The collection: learning materials

Designation and properties

The name of this writing tool as "pencil" comes from the fact that in the 15th century the writing instrument was made of lead and tin. As early as the 16th century, contrary to the name, the lead is made of graphite. Since about 1795, these writing instruments have been manufactured as we know them today. The lead consists of graphite, water and clay. This lead is usually in a wooden barrel.

The different ratio of graphite and clay results in different pencil leads. Depending on the composition, the color trace of the pencil can range from light gray to intense black. The more graphite is added to the lead, the blacker the color trace. At the same time, the more graphite the lead contains, the softer it is. The different degrees of hardness lend themselves to different applications. Very hard pencil leads are used in particular for technical drawings, while very soft ones are suitable for artistic work, for example.

The didactic potential of the pencil

Writing tools are an important topic in elementary technical education because they represent the tool with which children have the most contact during their school years. In addition, the thematization of writing tools lends itself to the teaching of science, since the structure and function of most writing tools can be easily identified - and thus explored. The purposeful technical development can also be exemplified by the historical development of writing tools.

The topic of writing tools - and thus the thematization of the pencil as a central writing tool of elementary school students - can be located at various points in the elementary school curriculum within the framework of the technical perspective of science education. For example, starting in the first grade, students should learn how to use various writing tools such as pencils, felt-tip pens, and computers. At the end of the 2nd grade or at the beginning of the 3rd grade, the introduction of the fountain pen follows. From the 3rd grade onwards, it is possible to focus on the history of writing tools within the framework of a writing museum. The topic of writing tools can also be found in connection with the topic of "School in the past" as well as with the topic of "Paper", which is central to the subject of science teaching.

In connection with the pencil, the question "How does the lead get into the pencil? To introduce this topic, a film from "Die Sendung mit der Maus" can be shown that takes up this question and answers it in a clear and child-friendly way. Alternatively, pictures of the most important production steps can be shown, which are taken from the film just mentioned.

Literature tip: Exam paper "Lernwerkstatt Technik

The place value system in the classroom

The learning material is primarily designed for use in mathematics lessons and serves to actively deal with the place value system.

In the educational standards in mathematics for the primary level, content-related mathematical competencies have been formulated - in addition to the general mathematical competencies, which include problem solving, representing mathematics, communicating, reasoning and modeling - which students should have acquired by the end of grade 4.

If the present learning material - or rather its potential - is to be located in the educational standards, the focus should be primarily on the topic complex "Numbers and Operations", which is to be assigned to the content-related mathematical competencies. Of particular interest here is the subsection "Understanding number representations and number relationships. This in turn includes, among other competencies that should be considered secondary for this learning material, the sub-competencies "understanding the structure of the decimal place value system" and "representing numbers up to 1,000,000 in different ways and relating them to each other".

Beyond mathematics lessons and thus the primary purpose of dealing with the place value system, the place value chart can also be used in lessons for other learning settings that are separate from the primary purposes. It is conceivable, for example, to use the place value system to represent larger numbers in science lessons, such as the height of a mountain.

In a non-subject-related setting, it would be possible to convert the place value chart into a "class countdown" that shows the remaining days until the next class party or class trip, with a different student being the "countdown representative" each day. This person may turn over a card that depicts the last digit of the number that represents the remaining days.

The area "Quantities and measurement" is divided into the competencies "Possessing ideas about quantities" and "Dealing with quantities in factual situations". The latter in turn includes, among other things, the competence to be taught "measuring properly with suitable units and different measuring instruments". For the area of weights, the present learning material, the beam balance, represents a suitable measuring instrument. The beam balance is a mechanical balance whose mode of operation is based on the lever principle. If an object is placed in each of the two weighing pans, a direct comparison of these objects - and thus of the representatives of the size range "weights" - can be made: The object or body that exerts a greater force on the weighing pan is heavier than the other body and consequently has a greater weight. If the representatives have the same weight, i.e. if they are of the same weight, they each exert the same force on the weighing pans. In this case, the weighing pans are at the same height. If further objects are weighed with the help of the beam scales, the objects that are compared with each other in terms of their weight can be placed in an order.

