Yeah, you read that right, a naked egg. What the heck? What's a naked egg, you ask. Well read on because if you have kids and if they like science at all (or doing cool things) they will love this one! First I'll tell you how to do it and then I'll explain how it ... ______ This is a neat demo that uses vinegar to strip an eggs shell. I have never seen this done before, and it caught my eye as I was searching the web. This would be great to use in a classroom when discussing chemical reactions. I would probably use only one egg and one jar to demo for the whole class to see and observe. The lesson can also lead into discussions of biology in terms of membranes and nucleus.

This lesson deepens students' understanding of the similarities and differences in the life cycles of organisms. The lesson begins with a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar Next, students use a video to study the developmental stages of frogs, dragonflies, and butterflies. _____________ This lesson plan grabbed my attention because it begins with a book by Eric Carle and we just discussed his books in one of my other classes at McKendree. This is a two day lesson. The lesson plan begins by gaining the students interested by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carl. There is a corresponding video which explains the life cycles of frogs, dragonflies, and butterflies. Then, there is an activity to hand out to the class. In groups they follow the activity to explain their assigned organism, then they explain their findings to the class. I like this lesson plan because it is very detailed. I would use this in my class when studying life cycles.

In this 3rd through 5th grade video, students use their science knowledge and apply it using physical activity! Learning about the stages of matter, solid, liquid and gas, students perform an exercise for each as the teacher calls out an object such as soup or fog. _________ This link states the activity is good for third through fifth grade, but I think second grade may also benefit. Through a physical activity, students explore different states of matter. I believe movement and exercise is necessary for students throughout the day. This is a great way for students to get up and move around once you realize they are starting to become antsy or even if there are a few extra minutes of down time. Instead of jogging in place or stretching with no instruction information, have your students do certain movements when you call out the cue for an object that could be a solid, liquid, or gas. This idea could even be a good starting points for other lessons such as vocab words. The teacher could say a definition and students could act it out.

To show students the affects of air pressure. Sixth Acquire data through the senses. (3)(B) classify matter and forces, organisms, actions, and events from the environment according to similarities and differences. Show the students a bottle that has a mouth that is too small for an egg to pass through. ______________________ This activity sparked my interest because ever since I was little, I watched a TV sitcom which explored this concept. How can an egg fit into a container with an opening smaller than the egg?! Using heated air at the bottom of the container, the air pressure sucks the egg in. This particular activity attached goes into using a piece of plywood and paper as well to demonstrate the weight of air. One of both of these demonstrations could be used when explaining air pressure to students. This is more of a complex concept, therefore I think this activity would be best suitable for older ages. I would use these demonstrations at the beginning of the unit to make them want to know more!

Enjoy our range of fun science experiments for kids that feature awesome hands-on projects and activities that help bring the exciting world of science to life. Plant Seeds & Watch Them Grow Learn about seed germination with this fun science experiment for kids. _____ The link posted is a site about planting a type of seed and watching it grow over time. I like the idea behind the seed germination activity because it would allow students to see the development of a plant from its original stage. I would incorporate this experiment at the beginning of a unit on the growth of plants as my way to capture my students attention. This activity could be used for K thru 5th (ish) grade. In the early grades, students could observe the growth of a plant from its seed. In later grades, the students could compare the growth pattern of different types of seeds. We could either plant one or a few seeds as a class, or each student could be responsible for their own seeds.

This is an activity for the first day or as an introduction to the scientific method or to just allow students to work in groups so that you can get to know them better. I usually do all instructions verbally and don't require any written documents for turning in. __________________________ This is a cute activity to use for smaller aged students to introduce them to the scientific method with little prep work from the instructor. All the teacher needs is gummy worms, life savors, paper clips, and plastic cups. Sam (the worm) is stuck on a boat (the cup) and the life jacket (life savor) is under the cup. The students will use paper clips to retrieve the life jacket and put it on Sam to save him. While doing this, students will work with a partner to explore ways to save Sam. I would use the link below as it goes along with the lesson and gives questions for the students to answer and record during their exploration to save Sam. The worksheet can be tailored to match the appropriate age group conducting the experiment. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ahlJ9CSEB31IPgJOFO2LW62K5PoxbN6hosNneO2tRc/edit?hl=en_US I think this would be a fun activity that would allow the instructor to see how the students work together and who is taking the lead role. At the same time, the students are being introduced to creating an hypothesis, recording their observations, and coming to conclusions. I would probably use questions from the above link for higher grades such as 2nd - 5th. If I did this activity with K and 1st grade, I probably would just discuss vocabulary terms as well as their thoughts and observations during group discussion versus having them document on paper.

Let one of our knowledgeable Garden Guides be your class's guide to the Garden! Garden-guided school group tours are available weekday mornings from September through December, and February through May. Choose our popular 'Discover the Missouri Botanical Garden' tour to introduce your class to the Missouri Botanical Garden, learn its history and see our featured gardens and conservatories. ________ The Botanical Garden offers many field trip opportunities for students of all ages. Field trips include tours of the gardens which include, the Sensational Seed Hunt, Plants from Top to Bottom, Tropical Rain Forest, Foodology, Asian Gardens Tour, Discover the Botanical Garden, and Green is Here for Good. Each field trip is aligned to standards which explore concepts in botany, ecology and natural science. The field trip I am concentrating on is Tropical Rain Forest. During this tour, students are able to explore the rainforest which is named the Climatron at the Botanical Gardens. The tour allows students to view waterfalls, lush lowlands, approximately 1,500 different types of plants, and tropical birds. Since we don't have access to a real rainforest (and most students never will), I think it would be a great idea to allow my students to explore the Climatron. I would take my students to visit this location at the end of our unit on rain forests to make sure they are able to understand the tropics at their fullest! Taking students at the beginning of the unit would be a great way to introduce them to the topic, however, I feel they will have a better grasp and appreciation on the subject after they have already learned about it.

Weather is a science game for students in grades 4-9 to learn how to calculate front movement, trace patterns, make observations, create weather maps using symbols, and predict weather three days into the future. _______________________________ This is a link to an interactive game for students studying weather. Students can play this game while they predict and report weather. This type of activity is important because students can learn about weather while using technology and having fun. If I used this game in my classroom, I would use it as a learning center. I would divide my class into groups, have about 4 hands on activities taking place, and give each group a certain time amount at each center. This learning center lesson would be used after the weather unit as a review day. I also like this website because it includes resources for teachers such as a list of vocabulary words and a pre/post test on the topic.