SCIENCE Understanding the World Around Us

Polar Bear, Polar Bear n Clap your hands and stomp your feet after each of the Polar Bear’s tricks. n 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 n Place it near a window and away from active play n The focus is to allow the child to explore the world around them through hands on, activities, displays, and simple science experiments. n 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…. n Introduce New Vocabulary and Skills: Problem Solve, Transformation, Reversal, Classification, Explore,

CHEMISTRY n 1. Suspension –Fireworks in a Glass n 2. Chemical reaction –Volcano n 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: GAK ½ 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 Putty In a zip loc bag, place 1 tablespoon Elmer's glue, 1 tablespoon water and 2 drops of food coloring Mix well. In a container mix 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon Borax. After the glue, water, and food coloring have been mixed, add 1 tablespoon of the borax mixture. Close Ziploc and mix well. The result is a very, very close resemblance to the silly putty.

PHYSICAL n Balance –Does air have weight? 2 balloons and a ruler. n Weight and Size –Lift a bottle with a stick n Gravity –Drop various objects to see how they fall n Water: Test Sink or Float –Scuba Diver –Dancing raisins n Magnets –Dancing Socks n Machines: wheels, gears, lever (nutcracker) n 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 n 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. n Germination –sprout seed in plastic bag –Grass Head Guys. Grow grass in a stocking and potting soil. n Photosynthesis –one plant in sun, one plant in dark.

BIOLOGY n Living and non-living things n Animals –Care of pets n Habitats and Diets –Make a home for a bird, study what a bird eats. n Living and non-living things –seashells, pet fish, watch tad poles develop, hatch chickens. n Our 5 senses –smelling jars, tasting table, sound cans, touch gel bags. n Your Human Body

ASTROLOGY- METEOROGY n Sun –make a sundial, sun prints on paper. n Light and Dark –Shadow tracing –outdoors with the sun, indoors with the flashlight. n Moon and Stars –shapes, chart phases of the moon n The water cycle –Make a cloud in a jar. n Weather –tornado in a bottle. –Thunder in a brown bag n Season changes

ECOLOGY n Conservation n Recycling n Erosion n Care of the Environment –Worms in soil

BEST LEARNED THROUGH: n Experiences of the senses: –eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and touch n First hand experiences n Simple experiments n Unplanned discoveries n Exciting discussion n Observation n Predictions They are eager to learn about their world

Remember the SCIENTIFIC PROCESS? n Observe: notice, wonder explore. n Ask questions n Create a hypothesis n Predict outcome n Perform experiment n Analyze results n Evaluate hypothesis

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SCIENCE TEACHER: n Facilitator, observer n Expands vocabulary n Makes connections –(books, exploration) n Acknowledges ideas n Follow up n 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 n 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 n 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 n Always include Books and Songs