Today was our first Zoom class, and while online science classes will never be my first choice, I think it went pretty well overall. I shared a print-at-home Periodic Table Battleship game (links below), which was going to be one of our activities for today, and then we talked about chemical bonds. Using supplies we had at home, we made models of oxygen and carbon atoms, with the toothpicks representing the outer electrons and then demonstrated how they can form covalent bonds (where the atoms share electrons), such as in the O2 molecule above. Then, we built sodium and chlorine so we could make NaCl with an ionic bond (where one atom gives an electron to another.) The youngest class also watched a video on spring in honor of the first day of spring. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Bozeman Science: Chemical Bonds This video goes more into depth explaining covalent and ionic bonds for anyone who is confused by these. Ionic and Covalent Bonding example Watch as this scientist forms table salt and water from their elements! The Chemical Bonds Song For all my song lovers :) Activities: Periodic Table Battleship This is the perfect game to play over video chat, or with someone in your house. See the link for instructions and links to printable periodic tables. Look up the chemical formulas for common substances around your house (for example: water, vinegar, sugar, baking soda) and build a model for each. You can use legos, marshmallows/clay/small candies and toothpicks, or even paper or other craft supplies.
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Today, we explored the Periodic Table and how it is organized. To introduce the idea of its organization, we began with a fun activity: each group was given the mission, should they chose to accept, to help identify an unknown suspect based on the rest of the family's pictures. The suspects demonstrated certain patterns, which the students quickly found--each one was wider than the previous, they have different numbers of antennae and fingers, they have 1, 2, or 3 arms, and different body patterns and facial expressions. As they started to look at the different groupings they could make, a chart immerged, which rows and columns that followed certain rules. And the spot that didn't have a card was their missing suspect! Once they had drawn what he looked like, I gave them the card so they could see how close they got (they all did great with this!) I was impressed with how quickly they began to see the different patterns and links between the drawings--even the youngest class only needed a little guidance to keep them on the right track. And then we watched a couple videos to help the kids see the link between this organized chart and how the actual perioidic table is organized in similar ways. The arms represent the different electron valences, the fingers are the electrons, the antennae are the electrons in the outer valence. Then, we looked at what those outer electrons mean for the various atoms--how the atoms can bond with one another based on those electrons valences trying to become complete. We found the atoms on the table and looked at how we could easily tell how many electrons they were missing to have a complete outer shell. We made carbon dioxide or water molecules in each class so they could see how those atoms combined. In the youngest class, after talking about how the hydrogen bonds make water molecules stick together, we tried this out ourselves, putting as many drops of water as we could on a penny and seeing how it made a dome. If any of the kids are interested in memorizing the elements of the periodic table, this song might be a fun way to do it. The youngest class played around with the atoms, making their own molecules, none of which are found in nature, I'm guessing ;) We'll just call it atom art. We also used these flash cards to organize the first 18 elements and see where they are found in real life. Finally, the youngest class revisited the states of matter. We read Dr. Suess' Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and then played with our own oobleck, trying to decide if it is a solid or liquid. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Crash Course Chemistry: The Periodic Table Still a little confused about the periodic table? This video goes over the creation of the periodic table and how it is organized. Sci Show: Will the Periodic Table Ever Be Complete? This is a look at what do we know about the elements, and what we don't. They Might Be Giants: Meet the Elements Another fun song about the elements. Books: Periodic Table Lift-the-Flap book Lift the 125 flaps in this informative book and discover which elements are crucial to life, which are smelly, explosive or radioactive, and lots more. Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe This beautiful book goes over each element, as well as general information about the Periodic Table. Activities: Build an Atom Check out the virtual atom building game included in this post (scroll down a ways) or print out a periodic table to color code. Check out some of the alternative ways of arranging the elements in this article. Today, we dove down into the smallest bits of Chemistry--atoms and the parts that make up the atoms.