The child's own actions - in this case in the form of weighing - are central to the development of ideas about size. In this way, the beam balance can contribute to finding memorable representatives for certain weights and thus to building up sustainable ideas of size or supporting point ideas. This represents a central goal of mathematics instruction for the subject complex "quantities" in elementary school. A reliable idea of size, which is based on memorable and interesting representatives, is also the basis for estimation. An estimation result can be found on the basis of the mental comparison with a known representative. This is all the more exact, the more pronounced the idea of the supporting point is.

The hourglass in the classroom

This learning material can be used in many different ways in the classroom. However, it is particularly useful in mathematics and science lessons.

The educational standards for the primary level formulate central competencies that elementary school students should have acquired by the end of grade 4.

One of the five content-related mathematical competencies to be taught in the educational standards for mathematics at the primary level is the area of "Quantities and Measurement. In addition to weights, lengths, spatial contents and monetary values, the quantities to be addressed also include time spans. One of the competencies anchored in the educational standards to be acquired is the proper measurement of different quantities with the help of suitable measuring instruments. The hourglass can thus be used, along with other measuring instruments for time spans, for the introduction to the quantity area "time spans".

Within the framework of the technical perspective of science teaching, it is possible to make hourglasses from emptied and cleaned jam jars, based on the present model.

The construction of hourglasses can be embedded in an interdisciplinary research project in science and mathematics. For example, the researcher assignments might include building an hourglass with a specific flow time or puzzles such as "You have a 3-minute hourglass and a 7-minute hourglass. You want to cook 4-minute eggs. How do you go about it?". Furthermore, as part of such a research project, it is possible to replace the sand with other materials, such as... and to try out different shaped flasks.

If an "hourglass paradox" is shown at the end of the project, with the liquid running from the bottom to the top, this is an interesting introduction to the topic of "swimming and sinking," which is one of the central aspects of the science perspective of physical education.

In the context of elementary school health promotion, especially in the area of dental hygiene, the hourglass is to be used as a tool that helps determine how long it takes to brush teeth.

Not subject-related, the hourglass is to be used in the classroom to provide a specific time frame, for example, for completing a task. This is especially useful when students cannot yet read the clock. Furthermore, the adherence to certain time limits can be trained in this context.

In addition, the position of the feathers is adapted to the present conditions when flying. The coloring and patterning of bird feathers serves on the one hand, for example in courtship, as decoration, and on the other hand as camouflage. For this purpose, the feathers of some bird species are adapted in color to the environment. These aspects can be dealt with during a visit to an extracurricular place of learning, such as a zoo or animal park. This particularly promotes discovery-based learning, as the children can discover special bird plumages such as those of the peacock or the flamingo at such an extracurricular learning site, so that questions that initiate diverse learning processes are articulated by the children themselves.

Furthermore, the role that animal feathers played for Native Americans can be addressed within the framework of the social science perspective of science education. This topic can be taken up at carnival, for example, when students dress up as Indians wearing lavish feather headdresses. Bird feathers, especially feathers of dangerous birds such as the golden eagle, functioned as medals or badges among the Indians and, depending on how they were trimmed, symbolized various heroic deeds and thus the courage and mightiness of their wearer.

A "quill" is both the name of a shaft-like part of a feather rooted in the skin and a writing instrument made from this part of the feather. The quill pen as a writing instrument, whose invention is to be located approximately in the year 500, represented the most important writing instrument of the people for more than 1000 years. This points to the relevance of this topic. The feathers, which came from geese, ravens, peacocks or eagles, were sharpened at the bottom, at the so-called feather coil, and incised. The feathers thus processed were first dipped in colored plant juices, later in ink, in order to be able to write with them. Writing tools are an important topic in elementary technical education because they are the central tool for elementary school students.

Furthermore, the thematization of writing tools in the classroom lends itself to the fact that both the structure and function of most writing tools can be readily identified - and thus explored. Furthermore, the purposeful technical development can be exemplarily experienced by the children on the basis of the historical development of writing tools.

