overview
Students are visiting Hopewell Rocks today! They have already chosen their topic for their
projects and can focus on it during their tour.

Steps in Lesson

What can we discover at Hopewell Rocks that will further our investigations for our
projects.
Exploration:
Depending on low tide the tour guides will give a tour to students and I throughout the
Rocks and the informational center.
Students are expected to explore the park and gain resources to further their investigation
on their project.
Elaboration:
Students will continue to explore Hopewell Rocks!
For todays field there is no evaluation seeing as it was a full day field trip and we
returned to school just as the bell rang.
Post-Assessment
Ask students to bring in any artifacts they may have collected today to class tomorrow.
Resources

Lesson #4: Discussion of Field Trip NSES Standards:Content standard C.
Content standard D.
Time Required: 50 minutes Instructional Groupings
Whole Group - sharing of findings
Small Group - sharing of findings/artifacts

Standards

Nothing except the artifacts students collected at Hopewell Rocks last day.

Overview
Students will discuss their experience at Hopewell Rocks, what they learned, and what
they are interested in learning more about. It is a time to also share artifacts and
information.

Steps in Lesson

What did you learn/find on our field trip to Hopewell Rocks.
Exploration: (5 minutes)
Each student can quickly share their favourite experience at Hopewell in small groups of
4.
Each student can quickly introduce any artifacts that they collected during the day.
Set up these artifacts museum style around the room.
Students can move around the room in small groups (3-4) to view the artifacts
During each viewing, try to ask questions or share what you learned about that object.
Students can break into their groups to further plan/finalize the topic and format of their
project.

Curriculum Area: Science Leah St. John, Courtney
Richardson,
Grade Level: 4 NSES Standards:
Content standard C.
Lesson #5: Graphic Organizers
Whole Group - sample and
explanation of graphic organizers.
Small Group - researching and
creating own graphic organizers.

NB Curriculum Standards
207-2 communicate procedures and results, using lists, notes in point form,
sentences, charts, graphs, drawings, and oral language

205-5 make observations and collect information relevant to a given question or
problem

206-3 identify and suggest explanations for patterns and discrepancies in data

Materials, media, and resources list:
- laptops
- paper
- glue
- markers
- graphic organizer on tides
- scissors
- printer
Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to have students gain information about how to create
Graphic Organizers and how they can be used in Science projects.

Steps in Lesson

Engaging Question: 5 minutes.
Gather students and ask them to consider the following questions: How are waves
and tides related? What are tides? What causes tides?
Next, ask students how we could possibly answer the questions in a shorter period
of time and organize our knowledge more effectively.
Exploration: 15 minutes.
Show students the graphic organizer that I have created which answers the
questions that we discussed earlier.
Ask students what they notice about my graphic organizer and then walk them
through the process of making their own.
1. Think about what might be most important about your topic.
2. Research the topic, finding pictures and important facts.
3. Record your pictures and facts.
4. Give your graphic organizer a title.
5. Share with your peers.
Since the rest of the class time is for working on the discovery projects, ask students
to consider making a graphic organizer about their topic to help them remember
what is important and that they are covering the most important parts of their topic.
Elaboration & Expansion: 25 minutes.
At this time, students will go their separate ways and create their own graphic
organizers that pertain to their individual subject.
Students will expand their knowledge by researching their topic and making their
own graphic organizer. This process expands the students learning not only on
graphic organizers, but also on their personal topic.
Evaluation: 5 minutes.
Students will be asked to hand in their graphic organizers the next day for feedback
as well as complete an exit slip about graphic organizers.
Exit Slip Question: Why is a graphic organizer useful?
Post-Assessment:
Based on the exit slip that students have completed, the teacher will be able to tell
who needs more time learning the concept and who has grasped the concept
already.

