Balls and Ramps is part of the "Insights" Elementary Science Curriculum, a program designed to provide children with exciting science experiences that will help prepare them for science in later schooling and in life. In Balls and Ramps, students observe, use, and compare a variety of balls, experimenting with how they bounce and how they behave when rolled down ramps. This demonstrates first hand how energy, in the form of forces such as gravity, inertia, momentum, and friction, causes changes in matter. Students also learn about the properties of matter, as it has mass and occupies space, using the balls as examples. They even create their own balls, which helps them explore the effects different materials, sizes, and weights have on a ball’s other properties.
OrganismsOur life sciences unit, Organisms, expands on the kindergarten life lab in which children learned the difference between living and nonliving things in the garden. Now, first graders focus on living organisms, increasing their awareness of the diversity of life. Just as they planted a garden in kindergarten, children now take care of a variety of plants and animals in their classroom. They learn that all living things have basic needs such as food, water, air and space. Plants and animals, as well as people, all grow, reproduce and die. This extended experience of caring for many organisms provides a basis for life science while helping children develop positive attitudes and a sensitivity toward living things.
The Pebbles, Sand and Silt unit introduces students to several kinds of rocks, as well as clay and soil. They learn that pebbles, sand, and silt are products of erosion from rocks, each defined by its particle size. Children investigate the differences between types of rocks and between rocks, clay and soil by sorting, washing, sifting and arranging them. They compare the hardness of rocks by rubbing them together and experiment with how water acts on particles of different sizes. This hands-on investigation teaches observation and thinking skills as well as familiarizing students with these earth materials. The unit concludes with student projects that demonstrate how people use earth materials in their daily lives.
Last updated: June 2, 2000