Television & Streaming

Invite a television personality to come and talk to the students about their job. Encourage students to ask questions about the person’s job.

Focusing on the historical and/or scientific aspects of television, students create a poster, slide presentation, or booklet pertaining to a particular topic.

Create a newscast of events happening at school, perhaps also reporting on weather and sports. When presenting the newscast, include video to accompany the news stories, weather maps, sports scores, etc.

Television screens are measured from one upper corner to the opposite lower corner. Assign students to measure their home television and bring the measurement to school. Organize measurements from largest to smallest, or smallest to largest. Reproduce a model of the screen size on paper, if desired, using this measurement system.

Have students create pictures using graph paper to represent pixels on a television screen. Create images from imagination or find worksheets for pixel art online.

Measure and compare wavelengths. Solve word problems about waves using the formula wavelength x frequency = speed. Use this worksheet if desired.

People use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

Energy can be transferred from place to place by electric currents. Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints.) The success of a design solution is determined considering the features of a solution (criteria.) Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success.

Waves are regular patterns of motion. Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks.) Examples of models could include diagrams, analogies, and physical models to illustrate wavelength and amplitude of waves.

Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices can receive and decode information. Different solutions need to be tested in order to determine which of them best solves the problem, given the criteria and the constraints.

Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain.

Waves transfer energy. Emphasis is on describing waves with both qualitative and quantitative thinking.

Emphasis is on both electromagnetic and mechanical waves. Examples of models could include drawings, simulations, and written descriptions. When light shines on an object, it is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the object, depending on the object’s material and the frequency (wavelength) of the light.

Digitized signals, sent as wave pulses, are a reliable way to encode and transmit information. Emphasis is on a basic understanding that waves can be used for communication purposes. Examples could include using radio wave pulses.