The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way ~ Great Thinkers and their Impact

Among the many recommended books and resources listed on this site, there are a few I feel compelled to tell you more about, to explain how I used them and how they impacted our G/T studies. The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way (affiliate link) is one that connects math, science, art, and philosophy through engaging stories that my students and I found memorable.

The 5th-grade G/T IMPACT theme (find an overview here) includes studies of philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists whose discoveries, thinking, and ideas had a great impact on the world. The stories in this text are perfect for introducing students to these amazing influencers ~ Plato, Pythagoras, Aristotle, to name a few. But what I appreciate most about this book is its presentation of philosophy as the origin of all other disciplines. The first mathematicians and scientists were thinkers, and the impact of their thinking has had an immense impact on all other disciplines of study.

The Story of Science books … “deal with the very big (the universe), the very small (atoms and particles), and the in-between as well. It is, I believe, an enthralling tale… [This] ragtag notebook of mine – cluttered with thoughts from poets, artists, and philosophers – has helped me realize that the human quest to understand the universe underlies almost all other creativity…”

~ Joy Hakim, author of The Story of Science series published by SMITHSONIAN BOOKS

INTRODUCING the UNIVERSAL THEME ~ IMPACT

Update to this post: I explain more about introducing the theme in this video.

VIDEO: I showed the video, “Powers of Ten” on the first day of G/T every year to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students, so by the time my students got to fifth grade, many had seen it three times. They never complained; in fact, they loved telling new students, “Oh, this is so cool…” I explain how I set it up and why I showed it every year in this brief post.

MINI-LESSON: To introduce the IMPACT theme (the BIG IDEA), still on the first day of 5th grade G/T class, we began with a discussion of the word “impact” and I asked students to name some of the kinds of things that can impact the world in both positive and negative ways. (events, people, discoveries, inventions, etc.). We created categories on the board, and I challenged students to try to think of specific ones that would fit into each category (e.g. World Wars, Isaac Newton, the shape of the earth, the printing press, etc.). This is a good way to see what students already know.

Next, I would hold up the book, The Story of Science, and explain that the author shares, through stories, the history of the quest to understand our universe. Although we would not read the book in its entirety, I explained, we would focus on a few stories about some of the earliest thinkers.

At this point, sometimes I’d ask questions such as “What part of the world do you think of when you think of THINKERS or philosophers?” Often, my students had learned a little about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, so they could narrow the geography down. Using the document camera, I’d show them the map on p.35 of the book and then tell them a little about the free-thinking and thriving people living in Greece, Turkey, and the surrounding areas in the sixth century B.C. Rather than read the chapter, I’d just tell them a little about the very first philosopher-scientist-mathematician, an Ionian named Thales (pronounced THAY-leez). Although Thales was a “many-sided genius” and one of the Seven Sages of Greece, I’ve never had a student say, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of him!”

Here’s what we know about Thales: (1) He looked for explanations of what was in nature through observations (radical at that time); (2) He traveled widely and learned about advancements in other cultures; (3) He was engaged in many occupations: lawgiver, civil engineer, astronomer, mathematician, and teacher; and (4) It’s believed that he predicted the first solar eclipse. I also love to share a funny story about Thales included in Plato’s writings, too long to relay here (see page 39-40). The last thing I would tell them is that Thales once figured the height of a pyramid using only a stick. This is where the brief mini-lesson was paused and we moved into an outdoor activity.

Update: Thank you to subscriber Kate Werschbale who brought this great introductory video to my attention. It’s just two minutes and definitely reinforces the information about him.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ~ OUTDOOR ACTIVITY: For this activity, I divided the class into groups of four and gave each group a yardstick. I explained that we would be going outside to the front of our school building, but I didn’t tell them what we’d be doing. Kids are always a little nervous on the first day of class, especially new students, so I assured them that they would be doing a simple group task.

Once we got outside, I gave them the task: measure the height of our school’s flagpole using only the stick. I would remind them that Thales was able to measure the height of a tall pyramid using only a stick, one without any prestamped numbers and measurements, so surely we could measure the flagpole.

I wish I had photos to share! They did all kinds of things! Some stood back and held up their hands to the flagpole, counting how many hands it was, then translating that to a yardstick measurement. Some did the same thing with the stick itself. Some even tried to estimate using their own heights. Sometimes a few students would come up with the same solution Thales did, but they usually could not explain exactly why their method worked.

I’ve created a TEACHER PAGE for this lesson that includes an explanation of how Thales may have accomplished this feat. If I had to do this digitally, I would have students attempt to measure a street light or utility pole near their homes. Later, or the next day, I would explain how Thales did it, and have them try it again, weather permitting, with their new knowledge.

My students kept Learning Logs, and following this activity, we returned to the classroom where they usually did a colorful page about THE FIRST PHILOSOPHY~ MATHEMATICIAN ~ SCIENTIST made up of quick sketches and notes related to the flagpole activity and what they’d learned about him. In future posts, I’ll share additional activities that we did as we read through some of the other stories in The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way. I’ve never used the two other books in the series, nor have I used the Teacher’s Quest Guide for the book. I did order a copy, though, because I was curious. Created by Cora Heiple Teter and Maria Garriot of the Talent Development Program at John Hopkins University, it has detailed multidisciplinary lessons. It’s more than I could have ever covered in my pull-out GT class, and I’m not sure you could use it without also ordering the Student’s Quest Guides.

If you have any comments to add to this, we’d love to read them! Please do share below if you have additional ideas that help students connect philosophy, science, and math!