SCIENCE

Understanding the World Around Us

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

Clap your hands and stomp your feet after each of the Polar Bear’s tricks.

Preparation: Bear shaped bottle; yellow, blue, red, food coloring; magic cleaner; water.

Children have a natural interest about the world around them.

Children act as scientists as they question their surroundings.

The SCIENCE AREA Place it near a window and away from active play

The focus is to allow the child to explore the world around them through hands on, activities, displays, and simple science experiments.

Have a table set up where materials are available for the child to examine with his/her senses.– Include items like: microscopes, magnifying glasses, globe,

pictures, plants, leaves, nuts and seeds, rocks, real and plastic animals, insects, seashells, building materials, experiments….

Introduce New Vocabulary and Skills: Problem Solve, Transformation, Reversal, Classification, Explore,

CHEMISTRY 1.       Suspension

– Fireworks in a Glass 2.     Chemical reaction

– Volcano 3.     Chemical change

– Shiny Penny – 1/4c white vinegar 1 tsp salt in one glass. Add a dull or darkened penny and let sit. Check periodically.

– Pour bowl ¼ full of vinegar, place chicken bone in vinegar, cover bowl with lid.

– Make Butter

CREATIONS of MATTER:

GAK½ C Elmers Glue

1 C water

Food Coloring

1 Tbsp Borax

Pour glue and ½ c water in bowl and mix with a spoon. Add food coloring. In another bowl, put ½ c water and all of borax. Mix. Pour both bowls together and mix. When it becomes thick, mix with hands. Store in ziploc bag.

Silly PuttyIn a zip loc bag, place 1 In a zip loc bag, place 1 tablespoon Elmer's glue, 1 tablespoon Elmer's glue, 1 tablespoon water and 2 drops of tablespoon water and 2 drops of food coloring Mix well. In a food coloring Mix well. In a container mix 1/2 cup water and container mix 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon Borax. After the 1 tablespoon Borax. After the glue, water, and food coloring glue, water, and food coloring have been mixed, add 1 have been mixed, add 1 tablespoon of the borax mixture. tablespoon of the borax mixture. Close Ziploc and mix well. The Close Ziploc and mix well. The result is a very, very close result is a very, very close

resemblance to the silly putty.resemblance to the silly putty.

PHYSICAL Balance

– Does air have weight? 2 balloons and a ruler. Weight and Size

– Lift a bottle with a stick Gravity

– Drop various objects to see how they fall Water: Test Sink or Float

– Scuba Diver– Dancing raisins

Magnets– Dancing Socks

Machines: wheels, gears, lever (nutcracker) Conductor/Insulator

– ice cubes on a metal baking sheet, ice cubes on a piece of cardboard, which melts faster? Pour salt on ice cube and a string.

– Electricity Static on hair with balloons.– Crayon Melt on a hot plate

BOTANY Plants and trees

– Do leaves breath? Place a leaf in a glass of water and watch as bubbles form on the leaf.

– matching leaves with the tree. Germination

– sprout seed in plastic bag– Grass Head Guys. Grow grass in a

stocking and potting soil.

Photosynthesis– one plant in sun, one plant in

dark.

BIOLOGY Living and non-living things Animals

– Care of pets Habitats and Diets

– Make a home for a bird, study what a bird eats.

Living and non-living things– seashells, pet fish, watch tad poles develop,

hatch chickens. Our 5 senses

– smelling jars, tasting table, sound cans, touch gel bags.

Your Human Body

ASTROLOGY-METEOROGY

Sun– make a sundial, sun prints on paper.

Light and Dark – Shadow tracing – outdoors with the sun, indoors with the

flashlight. Moon and Stars

– shapes, chart phases of the moon The water cycle

– Make a cloud in a jar. Weather

– tornado in a bottle.– Thunder in a brown bag

Season changes

ECOLOGY Conservation Recycling Erosion Care of the

Environment– Worms in soil

BEST LEARNED THROUGH:

Experiences of the senses: – eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and touch

First hand experiences Simple experiments Unplanned discoveries Exciting discussion Observation Predictions

They are eager to learn about their world

Remember the SCIENTIFIC PROCESS?

Observe: notice, wonder explore. Ask questions Create a hypothesis Predict outcome Perform experiment Analyze results Evaluate hypothesis

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCIENCE TEACHER:

Facilitator, observer Expands vocabulary Makes connections

– (books, exploration) Acknowledges ideas Follow up Questions

– To encourage children to discover scientific principles, the teacher should use effective questioning. These questions will help the child discover concepts for him/herself.

                                                  

Effective Questioning OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS:

– Promotes discussion - requires decision-making skills• ** What are you observing?• How could you group these?• What happens when you ….?• ** What do you think will happen if….• What can you do to make that happen?• How does it look the same or different than it did yesterday?• ** How did you do that?• I wonder how _______ works?• What can you change to make ______ work/happen out?• When did this happen? What happened afterward?• ** I don’t know either. Let’s see if we can find out

CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS: – Single answer or Yes/No answers

• What color is it?• What shape is it?• Do you like to look at the fish?

BOOKS AND SONGS

Always include Books and Songs