Grade Level: 4 NSES Standards: Content standard C.
Lesson #6: Shore Birds
Time Required: 25-30 minutes
Whole Group - sample and project explanation
Small Group - pair and small group think/share time

Standards
108-3 describe how personal actions help conserve natural resources and care for living
things and their habitats
204-3 state a prediction and a hypothesis based on an observed pattern of events
205-5 make observations and collect information relevant to a given question or problem
302-2 describe how various animals are able to meet their basic needs in their habitat
301-2 relate habitat loss to the endangerment or extinction of plants and animals

Pictures of shorebirds
Notebooks
Chart Paper
Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to give students an introduction to the topic of shorebirds at
the Hopewell Rocks. It will give them insight as to why they travel there.

Steps in Lesson

Each summer, 1-2.5 million shorebirds can be seen around Fundy and the Hopewell
Rocks for 4-6 weeks. Why do we think that all of these birds are only there for such a
short period of the year?

Exploration: Write down the question in our science notebooks (and on the board).
Begin discussion to try and solve the question what do we know about the habits of
birds that could be related to this question? Have students Think-Pair-Share with their
elbow partners.
As a class, discuss the ideas that we found most important to solving our question. Eg
birds migrate, birds eat small fish/aquatic animals, birds travel in groups.
Create a list/concept map with these ideas underneath our initial question.
Given the information that we already know, ask the class to make some hypotheses as
to why the shorebirds are only there for so long. Write the hypothesis down in your
notebook.

Elaboration: Have any of you gone on a long road trip or vacation with your family? Do
you like being in the car the whole time, or do you get tired and hungry and need a break?
The Bay of Fundy is a key stopover in a 4000 km journey towards the south. In fact, it is
the only break that they take.
They are travelling from their summer habitat in the Arctic to their winter habitat in south-
east coast of South America. Identify the begin and end points on a world map.
Stop and Jot - what was one interesting thing that you learned from visiting the Hopewell
Rocks website? (5 minutes)

Expansion: During the stopover, it is important that tourists don't bother the birds. Why
do you think this is? Why is it important to respect and care for their habitat? Think-Pair-
Share.
Discuss important points as a class they need their rest to complete their journey. If we
don't take care of their habitat, where will they be able to stop? There is a lot of room and
lots of food.
As an evaluation, students are asked to write a short story from the point of view of a
shore bird during migration. They may choose to include facts about where they are
coming from, what it feels like flying for so long, what kinds of things they do when they
stop in Fundy (what they eat etc), and where they are going.
Resources
Hopewell Rocks - Shorebirds http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/learning-centre/shorebirds-
wildlife

Lesson #7: The moon and the tides
Grade Level: 4
Content standard D.

Time Required: 50 minutes for this
lesson but overall this process will be two
weeks.
explanation
Small Group - researching and
compiling projects in pairs/small groups

Standards
204-6 identify various methods for finding answers to given questions as well as
solutions to given problems, and ultimately select one that is appropriate

Shows gravitational pull between sun, moon and earth.
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-and-orbits
Science Journal-Appendix A handout
Magnets (strong and weak magnetic pull)
Hopewell Rocks Website: http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/learning-centre/moon-info
Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to have students gain an interest in learning more
about the science aspects associated with the Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks. In
this lesson students will learn about the relationship between the moon and the
tides.

Steps in Lesson
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-and-orbits
Have students watch the demonstration.
Following the demonstration ask students how this relates to the tides we saw when
we visited Hopewell Rocks. (Students should already know that the moon plays a
role based on the center they did in the second lesson). (5 minutes)
Exploration:
Ask students to get into groups of four.
Ask students to get out their science journals and place the handout inside
(Appendix A)
Ensure all students understand the difference between the two before you begin the
activity.
Pass out different sized magnets to each group (ensuring that some pairs of
magnets have a stronger magnetic pull than others,)
During-Learning
Allow students to discover that there is a stronger pull between some of the magnets
than there is between some of the other magnets. (this shows them that even though
the moon may be smaller than the sun, it can still have a stronger gravitational pull)
Once students have completed the task, then fill out the handout
After students have completed their worksheets have them share and discuss their
findings with another group (10-15 minutes)
Elaboration:
Once students have finished discussing, have a class discussion about the findings.
Then ask students what they think the link is between the attractions between the
magnets and the gravitational pull.
Go to the Hopewell Rocks Website (http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/learning-
centre/moon-info)
and read about the moon and the tides with students. Allow students to compare
their hypothesis with the actual positive correlation between the moon and the tides.
(5-10 minutes)
The rest of class time can be used for students to work on their projects.
2 stars and a wish- ask students to write on a sheet of loose leaf, two things they
liked and learned from this lesson and one thing they wish to learn about this lesson.
Post-Assessment
Based on the 2 stars and a wish sheet, the teacher will know who understood the
lesson and who still requires clarification.
It is important to note that we have barely touched the surface of the
connection between the tides and the moon in this lesson. However as
students in the class have chosen that as a project they are interested in and
would like to present, as the teacher, I wanted to introduce the topic and have
the students go further in depth during their presentation.

