Imagination in Science

I always tell people how imaginative Science is, from the imagined submicroscopic world to the imagined vastness of the Universe and all of its phenomena. Dawkins has written about this in his books "Unweaving the Rainbow" and "The Magic of Reality". However, sometimes the use of imagination to help young children is, I feel, unhelpful and indeed causes learning difficulties later in school.
It seems mean to pick on one particular example but it is current. It is an iPad app. It is well researched with excellent content and well illustrated but annoyed me. The app is called The Adventures of Norman the Neuron.*

My objection involves the teaching of young children that neurons can move around the nervous system. That's all. But "facts" learned early can be difficult to unlearn if they are wrong. 
My experience of this involves a session I did with trainee teachers. I challenged them over the number of senses we have. They all said FIVE. I proceeded to show that that was incorrect. They followed and understood but then began to argue that:-
     - "five" was correct because it was in the literature
     - "It's what we are supposed to teach".
     - "five" was correct because they were our five "main" senses. 
Some of them did not want to change their "belief". I can imagine some of them even now teaching children that they only have 5 senses.

In a similar vein, I came across apps about Space in which:-
  - Mars is strong - don't like
  - Saturn is beautiful - no problem
  - Black holes eat planets - don't like
  - Black holes are like vacuum cleaners - no problem.

Knowing me, I've not been particularly clear. Am I being pedantic, old-fashioned or just plain miserable with these criticisms? Am I denying the use of imaginative, literate teaching? Or am I still embarrassed to admit that I've been guilty of teaching bad Science in the past?

This finally leads me round to Bad Science. The book by Ben Goldacre is excellent and a visit to his website worthwhile:-

http://www.badscience.net/2012/10/

* Anyone remember the Numbskulls? What comic were they in?

Comic Life & Comic Books

Comic Life is a programme that I've used a lot and which is widely available in local schools. It has lots of potential for engaging pupils in literacy and design in addition to them showing their subject knowledge using IT. I've used it extensively with children and, if I can find the support, I like to use it to provide a resource for pupils which complements my Christmas Science Lecture for Inspire2Learn. Any volunteers?

There are no areas where it cannot be used. I've used it for everything from Cleopatra to The Solar System to Zumba. I'm going to be using it as part of Science Week at a school to highlight the importance of Healthy Living (knowing your body, eating properly and cultivating good habits).
Here is an example for World War 2 made into an anim. gif with Google's GIFPAL:-

They key to making this work with children is to have the image resources ready for them, preferably offering a wide range of choice. 

Comic Life is available for the iPad for a couple of pounds and although lacking many of the features it is engaging and enjoyable for pupils to use. Couple it with the iPads camera and easy of sharing and you have a potentially very powerful teaching and learning tool.

It is worth pointing out that Comic Life can be used to make a video of your comic too.

Finally, I'm sure that there are alternative programmes available, so explore, find the one that suits you/your budget/your pupils.

Frank Cottrell Boyce

I've mentioned a few Art books in the past but they've been picture books. If you are looking for a children's novel with Art references then I highly recommend "Framed" by Frank Cottrel Boyce. Set in Wales where the art treasures of our national art galleries have been stored for protection during the war, it is a charming story or as Wikipedia puts it:
     "This is a funny and touching exploration of how art - its beauty and its value - touches the life of one little boy and his big family in a very small town"



 
I've also really enjoyed two other books by him which could complement your teaching, Cosmic and The Unforgotten Coat. Cosmic is a tale about Space and relationships. The Unforgotten Coat is a tale of Mongolian immigrants and is full of imagination. I love it because for years I've been interested in Mongolia - deserts, dinosaurs, yurts and open-throated singing.




If you want to explore the music of Mongolia, I'd recommend the following:-
   Shu-De : Voices from the Distant Steppe (1994) Realworld CDRW41
   Yat-Kha : In Europe Live (no details)
   Albert Kuvezin (of Yat-Kha) : Recovers (no details)
   Hanggai : Introducing Hanggai : World Network 
   Rough Guide to the Music of Mongolia
   Anda Union - The Wind Horse (20111) Hohhot Records HR001

What would you save?

I must have picked up on a radio programme and was idly thinking "What would I save?" if my house was burning down. Then, when I was doing The Phantom Cat Burglar, the children told me what they'd not want a burglar to steal.
What would you save or hate to have stolen? 
What about your pupils? 
Being acquisitive, we've got thousands of books and CDs, a Victorian-style curiosity cabinet (actually a 19th century Indian apothecaries chest), cuddly toys, ceramics, original art works and prints, family photos, hard drives of memories and all the other stuff of life.
My house is not going to burn down. I couldn't decide. So, what do I value? Not in order
1. A copy of The Golden Shadow by Leon Garfield & Edward Blishen, illustrated by Charles Keeping and signed by all three. Keeping (along with Chris Riddell) is my favourite illustrator of children's books. He'll be the subject of a blog, for sure. 