Then, we talked about the parts of an atom: protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and the electrons which orbit the nucleus. Each of the classes did some sort of activity relating to building atoms. The little and middle classes made different models of the atoms, and then we tried to put them in the order they are found on the periodic table, using the number of protons. With the oldest class, we tried something a little different. We played a shortened version of the game Subatomic, learning about the quarks that make protons and neutrons, the atomic structure of a few of the simplest atoms, as they collected cards and built atoms to end the game with the most points. The game was a huge hit and demonstrated how powerful play can be. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
The Atoms Song Short little song about the parts of an atom. Parts of an Atom Another short video, but not a song, that goes over what an atom is and its parts. The History of Atomic Theory This Crash Course video, aimed at the middle schoolers, goes over how we know what we know about atoms and the scientists who made these discoveries. Activities: Create an edible atom! We made atoms from pompoms, but you can make cookie atoms, or pizza atoms, or using any other food you can think of. What's the biggest atom you can make? Today, we began the long-awaited Chemistry unit! We are going to have so much fun in the next couple months as we explore what everything around us is made of and how things interact.
Our final lab was to make a substance to put out a fire. We mixed two common household substances--baking soda and vinegar--to create a gas, which was more dense than oxygen, and able to suffocate the candle flame. The wow factor, and relatively safe chemicals, made this a good lab to begin with. Everyone got a chance to try out the magic, and then we had a discussion about the density of carbon dioxide, and how you can detect the presence of a gas, even when it isn't visible. Our youngest mad scientists did a phases of matter sort for their notebooks, learned a song about the states of matter, and acted out how the molecules move in each state. They loved helping to create the fire extinguisher, too! Additional InformationVideos:
Phases of Matter: Bill Nye the Science Guy is back again, this time with a show on matter! Matter Song This one is a little different than the one the youngest class sang today, but similar. Activities: Make Oobleck Is it a solid? Or a liquid? With oobleck, it's hard to know! Read about this non-Newtonian liquid and make your own to play with. It just takes cornstarch and water. Experiment with the affects of temperature and pressure on water. All you need is an empty milk carton and hot and cold water for this demonstration. We began class with a little review of weather and climate. We went over the homework from last week and the kids matched the cloud pictures with their names, and sorted them into the different levels of the atmosphere where they occur. Then, it was time to learn about barometers with a STEM challenge! After watching a short video, the classes split into teams and were given the supplies necessary to make a barometer. They brainstormed ways they could measure the atmospheric pressure, tested out their models, went back to the drawing board. I loved listening to them as they made little discoveries and connections that were leading them in the correct direction! The different classes came to slightly different final products, but all the groups came up with something that could measure a change in air pressure. With the youngest class, we took a slightly different approach. We started with a rain cloud demonstration to begin, creating our own clouds from shaving cream and making food coloring rain. Then, we read a book about weather theories from the past and what we know now. We finished off by making barometers together. Additional InformationVideos:
Weather Instruments An introduction to 6 different instruments used to measure weather. Finding Stuff Out: Weather This one is especially aimed at the elementary age kids--answers different questions about weather. Activities: Build an Anemometer to measure wind speed. This is a simple activity that will let you measure a different aspect of weather. Compare the wind speed from day to day, or morning to evening. Are there patterns? Weather Wiz Kids This website is run by a meteorologist to cover everything to do with weather. Browse the various topics, or try one of the many suggested activities or experiments. Is it weather, or climate? That was the question we began with. I had the kids brainstorm what they know about these two terms and then we went through what they'd come up with. We discussed how weather refers to the day-to-day and minute-by-minute changes in the conditions, where climate is the average weather for a specific area. We talked about all the things that are part of the weather--rain and snow, temperature, wind, clouds, and more--and all the things that affect an area's climate--latitude, proximity to oceans and large lakes, altitude, if there are mountains. Then, it