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Title - Content Rich Science Skits
By - Norman Milstein
Primary Subject - Science
Secondary Subjects - Language Arts
Grade Level - 7th through 12th
Hi Fellow Science and Math Teachers!
Here's some information on preparation and performance as well as the texts of some content rich comedy skits I wrote some years back. I have used the skits very successfully in the classroom as have many
other teachers. My students loved these skits and
learned a great deal from acting them out as well. I
am presently semi-retired from teaching, and I want to keep these plans available.
In addition, I have made simple mp3 recordings of some of the educational math songs I have written
and used very successfully in the classroom. Feel
free to email me to obtain any of these. The
following songs are presently available:
- Opposite Operations to Both Sides
- Invasion of the Prime Numbers
- It's Just a Little Piece of Pi
- Two to the Tenth Reasons Why I Love You!
- Infinity Blues
- Curiosity
The skits included here are:
The Adventures of O2, a Real Gas of a Gas
The "g" Force, a Drama in One Equation
I am Hydrogen Creator and Destroyer of Worlds
I am Inertia, Laziest of the Lazy
I introduce the concepts illustrated in each skit with demonstrations and hands-on activities whenever possible. Frequently, I play simplified, minimally competitive Jeopardy with the kids afterwards to reinforce the content of the skits. If the material is complex, they can keep copies of the scripts in front of them while we play Jeopardy.
Usually, I give a little extra credit to the performers (aka "Science Hams"). I enlarge the text of the skits substantially for the Science Hams (17 pts or so), so they can easily read expressively. They don't have to memorize their lines, but I ask them to practice a bit and try to speak clearly and perform with enthusiasm. Some kids at my school are so adept that they can read most skits fairly effectively without any practice. We have an excellent drama teacher here.
Feel free to share any materials you may find useful with any teacher. I'm devoted to helping kids, and I am not asking for any financial reward for these materials. Please DO credit me for my work if you share it. I work actively both as an educator, part-time professional writer, and performer. Also, if you use any of the skits, I would appreciate a brief email letting me know how things went.
Thanks for you interest!
Norm Milstein
email: generalcase@yahoo.com
I've actually given out the text of this first skit included here to entire classes as a study aide. It describes the journey of an oxygen molecule from the nose to a cell. I use a series of transparencies on an overhead to show the anatomy and photocopies of the anatomy that the kids can label as well, since this journey is fairly difficult to visualize in detail. I've had a few kids get a little queasy about mucous and such, but generally they LOVED this skit. There are lots of weird characters, and even an "epiglottis rap." The characters line up in order in front of the class. Oxygen then goes down the line, meeting and interacting with them in the proper order.
After the students have worked with the skit, I introduce the cellular respiration chemical equation (summary version, NOT the Krebs cycle itself) where oxygen reacts with glucose to produce energy (ATP and heat) and carbon dioxide is produced as a waste product. The kids then clearly understand that the processes of eating and breathing are LINKED in our cells. They understand more about WHY we breathe. We breathe to break sugar in our cells and that's where most of our energy comes from.
THE SKITS FOLLOW!
The Adventures of O2, a Real Gas of a Gas
Our hero, O2 , a real gas of a gas, is parked just outside a Windrush science student's nostril.
O2: "Hi there, air breathing Windrush science students! I'm O2, a real gas of a gas. I'm your diatomic buddy, I am. I'm a world traveler, a windrider and a blood sailor! If you only knew the strange and wacky places I've been. But now, friend student . . . . .. I'm headed up your nose!"
Nose Hair: "Hey there, oxygen. You and your identical twins go streaming right past me day and night like a rushing river. I know you're a busy important molecule, but I've got me a big job too, oxydude. I'm a trapper by trade--a junk trapper. I trap yucky particles, so lungs stay cleaner. But you're welcome anytime here, oxygen. Annnytime!"
O2: "Thanks, noble nose hair. Humans should appreciate you more. Good luck with those pollen grains and dust mites. Now I'm headed for that cavern over yonder called the nasal cavity."
Nasal Cavity: "Ahoy O2! I'll warm you up as you zoom toward the lungs. I'm also gonna grab intruders that try to sneak in with you. My bold mucous membranes trap foul dust. Aargh! I got you, you sickening chunk of lint, you filthy little speck! My cilia will fling you down to be swallowed into oblivion."
