Science Discoveries
Expect your child to learn about the physical world with lots of hands-on activities.
Carl Sagan, the famous astronomer and writer, said that all children start out as scientists, full of curiosity and questions about the world around them. Kindergarten teachers aim to tap into that natural scientific potential. They do it by introducing lots of fun projects and experiments, taking trips outdoors to explore nature, and leading in-class discussions that help students discover simple, but amazing facts about the world around them.
In general, three main areas are covered: physical science (the properties of objects and materials); life science (the characteristics of organisms and our environment); and earth and space science. In addition, teachers are expected to guide students in the basics of scientific inquiry — that is, to develop their skills of investigation and experimentation.
Kindergarten teachers have a lot of leeway in which science topics to focus on and how the material will be presented. No matter which topic your child's teacher chooses, however, it will be introduced at its most basic level. For example, kindergarteners might learn about evaporation by uncovering a container of water in the classroom and then watching how it gradually disappears. Such an activity would also give five year olds a simple introduction to the mechanics of conducting an experiment and observing the results.
Learning by Doing
Exploring Nature
Talking Science
Learning by Doing
Five year olds have a hard time understanding abstract concepts, so touching and manipulating things helps them develop a more concrete understanding of scientific principles. Classroom science activities are often tied to typical kindergarten interests to keep kids engaged. Kindergarten students at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School in Vermont, for example, spend six weeks experimenting with force and motion in the school's science lab. Racetracks, gutters, and wooden ramps are set up throughout the lab. Students roll cars and balls of different sizes and weights down the various slopes, using blocks to change the steepness of the ramps. Varying degrees of force is applied with the help of straws, turkey basters, and air pumps to move the balls or cars along. The children are actually applying Newtown's laws of physics years before they'll be introduced to the term. "The force and motion lab is one of the highlights of the year," says kindergarten teacher Ellen Fulek, Vermont's 2004 winner of the presidential award for excellence in science teaching. "They're playing and having fun, which is fine. Young children learn best through play."
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Exploring Nature
Your child is apt to spend lots of time outside the classroom as well. Kindergarten science curriculums typically take advantage of children's curiosity about the world and use the outdoors as a natural laboratory. Your child may visit local parks and gardens, lakes, beaches, and ponds. A world of science knowledge can be found just in the school backyard, studying earthworms, trees, and plants. Students may bring insects or leaves back into the classroom and observe them, discuss them, and create pictures or projects. Such simple activities will sharpen your child's ability to observe, classify, communicate, predict, and interpret data — skills that will become increasingly important as she advances through school.
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Talking Science
Kindergarten isn't all field trips and fun, however. "Hands-on discovery by itself is not enough," says Susan Sclafani, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary of Education and a leader of the U.S. Education Department's math and science initiative. "You have to give children a basic understanding of what they're about to work with, guide them while they are learning, and help them draw conclusions from what they've discovered." Educators say that the best way to train budding scientific thinkers is to help them verbalize what they've observed during an experiment or activity. "We teachers are there to encourage investigation - to ask questions and get kids to talk about what they're doing," says Ellen Fulek. When students hit a roadblock, good science teachers are careful not to provide the answers, but to guide them in finding the answers themselves. One girl in the force and motion lab was having little success using an air pump to try to move a heavy ball. Rather than tell her what to do, Fulek asked her, "What else could you try?" Using a question rather than a statement trains young minds to think scientifically.
Helping students to convey scientific ideas verbally is also important since most five year olds don't yet have the fine motor skills necessary to express those ideas in writing. To facilitate communication of ideas at the kindergarten level, Fulek takes digital photos of science activities and uses the pictures to help kids develop a science vocabulary. "Kindergarten kids may say, 'it went here and around there' rather than 'I pushed it and made it go up.' I'm there to model language so they have an easier way of talking about what they‘ve observed."
Encouraging children to think things through can yield big dividends when they experience the thrill of discovery. When the girl in the force and motion lab decided to try to move the ball by blowing on a straw and her experiment worked, her face lit up. "She was thrilled that she figured it out on her own," says Fulek. "It wasn't someone telling her the solution; she was taking ownership of her own learning." When kids think for themselves, learning is more likely to stick with them, and they're more motivated to try problem-solving again the future. That means they are likely to thrive in the trial-and-error world of science discovery and exploration.
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