was time to bring some of this to life. After talking about how clouds form, we created our own in a jar! (Check out the link below if you want to do this at home--it's simple and you probably have everything you need.) After watching our clouds, we worked on learning the various cloud types. We talked about the roots that are used to name clouds and their meanings, and then the students used cotton balls to form the various types of clouds. If you are curious about what warm air molecules "sound" like, be sure to watch this next video clip. When we were discussing humidity, we talked about how warm air can hold more water than cold air because the air molecules are moving around so much faster and the water molecules don't connect to form bigger drops of water as easily, so the water can remain in the air. Well, the youngest class tried out being cold and warm air molecules for us. They got pretty into it! Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Crash Course Kids: Weather vs. Climate This short video explains the difference between the two. And if they are interested, keep watching the series to learn a little about extreme weather. Ted-Ed: How do Tornadoes Form? Extreme weather is a lot more interesting than our typical weather! Activities: Cloud in a Jar All you need for this simple demonstration is hot water, ice, a match, and a jar with a lid! Shaving Cream Rain Clouds Or make these clouds and watch them rain in color! Warm and Cold Fronts Another simple demonstration of a weather phenomenon. Or just go outside and check out the current weather. Talk about how it changes from morning to evening. Is it hot, or cold? Is there any wind? Look for clouds and see if you can identify what types you see. If they are cumulus clouds, you might want to see what they clouds remind you of. We explored the exciting phenomenon of weathering and erosion today. The fact that water and air are both powerful enough to bring down mountains and reshape rocks was pretty interesting. But getting to try it out themselves made it so much more fun. We started with a quick demo on how trapping air in the straw made it strong enough to push through a potato, and went over the homework which helped define the terms we'd be using today.
I think everyone had a lot of fun playing around with this, and trying out different amounts of water, different landforms, and eventually just flooding the whole thing. They saw some interesting situations come up: water appeared in a volcano from under the surface, hills sliding even though the water looked like it was barely even touching the hill, and streams changing their paths. They drew diagrams of their land, before and after and we talked about what they observed during the lab.
Additional ActivitiesBooks: Cracking Up: a Story about Erosion Weathering and Erosion Videos: Nick on the Rocks This geologist has a couple dozen short (5 minutes or so) videos on various aspects of geology in the Washington State area. Evidence of how far rivers have moved, ice age mysteries, ghost forests--these are fascinating! National Geographic: Landslides A short video of live footage of different landslides from around the world. This shows just how powerful these can be. Magic School Bus Rocks and Rolls (Season 3, Episode 12) If you have Netflix, or other access to the Magic School Bus series, this is a fun one! Activities: Weathering and Erosion Demonstration Using clear gelatin and rocks and soil, you can see the difference between when land is weathered, and when it is eroded. Paper Art: Landforms This is a beautiful project exploring the different landforms on earth for any kids who like to learn through art projects. Create something like this, or go 3D and make a diorama. (Something like this would be perfect for the science fair for the early elementary age.) Mystery Science: Paper Mountains This is set up as a whole experiment, but you could keep it simple and have fun creating paper mountains and then watching what happens when you add water. Local Field Trips: Rock City, Mt. Diablo State Park The sandstone rocks here are a great example of sedimentary rock and how it can be weathered and eroded to create fascinating structures. Black Diamond Mines Tours are offered of this former coal mine and there is a visitor's center as well. Alum Rock Park, San Jose This area was known for the natural mineral springs and although many have been destroyed, you can still see some as you hike. Any time you are at the coast, or hiking, look for the layers in the cliffs, and evidence of weathering and erosion--it's all around us, all the time! After that, we moved on to the plate tectonics and talked about how the top layer of the earth, the lithosphere, acts due to it's solid, rocky nature. We used graham crackers to represent the plates and frosting for the mantle layer and then modeled 4 different plate boundaries. They could see first hand how mountains are formed when the plates collide, or how lava can ooze from a volcano at the site of a convergent plate boundary. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Could I Dig a Hole Through the Earth? Sci Show Kids about the different layers of the earth and why we haven't even made it through the crust layer. The Core of the Earth This is a longer documentary on the earth from National Geographic. Books: Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth If your kids are fans of the magic school bus, this one goes along with our last couple weeks of class (and we read this in the youngest class.) Under Water, Under Earth I love the detailed illustrations in this beautiful, oversized book. Activities: Create your own model of the earth: Gorgeous Layers of the Earth Soap Project There are so many fun ways to demonstrate the layers of the earth, but this soap project wins for being the most beautiful. But you can also create a model from legos, playdough, cake, paper mache, and so much more. Make a Volcano This one lets you combine earth science with crafting and a little chemistry! Fossil Craft Make your own fossils and talk about which layers of the earth have fossils in them and how they are created. We're back! And this week, we started a new subject--earth science. We'll spend the next few weeks learning about rocks, what our earth is made of and how weathering affects it all. This week, we began with the rock cycle and took a look at some rocks and minerals. We began with a little exploring. There were various rocks on the table for the kids to examine as they came into class. I also put out pictures of famous rocks and let them see how many they could identify and match. A few of the kids had seen one or two of these in person. After a short video on the rock cycle, the older two classes each split into three groups and were responsible for learning about one of the main categories of rocks. They created a poster to teach the rest of the class about their type of rock. Each group then presented their poster to the class while everyone took notes. With this overview of the types of rocks, we were ready for our next activity: Identifying the mystery mineral! Each group was given one or two minerals and tools to examine and test their mineral. They recorded color, luster, and whether it was magnetic. They performed a scratch test, an acid test for calcium carbonate, and a hardness test using the Moh's Scale for rocks and minerals. When they were done with all the testing, I gave them a chart to check their results against and see if they could find their mineral. The youngest class worked on a couple of different activities. We went over the rock cycle, coloring in the different rocks and methods of how they are formed. Then, they created Bingo sheets with the different categories of rocks and minerals and played a round of Rock Bingo. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Rocks and Minerals This video covers the rock cycle and types of rocks. Be A Rock Detective A short video aimed for the younger kids on the different types of rocks. Books: DK Smithsonian Handbook: Rocks and Minerals I love these books--so much detail! California Rocks! Follow up our classroom learning with a field trip or two to one of the amazing geological sites located here in our state. Rocks and Minerals of California We love taking identification guides with us when we hike and this rock and mineral one would be a fun addition. (Perhaps the best part: rocks don't fly off while you are trying to figure out what they are!) Activities: Rock Hound Kids Website A mineral gallery, identification game, and many more activities and information for the rock lovers. The Acid Test: Test the rocks you find for calcium carbonate--all you need is vinegar, and rocks! Crack open geodes: You can buy a set of geodes and then crack them open at home and see what is inside! Research why and how these form. Last class of the semester and we played with electricity and creating circuits. As one of the students said today, our topic was "quite shocking". After discussing electricity and the parts of an electric circuit, they began building their own. We started with simple series and parallel circuits, and then they did some of their own creations--radios, lie detectors, and high pitched screechers :) The youngest class talked about what things use electricity and went on a scavenger hunt around the house looking for examples. Later, we played a game where they got to pretend they were electrified whenever they heard the name of an item that uses electricity. Finally, we made light-up Christmas cards with copper tape circuits. The kids had a lot of fun setting up their circuits to work with their cards designs. Additional InformationVideos:
World's Largest Lemon Battery Another Mark Rober video, exploring the science of batteries. Schoolhouse Rock--Electricity, Electricity By popular demand--a little song about electricity. Bill Nye the Science Guy--Electricity For anyone who wants to learn a little more about this topic, here's the video for you. Activities: Playdough Circuits Did you know playdough can conduct electricity? Create a circuit to turn on a light bulb. Lemon Battery Experiment Make a battery from lemons. |
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May 2020
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