O2: "Golly gee, nasal cavity. You sure work hard to protect this Windrush kid's lungs.
Epiglottis: Well, howdy do! Look who the nose sucked in now! Yo baby, O2! I'd say gimmee five but gas molecules ain't got no fingers. The lungs are callin' you buddy. It seems this Windrush kid here is feelin' a little outta breath. Zoom on in and head on down!
Oxygen in! Body wins.
Food stay out! Take another route!
Safety first without a doubt:
That's what I am all about.
Yes to life. No to death.
I'm protector of your breath!
You should all say thanks a lottus
To your loyal epiglottis!
I tell the truth. I wouldn't fake ya.
I'm the guardian of your trachea.
Be grateful kids and do not gripe
'Cause I'm the lid of your windpipe.
But now that I've enlightened you.
Let's not forget about O2!"
O2: "Thanks epiglottis, you loyal flap of of cartilaginous tissue. Without you, our Windrush buddy here would have choked and gagged long ago. Keep on standing guard while I dive down past the vocal cords into the trachea and onwards to the primary bronchi."
Trachea: "Whoopee! Oxygen! Now we're cookin'! Lovvve that O2!"
O2: "Hmm! Guess I'll take the left bronchus to the left lung this time. That's the two lobed side. Remember students: The left lung is smaller than the right. That's because you gotta make room for that good old thumping blood pump humans call the heart. Gee . . .. All these dark and winding passageways are a bit spooky. Thank heavens this student doesn't smoke! If she did, it would be one grungy, grody, greasy, grubby, grimy, slimy nightmare in here."
Respiratory Bronchiole: "You're almost there O2! You can do it. Come on through. Just a little farther!"
Alveolus: "Welcome O2! We meet again! Here's where you really get going. Diffuse through my mysterious walls and start your next adventure. Blood! Blood! Blood! You shall dissolve in blood!"
O2: "Taxi! Taxi! Hemoglobin taxi! Oh, there you are. Care to take an O2 molecule to some starving cell?"
Hemoglobin: "Sure O2. Annnnnnd . . . we're off in a red blood cell zooming through a pulmonary vein back to that thumper in the thorax."
Left Heart: "Ahoy, me hearties! It does me heart good to see you, even if I do feel a bit halfhearted about ya. If it isn't oxygen, our dearest friend, our bosom buddy! Hold tight O2! My ventricle is gonna hurl you out into the aorta, biggest artery of them all. Heavvvvve ho!!!! You're cell-ward bound O2. Good luck my friend, and give my best to the cytoplasm."
O2: "Yeehaw! Now we're movin'! I'll find me a nice hungry cell to help in no time."
Narrator: "And so, our hero, O2, after a long and adventure filled journey, finally reaches his (or her) destination, a hungry cell."
--THE END!
The "g" force, which follows, covers the concept that weight is the force of gravity acting on a mass. It introduces the weight equation which I generally write as Fg=mg where "F subscript g" stands for "force of gravity." In lecture I stress that weight is a force and that mass is NOT a force. It is the amount of matter in something. I run through situations where "g" changes (as on the moon), or virtually disappears (in outer space), but "m" remains the same for an object. Then the kids act out the play once for fun, and sometimes once more during review before a quiz or test.
The "g" Force, a Drama in One Equation
Our Cast of Characters
g: The acceleration due to gravity. g on earth is 9.8 meters per second per second.
m: mass, a very substantial character
Fg: (Weight, the force of gravity) Weight, a forceful and directed character who throws his or her weight around a lot.
Scene: The Windrush science room. "m" is holding a balance and working on getting it aligned properly. "g" is nervously dropping paper clips into a cup. The equation Fg=mg is written large on the board.
g: "I'm sick and tired of it! A plane crashes, some careless kid falls out of a tree and knocks himself silly, and who do they blame--me! g! Golly gee! It's just not fair."
m: "Cool it, g. They need you, and they know it. If you cause a little accident now and then, well so what!"
g: "Gee whiz! It doesn't take a GEnius to pay more attention to what you're doing. They should know who they're dealing with. I'm g, earth's gravitational acceleration constant. I act swiftly and decisively."
m: "Calm down, g. Their whole world would fly apart without you, and they know it. They're just afraid of being accelerated at 9.8 meters per second per second when they least expect it. Wouldn't you be?"
g: "Of course not! I AM g! I AM 9.8 meters per second per second. I love being me. In fact, everybody FALLS for me."