In the third school year, the fountain pen, or fountain pen for short, usually makes its way into the classroom. This is a good opportunity to examine the predecessors of this writing instrument. For example, it is possible to initiate a writing museum as part of a cross-curricular project in science and German classes, giving learners the opportunity to examine quills, metal nibs, fountain pens, and the cartridge pens that have been in use for about 50 years. Such a writing museum can be designed in the form of station work, which offers differentiation possibilities if work cards are offered at the stations in two versions, each comprising more demanding tasks and more extensive texts or simpler tasks and linguistically reduced texts. Furthermore, in order to enable differentiated learning, there should be no time limits, so that each child can work through the stations at his or her own pace. It is a good idea to define certain mandatory stations and mark the others as optional in order to create a common basis for the final round, in which experiences are exchanged and findings are recorded. One of the stations at the Writing Museum can be about making quills. Here, students can use a pocket knife to make their own quill and explore what is important in a quill to be used as a writing instrument. Later, writing experiments with the different writing instruments should follow, and the findings can be recorded, for example, in the form of a researcher's diary.

In the context of such a writing museum, the children can explore and realize that people continued to improve writing instruments, but that the basic principle of the nib was developed about 1500 years ago and has been retained to this day.

In addition, nibs can be used to decorate stationery or postcards as part of a printing workshop conducted in a science class. To do this, the feathers are dyed with the printing ink and placed on the paper to be decorated. Now a smear paper is placed on the nib and slowly and evenly rolled over it with a printing roller. After that, the smear paper can be removed again to view the print result.

This decoration can be the last station of the printing workshop, which integrates various printing techniques such as Styrodur or milk carton printing or printing with the help of a Freinet press.

Literature tip: Bodenbender, T. (2006). How does the ink flow in the fountain pen? In: Weltwissen Sachunterricht, 4, pp. 22 - 25.

The didactic potential of sheep's wool

The material sheep's wool is a suitable starting point for initiating diverse learning processes. First of all, the properties of sheep's wool can be discussed in the context of science lessons. In particular, the natural thermoregulation of sheep's wool should be taken into account.

When handling sheep's wool for the first time, children will notice how far it can be compressed. They will observe that a lot of air can be squeezed out of the wool, i.e. there is a lot of air between the individual fibers of the wool.

Because of this property, sheep's wool is a good heat insulator, as only a small amount of body heat escapes. The natural animal fiber can absorb water vapor inside the fiber, but the surface repels water. It can absorb up to a third of its dry weight in water without feeling damp, and it also wicks moisture away much faster than cotton, for example. These properties are exploited in the manufacture of woolen goods. In house construction, sheep's wool is also used as an insulating material because of these properties. In this context, experiments can be conducted that illustrate the insulating properties of wool. For example, a hot boiled egg can be wrapped in sheep's wool while another hot boiled egg is placed unprotected on a table at the same time. After half an hour, the children will notice that the egg wrapped in wool is noticeably warmer than the unprotected egg.

Once these properties have been discussed and illustrated, for example with the help of suitable experiments, the findings can be used to determine the functionality of various clothing fabrics. Wool, polyester, cotton, neoprene and other textile fibers can be compared for this purpose. The knowledge gained from this makes it possible to address which clothing fabric is suitable for which weather, so that it is possible to dress adequately in any weather.

Within the framework of the technical perspective of science teaching, it is also possible to develop and apply various textile design techniques that use wool as a raw material or intermediate products made from it, such as wool threads. This can be done, for example, in the form of a project in which different processing steps of wool as well as different textile design techniques are discussed and practically tested. Before raw wool can be spun into threads, it must be plucked and then carded. The carding process serves to first align the loose textile fibers into a pile or fleece. If the school has a carding roller or several hand carders, the raw wool can be processed independently by the children after it has been plucked. For example, the children can push the plucked wool flocks into the roller and turn the crank until one fleece at a time can be combed off the carding roller. Spinning can also be done at school without a spinning wheel. For this purpose, small branch forks whose sharp edges have been worked with the help of emery paper can be used as branch spindles. The threads obtained in this way can be used to create surfaces using the technique of weaving. As part of the project, the children can learn the weaving technique on the weaving frame.

At this point, the technical perspective can be linked to the historical and social perspective when a comparison of weaving in the present with weaving in the past is made. In this context, advantages and disadvantages of the development of technology can be worked out and weighed up using the example of mechanization and the social consequences of this.

Furthermore, it is possible to produce balls or surfaces from the plucked wool with the help of the textile design technique of felting. The conclusion of such a project can be a visit to a weaving mill. There, the children can see what they have done on a small scale on a large scale and in this way better understand it.

Literature tip: Helmbold, F. & Zolg, M. (2012). The magic thread bag in kindergarten. From wool to thread and textile surface. In: Weltwissen Sachunterricht, 1, pp. 6 - 9.