Resources
Gravitational pull demonstration: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-and-
orbits
Hopewell Rocks Website: http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/learning-centre/moon-info
APPENDIX A

Name:
Date:
Hypothesis (what do you think is going to happen?):

Findings(What did you learn during your experiment with the magnets?):

How do you think this relates to the moon and sun
gravitational pull video you saw?

Grade Level: 4 NSES Standards: Content standard C.
Content standard D.

Lesson #8 What does the
fox say?
Time Required: 50 minutes
for this lesson
Whole Group - guessing the animal sounds

NB Curriculum Standards
302-1 identify a variety of local and regional habitats and their associated
populations of plants and animals
302-2 describe how various animals are able to meet their basic needs in their
habitat

Laptop(s)
Smartboard/ Whiteboard
Record animal sound sheets
Animal information cards (cardstock)
YouTube video Clips attached in the Exploration
Overview
The purpose of this lesson is to have students gain an interest in learning more
about the wildlife aspects associated with the Bay of Fundy and Hopewell Rocks.
Animals that will be discussed will include the white-tail deer, moose, peregrine,
bald eagles, osprey, the great blue heron.

Steps in Lesson
Engaging Question: (5 minutes)
Pre-Learning
Do you know the sounds wildlife make at Hopewell Rocks? We forget that there
are land animals, beach creatures and creatures that live under the water at high
tide. Exploration: (5-7 minutes)
Pass out recording strips of paper for students to record which animal they think
is being playing in the music.
Bald Eagle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIdZTSKLdBs
Blue Heron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-KU2XVXu6U
Osprey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opS_x_bHrxs
White-tail deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QHZALkeiU
Moose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PyKhohVcY
Peregrine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNO6acbF7n0
Go over the music clips to which different animal made the sound.
Brainstorm with students on the whiteboard where each animal lives, eats and as
a class discover their characteristics. Characteristics include deer eating berries
and seeds, bald eagles eat fist, have feathers, whether they hibernate, etc.
Expansion: (10 minutes)
During-Learning
Have students write about one animal found at Hopewell Rocks as if they are
telling information to a younger student on their information card either from the
center in previous lessons or from today's mini lesson. Due to the upcoming
projects it is important to introduce the topic of wildlife but to allow for deeper
understanding in the upcoming presentation.
*The remainder of class will be dedicated to finishing up their projects and
preparation for them to present to the class their project from the choice board.
(20 minutes)

Students will have learned about some of the different wildlife found at Hopewell
Rocks and applied it by making their own animal information card that I will be
able to assess their understanding.
Post-Assessment
The next few classes are dedicated to their projects and their presentations It is
important to note that we have barely touched the surface of the specifics of
wildlife features at Hopewell Rocks. However as students in the class have
chosen that as a project they are interested in and would like to present, as the
teacher, I wanted to introduce the topic and have the students go further in
depth during their presentation.
Resources
http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/learning-centre/tide-tables

Bald Eagle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIdZTSKLdBs
Blue Heron
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-KU2XVXu6U
Osprey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opS_x_bHrxs
White-tail deer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QHZALkeiU
Moose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PyKhohVcY
Peregrine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNO6acbF7n0

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