Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Earthworm Study





Students explore worm adaptations and perform 5 lab experiments. Plus they get to create a worm hotel for the classroom!

Included (18 pages):
11 pdf presentation slides
Lab 1 Structural Adaptations: label / estimate / measure / describe attributes / review worm parts
Lab 2 Behavioral Adaptations: light / moisture / sound experimentation
Lab 3 Worm Observation: build a worm hotel instructions / observation sheet
Lab 4 Predator and Prey: draw worms in natural habitat (tunnels) / draw 3 predators / draw 2 worm food items
Lab 5 Straw Paper Work Trick: instructions for kids / kids draw their paper worm


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Measurement Recycled Garden

Celebrate Earth Day by creating a class garden of upcycled flowers! Check out this math/art activity at We Are Teachers!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Lunch Math

Students organize, represent, and interpret lunch data! Before throwing their lunch away, students sort it into categories (paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, compost, trash). They tally how many they have of each item. Then, as a class, create a graph of all of the materials that were found in their lunch. 

Which material was most commonly found in their lunches? Was this material recyclable? If not, could they generate a solution to minimize the trash in their lunch? Is their a place to throw recyclables and compost in their cafeteria? What can they do about it? 

To celebrate Earth Day have a Trash-Less, Waste-Free Lunch Party! Challenge students to bring in a lunch that does not have any item that needs to be thrown away or even tossed in a recycle bin! Can they do it?

Reinforcement: Recycle-Roundup Game

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Speed Boat Chemical Reaction!

Create a chemical reaction to make a boat go from ZOOM! Similar to Bag Bomb, this experiment explores the three states of matter. Kids mix baking soda and vinegar to create CO2 to make their soda bottle boat zoom!

materials: 
empty soda bottle
toilet paper
baking soda
vinegar
marbles (or another object to weigh the boat down)
thumbtack or x-acto blade
a large tub of water

1. First, put marbles in the bottle and test it in water. You want the boat to be submerged.
2. Take the boat out of water. Make a hole in the bottle cap for air to seep out (using x-acto or tack). The hole should be submerged in water (when you place the bottle in the water).
Same instructions as Bag Bomb:
3. Pull off a strip of toilet paper (three sheets connected) and pour baking soda on the strip.
4. Fold and form a pocket to hold the baking soda (or roll it)
5. Add vinegar (1/4 of the soda bottle)
6. Drop the baking soda pocket in the bottle
7. Fast: Put cap on and quickly place in water!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Ecosystem in a Bottle

pill bug photo: teacher.vbsd / fish photo: toledonative365
Create a 1 to 3 tier ecosystem using soda bottles!

Featured above:
3 bottle construction - Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska. Also check out Cranberry Corner.
Visit Annenberg Learner for activities to go along with your eco-column!

2 bottle construction - Legacy Owensboro

1 bottle - The Geo Exchange

Visit Bottle Biology for more ideas!
Check out NFBWA to see how to make a compost column!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Keep It Cool!

This experiment comes from Zoom! Kids are divided up into groups. Each group gets two ice cubes and two paper or plastic bowls to hold the cubes. They create a cube container for one of their ice cubes. The other cube will be exposed to the sunlight with no protection.

Cube Container: Kids use their creativity and construct some type of container that will keep their ice cube from melting in the hot sun. Who's cube will last the longest?! Compare the ice cubes that had no protection to the cubes that were placed in cube containers. Is there a difference?

materials:
2 bowls (for each cube to sit in)
1 shoebox
wax paper
foil
newspaper
masking tape
rubberbands
free choice - kids come up with a material they think will work!

Also, check out Popsicle Preservation!

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Egg Carton Flyer

Save your egg cartons to construct a flying wing! It soars with the help of a penny inserted in the "cargo bay!" Click here for the template and instructions!

integration:
geometry: angles (best angle for distance)
estimating: distance
measuring: distance
science: potential / kinetic energy / wind

Monday, September 24, 2012

Let's Rock - Sound Energy


Explore the science of sound by creating your very own rock band of recyclables!
Sound Wave Experiments - ehow
Featured Above:
1. Kazoo -Martha Stewart
2. Tin Can Phone - DSO Kids / Bongo - Sophie's World
3. Membranophone - Exploratorium
4. Zither - ehow
5. Pan Pipe Flute - Krieger Science
More:
Sound Sandwich - Exploratorium
Scientific Sound Effects - E is for Explore - Make Music
Whirly Twirly Sound Hose: Explore

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Penny Shooter

All you need is a toilet paper or paper towel tube, balloon, scissors, and tape! How to instructions from CamNCurtis:

Sunday, June 3, 2012

3D Newspaper Shapes



Classroom Magic, The Brainy Bunch, and Year 4 made newspaper dowels to construct 3D geometric shapes! Kids roll newspaper into dowels. Visit Classroom Magic for a video tutorial on how to roll your newspaper. Then, kids tape or staple the dowels to form the edges of their geometric figure. This activity helps kids remember how many edges geometric shapes have. Once constructed, they can count the vertices and open faces.

