As a parent, you are preparing your child for a world
vastly different from the one in which you grew up. Our increasingly
technological society will need citizens who have received far more advanced
instruction in science and technology than most of us received when we were in
school. Even children who don’t want to become physicists, chemists, engineers
or computer technicians will need some knowledge of science and technology just
to conduct their everyday lives. Every citizen needs to be scientifically
literate in order to make informed decisions about health, safety and
citizenship. Our children need our help and guidance to prepare for the world
that awaits them.
Scientific knowledge is cumulative: To learn new things,
you must build on what you already know. So, it’s important that your child
start learning early—and at home. A good way for you to begin the learning
process is by sharing your own interest in science. How you view and talk about
science can influence your child’s attitudes toward science—and how she1
approaches learning science. It’s easy to undermine a child’s interest and
attitudes by saying things such as, “I was lousy in science, and I’ve done OK,”
or “I always hated science when I was in school. It’s boring.” Although you
can’t make your child like science, you can encourage her to do so, and
you can help her to appreciate its value both in her everyday life and in
preparing for her future.
In everyday interactions with your child, you can do many
things—and do them without lecturing or applying pressure—to help her learn
science. Here are a few ideas:
★ See how long it takes for a
dandelion or a rose to burst into full bloom.
★ Watch the
moon as it appears to change shape over the course of a month and record the
changes.
★ Look for constellations in
the night sky. ★ Bake a cake.
How to Use
This Booklet
This
booklet makes available to you information that you can use to help your child
to learn science. It includes:
★ Some basic information
about science;
★
Activities for you and your child to do, both in the home and the community;
★ Practical
suggestions for how to work with teachers and schools to help your child
succeed in science; and
★ A list of science-related
resources, including federal sources of information, publications for parents,
science-related children’s magazines and books, and information about science
camps.
★ Solve the problem of a
drooping plant.
★ Figure
out how the spin cycle of the washing machine gets the water out of the
clothes.
★ Take
apart an old clock or mechanical toy—you don’t need to put it back together!
★ Watch icicles melt.
★ Observe
pigeons, squirrels, butterflies, ants or spider webs.
★ Go for a
walk and talk about how the dogs (or birds or cats) that you see are alike and
different.
★ Discover what materials the
buildings in your community are made of. Wood? Concrete? Adobe? Brick? Granite?
Sandstone? Steel? Glass? Talk about the reasons for using these materials.
Learning to observe carefully
is an important step leading to scientific explanations. Experiencing the world
with your child and exchanging information with him about what you see are
important, too.
Finally,
encourage your child to ask questions. If you can’t answer all of her
questions, that’s all right— no one has all the answers, not even scientists.
For example, point out that there’s no known cure for a cold, but that we do
know how diseases are passed from person to person—through germs. Some of the
best answers you can give are, “What do you think?” and “Let’s find out
together.” Together, you and your child can propose possible answers, test them
out and check them by using reference books, the Internet, or by asking someone
who is likely to know the correct answers.
How to Use
This Booklet
This
booklet makes available to you information that you can use to help your child
to learn science. It includes:
★ Some basic information
about science;
★
Activities for you and your child to do, both in the home and the community;
★ Practical
suggestions for how to work with teachers and schools to help your child
succeed in science; and
★ A list of science-related
resources, including federal sources of information, publications for parents,
science-related children’s magazines and books, and information about science
camps.
The Basics
What Is
Science?
Science is not just a collection of facts. Of course,
facts are an important part of science: Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
(or 0 degrees Celsius), and the earth moves around the sun. But science is
much, much more. Science involves:
★ Observing what’s happening;
★ Classifying or organizing
information; ★ Predicting what will happen;
★ Testing predictions under
controlled conditions to see if they are correct; and
★ Drawing conclusions.
Science involves trial
and error—trying, failing
and trying again. Science doesn’t provide all the
answers. It requires us to be skeptical so that our scientific “conclusions”
can be modified or changed altogether as we make new discoveries.
Children Have Their Own “Scientific
Concepts”
Very young children can come up with many interesting
explanations to make sense of the world around them. When asked about the shape
of the earth, for example, some will explain that the earth has to be flat
because, if it were round like a ball, people and things would fall off it.
Presented with a globe and told that this is the true shape of the earth, these
children may adapt their explanation by saying that the earth is hollow and
that people live on flat ground inside it.
Even older children can come up with unique “scientific”
explanations, as in the following examples provided by middle-school students:
“Fossils are bones that
animals are through wearing.”
