![Picture](/uploads/8/8/8/1/8881257/published/3842205-1.png?1516567025)
A SPIN ON THE SCIENCE SIDE
After hearing Shel’s Silverstein’s poem, the Toy Eater, the children were asked to imagine that the “Terrible Toy-Eatin Tookle” consumed ALL of their toys.
They were to envision the boredom that had set in as a result until one day when they find some plastic disks under their bed. Could they make something fun with the few pieces they had? Could they make something that had motion? What if they had a one small green shaft? Could they become spinning toy-makers and explore different designs of tops. While their investigation was guided by intuition, observation, and trial and error, they discovered that you need a FORCE to start a top spinning. Also, the amount and position of mass affects how the object rotates. The children then created their own designs. Through these experiences, the children began to develop the understanding of how objects and systems that turn on a central axis exhibit rotational motion.
Extending our learning about tops, the children learned about its anatomy. Then they were challenged to determine the path traveled by a spinning top. They made predictions about their pathway. Then they were able to observe the interesting pattern produced by drawing tops. The children also played a game called How Long? Using timers, they were challenged to keep their tops spinning as long as possible by manipulating the amount of force. The children then experimented with lots of other materials that can have rotational motion such as pinwheels, hula hoops, gears, hockey pucks, dice, jacks, and coins. Ask them about their twirly birds and how they work with air resistance.
School/Home Connection
• EXPLORE TINKERTOY TOPS If you have access to a set of Tinkertoys, use them to construct tops.
• TOP COLLECTION Modern and traditional tops are everywhere, and most are inexpensive. Have your child start a collection.
• READ The Top and the Ball By Hans Christian Andersen, Up and Down on the Merry-Go-Round by Bill Martin Jr and books by Shel Silverstein.
• MAKE ZOOMERS Traditional zoomers are made from a button and a Compare zoomers made with a big and a little button. Try substituting a button with something else your child can think of-be curious and creative!
piece of string. The string is strung through the button holes and tied to make a loop. Ask your child to show you how a force with start the motion.
I LIKE TO MOVE IT!
The students continued to develop their concept of force and motion by listening to lots of stories and engaging in activities and games.
We read Harriet Dancing by Ruth Symes. It is about a hedgehog who loves to dance. Throughout the story the children needed to twist, turn, skip, hop, and spin alongside Harriet and her friends.The children found many examples of force and motion in Margot Apples’ misadventures of a group of sheep who go riding in a jeep. Another great picture book we read was Mrs. Armitage on Wheels by Quentin Blake. Mrs. Armitage sets off for a quiet cycle but she just can't help thinking of ways to improve her bicycle. The children were asked to make alternative suggestions of providing Mrs. Armitage’s bike “with extra oomph”.
The children also explored the elusive art of doing nothing after listening to a comical tale of two very active boys who attempt “ten seconds of nothing”.
Discussion and activities followed that centered on voluntary and involuntary motion.
During our sessions, the children loved playing the game Beans as a quick movement break. I would call out different types of beans and the children carried out the matching movements. For example, “jumping beans” the children jumped in place or “chili beans” the children need to shiver and shake. Ask your child to show you the movement for jelly beans, string beans, snap beans and wax beans.
HUFF AND PUFF
The children listened to Barry Moser’s humorous retelling of the classic story of the Three Little Pigs. Afterwards they used moving air to push a variety of different objects. The children practiced making predictions and comparing them with their results.
HOW CAN YOU KNOCK DOWN A WALL MADE OF CONCRETE?
After learning about the Berlin Wall, the students carried out an investigation to determine how far back they should pull their model wrecking ball to knock down a wall (made of cups), but not the (paper) houses behind it. A discussion followed about how the force of the wrecking ball changes when you change the strength and direction of its push.
AWAY WE ROLL…
As the children continued to develop a growing curiosity and interest in the motion of objects, we shifted our focus to linear motion (motion in a straight line). From the children’s point of view, they were performing tricks and solving challenges. The classroom actions were so exciting and often looked more like play than study but the children were engaged in important discoveries about the behavior of their dynamic world.
During our sessions, materials were provided and the children were invited to see what they could do with them, find out how they go together or how they work. Discussions followed in which the children shared ideas and observations.
As the students investigated rolling objects, they had many interdisciplinary opportunities. For example, the children learned about the life and works of American poet and author Shel Silverstein who invited children to “dream the impossible”. Two of Silverstein’s books, the Missing Piece and the sequel The Missing Piece Meets the Big O were used to launch the topic of rolling systems.
