“Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand.”

STEM: INQUIRY BASED LEARNING

Unit Study

WINTER WEATHER Index

• It all started when… • Teacher Preparation

• Resource Hunt • Study Web • K-W-L Chart

• Small Group Activities • Call It A Rap

• Photo Opportunity/Documentation Panel • Indoor/Outdoor Activities

• Connections • Teachers Helpful Hints

By: Mallory O’Brien

Jersey City Public Schools Early Childhood Department Concordia Learning Center

It all started when a child asked a question or made a statement….

In the box below, please state originating idea and the anecdote to go along with it.

On December 9, 2014 there were flurries outside. The children came to school very excited. During morning message, N raised her hand and said “Snow is outside.” J then raised his hand and said “The snow falling from sky.” S then said, “Snow feels like water.” Miss Mallory said, “How can we make ice?” A said “We can melt it.” S then said “You fall on ice, I like snow.”

TEACHER PREPERATION Materials that are within the classroom: Water Cups Tweezers Pipes Magnifying Glasses Balance Scales Droppers Measuring Cups Snow (from outside) Shovels Table Toys Books Poster Board Documentation Panel Construction Paper Crayons Base 10 Blocks

Materials that need to be borrowed or bought: Shaving Cream Baking Soda Salt Thermometer Yard Stick Ruler Scale

RESOURCE HUNT Books

There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow Lucille Colandro Snow Day for Mouse Judy Cox Snow Uri Shulevitz * Snow Cassie Mayer * Patterns in the Snow J. Clark Sawyer * Snow and Ice Stephen Krensky * The Snowy Day Ezra Keats Over and Under the Snow Kate Messner * * Denotes Nonfiction Books *

Websites

http://www.123child.com/lessonplans/seasonal/winter/snow.php http://www.education.com/activity/article/make-your-own-snow/ http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/snow/songs.htm http://www.parentingscience.com/preschool-science-experiment.html

Songs

5 Little Snowmen I Love Ice; Jean Warren Whirling Snowflakes Snow Pokey

Videos

Sid the Science Kid Snow Search – YouTube Snow Shelter – PBS Kids

Poems

I See Winter by Jean Warren

Parents

Parents were asked to provide different size containers for us to freeze our water in. Ask parents to send children in boots so we can explore snow outdoors.

Study Web This web is for the teacher to organize the study for his/her own use. In each circle, LIST the activity titles to keep an organized, simple form of the study.

Winter Weather

Small Group Indoor/Outdoor

Large Group Message Board

Water – Ice Exploration Ice – Water Exploration Snow Exploration “Fake” Snow Measurements Snow Portraits

Footprints in the Snow Snow Exploration Snow Measurements

Sliding in the Snow; Slipping on the Ice Snow Pokey My Favorite Snow Activity Compare Snow & Ice

1. Small Group – Explain to the children what we will be exploring during small group

2. Introduce new tools of the day to the children

Create one K-W-L chart for the students before the study to identify what the students already know about the topic.

K What do you KNOW?

SP - “Snow is cold.”

AA - “Ice is cold.”

KM - “Snowflakes soft.”

JD - “Ice is hard.”

AH- “Water is white.”

DP “Water hot”

MF - “Water cold”

VJ “Ice sliding.”

ND “Snow is white.”

WS – “Water move all around.”

W What do you WANT to know?

JD “Will ice turn to sun?”

AH “Does water melt?”

IS – “Does ice fall from

the sky?”

Miss Mallory – “Where does the snow go?”

AU – “Can we make

snow?”

JC – “Does it have to be cold outside for

snowing?”

MF – “Ice is hot?”

Miss Roxanne – “What weighs the most?”

L What did you LEARN?

SP – “Snow melts to water when it gets hot.” JD - “Water freezes to ice when it is really cold.” MF – “Ice melts to water.” ND – “Ice is solid. It is hard.” AU – “Water goes through a pipe. Ice does not.” AH – “Water and ice are see through.” VJ – “You no see through snow.” WS – “You mold snow like play dough.” KM – “Salt melt ice.” IS – “Ice break if you drop it.” AA – “Snow, ice are water.” JC – “Snow heavy.”

K-W-L is to be a work in progress throughout the entire study.