“Some
people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun, but I’ve never been able
to make out the numbers.”
“Gravity is stronger on the earth than on the moon
because here on earth we have a bigger mess.”
“A blizzard is when it
snows sideways.”
Asking Questions
As
mentioned earlier, it’s important to encourage your child to ask questions.
It’s also important to ask your child questions that will get him talking about
his ideas and to listen carefully to his answers. Keep in mind that children’s
experiences help them form their ideas—ideas that may, or may not, match current
scientific interpretations. Help your child to look at things in new ways. For
instance, in regard to the blizzard, you could ask, “Have you ever seen it snow
sideways?” or “What do you think causes it to snow sideways sometimes?”
Such conversation can be an important form of inquiry or
learning. Encourage your child by letting him know that it’s OK to make
mistakes or admit he doesn’t know something. Rather than saying, “No, that’s
wrong,” when he gives an incorrect explanation, give him accurate information
or help him to find it. Going back to the blizzard, you could ask your child,
“How could you check your definition?” “How does the dictionary’s definition of
“blizzard” fit with what you said about snow moving sideways?”
Knowing
that you are willing to listen will help your child to gain confidence in his
own thinking and encourage his interest in science. And listening to what he
says will help him to figure out what he knows and how he knows it.
Hands-On Works Well
Investigating and experimenting are great ways for to
learn science and increase their understanding of
scientific ideas. Hands-on science can also help children
think critically and gain confidence in their own ability to solve problems.
Young children especially
are engaged by things they can
touch, manipulate
and change; and by situations that allow them to figure
out what happens—in short, events and puzzles that can investigate, which is at
the very heart of scientific
study. While hands-on science works well, it can also be
messy and time-consuming. So, before you get started, see what is involved in
an activity—including how long it will take.
Less Is More
It’s tempting to try to teach children just a little
about many different subjects. Although children can’t possibly learn
everything about science, they do need and will want to learn many facts. The
best way to help them learn to think scientifically is to introduce them to
just a few topics in depth.
Finding the
Right Activity for Your Child
Different children have different interests and will
respond differently to science activities. A sand and rock collection that was
a big hit with an 8-year-old daughter may not be a big hit with a 6-year-old
son.
Fortunately, children whose interests vary greatly can
find plenty of science activities that are fun. If your son loves to cook, let
him observe how tea changes color when lemon is added or how vinegar curdles
milk.
Knowing
your child is the best way to find suitable activities for him. Here are some
tips:
★ Encourage activities that
are neither too hard nor too easy for your child. If in doubt, err on the easy
side, because something too difficult may give him the idea that science itself
is too hard. Adults often assume that children need spectacular demonstrations
to learn science, but this isn’t true.
★ Consider your child’s
personality and social habits. Some projects are best done alone, others in a
group; some require help, others require little or no adult supervision.
Solitary activities may bore some children, while group projects may not appeal
to others.
★ Select activities
that are appropriate for where you live. Clearly, a brightly lighted city isn’t
the best place for stargazing.
★ Allow your child to help
select the activities. If you don’t know whether she would rather collect
shells or plant daffodils, ask her. When she picks something she wants to do,
she’ll learn more and have a better time doing it.
Developing Your Child’s Scientific Understanding
Unifying
Concepts and Processes
Children can be introduced gradually to basic scientific
concepts that will provide a framework for understanding and connecting many
scientific facts and observations. In this booklet, we will focus on five
concepts and processes taken from the National Science Education Standards,
released in 1996 by the National Resource Council of the National Academy of
Sciences.2 You can easily introduce your child to the following five
concepts through the activities in this booklet and many other simple
science-related activities that you and your child can do at home or in the
community.
1. Systems, Order and Organization
The natural world is so large and complicated that break
it down into smaller parts in order to study it depth. These smaller units are
called systems. Scientists look for patterns through which they can classify—or
organize—things into systems. For instance, animals that have fur or hair are
classified as mammals.
When you encourage your child to gather and organize
objects according to their size or color—for example, leaves or insects—you are
helping prepare her to think in terms of systems. Furthermore, scientists
believe that nature is understandable and
predictable—that there is an order to it. For instance, low barometric pressure
is often followed by storms. Challenging your child to make reasonable
predictions such as this will further prepare her to look at the world in a
scientific way.
2. Evidence,
Models and Explanations
Scientists test the explanations they come up with, and
the results of their tests are evidence on which to base their explanations.
Sometimes they call their explanations “theories” or “models” or “hypotheses”.