During our study, they were exposed to some less frequently explored rolling systems. They initially experimented with wheels (plastic disks) and made wheel-and-axle systems with no vehicles attached (disks and slim straws). They tried all kinds of configurations of wheel size, and axle position to get the rolling systems to perform a variety of tricks down a slope
Students also experimented with force using different shapes as rollers. They compared the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an objects such as hula hoops, wooden cylinders and a variety of balls.
One thing you can do to encourage your child’s curiosity is to play any ball game that your child likes, whether basketball, soccer/football, or just tossing a ball back and forth. But rather than just play as usual, suggest that they try a special challenge: hit or throw the ball as hard as possible, then very softly, then somewhere in between. Is hitting or throwing the hardest always the best? You may also want to try making your own bowling alley like we did in class.
HOW CAN YOU KNOCK DOWN THE MOST BOWLING PINS?
All you need to make a bowling alley are some plastic cups (Solo cups work great) and a tennis ball. Mark a lane with masking tape, and set pool noodles along rows of building blocks if you want to add bumpers. Then make a pile of cups (for pins) and get things rolling! This activity gives your child a way to explore the forces at work when one thing hits another and how changing the size of the force affects the motion of an object.
HOW CAN WE PROTECT A MOUNTAIN TOWN FROM FALLING ROCKS?
Students learned a key idea about forces: how pushes can change the direction and speed of an object’s movement. We learned how some mountain towns in danger of landslides can build structures to protect themselves from falling rocks. Students used a model of a mountain town, Tiny Town, to conduct an investigation of how to protect the town from a falling boulder. They design a solution to safely guide a boulder down the hill so it doesn’t hit the town and rolls into a dump truck. Using magnetic poles, students change the direction the boulder is rolling.
You can support your child's curiosity about pushes the next time you’re at the grocery store! How does pushing the cart in different directions change the way the cart moves? How do pushes of different strengths change the speed of the cart? Just be careful not to knock anything over (the parking lot may the best place for this science experiment)!
Our culminating investigation focused on rolling-sphere systems. The children listened to several stories including My Yellow Ball by Dee Lillegard. They were asked to continue the story by devising their own yellow ball adventures and sharing them with the class. Then the children rolled marbles in cups, in paint and down runways to observe spheres as rollers. They worked with flexible runways to make the rolling marbles do tricks in runway challenges. As a culminating experience, the children turned their attention to roller coasters and how they are constructed. They created a paper model of a roller coaster. Then they worked together to connect the runway sections to make longer runway ‘roller coasters” through which a marble can roll nonstop.
School/Home Connection
• MAKE SPHERES. Use different materials such as mud, clay, and dough. Be imaginative!
• READ SHEL SILVERSTEIN BOOKS AND VISIT HIS WEBSITE http://www.shelsilverstein.com/html/KidsHome.html for games, puzzles, and printable activity kits.
• FIND FICTIONAL AND NONFICTIONAL BOOKS ABOUT SPHERES. Some suggestions include: Mudball or Zachary’s Ball by Matt Taveres. Balls! And Balls! Round 2 by Michael J. Rosen
• MAKE MARBLE MAZES. Grab some paper towel rolls (with the paper towels already used up) and tape. Put the tubes together to make your maze and drop your marbles in for lots of fun! Be creative! You can find more ideas on making different kinds of marble mazes at:
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/marble-maze-666476/
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/marble-maze-795707/
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/marbleous-maze-1002418/
• CREATE YOUR OWN ROLLER COASTER You can make a roller coaster out of just about anything! Some materials for tracks may include vinyl tubing, poster board, cereal boxes, cups, foam insulation tubes and cardboard tubes. Spherical objects such as marbles tend to make the best "cars" for your roller coaster. The size of the marbles/balls needed depends on the type of material you use for your tracks. Make a rollercoaster that is both fun and safe. To do this, there will definitely be a lot of trial and error
• CREATE YOUR OWN ONLINE RIDE http://kids.discovery.com/games/build-play/build-a-coaster
• INVESTIGATE FORCE WITH ROLLING MAGNETS
The force of attraction and repulsion between magnets can make for some interesting interactions. Use some donut-shaped magnets and sheets of cardboard. Make a cardboard ramp with a gentle slope. Place some magnets at the bottom of the slope. Roll magnets down the slope and observe. Next try experimenting with two cardboard ramps facing each other. Roll magnets down the slopes toward each other and observe. Then try covering several magnets with a sheet of cardboard. Roll magnets across the cardboard and observe. Also, have fun learning how the magnetic force affects movement by rolling, spinning, or swinging the magnets.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful kindergarteners with me.
I look forward to working with them next year!