Douggie’S Super Science Adventures: Stories for Teaching the Next Generation Science Standards for Fourth Graders

By Michael Brumage

Little Douggie is back but this time in fourth grade. He is still curious about everything, and his desire to find answers drives him into some amazing adventures. Douggies Super Science adventures is a collection of 14 short stories describing Douggies attempt to explore and understand the world and the laws that govern it. Each short story introduces the reader to a different scientific standard and a specific problem that Douggie wants to solve. These realistic stories will draw the reader into the mind of a young boy trying desperately to answer some amazing scientific questions. His endless energy and enthusiasm toward science will motivate readers of all ages. Readers may find that they want to try some of the investigations Douggie engages in for themselves. The stories are fun to read and make science easy to understand. Since these stories are directly aligned with the fourth grade Next Generation Science Standards, teachers can use these short stories in the classroom to introduce a new scientific concept, motivate their students, and explain scientific ideas that are typically difficult for students to understand. People love good stories, and teachers love good stories with a point. These stories offer something for everyone. Parents will enjoy reading the stories with their children and remembering what it was like to be curious.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532035630

Michael Brumage

Michael Brumage teaches science at Monte Vista middle school where he is the department chairman. He is on the curriculum senate for his district assisting in the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards and common core. He wrote the curriculum and teaches the CSET test preparation classes in science for both elementary and secondary teachers at Ventura County Office of Education. He holds a Bachelors degree in biological sciences from California Polytechnic University at Pomona and Master of Education degree from The University La Verne. He resides in Camarillo California with his wife and three children.

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Copyright © 2016 Michael Brumage.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-3562-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3563-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017917380

iUniverse rev. date:  07/30/2018

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is a collection of shorts stories that were inspired by watching my kids and my wife. I have learned so much from them. I want to thank my amazing wife Aimee for her long hours editing and proofreading of the stories. Her positive feedback encouraged me every day. I also want to thank my kids, Ellie, Livya and Oliver for their patience, and allowing me to work and write without too many interruptions and their willingness to read the stories and provide needed feedback. To Ellie, my oldest, I wanted to thank her for her tireless sketching and helping me produce this labor of love.

To my friends who have encouraged me to get these books published, Toddy and Joey, I thank you for believing in me and this project. I also want to thank my teachers throughout the years who have inspired me to give back to education. Their patience, understanding and knowledge have given so much to me and have encouraged me to be a life time learner. To all teachers, I want them to know they are appreciated and are touching lives every day.

INTRODUCTION

When the next generation science standards came out, I realized that there were a great deal of teachers struggling with the changes. For many elementary teachers the new, complex science standards represent a huge challenge. As a teacher of science for 18 years, I realized that I could offer them something that could assist them in the teaching of these standards. These stories can be used to introduce and explain each new science standard. Each story covers a different standard. The activities Douggie and his parents engage in will encourage both teachers and students to try out new ideas and do simple experiments that are student driven.

I have often found that my students get more out of one of my stories with a point than taking notes from a lecture. Stories touch us personally by drawing from our own memories, which helps us remember the concept and even apply it in different real-life situations. The questions at the end of each story are designed to encourage discussion about the scientific applications of these standards.

My hope is that these stories will bring out the little Douggie in all of us, encouraging us to ask questions and solve problems and not be afraid to try new things. There is so much information at our fingertips; it is my hope that these stories will encourage the young and the not so young, to go find answers to their questions. The world is amazing; all we have to do is look.

I often reflect back on the stories I tell my class and use them as a reminder of a concept. These stories can and should be used in a similar fashion by teachers, parents and students of all ages. Enjoy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE STORY IN THE ROCKS

ESS1-1: Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

Little Douggie loves to observe the world around him and wonder. He is a very curious boy, full of questions. He is always asking questions and looking for answers. His mom and dad have become used to the many questions that flow from his mind, and instead of answering them directly, they’ve started helping him find the answers to his questions on his own. Douggie’s parents take him to museums, libraries, and local science centers to help him explore and find answers, but more often than not, his answers lead to more questions. One day in particular was a special one for Douggie. He had been waiting all week for their trip to the Museum of Natural History, which had a new fossil exhibit and an expanded dinosaur tour with a fossil dig at the end of the tour.

As his family, comprised of Douggie and his parents, piled into the car, Douggie started thinking about all the cool exhibits he wanted to visit. His parents had helped him download a brochure earlier in the week, and he had been thinking about which sites to visit ever since. After he buckled himself in, he pulled out his brochure and began listing his favorite ideas.

In class last week, Douggie’s teacher had explained how the surface of Earth had been changing ever since it was formed. The process of erosion has been causing the planet’s surface to take shape and then reshape, over and over again. His teacher also stated how fortunate they were that there were fossils on Earth at all, given the many surface changes that have taken place. So Douggie wanted to check out the new fossil exhibit first. The brochure described an exhibit showing the different layers of the Earth’s surface and the types of fossils found in each layer.

Douggie’s teacher explained how scientists have found fossils in many different layers. Older, simpler organisms have been found in the deeper layers. The rock layers that were laid down first are the deeper layers, much older than the ones above them. The more recent layers are closer to the surface and are much younger. More modern and complex organisms are typically found in those higher layers, closer to the surface. Douggie saw this exhibit as a perfect opportunity to see how those different layers look. In his mind, the fossil exhibit needed to be their first stop on the tour.

Once the family arrived at the museum and paid the entrance fee, Douggie, using the map they received as they entered, led the others straight to the fossil exhibit. A museum docent, or guide, named Debby was waiting to show people the new, hands-on exhibit. Debby was a college student at the local community college and was working in the museum to help pay her bills. She had blond hair combed back into a bun and had a medium build. She wore the traditional blue pants and a light blue polo shirt with the museum’s logo on it. She smiled as Douggie’s family approached the towering wall of layers.

As you can see, the time frames each layer represents are clearly marked next to the fossil drawers, stated Debby in a loud voice so the whole crowd could hear.

What excited Douggie the most was the fossil drawers. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the different fossils. Each large drawer was filled with fossils typically found in the adjacent layer of rock. The fossils included plants and animals or animal-like fossils. Inside there was a plastic sheet with pictures of the fossils and what organism they represented.

As Douggie opened each drawer and observed the fossils from the top of the wall down, the fossils looked distinctly different. Debby quickly pointed out that the top layers had fossils of