Ideas from the Children's Museum and More Fun Experiments

Getting ideas for my future classroom

Today we had class again at the Children’s Museum. The Children’s Museum is a place for all ages and everyone can learn something new.

While exploring the museum I noticed some things that could be incorporated into my classroom:
-Having a hands-on area (Barbie exhibit – dress up, design clothing)
-An art area with supplies (Barbie – create outfits on paper and then use fabric)
-Small circle rugs; get enough for all students and that could be their “spot” when sitting on the floor (Dora exhibit – used for decoration)
-Cultural art and displays; also use languages, smells, etc. (Dora)
-Parade (Dora, had kids follow the main guy and sang and danced)
-Giant map of the World (Egypt exhibit)
-Have an open space to put post-it notes with responses, questions, and ideas

Some new things that I learned while exploring the museum were:
-Ahlan Wa Sahlan = Welcome in Arabic
-$10 USD = 57 Egyptian pounds
-Most Egyptians are Muslim, Coptic Christian, Protestant, Baha’is and Jewish
-Egypt sphinxes stood for strength and power, could also portray a god
-Qahwah = coffeehouse
-Ma’as salaama = goodbye
-Welcome a new baby with a parade and loud noises

Our class with "Anne Frank"

Before leaving we got to watch two short performances about Ruby Bridges and Anne Frank. For the Ruby Bridges performance, we got to become apart of the class that Ruby would have been in. Her ‘teacher” walks in and gives us details about Ruby’s ups and downs and allows us to get a deeper meaning of that part of history. For the Anne Frank performance, we are welcomed to Anne storming in and reading a diary entry. After she finishes, she goes on about how he life had changed and what she had to deal with. It felt as if we were there with her because we could see what the room looked like and the bookcase that hid her from the Nazis. Both performances made those parts of history come to life, which could help students understand what those people dealt with.

Ruby Bridges' classroom

                                          New Experiments:

-Drops of water on a Penny: Have students take a guess of how many drops of water will fit on a penny. Have them use pipettes to drop water on a penny and see if their guess was close. Do one more time to compare results. Why would the results be different?
-Sweethearts and H2O: Use big and small sweethearts and have students drop water on each to see which message will disappear first. Why does this happen?
-Coke v. Diet Coke v. Minute Maid Lemonade: Have students read the ingredients on a can of coke, diet coke and minute maid lemonade. Then, place each can in a pitcher of water and see which ones float or sink. Have students figure out why and teach about density.
-Ivory v. Dial Soap: See which soaps float and teach about density
-Layered Liquids: Use dish soap, Kayro Syrup, Alcohol, water with food coloring, and oil and put in a clear cup or container. See what each ingredient does within their layer. Why do certain ingredients do certain things?

Feb. 8th: Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is a fun holiday that can be celebrated while teaching across the curriculum. Here are some different lessons and activities that can be used.

Health:
-Dissect a heart and learn about how the heart works
-Learn how to take pulse and blood pressure
-Toss Kisses in a bucket (Kinesthetic)
-Jump Rope for Heart
-Make a heart out of gym equipment and have students run through pretending to be blodd cells

                                                      Geography:

-Pin the ___________on the map
Example: Pin the cupid on Valentine, NE

Reading and Writing:
-Read a Sweetheart for Valentine and write all of the characters on hearts and pass out to students. Whenever that student hears their character mentioned they must stand and then sit back down. (Gets students moving and having to pay attention)

                                         -Use conversation hearts to make sentences
                                         -Learn about Mythology

Science:
-Using pipettes, see how many drops of vinegar it takes to erase the message on a conversation heart. Why does this happen?
-Floating M experiment (described it on a previous blog)

Art:
-Make paper flowers
-Decorate valentine cards holders

Jan. 25th: Kitchen Science

Drawing a Scientific Gal

Before starting a science experiment, classroom guidance must be given. One way to set the guidelines is to have your students create a scientific guy or gal. Students will draw a guy or girl on a piece of poster board and then label what should be done with the guy or gal’s body parts with behavior. For example, with hands you would write that they should only touch materials when told. This activity allows students to have input and be apart of creating the classroom rules.

