Science Snippets
MPS Elementary Science for January 2024
Onto District Competitions!
The district competitions start next week!
- 4th - 6th Teachers: Make sure the Science Olympics Sponsor has the blueprints for your winning teams.
- Remind your students to wear comfortable shoes. They will be on a tour and and competing for about 2 hours (walking on on their feet).
- Remind your Science Olympics Sponsor to take pictures for your yearbook!
District Competition Dates:
Moore - Feb. 6
Southmoore - Feb. 7
Westmoore - Feb. 8
Butterflies!
Kinder, first, and third grade teachers can reserve your butterfly larvae for the spring! . The orders are due BEFORE spring break - March 15th.
If you teacher PK or 2nd, you can complete the form to request the butterfly larvae, but but K, 1st, and 3rd will get preference if funds run out. This is due to the fact that K, 1, and 3 have science standards that link to this activity.
If you have not received a habitat in the past few years and need a new one, please complete the form. If you have received a habitat in the past two year, please it for as long as possible. We need to be good stewards of our funds.
Student-Centered Classrooms - Feb. 8
In this edWebinar, the presenters will explore innovative approaches to elementary education. Immerse yourself in the transformative realm of blended, self-paced, and mastery-based learning, tailored specifically for young minds. Discover innovative strategies that cater to diverse learning styles, nurturing a love for learning from an early age.
This session delves into creating engaging environments that empower elementary students, fostering independence and a deep understanding of subjects. Explore the future of elementary education as we discuss and envision student-centered practices that lay the foundation for a lifetime of curiosity and academic success.
This edWebinar will be of interest to teachers and school and district leaders of the second through fourth grades. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
Using Videos in an Engaging Way - Feb. 20
Videos can be an effective way to enhance the classroom experience and facilitate learning through various modalities. They can help students comprehend complex topics and concepts and, when used strategically, can support meaningful learning.
Attend this edWebinar to learn how to:
- Provide a new experience to cater to the needs of modern-day classrooms
- Engage students with captivating videos, compelling storylines, and scoreable interactions that challenge them to become active learners
- Harness the potential of interactive videos as a dynamic educational tool, fostering deeper student engagement and learning
This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers and school and district leaders. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
The Science of Leap Year
Is every fourth year a leap year? Where does leap year come from? How long is a year?
What is Leap Year?
More on the Science of Leap Year
Leap Year Timeline
Create a timeline of important events that have occurred on leap days throughout history. This is a great way to learn about the history of leap years and how they have affected our lives.
(Canva is a great way to make a digital timeline, but there's nothing wrong paper, markers, and string to make a timeline.)
The Battle of the Frogs
Teach your students to make origami frogs, and test some variables!
- Does the size of the frog make the frog hop farther?
- Does the type of paper used determine how far our frog jumps?
- Does where we fold the bottom affect how far the frog jumps?
- Does how/where we push on the back of the frog affect how far our frog jumps?
Mystery Doug has a great video all about Leap Year, which is a perfect springboard for your leapfrog lessons in science! Find the Mystery Doug video here.
How to make an origami frog:
Leaping Lizards (and other animals)
Leopold's Long Awaited Leap Year Birthday
This was my favorite of the books for younger readers. Leopold the frog can’t understand why his birthday, February 29th, doesn’t appear on the calendar, and why he has celebrated one birthday and not four like his peers.
What in the World is a Leap Year? (and other time measurements)
This entertaining and educational title helps familiarize young readers with time measurements. From decades, to centuries, to millenniums, the easy-to-read book offers engaging pictures and simple sentences to illustrate each type of measurement fully. In no time, young readers will be able to use each measurement system for themselves.
Leap Day (with Tigger and Pooh)
In this humorous story, Tigger finds a sign that limits his bouncing to only one day every four years - on Leap Day! He goes to Christopher Robin to help explain Leap Day to him
February the 29th (Fiction)
Toby Goodwin's mother is very ill. So just before his birthday in February he is to stay with his mad inventor uncle. But Toby discovers that his strange birthday and Uncle Nichol's latest invention have far more to do with his mother than he could ever have guessed.
Ring of Fire (Fiction)
A mix-up with their reservations forces Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai to share a room with the hotel owner's daughter, Elettra. The four kids discover an amazing coincidence - they all have birthdays on February 29, Leap Day. That night, a strange man gives them a briefcase and asks them to take care of it until he returns. Soon afterward, the man is murdered.
The kids open the briefcase. In it they find a series of clues that take them all over Rome, through dusty libraries and dark catacombs, in search of the elusive Ring of Fire, an ancient object so powerful that legend says even a Roman emperor couldn't control it.
In the first book of the Century quartet, Italian author P. D. Baccalario begins a mystery that will take four cities and four extraordinary kids to solve.
Force and Air Pressure
In the first of our air pressure experiments for kids we will be investigating force and pressure and how that relates to air pressure. It is an easy way to demonstrate air pressure. Using simple things from around the house like a sponge and straw, they will be able to physically propel an object with just air!
Need materials? Look for the link below to request materials for science!
Bottled Pressure
Since air pressure is a big concept for preschoolers to understand, this fun and simple science experiment is a great hands-on demonstration of air pressure.
Kids love watching the straw dancing and bobbing around in the water bottle and it’s a great activity for strengthening hand muscles as they squeeze the bottle as hard as they can, to move the straw up and down.
Need materials? Look for the link below to request materials for science
Build a Barometer
The invisible air pressure around us is always changing, but try explaining that to the tot lot. We've found a seeing-is-believing DIY barometer experiment to turn the tides for your tiny skeptic. Not only will you reveal ever-changing air pressure, but you can also predict any summer storms heading your way. Get all you need to know about making your own version using a screw-top jar, rubber bands and a straw at Wonderful Engineering.
Drawing
To be entered into the drawing, tell me if this statement is fact or fiction:
Last Month There are more stars in our Solar System than trees on earth. Fiction. There are more trees on Earth than stars in our solar system.
December: There is a leap year every four years. Fact or fiction? (You don't have to be correct to win the drawing!)
