Potential Instructional Strategies/Lessons/Examples
Lessons and Activities:
- How Do We Learn (DSM Kit) Investigation 2
- Wood and Paper (FOSS Kit) Investigations 1, 2, 3,4, 5
- Pearson SC Interactive Science Textbook: Chapter 4
- Pearson STEM Activity Book
- Activity 1 - Scratch Away
- Activity 3 - How Can You Make A Crayon Box?
- Sifting Through Science GEMS book
- AIMS Activities: 2005 SC Science AIMS Kindergarten
- Texture Rough, Texture Smooth
- Rainbow ‘Round My Room
- Bag of Beads
- Scratching the Surface
- Backpack Bounty
- What Do You “Sink” Will Float
- All Sorts of Stuff
- Made of Matter
- Touch and Discover (K.P.4A.1 and 2)
- This lesson, from the TeachEngineering website, details a variation on the traditional "mystery box" investigation where students use their sense of touch to describe and classify different objects without seeing them.
- Materials and Manufacturing (K.P.4A.1 and 2)
- This lesson, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science ScienceNetLinks website, details a lesson where students look at different kinds of materials, identifying the properties of those materials and deciding upon their suitability for different purposes.
1st nine weeks - Apple and pumpkin investigations
- Sorting and categorizing (size, texture, etc) activities
- Measure and weigh
- sink/float investigations
- Cooking
2nd Nine Weeks- Thanksgiving Unit
2nd Nine Weeks- Wood & Paper Unit
- Investigation 1 - Getting to know Wood
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
- Introduction to wood samples
- Wood hunt around the school
- Wood and water investigation
- Use droppers with water to observe absorption/puddling
- Sinking investigation
- How many paper clips does it take to sink the different types of wood
- Investigation 2 - Changing wood
- Sanding wood
- Sawdust and shavings
- Making Sawdust wood
- Students mix sawdust and glue to make particle board - you can turn the ball into a snowman head. Use white paint, a glue stick cap for it’s hat, wiggly eyes, black dots (paint or Sharpie) for and mouth, orange pipe cleaner for a nose.
- Making Sandwich Wood
- Students glue thin strips of wood together to make plywood - you can turn these into reindeer pins for a parent gift
- Investigation 3 - Getting to Know Paper
- Paper Hunt
- Writing and Drawing on Paper
- Folding Paper
- You can integrate this into mathematics by copying 3D shape foldables .
- Paper and Water
- Investigation 4 - Changing Paper
- Paper Recycling
- Students make paper using toilet tissue - you can turn this into an ornament gift. (Foss Kit - Investigation 4 Changing Paper, pg. 11. After it dries, use bottled glue to make lines and sprinkle with glitter.)
- You can integrate this into mathematics by having students partner up and measure each other with the toilet tissue to determine how much they can use
- Papier Mache - you can make a pinata to be used in a Holidays Around the World Unit
- Investigation 5 - Constructions
- Paper Boxes
- You can integrate this into your mathematics 3D shape unit
- Paper Weaving
- You can use Red, Yellow, and Green colors to weave a Kwanzaa Matt for a Holidays Around the World Unit
- Wood and Paper Sculptures
3rd Nine Weeks- Dr. Seuss Unit
4th Nine Weeks- Sifting Through Science
- Activity 1: Sink or Float?
- Use a water table station to test out the buoyancy of different objects
- Activity 2: Magnets
- Fill water table with sand and put objects (magnetic and non-magnetic) in it. Allow students to use large magnets to determine object's magnetic properties
Experiments, Field Studies, and Visitors:
- Skype with a paper company
- Visit a lumber yard
- Carpenter visit
- Pearson STEM Activity book Activity 1 - Scratch Away
- Students design a cat scratching post
- Teach students simple origami
- Visit a recycling center or have a representative visit your class
- Magnetic school walk (students determine which objects around the school are magnetic)
- Students make a magnetic car track with a paper plate http://www.sophie-world.com/crafts/movable-magnetic-car-or-truck
- Allow students to create a magnetic game
Workshop and Centers Integration:
- Add craft sticks, sawdust shavings and twigs to the art center
- Set up a water table in the classroom for students to explore buoyancy of objects
- Encourage students to develop tricks to turn sinking objects into floaters
- Add magformers to block centers
Projects and Experiential Learning:
- Recycling club
- Build a birdhouse, bat house or other structure
- Pearson STEM Activity 3 - How Can You Make A Crayon Box?
- Students design the ideal crayon box for his/her desk