Group items tagged

This is an experiment that is fun to do in class, but it needs to incorporate the scientific method and discussion of the laws of physics in order to be educational.  I would start by explaining Newton's Laws of Motion to the class, writing them on the board, and having students copy them down in their science notebooks.  Then, after they understand the Laws of Motion, set up the egg experiment and talk about what will be going on.  Have the students draw the initial set-up in their journals, then have them make predictions about what will happen when the experiment is conducted.  All of this should be recorded in the journals.  Finally, do the experiment (it would be best if students could work in small groups so that they can conduct the experiment for themselves).  Have them record what happened with words and pictures and identify if their hypothesis was correct or not.  Then explain how this experiment uses the Laws of Motion. This activity could be adapted for special needs kids by allowing them to observe the teacher conducting the experiment rather than doing it themselves.  They could try it by themselves first, but then they should watch the teacher do it so that they are certain to see the experiment conducted correctly. 5.NS.1 Make predictions and formulate testable questions. 5.NS.4 Perform investigations using appropriate tools and technologies that will extend the senses.

5.DP.1 Identify a need or problem to be solved.

These experiments should be conducted with a science notebook so students make predictions and observations, draw pictures, and record their findings. They are fun experiments to do in class, but they should be tied into a lesson about why the things happen in the experiment.  Like I have been noting in many of my science lesson activities, know your students and their capabilities and make sure that they understand what is going on.  Lessons that involve the student observing and note-taking in a science journal allow them to work at their own pace and according to their own abilities, so the nature of the assignment means that it is already adapted for all different learners. 5.NS.1 Make predictions and formulate testable questions. 5.NS.3 Plan and carry out investigations-often over a period of several lessons-as a class, in small groups or independently.

5.DP.3 Document the design throughout the entire design process. 5.DP.4 Select a solution to the need or problem.

2.4.3 Identify a need and design a simple tool to meet that need.

This activity should be introduced with a discussion about the properties of light.  The teacher could talk about why rainbows are all different colors or use a prism to show how light can be broken into all different colors.  A short video on the topic might work well for this topic as well, if you can find a good one.  By the end of the initial introduction, students should understand that all different colors of light, when combined, create white light.  Then students will be introduced to the experiment, write their predictions in their science notebooks, conduct the experiment, and record their findings. 4.NS.4 Perform investigations using appropriate tools and technologies that will extend the senses. 5.NS.7 Keep accurate records in a notebook during investigations and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts, maps and models through oral and written reports. Like most experiments, student capabilities should be taken into consideration. If they cannot handle conducting this experiment on their own or with a small group, they can observe another student's or the teacher's experiment.

Standards: 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.NS.5

Expansion: Have student make predictions of what will occur to the crystals before they begin the experiment.  Have them record the results of each different type of voice.   

ESL: Doing this experiment in pairs with classmates will help reinforce English science vocabulary 

This activity should be done as an experiment in class.  This means that students should make a prediction about how the match will heat the air and affect the egg.  Students will write down their predictions in their science notebooks.  They should also draw pictures and make notes about what is happening in their science notebooks.  All students will be expected to participate in this activity and take notes, make predictions, draw pictures, and describe whether or not their predictions were correct.  Adaptations could be made for students with special needs by allowing them to express themselves more with pictures than words, and giving them additional time to complete their work. 5.NS.1 Make predictions and formulate testable questions 5.NS.7 Keep accurate records in a notebook during investigations and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts, maps, and models through oral and written reports.

Standard: 6.DP.1-11, 5.DP.1-11

Expansion: Have students record their hypothesis of what the different liquids will do before they perform the experiment, and then the results when they are finished.  

ESL: working in groups to perform experiments will help reinforce vocabulary and understanding.  

Standards: 4.DP.1-11, 4.1.3, 4.1.4

Expansion: Have students record hypotheses about what will happen and results.  Have students try other types of liquids and solids to see if they work.  Hook juice up to a lightbulb to test whether it works.  

ESL: Collaborative work and recording data will help reinforce esl vocabulary and understanding of science processes.   

Standard: 2.1.1, 2.NS.2

Expansion: Have student record their observations of the changes of state in a notebook. 

ESL: Use of a notebook for recording, and peer work within a classroom will help ESL students reinforce vocabulary and language through communication. 

Standards: 6.NS.2, 6.NS.3, 6.NS.4, 6.NS.5, 6.1.2, 6.1.3 

Expansion: This experiement could be expanded to fulfill all of the sixth grade nature of science standards with the addition of predictions, deliberate recording of observations, multiple tests, analysis and presentation of findings.  It could be expanded into a unit-long project.  

