Group items tagged

K.1.1 "Use all senses as appropriate to observe, sort and describe objects according to their composition and physical properties, such as size, color and shape."

This would be a great cross- curricular activity to add to math/science stations. You could provide the classifications for the students, or challenge them to come up with the classifications themselves.

2.1.1. "Observe, describe and measure ways in which the properties of a sample of water (including volume) change or stay the same as the water is heated and cooled and then transformed into different states."

This activity can be used as a cross-curricular activity as well; the teacher can require the students to use a certain number of adjectives to describe the states of the water.

3.2.1. "Examine the physical properties of rock samples and sort them into categories based on size using simple tools such as sieves." 3.2.2 "Observe the detailed characteristics of rocks and minerals. Identify rocks as being composed of different combinations of minerals."

There are a ton of resources for extension activities with this unit on this site. This is a hands-on approach to rock and mineral exploration.

The number of different properties that the teacher requires the students to observe can greatly affect the difficulty of this assignment.  That offers a great opportunity for differentiation.  This would probably be best as a long activity during a detailed unit.

While this activity does not cover a specific standard it does meet the requirement of teaching the design process.  Make sure that students must design, test, and revise their design to make the activity authentic.  A race would be a great final activity.  Assessment could come from an oral presentation on what they did and why or a visual presentation, such as a poster.

SC.2.3.7 2000Investigate and observe that the way to change how something is moving is to give it a push or a pull.

I like this activity because it works well for a wide variety of students.  For students who are easily overwhelmed reduce the number of scents to match.  High level students could be asked to come up with an idea for another experiment like this one but for a different sense.  Consider allergies when you plan this activity!

Students with high literacy skills can read more information about worms and share it with the class.  Students with low literacy skills can be in charge of making drawings of their observations to keep a visual record of the worms' progress.

An appropriate children's literature connection might be Diary of a Worm.

1.3.1. "Classify living organisms according to variations in specific physical features (e.g., body coverings, appendages) and describe how those features may provide an advantage for survival in different environments." This activity can be modified for ELL students by having them draw pictures of the bugs they find, rather than writing words or numbers. This can also be adjusted for older groups by having them classify animals they see, which could include mammals, insects, fish, etc. They could also describe many other characteristics, such as the types of food these animals or insects eat.