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MEET A NOBEL LAUREATE
Curriculum Overview
Meet a Nobel Laureate is a research-based curriculum that crosses many subject areas. Students view video interview segments featuring three Nobel Laureates. These interviews serve as a springboard for students' own research. A list of online resources is provided to support student research.
Viewing/Facilitation Strategies
- Introduce the Nobel Prize topic and video segments. Ask students to share examples of their current knowledge, experiences, and questions related to the Nobel Prize.
- View the video segments as a class, in small groups, or individually.
- Facilitate student selection of one of the research projects listed below which fits their interests and grade level.
Standards:
- Students use the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
- Students use a variety of strategies to plan and conduct research.
- Students successfully write expository compositions.
- Students successfully write biographical sketches.
- Students successfully write in a letter format.
Overcoming Obstacles: Saving Lives
Nobel prize-winner Gertrude B. Elion states how proud she is that may of the medicines she discovered and developed have saved people's lives. If this inspiring scientist had not overcome the obstacles in her path to becoming a scientist, medicine would have lacked her talent and achievements. Research the life of Gertrude Elion identifying the obstacles she faced and the importance of her achievements. Select a Nobel Prize winner from the last five years. Conduct research on this person's achievements and challenges. Develop a multimedia report that profiles and compares each Nobel Prize winner. Link their achievements to their ability to overcome obstacles and stay focused on their goals and dreams.
In the News: This Year's Nobel Prize Winners
The 2001 Nobel Prize winners have recently been announced. Prizes were given in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, economics and peace. Create an online press release with photos, short bios, and quotes from recipients that presents this year's winners and their achievements.
A Letter to Dr. Linus Pauling
Dr. Linus Pauling was the only person who has won two unshared Nobel prizes. He won a Nobel Prize in chemistry and also the famous Nobel Peace Prize. Research the life and views of Dr. Pauling. What did he achieve in science and in world peace that was exceptional? Imagine Dr. Pauling is still alive today. Write an unsent letter to him that expresses your ideas about his contributions. Include questions you have about his ideas and work. Pose questions that ask him about conflicts in the world today.
Standards:
- Students understand the nature of scientific knowledge.
- Students understand that creativity, imagination, and a good knowledge base are all required in the work of science.
- Students gather and use information for research purposes.
- Students use the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
- Students use visual images to communicate information.
Nobel Interactive Poster
Since 1901, Nobel Prizes in have been given for exceptional achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, economics and peace. Gertrude B. Elion, Dr. Leon Lederman, and Dr. Linus Pauling were but three of these Nobel Prize winners. Survey the history of the Nobel Prize. In addition to these three individuals, select several others from various fields who you believe are particularly interesting and worthy of the award. Create an interactive poster or gallery celebrating these individuals. Include an image or photo, the area for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize, information about their achievements, and a quote.
The Role of Creativity
Dr. Leon Lederman describes the role of creativity in achieving breakthrough ideas in science as well as other areas. He describes the need to find a balance between knowledge, the amount a person knows, and out-of-the-box creativity that supports a fresh view. Consider what you know about creativity. In what ways are you creative? In what ways can a scientist be as creative as an artist? How does creativity help a person solve problems? What makes creativity an important quality to have in life? Research the profiles of several Nobel Prize winners in different fields. Identify the role you believe creativity played in their success. Write short tributes to three memorable Nobel Prize winners who in your opinion used both their knowledge and creativity in exceptional ways.
Standards:
- Students understand the nature of scientific inquiry
- Students understand the use of hypotheses in science.
- Students gather and use information for research purposes.
- Students write fictional narrative using dialog.
- Students successfully write expository compositions synthesizing and organizing information from research.
The Nobel Peace Prize
Dr. Linus Pauling won the coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. Peace was one of the five prizes specified in Alfred Nobel's will. He stated that prizes should be given to those who, during the preceding year, "shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" and that one prize in particular be given to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Dr. Pauling won the Nobel Peace prize for his campaign against nuclear weapons tests, the spread of these lethal weapons, and his crusade against all warfare as a means of solving international conflicts. Research Dr. Pauling's actions and statements further. Extend your research to include the achievements and views of other recent winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. Use your research to develop fictional conversation (dialogue) between three Nobel Peace Prize winners discussing their views of current world conflict.
Acting on a Hypothesis
Dr. Leon Lederman describes the scientific process or quest as a locked trunk. He describes people working diligently to find the right combination to unlock the lock and open that trunk. They look no further than the lock itself and miss the fact that the back of the trunk is wide open. Dr. Lederman won the Nobel Prize in physics as part of a three-person team who unlocked a particular trunk of knowledge and came to know something that "nobody else in the world knew about physics." Their journey to a breakthrough was not a linear straight path. Research the often dramatic stories of other scientists who have won the Nobel Prize. Trace their journey from hypothesis to breakthrough and discovery. Select one of these case studies to present in the form of an interactive essay.
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