Students will plan and conduct experiments to develop an understanding of pushes, pulls, and motion. Our Kindergarten scientists will be learning all about force and motion during this unit. Some of the topics we will be experimenting with will include concepts of rolling, sliding, and changing speed or direction. Students will engage in activities that help them to identify why objects start moving, stop moving, and concepts of flight. Our young physicists will experiment with different surfaces to develop a foundation about friction. Kindergarten scientists will experiment with the Force of Magnetism and how magnets are used in everyday life.
What you can do at home
Activities
As your child plays with toys, scooters, and bicycles ask them to observe the following:
(1) How do things move in different ways (forward, backward, left, right, zigzag, fast and slow).
(2) When playing with toy cars ask your child how he/she can change the way something is moving by giving it a push or a pull. (3) Throw a ball up in the air. Ask your child why everything they throw up in the air comes back down to Earth.
(4) Conduct a magnet search of your home. Ask your child to find ways that magnets are used in your own home.
Websites
BBC School Science - Forces and Motion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/forces_movement.shtml
BBC School Science - Friction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/friction.shtml
Suggested Reading
The Inventors’ Diary by Jane Buxton. School children are involved in a project to make a track for marbles.
Move It!: Motion, Forces and You (Primary Physical Science) by Adrienne Mason, Claudia Davila. This book explores the physics or how and why things move.
What Magnets Can Do (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler. This book introduces basic concepts of magnetism including poles, force of magnetism, and objects attracted to a magnet.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades K-2 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.
What you can do at home
Activities
As your child plays with toys, scooters, and bicycles ask them to observe the following:
(1) How do things move in different ways (forward, backward, left, right, zigzag, fast and slow).
(2) When playing with toy cars ask your child how he/she can change the way something is moving by giving it a push or a pull. (3) Throw a ball up in the air. Ask your child why everything they throw up in the air comes back down to Earth.
(4) Conduct a magnet search of your home. Ask your child to find ways that magnets are used in your own home.
Websites
BBC School Science - Forces and Motion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/forces_movement.shtml
BBC School Science - Friction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/friction.shtml
Suggested Reading
The Inventors’ Diary by Jane Buxton. School children are involved in a project to make a track for marbles.
Move It!: Motion, Forces and You (Primary Physical Science) by Adrienne Mason, Claudia Davila. This book explores the physics or how and why things move.
What Magnets Can Do (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler. This book introduces basic concepts of magnetism including poles, force of magnetism, and objects attracted to a magnet.
For a list of science nonfiction books, please click on the link titled Favorite Links and Books to Read. Click on the sublink Grades K-2 Science Nonfiction Books, where you will find a detailed list of books related to many different topics in science.