Have you ever wondered if elephants are really afraid of mice? Maybe you've been curious about whether or not it's true that, on average, we swallow 8 spiders every year. Perhaps you've heard that we use only 10% of our brains or that toilets flow counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere. These "urban legends," also know as "Science Myths," are the topics of exploration as students in physical science attempt to de-bunk or to support a Myth using evidence that they find on the Internet. In the process we will explore how to assess the "content," "credibility," and "currency" of the information that they find. We have worked with our library specialists to determine "Rules of Thumb" (ROT) to weed out the credible websites from the dubious. Students will then present their evidence in a editorial piece to be shared with the class on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Their editorial can be a type-written paper, a blog, a video, a podcast, an interactive poster, or a multimedia presentation. I hope to be able to display student work on the blog so please check back and find out if the Myths have been busted!