(g starts talking wildly here )
"They drop like flies. They plummet and plunge and plop. They dive and tumble and thud! They topple and crumple and collapse.
But still, they gotta have me or chaos would rule. Without me, up would have no down. Humpty Dumpty would be an astronaut. The air they breathe would just float away into outer space. They better be glad I'm around!"
m: "Well, g, you do keep things from flying apart. Besides, without me, you wouldn't do any harm at all. It's our, uh, weighty business partnership that's the heavy-duty problem. We make weight, and weight is the force that makes things fall. Weight makes for some seriously damaging collisions. "
Enter weight. Weight looks rough and tough and ready to rumble.
Fg: "So! You want to make me into the fall guy! When the physics police come, you're gonna make me take the rap while you two get off easy. I oughta flatten you two!
Maybe I do throw my weight around a bit. Maybe I do bring down a 747 or two. And yeah, it is true: I'm always putting people down. But just try being weightLESS for a while, sweetheart, and you'll see. You'll REALLY see! Without me, they gotta strap you down so you don't float away in your sleep!
Why I oughta . . . "(weight reaches out as if to strangle g )
g "Wait up, weight! We know you're heavy. We need you, buddy. We can't do it without you. We're all in this together. We're an equation, a relationship,a team! We're a basic force of physics! We'll show 'em all who's in charge around this old planet. Let's tell 'em!" ( g points at the equation written on the board)
Fg: "The force of gravity equals"
m: "m"
g: "g !"
g: (excited ) "That's us! That's it! We're the weight equation! We're a force to be reckoned with. We're a totally terrific team! We're the heavyweight champions of the world, now and forever."
--THE END!
This is a skit for teaching information about hydrogen. It covers hydrogen's fundamental significance as the building block element for all the other elements and points out that hydrogen fuels the stars. It also deals comically with some serious ethical issues in science.
I am Hydrogen Creator and Destroyer of Worlds
Cast:
Hydrogen: A very, very upset, paranoid, and demented little element
John Dalton: A very, very famous chemist (he's on stage)
Enter Hydrogen. Hydrogen jumps up and down throwing a tantrum.
Hydrogen : "They called me little! The called me puny, dainty, paltry, a runty little reject! They even called me wimpy! ONE LOUSY PROTON is all you've got, they said. Why you're such a lightweight the earth's gravity doesn't even hold you down! You're barely even big enough to be in the periodic table! All you can do is make things into acids, they said.
Big deal! Well I'll show them who's the bomb around here! Why I am Hydrogen, Creator and Destroyer of Worlds!"
Hydrogen cackles diabolically.
John Dalton: "Believe me, hydrogen, I respect you. I even fear you. I fear humanity won't respect your power nearly enough. I fear people won't be careful or caring enough to deal with your infinite power."
Hydrogen cackles diabolically.
Hydrogen: "It's too late, man of chemical wisdom. I've had it! Would you make fun of your own hand or your own heart or any other part of yourself? Those stupid big elements are doing that. They think it's just fine to throw their atomic weight around and pick on Hydrogen. No sympathy for the little guy."
John Dalton: "Calm down Hydrogen! They'll come around. Those bigger elements depend on you completely. They're made out of you. They can't put you down without putting themselves down.'
Hydrogen cackles diabolically.
Hydrogen: 'But they DO put me down, those wretched, rotten, big bad bullies! Little do they realize, but I'm more than their hand and heart. Yes, it's true! I am the building block from which the other elements are made. I'm the building block of the entire universe. Why I ought to blow them all back to kingdom come."
John Dalton: "With all due respect, almighty one, that won't help. The hydrogen bomb is based on fusion which consumes hydrogen to make larger elements. Are you so angry that you want to destroy yourself and make more of them? And you know what, I think you are extremely, remarkably, astonishingly, superbly interesting."
Hydrogen: "You do? Really?"
