Erin Denniston
Erin Denniston has been the Science Specialist for McDougle Elementary in Chapel Hill, North Carolina since the school opened in 1996. Prior to that, she was the Science Resource Coordinator for Eno Valley Elementary School in Durham County, North Carolina. After receiving an undergraduate degree in social work, Erin began her career working in a residential treatment center for adolescent boys. From social work, she moved into teaching in self-contained LD/BEH classrooms.
Following a military husband around the country led to a number of additional education positions. The journey culminated in an Elementary Education Certification that allowed her to teach in North Carolina. She has seventeen years of teaching experience and a Master’s Degree in K–8 Science Education from UNC Chapel Hill. In 2006, she was named one of three state finalists for the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, the second Kenan fellow to be accorded this honor.
She has a passion for science education and works on many local and state committees to improve science teaching in North Carolina. From 2007–2009 she worked as a regional coordinator for All Kinds of Minds and currently serves as a curriculum coach with Chatham County Schools.
Resources created by Erin Denniston
Records 1–18 of 18 displayed
- Balloon flinkers
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 4.4
- Students will try to determine how much weight a balloon gondola can carry while it “flinks” in the air for 20 seconds. To be a successful balloon “flinker,” no part of the balloon or the gondola can touch either the ceiling or the floor during the 20 seconds.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Building out
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.2
- Students will be using thin spaghetti noodles and tape to construct a cantilever that projects as far as possible out from a table without touching the floor.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Currents around us
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 2.3
- This lesson included four experiments that will lead students to discover that convection currents are caused when heated fluid becomes less dense and rises, while colder fluids become denser and sink.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Earthquake-proof homes
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.5
- For this lesson, students use knowledge gained from previous lessons to design and build an earthquake-proof home. They will test their structures on a “shake table” and see if their houses survive.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Eco-packaging
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.5
- Environmental issues are often at odds with commerce. In this lesson, students balance the need for secure packaging with environmental and economic concerns. They will work together to create mailing packages for a fragile substance and evaluate their results once the package travels through the postal system.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Mathematics and Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Expand and contract
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 2.4
- In this lesson, students will learn that heat causes most substances to expand and become less dense. They will measure the circumference of a balloon, then heat it, and measure the circumference again.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Float, sink, flink!
- In this lesson, students will learn to make things flink, meaning they neither float to the top nor sink to the bottom of a fluid. They will discover that whether an object floats or sinks depends not only on the properties of the object itself, but also on the properties of the fluid (either gas or liquid) in which it is situated.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Floatless boats
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 4.2
- In this lesson, students will test a variety of objects to determine if they float or sink in water. They will then create an object that neither floats nor sinks but “flinks.” Vocabulary terms and concepts covered in the lesson include buoyancy, gravity, density, and equilibrium.
- Format: /lesson plan (grade 1–3 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Heat racers
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 2.5
- In this lesson, students will learn about insulators and conductors by creating sleeves for thermometers that will either raise the thermometer's temperature or keep it the same on a sunny day.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Ice cream containers
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 2.6
- Students will use their knowledge to design and build melt-proof containers for ice cream. They will track the temperature changes in the container over a four-hour period to simulate the ice cream in transit from manufacturer to store. Students will draw a diagram that shows how and why the container works.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Marshmallow catapults
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.4
- Students will work in design teams competing for a contract to produce a marshmallow catapult for Target. Catapults will be assessed based on cost, performance, and appearance.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Mathematics and Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Measuring weight
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 4.3
- In this lesson, students will build an understanding in the difference between density and weight. They will measure objects with a triple beam balance and record their findings.
- Format: lesson plan (grade K Mathematics and Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Paper cup challenge
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.2
- In this lesson, students are challenged to redesign the classic paper cup so that no tape, glue, or staples are necessary. This will reduce production costs and so lower the cost of the paper cups. Each pair of students will be given a stack of paper to design a new paper container that can hold water for a short period of time.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- POP!
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 2.2
- In this lesson, students will begin to build an understanding of heat energy by popping a kernel of popcorn in oil. Relying on their own thinking and problem-solving skills, they will create data tables and decide what observations to record.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 6 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Push-Me Pull-Me toys
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 1.3
- In this lesson, students find themselves working as engineers and toy designers for the Push-Me Pull-Me Toy Company. They will design and build a prototype of a simple toy that moves with a push or pull of one finger.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 1, 3, and 5 Visual Arts Education and Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Revenge of the crash test dummies
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.4
- In this lesson, students will design and build a wall capable of withstanding the impact of a speeding vehicle driven by angry crash test dummies.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Skyscrapers
- In Design technology: Children's engineering, page 3.3
- In this lesson, students will build a tower that is as tall as possible, freestanding, and can withstand a slight breeze.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
- Stay still
- In this lesson students will learn about stability. They will design and build an earthquake-proof house that takes into account the forces acting upon it and the materials with which it will be built. The house will be tested in a “shake table.” Students will be assessed by the product itself as well as their analysis of the results of the test.
- Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)
- By Erin Denniston.