Children can test their theories about the world too: Is it the baking soda
that makes my pancakes thick? Can I make thicker pancakes with more soda?
3. Change, Constancy and Measurement
The natural world changes continually. Some objects
change rapidly and some at a rate too slow for observe. You can encourage your
child to look changes by asking him to observe and talk about:
★ What
happens to breakfast cereal when we pour milk on it?
★ What happens over time when
a
plant isn’t watered or exposed to proper sunlight?
★ What changes can be
reversed? Once water is turned into ice cubes, can it be turned back into
water? Yes. But if an apple is cut into slices, can the slices be changed back
into the whole apple?
Children
can observe change more carefully through measurement. Keeping a growth chart
or making a graph of the temperature each day will give your child practice
looking for differences and measuring them—and help him to understand how he’ll
need to use math skills in learning science.
4. Evolution
and Equilibrium
It’s hard for children to understand evolution (how
things change over time) and equilibrium (how things attain a steady and
balanced state of being). During these early years, you can, however, talk
about how things
change over time and point them out to your child. For
instance, show your child a series of photos of himself from birth to the
present and talk about the many ways he’s changed. And, you can talk about
balance and the work it often takes to achieve it: Learning to ride a bicycle
or walk with a book on his head are good examples.
5. Form and Function
One of the simplest themes in science is all around: The
shape of a natural thing is almost always related to its function. Begin with
man-made objects. Can your child guess the use of a thimble, a corkscrew, a
phonograph record? When you are looking at animals, ask him questions such as:
“What might those plates do on the stegosauros’s back?” “What sort of habitat
would a web-footed platypus like?” His best guess will almost always be
correct.
Scientific Integrity
Science
fiction writer Isaac Asimov describes science as a “way of thinking.”3
It is a way to look at the world that involves special principles of conduct,
and the early years of elementary school are a good time to start teaching
children scientific ethics. We should help them understand how important it is
to:
★ Observe carefully; ★ Record
accurately;
★ Try to look for patterns in
an objective, unbiased way;
★ Share
their observations (or results) honestly and in a way that allows others to
test what they’ve said;
★ Realize that they might
make mistakes; ★ Respect curiosity; and
★ Stay open to criticism and
change.
The activities that follow are designed for you to use
with your child at home and in the community. The activities are intended to
show your child that science plays a part in many everyday activities and that
it is used in many places and environments. They also show that learning
science doesn’t require expensive equipment and complicated experiments.
For each activity, you’ll
see a grade span—from preschool through
grade 5—that suggests when children should be ready to
try it. Of course, children don’t always learn—or become interested in—the same
things at the same time. And they don’t suddenly stop enjoying one thing and
start enjoying another just because they are a little older. You’re the best
judge of which activity your child is ready to try. For example, you may find
that an activity listed for children in grades 1 or 2 works well with your
preschooler. On the other hand, you might discover that the same activity may
not interest your child until he is in grade 3 or 4. Feel free to make changes
in an activity—shorten or lengthen it—to suit your child’s interests and
attention span.
Safety
First
Read through each activity before you try it with your
child. In particular, look for this sign: <!> It highlights any activity that requires adult
supervision, such as those that involve heat, chemicals or sharp instruments.
Also make sure that your child understands any safety
precautions that may be necessary for these—or any—science activities. In
particular, you should:
★ Teach your child not to
taste anything without your supervision;
★ Insist that he wear goggles
whenever something could splash, burn, or shatter and endanger his eyes;
★ Teach him
to follow warnings on manufacturers’ labels and instructions for toys and
science kits;
★ Keep toxic or other
dangerous substances out of the reach of
your child;
★ Teach him what he can do to
avoid accidents; and ★ Teach him what to do if an accident occurs.
In
a box near the end of each activity are a few facts and explanations for
reinforcement and further teaching. But exploring, questioning and having a
good time are more important than memorizing facts.
Recording Results
Keeping records is an important part of science. It helps
us remember what did (and didn’t) work. Before starting the activities, give
your child a notebook—
a science journal—in which she can record her
observations. Remember that seeing isn’t the only way to observe. Sometimes we
use other senses: We hear, feel, smell or taste some things (of course, your
child should be careful about what she tastes—
and she shouldn’t taste
anything without your permission).
If your child cannot write yet, she can tell you what to
write for her or draw pictures of what she sees. In addition, you may want to
use a simple camera to help record observations.