John Dalton: "Absolutely, Hydrogen! You're, elemental, fundamental, and, uh, other sorts of mental as well. Why, without you, the periodic table wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Why it's you that put the nucleus in nuclear. You put the soul in solar and the fuse in fusion. And without you, there wouldn't even be any other types of atoms. No oxygen for breathing, no copper for pennies, no carbon for diamonds, no helium for balloons, no silicon for chips! Why I thank my lucky stars for you, Hydrogen, because there would be no stars without you around to fuel them."
Hydrogen: "Aw gee, Johnny. What a guy! What a speech. That's sweet. I guess I won't blow up the universe today after all."
John Dalton: "That's very sensible of you, Hydrogen. I'm sure you and all the other elements can talk this over. After all, you're such a nice sensible little atom--OOPS! I mean, uh, sensible, wonderful, astounding noble atom."
Hydrogen: "Oh sure . . . I'll give 'em a week to apologize, and if they don't . . . (Hydrogen cackles diabolically) it's curtains! They won't have Hydrogen to kick around any more. Talk about Big Bangs! I'll make the Big Bang look like the Little Hiccup before I'm through." (Hydrogen cackles diabolically)
--THE END!
This next skit deals with Newton's 1st Law and the somewhat difficult concept of inertia. The skit also deals with "force" and "work." In addition, the skit reinforces the concept that inertia is proportional to mass.
I am Inertia, Laziest of the Lazy
CAST:
INERTIA: LAZIEST OF THE LAZY
FORCE: A VERY PUSHY (AND PULLY) SORT OF PERSON
Inertia is sitting casually on stage looking lazy and very pleased with herself (or himself).
Inertia: "I am inertia, laziest of the lazy, the ultimate and eternal do NOTHING! Ha Ha Ha! I make others do it all for me!"
Force: "I'll make you move, you petrified sludge, you dawdling sloth, you spineless banana slug!"
Inertia: "Yes, you certainly CAN make me move, bucko, but then you'll also have to make me STOP!!! I just go on doing whatever I'm doing. I do it forever unless YOU do something to change me. It's heads I win, tails I win: win WIN WIN!!!! I ALWAYS win. Either way, you do all my work, and I kick back and watch you sweat, grunt, and groan until you DIE of exhaustion."
Force: "Don't you have any will of your own? Isn't there anything you want to just DO FOR YOURSELF?"
Inertia: "In all honesty, no! I'll just do whatever I happen to be doing forever and ever. I LOVVVVVE being lazy!"
Force: "Phooey on yooey, you potato, you jello brain. You always make me do all the work."
Inertia: "Yep! Resting or moving, I just go on doing whatever I'm doing if you don't butt in. If you want me to do something else, go faster or slower, or stop . . . you'll have to do every bit of the work to change me. Because I simply DON'T, WON'T CAN'T, SHAN'T, WOULDN'T, AND COULDN'T care less about what I do. I just do whatever I happen to be doing."
(Force is getting desparate now and gets down and begs on his or her knees)
Force: "Please, Inertia! Won't you just lift one iddy biddy finger to help me out? Have you no mercy?"
Inertia: "Actually, no! Tough luck, Buster. I don't care a fig Newton or an Isaac Newton about you. I won't lift a finger for you. I won't lift a feather. I won't EVEN lift an ATOM FOR YOU! It's simply not possible. I'm Inertia, and by definition, it's YOU who do all the work. And me? I think I'll just mellow out and do what I always do. That is . . . NOTHING . . . but whatever I happen to already be doing! And don't forget, Forcey boy (or girl): the more mass, the more Inertia! . . . and there's plenty of mass to keep you busy for all of eternity! It's just tough luck, you workaholic wacko. You're going to keep on doing ALL MY WORK, NOW, LATER, AND FOREVER!
YOU HAVEN'T GOT ANY OTHER CHOICE!"
--THE END
Additional skits include:
1. The Big Newton Show (covers all of Newton's Laws)
2. The Fleming Caper (about the discovery of penicillen)
3. The Mad Nutritionist
I'm also the composer and performer of some educational songs such as:
1. Invasion of the Prime Numbers
2. It's Just a Little Piece of Pi
3. Quadratic Lady
4. Two to the Tenth Reasons Why I Love You
5. Infinity Blues
6. Galileo
Thanks again for your interest. I hope you find the skits useful.
Sincerely,
Norm Milstein
E-Mail Norman Milstein!
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