You can make your geometric shape as large as you'd like. You can even create a geodesic dome fort! Visit Geodesic Green House or Instructables for instructions. Also check out Mrs. Amelia Preschool's newspaper sculpture.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Balloon Car




Have kids design a balloon car, bring it to class, and see who's can travel the fastest and farthest. They could uses legossoda capstops of fast food cups, or even cds for wheels. Tell kids to get creative with the car's body. They can make long thin cars or big fat boxed cars. Design elements are completely up to the kids. Their goal is to make a car that is not only fast, but can travel super far. In the classroom, have kids use their measuring skills to figure out the distance their vehicles traveled. Who's car has the most stamina?

See written instructions for Steve Spangler's balloon car (featured above) as well as more racing toy experiments here

Aso check out Design Squad's 2 wheel (made with life savers candy) and 4 wheel balloon car!


image credit: Design Squad Nation (2 wheel balloon car)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Ten Frame Bowling / Addition with 3 Addends


Work on ten frames, addition with 3 addends, and hand / eye coordination all at the same time! Set up 10 plastic water or soda bottles like bowling pins at a math station. Grab a ball and the fun begins! Give kids three blank ten frames. They play 3 rounds. After each round, they color in the ten frame for the round to match the number of pins they knocked down. When they finish their game, they write an equation to figure out the total number of pins they knocked down. You can print out ten frames here, as well as other math printables.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Solar Power

Go green, learn about radiant and thermal energy, and have a snack! Upcycle a pizza box into a solar oven! Whip up smores, roast a hot dog, munch on nachos, or zap leftovers. The oven heats up to 275 degrees. Click here for written instructions!



Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Birds

Grab your binoculars and head outside for a bird watching expedition! Build a recreational center for birds right in your own backyard! Kids can view birds up close and personal, seeing the various species that reside in their environment.

binocular pic via squidoo

1. Milk Jug Feeder - With an x-acto knife, cut large "windows" in a milk jug. Next, tape off the edges, where you cut, with duct tape. The tape will prevent birds from getting hurt on any sharp edges. Then, punch holes with your blade underneath the "windows" you created. Find long, sturdy sticks in your backyard. They will serve as perches for the birds to rest on while they eat. Insert the sticks through the holes, so they criss cross inside. Then, punch holes in the top of your jug to hang your feeder. Thread heavy twine through the top holes. Now, pour bird seed into your jug and hang it outside. You'll see a wide variety of birds visiting for a snack! We did this in my class to celebrate Earth Day!

2. Bird Bath - Create a place for birds to cool off! Visit  Vicki O'Dell for the tutorial!

3. Nest Collector - Help birds make a nest by providing them with material! Visit Fiber Farm for the full tutorial!

4. Conduct an experiment to see what color seed birds are most attracted to. Visit Science Bob for the full tutorial!







Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Egg Carton Flowers

Upcycle an egg carton into a flower bouquet! Check out how Krokotak turned an egg carton into a floral wreath!

photo via Krokotak


Friday, February 3, 2012

Super Foam-erator

photo credit: my gratitude attitude and piseco 
Let kids go wild with the foam-erator! They can shoot foam in the tub or on each other outside! It shoots out long strands of foamy bubbles that swirl. Plus, it's completely made out of recycled goods! Visit Betz White for instructions!

Math - Measure your foam snake. Who could make the longest strand of foam?

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Rocket Launch

photo credit: Great Fall Elementary via Connection Newspaper
Soda straw rockets from NASA! After you construct your rockets, have a math lesson. See how far your students can launch them! Measure how far they land. What is the best angle to shoot your rocket? NASA Rocket template (download here

photos via family fun
Other Rocket Activities:
Spring a Red Solo Cup Rocket up into the air!
Blast a Bottle Rocket outside!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Get Fancy: Extravagant Vocab and Bottle Tiaras!

Create a fancy tiara by upcycling a soda bottle! Teach kids that you can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary! Visit Paper, Plate, and Plane for a full tutorial. Once your tiara is bedazzled, get ready for a vocab game with Fancy Nancy!



Get kids inspired to update their vocabulary, when writing. Check out Fancy Nancy books, create a list of words she uses. Compare and contrast her "fancy" words with "usual" words. This activity will push kids to think outside of the box when writing.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Newspaper Tree

Newspaper just like any other paper come from trees. Is it possible to "grow" a tree from a newspaper? Upcycle an old newspaper into a magical tree! Kids will be amazed, watching it instantly grow!



Thursday, January 5, 2012

DIY Shrinky Dinks!

Check out these awesome shrinky dinks made by FuturistickyCurbly instructs you on how to make your very own shrinky dinks with recycled plastic! Put them on a necklace, charm bracelet, or ring, whatever you please. You can also just play with them!

photo via Futuristicky