Skill Area

Goals:

To make inferences about what is inside a film canister.

Materials:

- Black plastic film canister
- Objects and materials that will fit into the film canister, such as marbles, sand, rice, water, beans, salt (keep objects secret)

Procedures:

1. Place one of the objects into the canister and replace the top.
2. Challenge your child to guess what is inside the canister by shaking, rattling, and rolling the canister.
3. Record your child’s observations on the Shake, Rattle, and Roll Data Sheet. After making several observations, your child may be able to guess (infer) what is in the canister.
4. Record your child’s guess or have him or her draw what might be in the canister. Invite your child to open the canister and look inside.
5. Talk about your child’s observations and guesses and compare them to observations of the actual object. It does not matter whether or not the guess is correct.
6. Repeat the activity at least two more times using other objects.

Questions to Asks:

- Describe what you hear.
- What can you feel?
- How does the canister roll?
- What do you think is in the canister? What made you think so?

Additional investigations:

- Invite your child to put objects into the canister for you to infer what’s inside.
- Make another inference box by placing larger mystery objects in a shoe box.

Goal:

To observe what happens when seltzer tablets are placed in cold and hot water.

Materials:

- 2 small clear plastic cups
- 2 seltzer tablets

Procedures:

1. Prepare cold water by placing several ice cubes in one cup of water.
2. Pour cold water into a plastic cup and have your child draw the cup and water in the space labeled A on the Bubble Bubble Data Sheet.

3. Drop a seltzer tablet in the cold water and watch what happens.
4. Invite your child to draw what happened in the space labeled 6 on the data sheet.
5. Record your child’s observations about the investigation on the back of the data sheet.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 using one cup of hot tap water instead of cold water. Have your child make “before and after” drawings in the spaces labeled C and D and record his or her observations.

Questions to Ask:

- What happened when we dropped the first tablet in the cold water?
- Where do you think the bubbles went?
- What was the difference when we used hot instead of cold water? (Action of bubbles is louder and faster.)
- Describe any odor you noticed. (You may notice a medicinal smell.)

Additional Investigations:

- Try dissolving seltzer tablets in other liquids, such as soft drinks, vinegar, or fruit juice.
- Place a tablet in a plastic zipper bag, add a small amount of water, seal the bag, and watch what happens.
- See how long it takes to dissolve tablets in water of varying temperatures.

Read the rest of this entry »

Goals:

- To communicate information to another erson.

Materials:

- Tangrams
- Crayons or markers

Procedures:

1. Have your child color the tangrams as indicated.
2. Carefully cut out the tangrams for your child.
3. Help your child use all the tangram pieces to form a square. As you are doing this, describe or have your child describe each action. For example, “Place the large blue triangle beside the large red triangle” or “Place the small blue triangle in the comer.”
4. Have your child reassemble the tangrams into other shapes. Encourage your child to describe what he or she is doing.
5. Now invite your child to give you directions to make a shape or pattern using all the tangrams. If your child’s directions are not clear, demonstrate why they are difficult to follow before helping to clarify the directions.
6. Finally, invite your child to follow your directions to make a shape or pattern.

Questions to Asks:

- Where or when do you need to follow instructions?
- How can you be sure someone understands your directions?
- How can you be a good listener?
- What can you do if instructions are unclear?

Additional Investigations:

- Allow your child to prepare simple foods (such as instant pudding or flavored drink mix) as you read the directions aloud. Talk about what could happen if the directions were out of order.
- Have your child tell you the steps needed to complete a simple task such as washing dishes, packing for a trip, or playing a game.

Goals:

- To observe objects with a hand lens.

Materials:

- Hand lens (magnifying glass)
- Objects to observe

Procedure:

1. Gather several objects for your child to observe.
Interesting things to look at might include salt, flower petals, leaves, wood, watches, jewelry, or rocks.
2. Ask your child to observe each object twice—first without the hand lens and then with the hand lens.
3. Encourage your child to draw what he or she sees on the Now You See It! Data Sheet.

Questions to ask:

- How does the object look without the hand lens?
- What can you learn by using a hand lens?
- Are there other ways to make things look bigger? What are they?
- Can you find any lenses around the house?
- What else would you like to examine with a hand lens?

Additional Investigations:

- Place a little water in a clear glass. Tip the glass toward you and look through the water at the print on this page How does it look? (Print will appear larger and somewhat distorted.)
- Lay a piece of clear plastic wrap over this page. Place a large drop of water on the plastic wrap. Look at the print through the water drop from above and from the side. What appears to be happening? (Print will appear to rise from the paper.)
- Fill a glass half full of water. Place a pencil in the glass. How does the pencil look in the water? How does it appear to change as it enters the water? (Pencil will appear broken or bent at the point of entry.)