Science Activity

Objective: To evaluate the truth or fallacy of science proverbs. To use written or electronic references to investigate. To encourage class discussion.

Materials: All cards from Proverbial Wisdom

Procedures:

1. Discuss with students what a proverb is.

2. In small groups, have the students generate a list of proverbs that include animals, nature or any other science topic.

3. If you would like this activity to lead to discussions or reports of random science topics, randomly hand out cards to groups of four or five students. Allow students time to search through cards from Proverbial Wisdom to locate science themed proverbs. If you would like this to spark interest in a topic you are about to study or have been studying, choose card(s) prior to lesson.
   1. Examples from Proverbial Wisdom and some topics they cover:

   2. Great oaks from little acorns grow (Plant Reproduction)

   3. Big fish eat little fish (Food Chains, Food Webs)

   4. Good seeds make good crops (Plant Reproduction, Seed Disperal)

   5. Eagles do not catch flies (Ecology, Adaptations, Food Webs)

   6. Still waters run deep (Landforms, Water)

   7. Birds of a feather flock together (Populations and Communities)

   8. Once in a blue moon (Moon Phases)

4. After the students have located several science proverbs, ask each team to choose one.

5. The students should decide whether they think the proverb is scientifically accurate and formulate a statement of their position.

6. Students will conduct an investigation through the use of various references to prove or disprove their statement.

7. The group will present their findings to the class, discussing the literal and figurative meaning of the proverb and the results of their investigation.

8. This could be used as an introduction to a unit of study.