After exploring as a group, have students build a structure at home that they believe is the most structurally sound as well as tallest possible.
The guidelines for this project are as follows:
The stucture can only be made out of spaghetti and marshmallows.The budget for thier structure is $200 (not real money). Each marshmallow (hypothetically) costs $10 and each strand of uncooked spaghetti costs $5. The structure must hold a stuffed gorilla that weighs 5 oz. The tallest structure wins.
My sister's kids do this project. It is required for 4th and 5th graders, but it is open to the whole school. Her kids have been doing it since 1st grade and love it. Every year they try a new design and take pictures of models past.
This website shows you how to explore different structures and answer the question, which supports the most weight, trauma, wind? and what purpose do they all serve.
Have students test a hypothesis and then present what they find after experimenting. You can differeniate depending on depth of project, or let children choose which experiment they would like to do.
I found this through the website, braincake.com. It's for girls interested in math and science. It's worth checking out. Lots of fun resources and designed for girls only.
To extend this activity, have write in a science journal what they think their carbon footprint would look like, then take the quiz and write a reflection of what they found out. Brainstrom with the class possible solutions and have them make changes at home and at school and report what they have done to change after a few months.
To make a math connection, have children imagine they are building a ship (that is X big) and need to fill it with as much cargo as possible without it sinking. They will have to use conversions and multiplications to figure out the solution.
Mystery Canisters: Lab and worksheet to record observations. Students maniuplate three film canisters to make them sink, float and hover in the water. This is an exploration of Mass.
For a bonus project, have students ask their parents to help them learn about thier leaf. They can find out a few simple facts, draw a picture, write a sentence, and be the teacher for the rest of the class.
Take a nature walk and have students pick one kind of leaf. Then follow these directions on how to make an imprint with clay. They can take home a "Leaf Token" as a keepsake at the end of the unit.
Have students work in groups and come up with the best design to test against other teams. Introduce a few other materials (like paper clips, glue, construction paper, aluminum foil, etc) for the students to test.
Have students research idea and make plans for thier cars before they begin production. They will be testing a hypothesis as opposed to just using the trial and error process.
Favorite project growing up! Insturctions and ideas for mouse trap car models. Have students design on own, then come up with a "team" plan through cooperative learning.
Have students work in pairs or small groups to experiment what happens to the ball if you spin it faster or slower, make bigger circles, or what else they can spin in the jar. Have them make predictions, then record their findings.
To connect this activity to writing, have children make up stories that go along with the fossils they create. They can write as if they found the fossil or write about the place and time the fossil is from.
Ask children to brainstorm other ways that would make the ice melt faster or slower. Then show them what happens when salt is put on the ice. Make the connection to the salt trucks on the roads in winter.
Three glasses of ice cubes are used to show the difference between rates at which the ice will melt when placed in sunlight, by a vent and in the shade.
Have students make different shapes and try to create the biggest bubble. Answer questions like "Does a bubble last longer if it is smaller or larger? "Will a bubble get bigger if you blow fast or slow? " Have them draw the different shapes, sizes and colors in their science notebooks.
Have students take home feeders and hang them outside homes. Then have them make predictions about activity level and write down observations every evening for a week. Hang a feeder outside of the school and compare results.
Make a Hummingbird feeder: A little complicated, so maybe get a couple of parent volunteers to help with this project. Make a literary connection by reading a story about hummingbirds, then discuss how they fit in our ecosystem.
Pair students up based on ability levels. Have an advanced student work with another to create the telescope. They will get to be the "teacher" without having to single anyone out.
Have students brainstrom other ways to create electricity and then make connections to things they do everyday, like turning on a light switch or plugging in the toaster.
Use a balloon to light up a light bulb: Students build up static electricity with a comb or a balloon and touch a light bulb. Use this activity to begin a lesson on the transfer of electricity.
Have students write what they found about one leaf and take or draw a picture of the leaf before the color change occurs. Then put all the artifacts in a scrap book for the class library.
Observing leaves as they change color. The filters are used to transfer the colors of the leaves. Tape off part of the leaf and watch as light makes it change color like they do in the fall.
Let it slide: Have students slide cards to the end of the table and see how close they can get without it falling off. Measure the distance. The closest to zero wins.
Foot Fun: A measurement activity. Have students trace one of thier feet as well as other family members'. They will cut out the shapes and use them to measure objects (or compare lengths) around the room.
At the end of this game the students will have completed charts that show patterns. Have students describe the patterns and use copies of charts to study from.
