“Sorry, The Rotating Ice Disk In Maine Is Not The Work Of Aliens”
This article is about an ice disk that has formed on the Presumpscot River. It talks about different theories that scientists and the public have on how this formed. Some say its the work of aliens for their spacecraft to land on. While scientists say that there is a scientific reason for this phenomenon.
I would use this article in a science class. Teaching students the way things work with water and the river currents. This would even be a good science experiment to do with the kids. The article has a video showing the experiment that would give the students a hands-on look on to why this happens. (https://youtu.be/t-VvYuGhoMI). This article has key vocabulary words along with the definitions. This article has reading comprehension questions, along with critical thinking questions.
This would align with the following standards:
MS-PS1–1 Grade 6–8: develop and critique models that describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
MS-PS1–4 Grade 6–8: develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
A supplementary item would be this video that discusses the article. The link for this is https://vimeo.com/311380574