ESL: Cooperative learning and recording of data will help reinforce student understanding.  Full use of science procedures will reinforce the scientific method. 

An extension for this activity would be to have students who seem to be enjoying it but are moving ahead of the group try the growing experiment with different plants.  These students could then compare the lima bean growth to that of other plants. Students who are struggling, or maybe who have had a plant die could work together in groups and share plants to observe and experiment with. 4.NS.7 Keep accurate records in a notebook during investigations and communicate findings to others using graphs, charts, maps and models through oral and written reports. 4.3.4 Describe a way that a given plant or animal might adapt to a change arising from a human or non-human impact on its environment.

Standards: 1.1.2, 1.1.3

Expansion: The maple syrup part of this will be a little difficult with a stove in a classroom, but experiment with different types of liquids or solids.  Salt-water might be an interesting long-term experiment for changing a liquid to a solid.  That, or be very cautious how this is done. 

ESL: Recording findings will help students reinforce science writing skills. 

Standards: 3.DS.1 - Observe and describe how sound is produced by vibrations. (3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3) Observe and describe how light travels from point to point. (3.1.4, 3.1.5, 3.1.6)

Adaptation- Different instruments could be placed at stations throughout the room if there were not enough to pass out to everyone. Students could move table to table recording what they observe about the sound.

Extension: This could be extended by turning it into a research project. Students could research specific instruments, then with classroom materials or materials from home, students could construct homemade instruments resembling what they researched. Knowledge of sounds waves and vibrations would be used to create working instruments.

Standard - 4.NS.2 - Observe, investigate and give examples of ways that the shape of land changes over time.(4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3)

Extension: Students could experiement with different laying techniques of the soil, rock, clay, etc. to see if erosion occurs differently based on the order of earth's layers. This experiment could be completed in small groups, all studying different arrangements of the earthen materials. Students could present their findings to the class or in the form of a report.

This lesson could be extended in all sorts of directions, depending on what stage the children are in their learning.  For example, you could tie the lesson into other sorts of measurement and have students estimate how much the mitten can stretch. This lesson can be adapted for more accelerated students by allowing them to experiment with different mittens and gloves to see which is the most efficient at holding heat. 2.NS.3=Generate questions and make observations about natural processes. 2.NS.5=Discuss observations with peers and be able to support your conclusion with evidence.

5.4.2 Investigate the purpose of prototypes and models when designing a solution to a problem and how limitations in cost and design features might affect their construction.

Students could also extend the activity to see how different types of gloves and mittens hold heat, thereby deciding which is the most efficient.

2.4.3 Identify a need and design a simple tool to meet that need.

Standards: 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.NS.1, 6.NS.2, 6.NS.4, 6.NS.10

Expansion: Have students predict what will happen to the paperclips when soap is added before they do it, then compare their predictions to their results.  Have them record and discuss their findings.  

ESL: Group cooperation will help students retain science vocabulary and understand more.  

Expansion: 4.4.1, 4.4.3, 4.4.4

Expansion: Have students theorize what a water wheel like this could be used for.  Have them try to develop a simple machine that could be attached to the wheel and moved via the water, then record their findings.  Have them vary the rates of water flow to determine how it effects the wheel. 

ESL: Cooperative work, innovation and hands-on time will help students better understand how water creates movement. 

6.3.5 Describe how all animals, including humans, meet their energy needs by consuming other organisms, breaking down their structures, and using the materials to grow and function. 5.3.1 Observe and classify common Indiana organisms as producers, consumers, decomposers, predator and prey based on their relationships and interactions with other organisms in their ecosystem. This activity works really well for all types of learners because it is interactive and involves group knowledge.  For English Language learners, it would be a good idea to not only write the names of the species on the card, but to place pictures of the species on these cards as well.  This will help your ELLs, but it will also add another layer of knowledge for all students because they will start to notice that how the animal looks reflects its place on the food chain.  Animals that are fast and have sharp teeth and claws are probably at the top of the food chain, and plants are near the bottom.

Standards: 2.DP.2 - Day to day and over the seasons, observe, measure, record and recognize patterns and ask questions about features of weather. (2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.2.5, 2.2.6) Investigate how the position of the sun and moon and the shape of the moon change in observable patterns. (2.2.7, 2.2.8, 2.2.9)

Extension: Students could use this activity as a stepping stone to study the phases of the moon in greater depth. The next step could be to model the changes of the moon as it rotates the earth by using a flashlight as the sun.

Adaptation: This is a great physical representation to descripe words that may have no meaning to ELL students. Students are more likely to remember the phases because there is food involved and it was studied in a casual setting.