Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

9

Experiences in Science

SCIENCE is as important for mentally retarded children as

for all other children. Modern man is dependent upon science to meet his basic needs. It includes the study of food, clothing, and shelter; plant and animal life; the earth and the universe; energy and machines. The experiences of all children and adults—including the mentally retarded— touch upon the science aspects of living. With some of these aspects the mentally retarded are vitally concerned. Their school life should not end without rich opportunities to explore.

However, a curriculum in science which may be excellent for the regular elementary or secondary grades is not necessarily either desirable or practical for mentally retarded children. They are not as observant or as well-informed concerning things about them as are normal and mentally superior children. They do not grasp abstract ideas readily. They must have intensely practical experiences and many varied repetitions of experiences of the same general type if their observations and interpretations are to function effectively. Some of the content usually included in junior and senior high school science is of utmost value for efficient living, but it must be taught realistically and simply enough for the mentally retarded child to understand and to use. Since, by definition, he will not be able to meet the standards of the regular classes in junior and senior high school, such content will need to be presented to him in terms of his own ability to understand. These facts make it imperative to select carefully curricular material from all fields of science directed toward increasing the child's equipment for daily living.

Requisites of Satisfactory Material

Both the physical and the biological sciences offer material of interest and value to the mentally retarded. To be acceptable such material must,

in the first place, contribute to interpretation of the environment, to adequate adaptation within the environment, and to the appreciations and attitudes that add to its enjoyment. In the second place, the subject matter selected must be simple enough for mentally retarded children to understand, tangible enough for them to appreciate, and objective enough for them to utilize. That which is an integral part of the environment as they see it and work with it from day to day and which can be explained objectively with concrete materials at hand constitutes the most desirable

content.

The experiences selected should contribute to the development of habits of more careful observation and to the extension of wholesome interest in the physical environment and thoughtful care of living things. They should bring about an acquaintance with those scientific facts that concern health and safety. They should stimulate economic purchase and use of commercial products and mechanical devices, with an ability to make selection on the basis of value and durability. They should add to the power to interpret simple phenomena of the physical environment and of the behavior of living things. Finally, they should open up some possibilities for the use of leisure time.

Experiences in science are a logical part of every unit of experience. The teacher who says, "Now we'll have a science lesson," and who fails to see the vast opportunities for guiding the children into realms of experiences in science through the unit on the home, on foods, on clothing, or on any other theme, loses the opportunity of integrating the daily experiences of pupils. The topics listed in this chapter are suggested not as themes to be presented through isolated discussions or experiences, but as phases of scientific subject matter that can be either closely related to the total units of experience with which they individually belong, or used as the basis of an experience to which other fields are related.

For example, an entire unit of experience might be planned about the subject of plants. In one class, the children planted several kinds of seeds in flower boxes, which in due time became aglow with color and beauty. The flowers furnished the approach to a study of the place of seeds and of roots in plant life; of different kinds of seeds and roots, including those which are edible; of the needs of plant life; of the use of plants. for clothing, for building, for medicine, and for coloring. Into this setting

were introduced activities in reading, language, numbers, manual arts, music, health education. Younger children of the group participated in the simpler activities and observed others. It was a socializing experience that helped each child to learn something of and to appreciate nature`s work and its effect upon human life.

In another class a unit of work was developed under the general topic of milk. The children of lowest ability cut out pictures of cows, milk bottles, milk trucks; they talked about the milkman and the use of milk at school and at home. The intermediate group took a trip to the dairy, made butter and cottage cheese in the classroom, saw and discussed some "movies" on cows and milk, made reading charts, wrote stories and poems, and modeled, out of clay and wood, cows, calves, barns, trucks, and milk wagons. The advanced group joined the intermediate group in its activities, but added spelling and arithmetic lessons based on the same material, vocabulary charts, posters, and recipe books. The entire school became "milk-conscious."

