For our year of homeschooling 5th grade, I have been writing units based on the Next Generation Science Standards (you can see them here). However, these units will not take the entire year. Instead, I plan on doing about one a month and having Xander do some research in between. Enter, the student led Science Research Journal.
The idea is that Xander will brainstorm a bunch of science related topics he is interested in learning more about. He will pick one at a time, locate resources to learn more, do the research and take notes and then pick a format in which to share what he learns.
Pages Included
Brainstorm Page
Guiding Questions
Notes pages
Sharing Ideas
I bound our pages with my Pro-Click binding punch and a reusable spines, but you could easily put these into a three ring binder. Since I anticipate he will choose to do a lot of his research online, this notebook will primarily be used for the brainstorm and guiding questions pages. Therefore, I will probably combine it with the unit materials and have one science notebook for all of it.
Last summer, Xander and I did some Simple Science with Acids and Bases by boiling purple cabbage and using it as a pH indicator. I thought it might be fun to try out a similar concept with our Easter Eggs.
I started out by chopping up most of a head of lettuce and adding water until it was not quite covered. Then I boiled it for about 15 minutes. At the store, I tried to pick the head that was the deepest purple, figuring it probably had the most pigment.
After boiling, I strained out the cabbage and was left with this deep purple water (and a somewhat smelly kitchen). I returned the water to the pot and added some eggs. I boiled the eggs for about 15 minutes and then let the sit in the water until we were ready to use them (a few hours). I learned that you have to stir occasionally or one side gets darker than the other.
Here is what they looked like after boiling. Definitely not bright like regular dye, but a noticeable color.
I gave Xander one dish with lemon juice, one with a baking soda and water mixture, and some cotton swabs.
He did some painting and some dipping.
For us, the lemon juice seemed to have a stronger effect. It turned pinkish. The baking soda turned greenish.
The effects were subtle, although stronger than what the pictures show.
Then we decided to crack them open and see how the eggs looked. Xander thought that was almost cooler than the outsides.
Both boys tried some. They pretty much tasted like hard boiled eggs, however, I thought they were a little softer/less rubbery than most eggs cooked for that long.
Happy Easter! If you decide to try it, I'd love to see pictures of your results!
It has been way too long since I did any posts with science experiments! Here's one we did recently to introduce the concept of acids and bases (we did not get into PH or the chemical reactions that occur with them).
From conversations we've had when he's been sick or when pregnancy gave me heartburn, Xander already knew that certain foods like citrus fruits are acidic. We explained that bases are the opposite of acids and neutral means something is neither acidic nor basic.
To prep, I cut up a head of purple cabbage and then boiled it about 6-7 cups of water for 15 minutes and strained it. I was supposed to use distilled water, but accidentally used filtered instead and it still worked. Now I have a jug of distilled sitting around. Oops.
Then I had Xander line up a bunch of glasses and we added a different liquid to each one. I had Xander make a list of the different liquids, so he could make predictions and record observations. We used pickle juice, lime juice, milk, hot sauce, water with baking soda, white grape juice, sparkling water and regular water (for the control).
Then I had Xander try each one and write down observations about how it tasted.
I only let him dab his finger in the hot sauce instead of trying to drink it.
Then I had him add 1/4 cup of the cabbage juice to each cup and we recorded what happened. We were looking for color change. Then I had him use the color changes to try to determine which was the strongest acid and which was the strongest base. (It will turn bright pink for acids and teal for bases).
It ended up being a fun way to spend an afternoon. Xander concluded that acids usually taste sour.
Although we made it from A-Z in our Alphabet in Simple Science, I decided that I'd add some here and there.
Science Notebook Page (Click the picture to print).
Background
I defined viscosity as how much a liquid resists flowing. High viscosity liquids flow slowly and low viscosity liquids flow easily. Usually thick things are high viscosity and thin things are low viscosity.
Making some Observations
To start off, I put some water in one cup and an equal amount of corn syrup in a second cup. I only filled the cups about a fourth of the way full, so that Xander could tip, swirl and play with the cups to make observations of the liquids. I asked him to describe what he was observing, then I asked which liquid had the higher viscosity and why. Water and corn starch are VERY different, so it was easy for him to come to the right conclusions.
Then I got out an art try and put 1 teaspoon of various fluids around the tray. We observed which ones spread out a lot, because they were able to flow easily (low viscosity) and which ones didn't spread out as much because the didn't flow well (high viscosity).
I had him choose which one he thought was the highest viscosity and the lowest viscosity.
Time to Test it Out
Then I had him test out his hypothesis. We picked four of the liquids, including the one he thought was the highest viscosity and the one he thought was lowest viscosity. We put a little blob of each at one end of the tray, then tipped the tray up to see which one made it to the other end first. While we just measured qualitatively to see which made it first, you could time it to bring in more math. However, if you're going to do that, maybe avoid the ketchup or mustard, they didn't flow very well at all. The mustard did more and the ketchup kind of all slid as a blob.
Xander must have really been missing out science experiments. Afterwards he asked what experiment we could do next! I'd better get thinking!
This year we're working on Preschool Themes. You can check out this post for our learning goals) One of the big themes we're working on is the Human Body. The most recent section was Heart and Lungs.
Books
As always, we read a ton of books! He really seemed to like A Drop of Blood, probably because it starred a vampire.
Pumping like the Heart
This was one of those times when an activity seemed great in my head... but didn't quite work out. The idea was to have Xander see how much water he could pump using a hand pump in 30 seconds. Then we could discuss how his hand got tired, but his heart pumps all day and night. I'd done a similar activity in a 7th grade classroom and it worked out wonderfully. Unfortunately, I picked up a cheap bulb from Wal-Mart, not knowing that it didn't have a valve inside, so it made a horrible pump. Next time, I definitely need to invest in a good rubber pump with a valve. You could also add a hose clip to simulate clogged arteries and see how much harder it is to pump.
Model of a lung
We made the very popular model of a lung. Cut the bottom off a two liter bottle and stick a balloon inside. Then cover the bottom with a bigger balloon, or heavy piece of plastic. The little balloon simulates the lungs while the bottom simulates the diaphragm. Push up on the diaphragm, and the lungs squeeze out the air. Expand the "chest cavity" by pulling down on the bottom portion, and the lungs fill.
Listening to Our Hearts
I picked up this inexpensive stethoscope for Xander. He has really enjoyed listening to everyone's heart! He likes to compare.
Science
We did two Alphabet in Simple Science posts for this unit. We did B for Blood and H for Heart. Be sure to check them both out for fun activities!
Sensory Play
We made a simple sensory bin out of red kidney beans, some googly eyes, some skeletons (left over from Halloween) and some straws and balloons. As you can see, Xander dove right in.
Blood Sensory Bin
We used red water beads (which somehow ended up pink) for red blood cells, ing pong balls for white blood cells, and little glass gems for platelets.
Since I'm having trouble being consistent about math, I have started having Xander do 10 minutes of either Splash Math or a Math Age 4-6 app. We also try to incorporate math play when we can. Here he is making a mess with learning with his number board. After a while of free play, I had him skip count by fives.
