Studying Nature

Objectives

• Students will use the Internet to do research and inquiry on studying nature.
• Students will learn more about studying nature.
• Students will complete an online exercise by reading about how man studied birds in order to learn how to fly. Students will also use their imagination to invent something copied from nature. They will also draw their invention.

Description

This site is presented by the University of Houston. It is one of a series of episodes presented by John H. Lienhard, called "Engines of Our Ingenuity." These episodes are about some of the engineering feats of man and how they came about.

Suggested Activities

• Have students talk about how nature studies have caused us to live better and healthier lives.
• Have students discuss the various ways the study of nature benefits us all.

Level Activities

• Have students connect to http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/11/1122_021125_CropYields.html. Then have students:
read the article titled "Global Warming May Boost Crop Yields, Study Says." talk about what kinds of studies are necessary in order to learn how global warming has been affecting various crops.
initiate a debating team to argue the pros and cons of global warming as it relates to increased crop yields.