 2. An original drawing of The Navajo Myth of Creation by Dave McKean. An illustration for Richard Dawkins' book The Magic of Reality with links to Vadjak Paw, animation, beliefs, evolution, Darwin and Thomas Henry Huxley (another future blog).
3. The signed concert poster by Malian singer Salif Keita. An albino African who was ostracised but became world famous for his amazing voice. Just listen to Sina on the Soro CD.

4. Another signed concert poster, this time by Jackie Leven. A wonderful, Scottish singer who's "Call mother a lonely field" is a favourite of mine.
5. A death plaque from the First Wold War. As Morpurgo says, the First World War resonates much more through the ages than any other. This plaque belongs to a man from South Shields who died on my birthday in 1918. A very special present.
6. Three drawings by Ken Dunn, the Head of Art at a school I taught at. All have special resonance for me having an environmental theme.
7. Autographed first editions by Jonathan Stroud, Michael Foreman, Charlie Higson, Lauren St John and more. I've got two signed copies of The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Why? Don't know, but I loved her stories and she was the inspiration behind Patrick Ness's award winning book "A Monster Calls".

8. The bird-nose man carving from the Far East, my kora, my mbira(once owned by Ephat Mujuro), ........ 

Mbira from Zimbabwe

Better put a stop to this, it could be never-ending.

Maths through Story- Day 1

Today was the turn of Y3/4 to visit Inspire2Learn at the Eston CLC.
Although my day started out in the jungle as a tapir with a monkey counting his coconuts, most of my time was spent as a police officer asking for the help of the public in catching the Phantom Cat Burglar (see previous post).
Children rarely disappoint and today was no exception. They were challenged but responded positively and many achieved the "eureka" moment. I was severely challenged too and I hope I matched their performance.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the day.
As promised, here are two "cat burglar's" in action.

Using Lift-the-Flap books in presentations

When I was writing my blog about "pop-up books", I didn't include lift-the-flap books (obviously). I have used odd pages from some of these publications in my presentations or as inspiration for my own slides. For example, when I'm talking about adaptation, and in particular camouflage, I might fade one image into another to engage the audience and have them "spot" the hidden animal.

Who's in the Jungle by H.J.Gondek Illus by C. Gilvan-Cartwright ISBN  to come

(Heh! Just opened another tab, imported my images and produced this gif with GIFPAL from Google. Very helpful.)
My favourite bit of software to show camouflage was Microscoft's Dangerous Creatures. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with modern operating systems. Why don't they re-do some of these wonderful programmes. Dorling Kindersley too!

Here's a list of life-the-flap books you might find useful with children:-
     Who's in the Jungle? - H.J. Gondek (   )
     Who's on the Farm? - H.J. Gondek (   )
     Look out, lion cub! - M. Coxon (   ) 
     Kitten finds a home - M. Coxon (   )
     Pingu - ?? (   ) BBC Children's Books
I will try and complete the details of these but my books are in a bit of a muddle at the moment.

Making pop-ups and telling stories

Eiffel Tower

Today I added to my collection of pop-up books with a copy of Great Buildings of the World. There are a lot of very basic and some very complex pop-up books available. 

Purnell (1984) ISBN 0 361 06410 1

I've made my own pop-up cards with children in the past, not as greetings cards but as ways into their imaginations and story-telling. When I did this we gave pupils a couple of easily constructed templates and a series of "monster" images. Once again, I've missed the boat with Halloween but maybe you could use the idea in the run up to Christmas.

Making the scene

Scene to be the subject of imaginative writing

One of the most reproduced pop-up books must be Jan Pienkowski's Haunted House. He has produced many other pop-up books in addition to illustrationed books and books with silouhettes. Ah! Light and Shadows Science rears its head. (See previous blog)

http://www.janpienkowski.com/
I might as well complete this blog with a series of other pop-up books that are well worth getting hold of.

SCIENCE 
The Human Body - J. Miller & D. Pelham (1983) 0-224-04210-6
The Facts of Life - J. Miller & D. Pelham (2000 edition) 158117093-9
Nature's Deadly Secrets - Frances Jones Electric Paper (1993) 1-897584-05-9
Nature's Little Builders - John Woodward Electric Paper (1995) 1-897584-07-5
Nature's Creatures of the Dark - David Taylor Electric Paper (1993) 1-897584-01-6
Nature's Savage Cats - Alice Burdett (1993) 1-897584-00-8
FUN
Fancy That! - Jan Pienkowski (1986) Orchard Books
little Monsters - Jan Pienkowski (1986) Orchard Books 1-85213-000-8
Dinner Time - Jan Pienkowski (1980) Orchard Books 1-85213-055-5
Christmas Kingdom - Jan Pienkowski (1991) Viking 
Bear's Busy Day - No author credited (2002) Top Story 0-7554-0248-0

I'll do a blog about the uses of Lift-the-Flap books soon.