Floating M

Taco Bell Data Sheet

After setting the classroom rules for science, some simple experiments to do are The Doughnut Hole Mystery, the Floating M, Abe and Taco Bell, Microwave Marshmallows, and making Oobleck. The Doughnut Hole Mystery connects science with Social Studies. The overall lesson is figuring out the ingredients and then guessing where they come from. This can also lead to a home and school connection because students may become curious of where other products/objects come from. Also, this activity can benefit ELL because they can recognize objects and with your help you can help them understand what the object really is, which will help expand their vocabulary/speech. For the Floating M experiment, the main focus is teaching about hypothesis. The Abe and Taco Bell experiment incorporates a lot of different lessons. This project requires pennies, Taco Bell hot sauce packets, water, paper and towels. With the pennies, students can research the year of their pennies, guess where the penny has been, how they are made, and learn about Abe Lincoln. For the real experiment the students will also have to make a data sheet. In the data sheet the pennies, hot sauce, rating of how dirty the penny is, and ingredients are listed. The data sheet shows the students the before and after info so that they can see how their hypothesis relates and can form a conclusion. After the experiment, you can have students list what ingredients they eat and if they are found at their house. From that they can keep track of what they eat and learn about the health aspects of it.

The Microwave Marshmellows is just another fun experiment to do that allows students to make hypothesis.

Oobleck

Last, making Oobleck incorporates a number of lessons. As the students are making the Oobleck have them write down describing words and teach them about adjectives. You can also use Dr. Seuss’s book Bartholomew and the Oobleck to read before to give them an idea about Oobleck. Once the Oobleck is made, a lesson on states of matter can be taught. All of these experiments can teach more than what they are primarily meant to teach. They reach across the curriculum and also to all different types of learners.

Jan. 18th: Bubble-ology

To start off class we observed a two-liter bottle filled with an unknown substance and made predictions of what we thought it was. The substance was a liquid, clear, and had some bubbles floating around. Next, we had to place our hands in the substance and “pull”. With much hesitation, we put our hands down into the bottles and discovered something. After “pulling”, cubes that were jell-o like were pulled out. From this experiment we compared it to teaching science and how you never know what to expect, but must be willing to try.

  Another experiment we tried out to use in our future classrooms was bubble-ology. Bubble-ology is made up of different stations that involve different tasks of creating and learning about bubbles. The stations were: bubble library, natural bubbles, bubbles eating bubbles, bubble stands, Bernoulli and bubbles, measuring bubbles, geometric bubbles, giant bubbles, and dancing bubbles. Not only did these experiments teach science, but also social studies, math, and art connections. To take notes of the stations, we made flipbooks. To make a flipbook, you fold a piece of paper hot dog style and then make nine cuts so that you have ten flaps. On each flap you write each station and then on the inside you describe what you did and/or draw a picture. The flipbook is a fun way for students to take notes and easy to do.

One last experiment we tried out involved us going outside to collect snow. After forming groups we headed outside to scoop up some snow into plastic cups. Then, we placed a piece of masking tape on the outside of the cup where the snow leveled off. On the piece of tape we also wrote the names of everyone in our group. Next, we took a second piece of tape and placed it where we thought the snow would melt to. This experiment allows the student to get up and move by going outside. Then they get to make observations and predictions. This is a simple experiment that can lead to further investigation of precipitation, evaporation, and such.

A fun project that you can do with your students to get to know them is to create Me bags/boxes. To make a Me bag/box, you collect objects that represent yourself and then you share with the class. These objects tell a lot about the student and can help them feel more comfortable in the classroom. Plus the students also learn quite a bit about their fellow classmates.

In conclusion, all of these experiments and techniques can be used easily in the classroom and across the curriculum. They incorporate different techniques that help manage your classroom while teaching multiple subjects and learning about your students.