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Happy Groundhog’s Day 2018

Hate to break the bad news to you, but Punxsutawney Phil has predicted 6 more weeks of winter! Of course you know the tradition-if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

Of course we know predicting the weather is not really dependent upon the groundhog (also known as a woodchuck-which by the way is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots-who knew?) seeing his shadow, but the tradition is a fun one! (To learn more about the tradition, check out the post I wrote back in 2013-has some great activities you can do with your kids). Here in the Virginia Beach area we have our own weather guru known as Chesapeake Chuck and given the weather today (cloudy) his prediction might say spring is coming early to our area!

Whether spring comes early or not, Groundhog Day does allow us to answer the question how are shadows formed? Shadows are created when an object blocks light. In order for the object to block light, it has to be opaque or translucent. Depending on the grade you teach, you either may or may not have to teach these terms. If I were explaining how shadows are made to either a group of Pre-K or Kindergarten students, I would simply say that any object that blocks light makes a shadow. Don’t even worry about translucent and transparent materials just yet.

For older students, they need to know the difference between the terms. An easy way to help students remember the difference between opaque and translucent and transparent is to teach the meaning of the prefix “trans.” Trans is a Latin prefix that has the following meanings: across, beyond, and through to name a few.  By teaching students that translucent, transparent means to let light “through” they can remember the difference between opaque and these two.

Okay so what do you do to help kids remember the difference between translucent and transparent because they sound so similar? Again, focus on how the words are made! Let’s start with translucent. Translucent means to allows some, but not all, light to pass through it. If we go back to the prefix of the word, remember trans simply means through.  In Latin, the stem of the word was “luceo” which means to shine. So essentially translucent means shining through! Frosted glass allows some light to shine through but not always an image of the object.

Transparent allows allows all light to pass through it. Because light passes through it, transparent objects will not make any shadows, as light will pass straight through it and you can see the image. Think about a cup of water in front of a picture. You will see the picture through the glass!

And you thought you would never need Latin! If you teach PreK-K, here is a free lesson that will have your students understanding how the position of the light source can change a shadow. The lesson is called  Where is Punxsutawney Phil’s Shadow? I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have fun with your kids learning about shadows!

Making Models of Snowflakes!

We are still buried here in Virginia Beach. Last Thursday night we got over 10 inches of snow here at our house. Talk about a winter wonderland! It is absolutely beautiful!

With all the snow on the ground, I got to thinking about one of my favorite books to use to teach about matter changes: The Secret Life of Snowflakes by Kenneth Libbrecht. This is a great book with real, close up pictures of snowflakes. Ever time I use it with a group of students they are amazed at the actual size of a snowflake.

The book is a great launching point into a lesson on how and why models are so important to scientists. Scientists use models (three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a proposed structure, typically on a smaller scale than the original) to represent real objects found in our world. Think about it-up until camera technology improved, seeing what a snowflake looked like was very difficult.

Snowflakes are incredible beautiful creations made during winter. Even if we bring snow into the classroom, it melts and we still can’t really see a snowflake. Sure we can spend time having students make paper models, but why not try to create something that is more real? Interested? Continue reading to learn more!

Making Models of Snowflakes:

Here are the materials you need to make your own model of a snowflake: Borax, pipe cleaner, 10 inches of string, hot water, clear glass mason jar (large).

Once you have all your materials, here are the next steps.

1. Cut pipe cleaner into thirds and then twist them together to make snowflake shape. You can use 5 pieces of pipe cleaner if you want to get fancy. I just kept it simple.

Next, measure out 1/4 cup borax and 1 1/2 cups of hot water.

Then, tie the string onto your snowflake. I used one of the ends that seemed a bit longer. I then also measured to see if my snowflake would fit in and out of the mason jar with ease. I also measured to see if it would be covered when submerged in the water.

Once I knew that it would go into the jar and had the string secure, I put it into the jar and waiting. This is actually the crystals forming within 10 minutes!! It was really cool! After 24 hours, this was my snowflake! Really pretty!!While this activity is certainly fun, there is so much more you can do with this lesson that will meet your language arts objects.

Idea #1: Have students do a descriptive writing where they sequence they steps they took to set up the activity. Focus on using first, next, then, and last in the writing.

Ideas #2: Compare and Contrast: Have your students do a compare and contrast using a picture of a real snowflake verses the one they made. Have your students use a Box and T Chart to organize their thoughts and then write up how the two snowflakes are similar and different. Here is a free template you can download.

If you would like to have the complete lesson plan, just click here to purchase it.

Scientists are Born in Early Childhood Classrooms

I keep waiting for spring to arrive. Virginia seems to be the only place that allows you to experience all of the seasons in one week! Just last week we had 80’s and then 40’s and now we are hovering in the 30’s! Crazy weather!

This week I am off to Boston to do several workshops at the Early Childhood Conference for the Northeast Region of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). Nothing better than doing science when the weather is cold outside! Actually, as we wait for spring to arrive and the earth to wake from her long sleep, there is a lot we can do as we prepare to do science in the spring. One of the sessions this week will focus on inspiring teachers to use the outdoors to teach science in preschool.

Using the outdoor setting is perfect for students to hone their scientific process skills (especially the process skills associated with observing and measuring). Students can observe birds, or dig up soil and observe the components that make it up (they might even get lucky and find a wiggly decomposer to observe).  Students can also observe the changes in plants during this time as well.

As we teach children to make good observations, we can use those observations to build their vocabulary.  Take for example the idea of going on a rock hunt. As the children walk the property of your school, have them look for rocks to collect.  You can either bring them back inside the classroom or if it is a nice day, do your observing outdoors!  Teach them how to properly use a magnifying lens while they observe (we are not detectives-but scientists! Hold the magnifying lens closer to the object and move it away from the object to make it look larger!).  As students are observing, have them tell you words to describe what they see with their eyes.  Focus their attention on the color of the rock. What shape does the rock best resemble-is it more like a circle or a square? Have them generate words to describe how the rock feels. Is it hard or soft?

As the children generate their words, introduce other words that mean the same thing. For example, if a student says the rock is small, tell them another word for small could be tiny, little, or even compact. Post these words up on your word wall and continue to use them.

For measuring, have them count the number of birds they see in a 5 minute period. Have them describe the birds and count how many birds are similar colors, i.e. how many bluebirds do you see? What about red birds (robins)? They can also use non-standard items to measure the rocks they collect.

If your school has a garden area (check out a previous post on my old blog space about creating a sensory garden with plants), have the children plant some seeds (after you think the last frost has occured) and count how many days till the seeds sprout. Then measure the growth over time of the new plant.

Besides feeling better in the sunlight, being outdoors doing science is just fun!  There are many science careers that spend a great deal of time outside. If you want to make connections to the different scientists that work outdoors, remember when you are working with plants our students are doing things like botanists. When they are observing rocks, they are geologists. As they describe birds, they are working like ornithologists. You and I both know that little learners love big words! So use them with them!

While doing science outdoors is a fabulous idea, remember the most important thing for our children is that they enjoy the learning process and can see themselves being a scientist! Be sure to tell them they can be anything they work hard at doing! If you do any outdoor science, please be sure to share! Can’t wait for spring!