As a parent, you can help your child want to learn
in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s
success. And, of course, enjoyment is an important motivator for learning. As
you choose activities to use with your child, remember that helping him to
learn doesn’t mean that you can’t laugh or that you have to be serious. In
fact, you can teach your child a lot through play. We hope that you and your
child enjoy these activities and that they inspire you to think of additional
activities of your own.
Science in the Home
Your home is a great place for
you to begin to explore science with your child. Incorporating science
activities and language into familiar routines will show your child how science
works in his everyday life and provide him with a safe environment in which to
explore and experiment.
A Science
Walk
Preschool–Kindergarten
Even
a walk around the yard can provide many opportunities to introduce children to
scientific concepts and processes by helping them to gain the scientific habit
of observing what’s around them.
What You Need
★ A magnifying glass ★ Science
journal
What to
Do
★ Take a walk outside with
your child—around the yard, to the end of the block, in the park—anywhere
that’s convenient. Invite her to
bring along her science journal and show her how to use a
magnifying glass. As you walk, stop and—depending on the season—ask her to use
the lens to examine things such as the following:
—dirt
—leaves (from the same tree,
one on the ground and one on the tree)
—a flower —snowflakes —icicles —bugs
—a mud puddle —a rock
★ Ask her
to talk about what she observes. Ask, for example:
—What’s on each side of
this leaf?
—How is this leaf on the ground different from the one on
the tree? —Are all the petals on this flower the same size and color?
—Are these snowflakes exactly alike? How are they
different? —How many legs does this bug have?
—How many colors can you
see in this mud puddle?
★ Other questions you might
ask as she observes and examines things along the way include the following:
—Is it smooth or rough? —Is it hard or soft?
—Is it dry or wet?
—Is it alive? How do you know? —What shape is it?
★ Give your
child two different kinds of rocks or flowers and ask her to tell you how they
are alike and different.
★ Make sure she records her
observations, reactions, findings and opinions in her science journal. Drawing
pictures and taking photos are good ways to record observations, and you can
help her to write appropriate captions. Encourage her to share her journal with
others and to talk about her experiences.
Observing closely is an
important part of science, and tools such as a magnifying glass help
scientists—even young ones—to observe, measure and do things that they
otherwise could not do.
Breaking the
Tension
Preschool–Kindergarten
These simple activities
demonstrate surface tension.
What You Need
★ Index card
★ Safety scissors
★ Sink filled with water
★ Glass half filled with water
★ Liquid dishwashing
detergent ★ Ground pepper <!>
★ Toothpicks
What to
Do
★ From an
index card, cut out a boat shape,
like
the one on this page. Make the boat about
2-1/2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide. Have your child
place the boat gently on the water in the sink. Have him pour a little
detergent at the notch end of the boat. Ask him to describe what happens. (Note:
To repeat this experiment, you’ll need to use fresh water to make the boat
move.)
★ Next, sprinkle a little
ground pepper on the water in the glass. Give your child a toothpick and tell
him to dip it in the middle of the pepper. Ask him what happens. Then tell him
to put a drop of the detergent on another toothpick and dip it into the pepper.
Now what happens?
Surface tension results when the
hydrogen in water molecules stick to one another as well as to the water
below them. This creates a strong but flexible film on the water’s surface. The
detergent disrupts the molecules and “breaks the tension,” making the boat go
forward and the pepper move to the sides of the glass.
Bubbles
Preschool–Kindergarten
Children can learn more about surface tension and about
change just by blowing bubbles!
What You Need
★ 8 tablespoons of
dishwashing liquid ★ 1 quart water
★ 1 drinking straw ★ A shallow
pan
What to Do
★ Mix the
dishwashing liquid with the water and pour it into the pan. Give your child a
straw and tell him to blow through it as he moves it slowly across the surface
of the solution. Ask him to notice the size of the bubbles that he makes.
★ Next,
have your child try to make a very big bubble that covers the surface of the
pan. Have him do the following:
—Dip
one end of the straw into the solution. Then hold the straw slightly above the
surface. Blow into it very gently. He may have to try several times to make a
really big bubble.
—When he’s made a bubble, have
him touch it gently with a wet finger to see what happens.
—Have him make another big
bubble, then touch it with a dry finger. What happens?
★ Ask him
to look closely at the bubbles he makes. How many colors does he see? Do the
colors change?
Bubbles are bits of air
or gas trapped inside a liquid ball. The surface of a bubble is very thin.
Bubbles are particularly fragile when a dry object touches them. That’s because
soap film tends to stick to the object, which puts a strain on the bubble.
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