Small Group Activity One

Investigate Materials

Objective: Students will explore properties of water through the use of different scientific tools. Materials Supplied cups of water; pipes; tweezers; droppers; measuring cups; spoons; forks; table toys

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were investigating materials to plan next lesson. 1. ND “The teddy bear goes to the bottom of the water but the person stay at the top.” 2. JD “The tweezers don’t help me pick up water. I can only pick up water with the spoon.” 3. SP “When I was pouring my water I spilled it and it went all over the table and on the floor. Like it moved through the pipe too, it went in and down it didn’t get stuck.”

Steps to take: Each child will be given a container of water. They will be given a magnifying glass, dropper, tweezers, pipes, spoons, forks, and measuring cup. The student will experiment ways in which water moves, what happens to different objects when they are placed in the water, and what tools we can use to pick up water. Students will predict what will happen to our cups of water if we put them outside in cold weather.

Note: The studies do not require a certain amount of activities. The study goes on for as long as the student’s interest remains active. When planning activities, be sure to include all five ingredients of active learning.

Higher Order Questions to Ask: Why do some of our table toys go to the bottom of the water? Why do some table toys stay at the top of the water? What will happen if we put our water outside in cold weather?

Outcome of lesson: Students determined that water can be hot or cold. They learned that water is a liquid. Students determined that water takes the shape of the container that it is placed in. Students also learned about the concepts of sinking and floating. They learned that when you drop water, it is quiet, but it goes all over the place. They learned that when we are trying to clean up water, paper absorbs the water. Students also concluded that water is transparent because we can see through it.

TIPS: Give some students hot water and some student’s cold water so that they can see the temperature difference.

New vocabulary to introduce

Sink Float

Transparent Liquid

Absorption

Small Group Activity Two

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were using materials to plan next lesson. 1. AH – “Our water freezed into ice. The ice feels slippery and cold.” 2. DP – “My hand can’t go through the ice because it hard. When I drop it, it break and cracking.” 3. VJ - “My ice turning back to water.”

Materials Used: Ice, Pipes, Droppers, Tweezers, Balance Scale, Spoons, Forks, Table Toys, Measuring Cups, Hair Dryers, Salt

Higher Order Questions to ask: How can we get ice to melt? How is ice different then water? What can we do to get the ice to fit into the pipe?

Steps to take: Provide each child with a basket of materials and a cup of ice. Explore how the ice was different than the water previously explored. Experiment by dropping ice, trying to put it through tubes, and seeing what tools will pick up the ice. Use the balance scale to weigh a cup of water and a cup of ice to see which is heavier.

Objective: Students will explore our “frozen water,” to recognize the change in material. They will learn that ice is a solid but it is also transparent. We will use our balance scale to see if water or ice weighs more.

Note: The studies do not require a certain amount of activities. The study goes on for as long as the students’ interest remains active. When planning activities, be sure to include all 5 ingredients of active learning.

Outcome of lesson: Students observed that ice is a solid. When we drop it, it stays in the same spot. They noticed that ice is also transparent like water. They concluded that ice is hard, not soft and that it has to be cold, otherwise it melts back into water. They also observed that objects cannot sink in ice like they do in water. We learned that salt can melt ice and that it is slippery. They also used the sense of taste and determined that ice tastes like water.

New vocabulary to introduce

Freeze/Frozen Melt

Slippery Solid

Heat/Hot

TIPS: Use a timer to determine how long it takes for the ice to melt in various ways (hair dryer, naturally, salt, water table). Allow children to put ice in the water table to observe if that is another way for the ice to melt. Ask children what they observe about the ice as it starts to melt.

Call It A Rap!

(At the end of each activity, gather all the students to “call it a rap”! During this part of the study, you will need to ask the children to describe the activity in their own words. You can then create a chart of all the responses throughout the study. (Great opportunity for COR anecdotes.) This can be during message board, large group or a small group. Students First Name Students Response (Water Observations) 1. Serafina “The water moved all around in my cup.”

2. Aarav “The water is liquid, I drink it. It yummy”

3. Karishma “Me, water is cold.”

4. Alexander “Water can be super hot or really cold.”

5. Jason “The water is see through, that is transparent.”

6. Dhruv “My spoon holds water.”

7. Nishka “My teddy bear sink down under water.” “My finger can go to bottom of cup.”

8. Jaeliss “If the cup spill, it fall all over.”

Activity Ice Observations

9. Vibha “The ice won’t fit in my pipe.”

10. Alexander “The ice is my water that freezed.”

11. Adhya “When my ice get hotter, it melting to water.”

12. William “The ice is hard, it cold, it freezed.”

13. Serafina “The ice freeze because it is really really really cold outside.”

14. Miya “The ice sounds like crack when it falls down. The salt sounds like crack on ice.”

15. Jason “You get ice from water.” “Ice melt.”

16. Aarav “It slippery.”

Activity Snow Observations

17. Jaeliss “I mix with my spoon really fast.”

18. Samanvi “Snow white color.”

19. Ilisha “I put the worm under snow.”

20. Alexander “Snow is soft just like a blanket.”

21 Dhruv “I see through my water. Not snow. Snow is fluffy.”

22. Serafina “Fake Snow not melting.”

23. Jason “It turn snow when I mix it.”

Activity Footprints in the Snow

24. Samanvi “My Foot.”

25 Karishma “I see my foot. It smaller then Vibha.”

26. Serafina “I made a splash in the puddle not a footprint. Because snow is molding like play dough.”

27. Alexander “Me and Jason we made 10 big, big, big footprints. Mine bigger. His are small. Mine was 12 blocks.”

Activity Real Snow

28. Aarav “It feel so cold like the ice.”

29. Serafina “It moving down the tube like water.”

30. Miya “Real snow is white.”

31. Dhruv “It fall from sky like rain.”

32. Jaeliss “You wear gloves because it feel cold.”

33. Jason “It melts back to water like the ice did. Snow and ice are water.”

34. Adhya “This ruler measuring snow. It high. 3 inches.”

35. Alexander “Thermometer says 27.”

Activity Measuring Comparison

36. Jaeliss “The snow going up.”

37. Nishka “My scale says number 3. 3 pound.”

38. Alexander “The water is the heaviest of all three of them. It always go down.”

39. Jason “The snow melted and it equals water.”

40. Karishma “When water and ice are in scale, water going down. Ice going up.”

41. Aarav “I found a block. The block going down. The block heavier. The snow going up.”

42. Ilisha “The scale has a number 1 for my water.”

Small Group Activity Three

Materials Used:

Baking soda, shaving cream, cups, spoons, tweezers, magnifying glasses, pipes, measuring cups, balance scales, droppers

Objective: We will attempt to create our own snow by mixing ingredients together; compare and contrast snow and ice. We will then compare and contrast fake snow and real snow during our outdoor activity.

STEPS TO TAKE: Start by allowing children to spray shaving cream into their cups. They can then add the baking soda. Let children experiment until they get the consistency they want. Once they have made their snow, let them observe how it is different from water and ice. Let children experiment with tools to explore the snow. Allow them to use table toys and the balance scale to weigh snow.

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were using materials to plan next lesson. 1. MF – As she mixed together her ingredients, she said, “This snow not cold like outside snow.” 2. AH – He was observing the snow with a magnifying glass and said, “The snow is white, I can’t see through it like water.”

Higher Order Questions to Ask: How is snow different than ice? How is snow different than water? Are there any other ways we can make snow? How is this snow different than outside snow? How are snow and ice alike?

Note: The studies do not require a certain amount of activities. The study goes on for as long as the students’ interest remains active. When planning activities, be sure to include all five ingredients of active learning

Outcome of lesson: We learned that snow is opaque. By mixing two ingredients together, we caused a reaction and our outcome was snow. The children observed that, unlike ice and water, we could mold snow like play dough. By using table toys, the children learned that you could bury objects in the snow. They concluded that snow is more like water because it goes through the tubes and you need a spoon to pick it up, just like water. The children observed that this snow doesn’t melt.

TIPS Try to use real and fake snow at the same time; the children were left with some unanswered questions after this activity.

New vocabulary to introduce

Opaque Mixing

Ingredients Reaction

Bury

Small Group Activity Four

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were using materials to plan next lesson. 1. ND – “Snow is heaviest because scale going down.” 2. DP – “Water not heavy, it always go up.”

Materials Used: Ice, Water, Snow, Balance Scale, scale

Higher Order Questions to ask: Will all three weigh the same once the ice and snow melt? Why are snow and ice heavier than water? Can you find something in the classroom that may be heavier then the snow?

Steps to take: Provide each child with a cup of ice, snow, and water. Let them use the measuring cup to fill up one cup of water so they can observe what one cup looks like. Allow children to use the balance scale and scale to observe how much each object weighs. When they are finished weighing the objects, record the findings.

Objective: Students will weigh snow, water and ice using different tools. We will record which weighs the most, which weighs the least and what one falls in the middle.

Outcome of lesson: The students concluded that the water weighs the most. We learned that this is because water takes up more space than snow. Snow is dense and compact. We recalled what happened when we dropped water, ice, and snow to understand this concept. We placed one cup of water and one cup of snow in the balance scale and waited for the snow to melt. Children saw what one cup looked like when poured from the measuring cup to the scale. They learned how to measure using a measuring cup. When the snow melted back to water, we observed that both cups had equal amounts of water. Students learned that the item that goes down on the balance scale (heavier) will also show a larger number (pound) on the scale.

New vocabulary to introduce

Pound Equal Dense

Compact Heavier Lighter Weight

TIPS: Allow children to find objects around the room that may weigh more than the snow. Let them experiment to get a greater understanding.

PHOTO OPP

We used the whole room to chart and record our findings. However, we kept track of the activities, tools, vocabulary words and all of the fun activities on our documentation panel!

At this part of the study, please enter pictures taken during the investigations. The pictures should be taken by the students, at their eye level, and the teacher. The pictures are to be used for your documentation panel. You may also want to use the pictures to put in a photo album for the book area.

Indoor/Outdoor Activities Activity One

Footprints in the Snow

Objective: After reading the book “Snow Day for Mouse,” the children wanted to make their own footprints. When we went outside, we observed how big our footprints were and counted how many footprints we made.

Materials Used: Boots, Camera, Base 10 Blocks

STEPS TO TAKE: Take a walk around the school building. Put children into pairs. Together they can compare the size of their footprints, measure their footprint using base 10 blocks, and count how many footprints they make.

Higher Order Questions to ask: Why can’t we make footprints on ice? What happens if we step on water? Why are footprints all different sizes?

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were using materials to plan next lesson. 1. ND – “I see my footprint here, on top of the snow.” 2. JD – “I step in the puddle right here and I don’t see footprint.”

Note: The studies do not require a certain amount of activities. The study goes on for as long as the students interest remains active. When planning activities, make sure to include all parts of active learning

Outcome of lesson : The children concluded that the size of your footprint depends on the size of your shoe. They determined that you can make a footprint because you can mold snow (learned in small group). We stepped on some puddles to determine that water splashes. We decided not to step on ice because we could slip. The children used base 10 blocks (nonstandard measurement) to help them determine that footprints are different sizes.

TIPS Make sure each child has a pair of boots for this activity.

New Vocabulary to introduce

Bigger Smaller

Footprint Mold

Indoor/Outdoor Activities

Activity Two Real Snow Exploration

Objective: Observe the properties of real snow both indoors and outdoors. Compare and contrast our real snow and fake snow. Measure how much snow has fallen and how cold it is outside.

Materials Used : Snow, Camera, Buckets, Mittens, Water Table, Thermometer, Yard Stick, Ruler

Higher Order Questions to ask: What will happen to the snow when it gets hot? Why does the snow melt outside if it is cold out? If it was hotter, would there be snow? How else could we measure the amount of snow that has fallen? How is snow formed?

STEPS TO TAKE: Give each child a cup and shovel. Go outside to collect snow, allowing children to play with the snow. Use the yardstick and ruler to measure the depth of the snow. Place the thermometer outside to record the temperature. We used a measuring cup to measure 30 cups of snow to take inside to observe.

Allow students to test theories with materials supplied. Please add two anecdotes of what happened when children were using materials to plan next lesson. 1. MF – While picking up the real snow to put in the water table, she said, “This snow is cold.” 2. SP – “After we brought the snow back to the classroom, she noticed, “The snow is melting like the ice back to water.”

TIPS Allow students to bring snow back inside, don’t keep this simply as an outdoor activity. Going outside while it is snowing, allowed us to talk about how snowflakes are formed and what they are made of.

New Vocabulary to introduce Same (Compare)

Different (Contrast) Thermometer

Fahrenheit Inches

Yardstick Ruler

Temperature Ice Crystals & Snowflakes

Outcome of lesson : Students determined that the snow outside is cold, not like our fake snow. They said it is soft. When we brought the snow back inside, we noticed that it started to melt, just like the ice. The children concluded that the real snow and the fake snow were the same in that both could be picked up with different tools. We weighed 1 cup of real snow and 1 cup of water. The snow weighed more. When the snow melted, we noticed that they weighed the same. By using our ruler, we determined that there was 2 inches of snow outside. Our thermometer read 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Children then drew pictures of what they saw outside and presented their drawings to the class. Students learned that snow forms in clouds when ice crystals combine. We learned that it must be below 32 degrees.

When planning the activities, make sure the temperature outside is cold enough for the water to freeze. Incorporating a thermometer when doing this was helpful so that children learned what temperature meant. The children enjoyed making the fake snow and then comparing it to our real snow. I would stick to a simple recipe, like the one shown, so students are able to make the snow on their own. In the future, I would put newspaper on the floor when doing the water activity to eliminate having a slippery classroom floor. When doing the measuring activity, I would incorporate different tools next time, such as spoons, droppers, etc., so children can see different measurements other than weight.

Teacher’s Helpful Hints

In this section of the study, please provide helpful hints to your fellow colleagues. Let everyone know what worked, what didn’t work, what you will do differently next time, etc.

Connections Unit

Study _____

Standards, COR, and KDI’s that apply throughout the study

Standards Science: 5.1.1 Display curiosity about science objects, materials, activities, and longer-­‐term investigations in progress (e.g., ask who, what, when, where, why, and how questions during sensory explorations, experimentation, and focused inquiry). 5.1.2 Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and phenomena during classroom activities indoors and outdoors and during any longer-­‐term investigations in progress. Seek answers to questions and test predictions using simple experiments or research media 5.1.4 Communicate with other children and adults to share observations, pursue questions, make predictions, and/or conclusions. 5.1.5 Represent observations and work through drawing, recording, data and “writing.” 5.2.2 Explore changes in liquids and solids when substances are combined, heated, or cooled Math 4.2.3 Begin to use appropriate vocabulary to demonstrate awareness of the measurable attributes of length, area, weight and capacity of everyday objects 4.3.3 Compare (e.g., which container holds more) and order (e.g., shortest to longest) up to 5 objects according to measurable attributes.

Technology 5.5.1 Identify and use basic tools and technology to extend exploration in conjunction with science investigations (e.g., writing, drawing, and painting utensils, scissors, staplers, magnifiers, balance scales, ramps, pulleys, hammers, screwdrivers, sieves, tubing, binoculars, whisks, measuring cups, appropriate computer software and website information, video and audio recordings, digital cameras, tape recorders). Visual & Performing Arts 1.4.6 Create more recognizable representations as eye hand coordination & fine motor skills develop. Speaking & Listening SL.PK.1ab Participate in conversations and interactions with peers and adults individually and in small and large groups. a) Follow-­‐agreed upon rules for discussions during group interactions. b) Continue a conversation through several back and forth exchanges. Social Emotional 0.4.1 Engage appropriately with peers and teachers in classroom activities.

COR Physical Development & Health – I. Gross Motor; J. Fine Motor Language Literacy & Communication: L. Speaking; M. Listening & Comprehension; R. Writing Mathematics: S. Numbers & counting; U. Measurement; W. Data Analysis Creative Arts: X. Art; Y. Music; Z. Movement Science & Technology: BB. Observing & Classifying; CC. Experimenting, Predicting & Drawing Conclusions; DD. Natural & Physical World; EE. Tools & Technology

KDI’s 3. Engagement;; 4. Problem solving 5. Use of resources;; 6. Reflection;; 11. Community;; 12. Building Relationships;; 13. Cooperative Play;; 16. Gross Motor Skills;; 17. Fine Motor Skills;; 21. Comprehension;; 22. Speaking;; 23. Vocabulary;; 29. Writing;; 32. Counting;; 33. Measuring;; 37. Unit;; 38. Data Analysis;; 40. Art;; 41. Music;; 42. Movement;; 45 Observing;; 46. Classifying;; 47. Experimenting;; 48. Predicting;; 49. Drawing Conclusions;; 50. Communicating ideas;; 51. Natural and physical world;; 52. Tools and technology;;