Physical Sciences: Suggested Classroom Activities

After reading through the following list, brainstorm as many additional ideas as you can that would be appropriate for the children with whom you work.

• Point out that the playground swing is a pendulum and the slide is an inclined plane. Have the class observe them in motion; then experiment with other pendulums and planes. One way to do this would be to suggest that children vary the steepness of a wooden board while rolling toy cars down it. Have them make predictions about how the steepness of the board will alter the velocity of the cars, followed by experiments to determine if their predictions were correct.
• Have the class make paper airplanes of different shapes and sizes. Send several of them into the air at once, then try to determine why some fly farther and higher than others. Try to replicate the design of the most successful plane. Older children can measure distances, chart results, and revise designs to achieve the greatest success.
• Collect simple musical instruments from many cultures and allow students to experiment with them. Encourage them to use the instruments in different ways to create different types of sounds. Provide materials with which students can make homemade instruments, such as oatmeal containers, different sizes of boxes, rubber bands, beans, and bottles of various sizes filled with differing amounts of liquid.
• As they learn about sounds, children become aware that some type of movement is necessary to create sound. Have children play a game where they close their eyes while one child at a time makes a movement or does something with an object--perhaps even with their homemade instrument from the activity above. The rest of the class then tries to guess what object or instrument was moved in order to make the sound they heard.
• If you can get some donations, older students may enjoy taking apart and rebuilding old appliances. Items with gears and levers are particularly interesting for students.
• Have students experiment with various types of liquids and containers, observing that the liquids take the shape of the containers into which they are poured. Have them make predictions about what will happen when some of the containers are frozen. Conduct an experiment to see if their predictions were correct. Next, have them predict what shape the liquid in the container will take when it thaws out again, and test to see if they were correct.
• Have children mix various paints together and observe the changes that take place. They may notice changes in texture, consistency, and, most obviously, in color. They can then use their new paint for an art project.
• Have the children make homemade butter from whipping cream. Give each child a baby-food jar; then have them fill it about one-third full of cream and seal it tightly with the lid. Have students predict what will happen when the jars are shaken. Have the children shake their jar 10 times as everyone counts aloud; then stop and have them observe any changes taking place in the jar. Have students continue this process. Before long, the cream in each child’s jar will turn into butter, which can be used on crackers, muffins, or bread during snack time. Discuss how their homemade butter is similar to and/or different from butter purchased at a store.