The study of habits and needs of native birds might in some localities easily become a part of a unit of experience on "exploring the community." Reading the thermometer might be included in the same unit and be related to weather conditions of the community. Many scientific observations are closely concerned with the subject of foods. Nature study, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and physics all offer material from which selection can be made in accordance with the ages and mental levels of the children concerned, and with the units of experiences that are under way.

Even the youngest children can watch the birds, the clouds, the rain, the snow. They can observe the change of seasons. They can become acquainted with the flowers and the trees growing in the immediate vicinity; with the habits of common birds, animals, and fish; and with the behavior of the butterfly, the caterpillar, and the ant. They can catch snow in a container and watch it melt; see snow crystals under the magnifying glass; put water out to freeze; care for pets and for plants; boil water and watch the steam; watch a lighted candle go out when placed under a glass; and watch water disappear from the blackboard after washing. All these observations, experiments, and other activities. will help the young child orient himself in the world of nature about him

and see some of simplest ways in which natural law applies to human existence. As he grows older, he will be led to a more scientific knowledge of living things in a natural world through more comprehensive experiences.

SUGGESTED EXPERIENCES

A. Subject matter drawn from the immediate environment of the child:

3.

1. Habits and needs of native birds.

2. Preservation of wildlife.

3. Plant life (indoor and outdoor); its need for development; absorption of moisture; growth; value.

4. Daily phenomena of weather: Rain, snow, hail, fog; amount of rainfall. 5. Function and operation of simple mechanical devices, such as the toy steam engine, water wheel, bellows, air pump, carpet sweeper, bicycle, meat grinder, egg beater, vacuum cleaner.

6. Some of the major features of the universe, such as sun, moon, earth, stars, clouds, wind, seasons, day and night.

7. Sources and composition of common materials used for food, clothing, shelter, tools, transportation.

8. Scientific explanation of some of the modern means of communication and transportation, such as the telephone, telegraph, radio, television, balloon, automobile, airplane.

Skills offered by various sciences that are usable in daily living:

1. Reading the thermometer.

2. Pouring from a bottle so that it will not gurgle and spill.

3. Using a medicine dropper.

4. Gradually heating a glass container so as to loosen the lid.

5. Building a fire.

6. Bleaching or dyeing cloth.

7. Using a siphon.

8. Comparing the relative values of cooking utensils.

9. Simple household processes, such as using a plunger, changing fuses, putting new washers on faucets, making simple extensions for electric lights.

C. Directed observation of simple, well-planned experiments illustrating well-known scientific principles:

1. Buoyancy of water.-Floating different sizes of materials of various shapes in water and noticing the water line of each; experimenting with the shape and resulting variation in the water line; applying to the making of toy boats the principle that objects are buoyed up by the amount of water they displace. 2. Leakage of water.-1 -Measuring the amount of water wasted in a given length of time from a slow leak, appreciating the fact that trivial waste results in considerable loss.

3. Purification of water.-Putting on small glass lids or dishes (a) water from a puddle, (b) water from a faucet, and (c) boiled water, observing daily through magnifying glass the changes taking place; filtering water and boiling water; investigating the local filtration plant and water supply.

D. Knowledge that contributes to the understanding and appreciation of the behavior and needs of living things:

1. Life cycles of animals and plants.

2. Distribution of seeds in a seed pod.

3. Growth of seedlings and bulbs under different conditions of light, moisture, and heat.

4. Kinds of common trees: Their foliage, fruits, and uses.

5. Behavior and needs of pets at school and at home.

6. Behavior and physical condition of mice fed on different foods.

E. Practical knowledge that contributes to desirable habits of health and safety:

1. Adjustment to different seasons and weather conditions.

2. Effect of bacteria upon food.

3. Ventilation; respiration.

4. Prevention of disease.

5. Posture, care of teeth, eyes, ears, hair, skin.

6. Use of simple antiseptics.

[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small]

Weighing and measuring are valuable experiences in science and can become the basis for both reading and number work.

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »