In this activity, students will observe how physical processes like shaking can cause things to change.  Materials:

Small glass jar with lid (baby food jars are the best)

Heavy whipping cream

Instructions: 1. Fill each jar about three-quarters of the way full.

2. Tightly seal each jar with its lid.

3. Shake the jar for 10-15 minutes or until the whipping cream has solidified.

 How It Works:  When the jar is shaken the particles are forced close together. A few particles clump together and soon, with all the shaking more and more particles clump together until most of are in a solid.

Discussion Questions to Ask:  What did we add into the jar?

• What did we do to change the heavy whipping cream?
• When was the whipping cream a liquid?
• When was the whipping cream a solid?

Did you know that cooking is a chemical and a physical process? Exploring other food processes like making cheese, baking bread, even making a cake are easy ways to introduce the concept of physical and chemical changes. Chemistry is not just only in the lab or taught during science class. It is important to help young students recognize chemistry concepts inside and outside of the classroom. For more information on how to teach young students about chemical and physical change, visit: http://acswebcontent.acs.org/scienceforkids/index.html#Reactions

For some of our Fun Learning Science games such as How to Become a Teenage Genius by playing Our Learning Brain, you can visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/forceenergy.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weatherbingo4.html

http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

In this experiment students will experiment with the properties of an acid. 

Materials:

Measuring cup (1/2 cup)

Tablespoon

Pennies (dirty and old pennies work best)

Lemon Juice and salt

Taco Sauce

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of lemon juice with a tablespoon of salt.
2. Take a small amount of taco sauce and begin rubbing the pennies with it. (Use your hands, the more you scrub the better!)
3. Periodically dip the penny in the lemon juice and salt mixture to help clean the penny even more.
4. Scrub the penny for about 5-10 minutes until the pennies are nice and shiny.

How It Works: The taco sauce has vinegar and salt in it, which when combined form a super cleaning mixture. When salt is dissolved in vinegar it breaks into two ions (or charged particles), sodium and chloride. These ions are able to then mix with the copper oxide (a.k.a. rust) on the penny and dissolve the rust, leaving the penny shiny like new. The lemon juice and salt mixture does the same, with the salt dissolving in the lemon juice to form the cleaning machines, sodium and chloride.

When teaching Chemistry concepts, it is best to do hands-on activities. There are great vocabulary words that can be reinforced during Chemistry-related activities, like liquid, solid, acid, base, even words like chemical change, and physical change. There are lots of Chemistry topics around us everyday from how we cook foods to how our bodies breakdown the food we eat. For more useful teaching techniques related to acids and to everyday chemistry, you can visit: http://www.watchknowlearn.org/SearchResults.aspx?SearchText=acids   or

http://teachingbug.com/edu/acid-base-science-experiment

And for other Fun Learning Science Games, we invite you to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

 http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

Have a look in your schoolyard and backyards, and see if you can find the Wild Flowers, Stones and/or Marine Life that contain Azulene (the chemical compound that would make them blue). Azulene is an organic compound, an isomer of naphthalene. Even though naphthalene itself has no color, azulene is dark blue, hence the dark color Blue in the essential oils of Yarrow, Blue Tansy, Blue Chamomile, Cypress and Black Spruce.  It is not surprising that the Spanish word for Blue is Azul.  The mushroom Lactarius indigo is blue because of a derivative of azulene.  Azulene is also found in some marine invertebrates, and in Lapis Lazuli stones found in Middle Eastern Persia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli

The compound azulene has a long history, dating back to the 15^th century as the azure-blue chromophore was first obtained through steam distillation of the German Chamomile flower.  This azure-blue chromophore was later discovered in Wild Yarrow flowers and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse.  Its structure was first reported by Lavoslav Ruzicka in1937. With anti-inflammatory, skin healing properties, it is often in skincare products.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene

Even though Wild Yarrow flowers, Achillea millefolium, grow in colors of bright yellow, white, pink, orange, salmon and purple, the oil of the Yarrow flower is azure blue.  Blue Yarrow oil is what is termed as volatile as it has “proazulenes”, making it blue.

www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/yarrow.html

Yarrow oil is both a sweet and spicy smell, and is watery in its constitution.  Yarrow is Sacred, Holy, Healing and Spiritually Protective for many First Nations Peoples.  Thank you Mother Earth for these healing flowers, stones and marine life – and for Azulene and the color Blue!

Blue Tansy essential oil also is a vivid deep blue color due to its azulene content.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene.  It is wildccrafted from common wildflowers grown in Morroco and North Africa from thee daisy family.  The Latin name is Tanacetum Annuum.  Health benefits include natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.  Herbalist Peter Holmes says it as also a “qi” or energy regulator for the body.

www.Snowlotus.org/blue-tansy-essential-oil-article.aspx.

• Their eyes may be blue, unlike albinos, and have white fur, meaning, they are leucistic;
• Some rare genetic conditions cause the calf to be born white, though turn brown within a year or two.
• If they are albino, they will be without pigment color throughout their lives, just like albinp people.
• Sometimes farmers have crossbred cattle with bison, and the cross-genetics of white cattle is what causes the white fur to result.

The National Bison Association estimates the occurrence of White Buffalo being born is one out of every 10 million births.

This white calf was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on The Heider Farm, and was  named Miracle, the first one born since 1933.  She lived to be 10 years old and during her life, had several calves.   http://whitebuffalomiracle.homestead.com/Miracle_and_Calves.html

http://whitebuffalomiracle.homestead.com/

http://whitebuffalomiracle2.homestead.com/

The Sacred Lakota People have within their family who is known as The White Buffalo Calf Woman or Pte Ska Win.  She is a Sacred Woman from Pure Spirit origin, who equals The Female Messiah / Shekinah.  In Lakota Spirituality, it is She who brought forth their Peoples’ Seven Sacred Rites.

This link is a photo of a Most Gorgeous Sculpture depicting The White Buffalo Calf Woman with Her Calf.  Sculpted by Artists Lee Leuning & Sherri Treeby, this piece was the winning sculpting in 2009 for the Avero organization:  http://www.avera.org/img/mckennan/sculpture/12-White-Buffalo-Calf-Woman-large.jpg.

Other Buffalo Facts:

Female African Buffalo, in particular, are notable for their apparent altruism. Female buffalo express a sort of shuffling behavior –  in which during resting time, the females stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again. They then sit in the direction they think that they should move, and after an hour of further shuffling, the females move to travel in the direction they finally decide on. This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo.  If hunted by a predator, The Buffalo Herd huddle close together to build their strategy, as like other species, they are stronger when joined together.  Calves remain protected in the middle of the adult members. If a buffalo is under duress, the others move to rescue the other.  If the call is from a calf member, then not only the Mother comes, but the entire herd. In one recorded instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf successfully survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile, after the herd intervened.

Similar to domesticated cattle, Buffalo sing a 2–4 second low pitch call that is repeated at 3-6 second intervals.  This signals the herd to move. When it is time to change direction, herd leaders sing a sound like a creaking gate. When signaling others of a place to drink water, they have an extended maaa’ call, and the call is made by usually one to a few individuals, and is made up to 20 times a minute before and during the movement to the oasis.

Females begin having kids after about 5 years old, and their pregnancies last about 11.5 months. Newborns hide in greenery for the first few weeks, while the Mom nurses now and again, before the Calf joins the main herd. The Maternal bond between Mother and Calf lasts longer than in other species, though if a new Calf is born, the bonding with the first calf ends, and the Mother keeps all other offspring out of the way to protect the newborn – The White Buffalo, a Most Interesting Mammal.

For Our Fun Learning Game about other Mammals, you can visit here!

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html.

This week, have your students create a new species, and write about and draw a picture of their animal. Have them examine the qualities of different species, and combine them into what they think would be the most adaptable survivable animal.  It could be a “dolphi-gator” – an animal that is half dolphin and half alligator. It could be a “spid-eagle” – a half spider and half eagle.

Share in your elementary classroom, the super powers that your species has and how it could outlive a different species because of its cross-splicing rare abilities.  Where does it live?  What are its habits?  Is it nocturnal?  What does it eat?  How does it care for its young?  Does it have mammalia glands? They could even find photos of their 2 creatures and paste them together to make the new one.

Adapting to our environment is a capability in which we human beings quite excel.  Constantly through all the stages of our lives, we break through “limits” that our minds once falsely held.  Crawling to walking to running –  jumping, driving, skiing, sailing, and flying.  If there is one ability we have as a species that makes us different from many other species, it is our ability to adapt to our environment.

The weather changes to hot, cold, damp, dry, wind, and multiple combinations of these – and our bodies adjust our physical temperature to keep all systems stable for continuing our life journey.  For some, the number of limbs they have changed (due to unforeseen circumstance), and still they adapt to do the same things they did before, just differently.  A newt would grow its arm back.  A human being would come up with interesting ways of attaining their food supply with the other arm – maybe use their feet, or become left-handed instead of right.

Is it because of the miracles of our human brain and heart? What makes your new species so adaptable to its natural environment?

For ideas, kids may wish to look at some of our Fun Learning card decks, such as Our Learning Brain, Mammals and Birds:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html.

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/birds.html.

An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System.  Extrasolar planets became an object of scientific inquiry in the nineteenth century. Many astronomers supposed that they existed, but there was no way of knowing how common they were or how similar they might be to the planets of our solar system.  The first confirmed detection was made in 1992, arising interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.  Most of the discovered extrasolar planets lie within 300 light years of the Solar System. Regardless of the precise number of stars with planets, the total number of exoplanets must be very large. Since our own Milky Way Galaxy has at least 200 billion stars, it must also contain billions of planets – if not hundreds of billions.

Precise measurements using the Kepler space telescope have shown that the planet, named Kepler 10b, has a diameter 1.4 times that of Earth, and a mass 4.6 times higher.  Measurements of Kepler techniques using astero-seismology showed that the parent star was about eight billion years old – a grandparent among stars of its type.  Kepler techniques are similar to the study of earthquakes on the Earth.  In addition to the size of the host star, the details of the planet’s and star’s “dance” with each other, and the planet’s radius, the density of the planet can be calculated.  Geoffrey Marcy University of California Berkeley marked this as “among the most profound scientific discoveries in human history.”

Since January 11 of this year (2011), astronomers announced confirmation of 518 such planets  –  with hundreds others awaiting for confirmation pending further investigation.  Most are giant planets thought to resemble Jupiter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12158028

Kepler Mission

The Kepler Mission is a NASA space observatory designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.  It was launched on 7 May 2009.  The mission spacecraft is named in honor of 17^th C astronomer Johannes Kepler.

http://www.kepler.nasa.gov/news/nasakeplernews/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=94

Most exoplanets cannot be seen directly through telescopes because bright light from the stars that they orbit drowns them out.  Instead, astronomers use a variety of indirect techniques to find them. One method is to look for tiny wobbles in stars’ positions caused by their gravitational interactions with orbiting planets.

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) was a key mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, in 17th century scientific revolution.  He is best known for his laws of planetary motion, later developed by later astronomers.  Kepler lived in an era when there was no clear distinction between astronomy and astrology, but there was a strong division between astronomy (a branch of mathematics within the liberal arts) and physics (a branch of natural philosophy).

Kepler also weaved religious reasoning into his work, motivated by the religious conviction that God had created the world according to an “intelligible plan that is accessible through the natural light of reason.”  Kepler described his new astronomy as “celestial physics”.  (Ref: Wikipedia: Johannes Kepler; Exoplanet, Exosolar)

For one of our Fun Learning games on the Solar System and Teaching Space:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/planetsbingo.html

To do this, you’ll collect materials that are found in the classroom or around most homes. For the background, use a regular sized piece of paper.  Although construction paper is usable, as is also something with a border, even plain white printer paper will be fine.  What will truly create the visual excitement will be the elements that you’ll put on it:  things such as small suns, snowflakes or raindrops, clouds, etc.  On each of the following steps, have the kids add the creative items.

To create the sun, on a separate piece of paper, draw a sun.  You should either use yellow construction paper for this, or if you only have the white, then make sure you color in your sun brightly with yellow marker or crayon.  Adding a smiley face inside is a cute extra touch.  Beneath the picture, write “sunny.”

On a piece of blue paper, draw (or have the kids draw) a fluffy cloud.  If you’re using plain white paper, then again, just color it blue with a marker or crayon.  Beneath it, write “cloudy.”  You could add a smiley face or maybe a straight mouth, neither happy nor sad, for him.

On another piece of paper, you and your kids should draw a second fluffy crowd, but draw a few raindrops below it.  Write out “rainy” below the cloud, and this time, add a frowny face.

For a thunderstorm, draw yet a third cloud, this time coloring it gray.  Below it should go lightning bolts.  The face on the cloud should look angry.

For winter weather, on a white piece of paper, draw a snowman.  Keep it simple: three tiny circles for eyes and mouth and a triangle for the nose.  Put stick arms on it and a square hat.  Beneath it, write “snowy.”

Now have someone, on a separate sheet of paper, draw a picture of your school.  Take responsibility for getting letters to spell out “Our Weather.”  The letters and picture should be stapled on a small bulletin board. This will be your permanent weather chart.  All of the weather pieces should go in an envelope, placed near the chart, at the children’s level.  After you’ve taught your lesson on weather, each day have one child change the weather chart for that day’s expected weather. Who knows? You just might inspire a future meteorologist!

For our Fun Weather Games, you can visit these pages:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather8.htm

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weatherbingo4.html

1)    several pictures of mammals

2)    index cards

3)    books or websites about mammals, and

4)    some mammal take-home sheets

Once you have the materials, start by showing your students pictures of five mammals that are quite different from each other.  For instance, a dog, rabbit, whale, kangaroo and monkey.  Inform the children that each picture is a picture of a mammal.  Explain that “mammal” is a class of animals, just as reptiles, fish and birds are other classes.  Next, ask your kids to brainstorm and tell you things that the five animals have in common.  Mark their answers on the chalkboard.  If they are stumped, ask leading questions such as “How do they give birth? How do each of them move? What keeps each of them warm?”  Once you have an accurate list of characteristics, title the list “Mammal Traits.”  Then review this list and explain that these are common among all mammals.

At this point, your students should know how all mammals are alike. Now point out differences among each of them. For instance, some mammals are meat eaters, while others eat plants or insects. Some mammals are usually on the land, while others spend the majority of their time in the sea.

Next, play the “Mammal Mystery Game.”  Ask the kids to select a mammal that they want to learn about.  They’re not to tell their selection to anyone except you.  Now give the students an index card and have them research their mammal via online and printed resources.  On the card, they should note 8 to 10 clues that will tell what animal they are researching, without actually naming the animal.  Once the students are done, ask each of them to present one clue and let the rest of the students try to guess the animal. If they do not guess, he / she gives another clue, until the audience finally guesses which mammal it is.  Then move onto the next student.

Finally, do a search on the Internet for “mammal activity sheet” or “mammal handout.”  Once you find a good one, print it out and give one to each of your students as homework.

Here is our 52-Card Deck on Mammals that includes 4 Fun Interactive Learning Games:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html

Here are a few favorite ones:

Give the children a preview of the types of sea creatures that they’ll be learning about starting next week. Ask them if they have favorites. If so, write on the board each of their name and their favorite sea creature.  Give them a day or two to find out as much as they can about their favorite. Have them write interesting facts about the creature on index cards.  You can provide magazines or books to help them.

• Have the students draw their favorite fish and cut it out, as you hang green and blue crepe paper across the classroom, simulating seawater.
• During the week when you begin teaching about ocean life, continue decorating the room by having the children make jellyfish out of paper plates that they color.  Give them glue or tape to hang yellow, red and / or pink crepe tentacles from their “jellyfish.”  Hang these from the ceiling near your crepe “waves.”
• Spend some time brainstorming with your students things that could be found on the floor of the ocean. Some ideas include a sunken ship, a clam, a starfish, an octopus cave, etc.  You can decorate areas of the room as these landmarks.  For instance, you could decorate a bookshelf to look like a sunken ship.
• At the end of the week, ask the children what they’ve learned about the ocean and the creatures that live in it.  There are also several good educational films and film strip series that you can show, as a way of finishing your ocean unit.
• Finish the week with some sea-related treats to eat.  For instance, you could make starfish-shaped cookies.  Or create an “edible aquarium.” Make this by adding some blue food coloring to soft cream cheese, which you put on melba toast.  Top it off with a few goldfish crackers.

By the way, be sure to let your students take home the sea creature that they created earlier in the week, as a memento of the fun and educational time they had.  Their parents are sure to enjoy displaying these!

Here is our fantastic card deck for identifying and describing facts of many Ocean Creatures.  It contains 4 games in one complete with all instructions:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

When emphasis is placed on grading, children become more concerned with achieving the grade than on the journey in achieving the grade, sometimes associating their “goodness” then, with the grade. An achiever-style A/B student can show achievement and success, though more often than not, it can be detrimental to the student’s self-esteem.  The child’s struggle and focus can become a goal for the teacher’s acceptance, literally surpassing the learning aspect altogether.

Pedagogue, Alfie Kohn calls this “chasing the carrot” or “avoiding the stick” in his text What Does it Mean to be Well Educated? (2004).  Kohn suggests that rewarding students for a certain grade can be as damaging as punishing for not having done so.  Both methods skip over the central core of a student – the natural joy and thirst for learning.  This natural thirst and joy for learning is present in children, so obviously in the early years.  Though once introduced to the system of grading, the child can subconsciously develop strategizing – a subtle form of innocent manipulation to work at receiving that age-old important authority / parental / teacher’s acceptance.

Focusing on the importance of grades can breed memorizer students – those who practice memory techniques to give back to a teacher what the student thinks the teacher wants, rather than the optimal learner students.  Even though memorizing can be an effective study tool, memorizing is not likely the quality learning result that a teacher truly wants for the student.

Where grading may be an important part of the educational system, it is only effective if minimal importance of it is placed upon the psyche of the child.  Introducing games in the curriculum of a child’s schooling reminds the child that learning is by its very own nature, supposed to be fun.  Designing curriculum that regularly incorporates left-brain/right-brain activities such as spatial functioning card games, both encourages the child to desire learning again (what was once a natural thing), and while literally developing new healthy dendrites in the child’s growing brain.

For an example on Teaching Through Inspiration, here are some of our Fun Interactive Science Learning Games:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/birds.html