Teaching overview
Learning points
- Parts of southern California have experienced a super bloom, which occurs when heavy rainfall in normally dry areas causes dormant seeds to sprout and flower.
- Scientists in the United States have created a new kind of robot which consists of several expanding and contracting “particles”.
- Researchers in Switzerland have found that playing hip hop to cheese makes it taste stronger than cheese that’s played other kinds of music.
Curriculum keywords
- Super bloom
- Robots
- Music
Video viewing guide
This graphic organizer supports your students to capture their thoughts and questions as they watch the news update.
Spark a discussion
California's Super Bloom
- Why do super blooms happen after heavy rain?
- Super blooms normally occur around once every 10 years. Why do you think they don’t happen every year?
- Apart from looking beautiful, what other effects do you think the super bloom might have on the local area?
Particle Robot
- What makes the particle robot different to other kinds of robots?
- The scientists who created the particle robot were inspired by cells—the building blocks that make up all living things, including you! What similarities do you think there could be between the "particles" and cells?
- Why might it be useful for robots to have the ability to grow and change shape?
Playing Music to Cheese
- The researchers left one cheese in silence while the others were exposed to soundwaves or music. Why do you think they did that?
- One researcher said the experiment is more of an art project than a scientific study. What do you think?
- If you could do an experiment involving music, food or both, what would it be?
Classroom resources
Use these resources to get the most out of the news update and engage your class in topical science!
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Video viewing guide
This graphic organizer supports your students to capture their thoughts and questions as they watch the news update.
Make your own science news update
This simple guide helps your students to create their very own science news updates.
Discover more about the topics covered in this week's News update
Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS
Immersive Investigations with High-Quality Multimedia
- Investigating, designing, building, and understanding phenomena
- Hands-on, digital, video, and print investigations
- Synchronous/asynchronous distance learning