A power point presentation containing everything educators need to know about what to do and what not to do regarding physical and earth science for young children. Plenty or ideas and resources are included in the presentation.

1. Exploring

2.  Rosie Amstutz
 Nate Hendeson
 Ashton Sprouse
 Lauren Yoppolo

3. An encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that
study non-living system. A study of the physical world around you.

4.  For the young child to construct knowledge in
physical science, he must actively engage with the
materials to make it his own.
 Physical knowledge is gained most thoroughly from
the child acting on the object.
 There are many kinds of physical science but only
some allow the child to directly act on objects to
experience the results.

5.  Examples of materials children can directly act on:
 The inclined plane, play dough and other manipulative materials, pulleys
and pendulums, building blocks and woodworking construction, and
experiences with sand and water.
 Ongoing opportunities to build and experiment with these
materials in the classroom provide the raw materials through
which children can see the results of their actions and try
changing them to meet their goals.
 These physical science experiences are the best choices for
building young children’s understanding of cause and effect.

6.  There are 4 criteria for activities that promote physical
knowledge.
1. Child produces the movement by her actions.
2. Child can vary his actions to affect outcome.
3. Child can observe the action of the object.
4. Child can immediately experience the effect.
(Sources: Chaillé & Brittain, 2003, pp. 68, 69; Kamii & DeVries, 1993, pp. 8, 9)
 Some physical science activities will meet all criteria and some
will not.
 The science experiences that meet all four of the criteria will
best support young children’s learning in physical knowledge.

7.  Not limited to materials that children can act on directly.
 Can go further- there are countless materials to explore where
children cannot observe the force on the object.
 Example: Young children cannot grasp the concepts that explain the
intervening force (force of magnetism).
 Intervening force- a phenomenon that is not caused directly by the child
acting on it, usually not observable by the child.
 While 3 categories of the Physical Knowledge Criteria for Science
can be met, children can act on the materials directly (employing
the intervening force) and vary the results and observe them.
 Through this, children can experience the result of the intervening
force.

8.  More Good Examples:
 Density: sink-and-float activity
▪ Experiment with different objects in water
 Electricity
 Computers
 Children cannot understand these but they can make predictions
and comments.
 When simple materials using force or electricity can be explored,
children can recognize that there is an intervening force that causes
actions.

9.  Bad Examples:
 Chemical Changes (i.e. Volcano Experiment)
▪ Results are magic to children
▪ Reaction is outside their understanding and control
▪ Actual change is not seen, only end result (fizzing)
 Chemical reactions are not usually seen in daily lives so it does not lead to
further understanding of their world.
 Wrong information: Volcanoes are not caused by combining baking soda and
vinegar.
 Many activities like this that should be left for junior high science labs. (i.e.
growing crystals)

10.  The 4 Physical knowledge criteria are not all met in many
biological science activities.
 In biological science, children observe a change that is beyond
their comprehension.
 Change from caterpillar to butterfly
 Sprouting of seeds
 However, by watching these changes over time, children can
generalize that these changes take place and they can see the
purpose of growth and change, as they sense their own bodies
changing.

11.  There are many science materials that meet the criteria for
physical knowledge.
 When choosing these, teachers provide a wide range of
constructivist learning tools.
 Main focus of physical science in preschool and kindergarten.
 Standards:
 As a result of the activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an
understanding of:
▪ Properties of objects and materials
▪ Position and motions of objects
▪ Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism.
Content Standard: K-4. National science education standards (1996).

12. Activities with Inclined
Planes
 Activity 1
 Create inclined plane with cardboard tubes,
wrapping paper, clear tubes, long boards, and
blocks.
 Vary height by number of blocks used
 Roll various sized balls, cylinder blocks, or cars
down ramp
 Vary only one variable at a time
 Activity 2
 Build ramps of different heights
 Roll ball down ramp to compare which rolls farthest
 Predict before, measure after, and graph
 Helps to develop spatial relationships, prediction,
observation, graphing, and cooperative learning
skills.

13. Activities with Inclined
Planes
Making
Predictions

14. Activities with Inclined Experimenting
Planes
and
Measuring

15. Activities with Inclined Graphing results and comparing
Planes findings with predictions.

16. Activities with
Pendulums and
Pulleys
 Pendulum = length of string + bob
 Provide children time to
experiment with various uses
 Provide materials to knock over
 Ask children to experiment with
various lengths of string, weight of
bob, and structure types
 Sand pendulum

17. Physical Science with
Blocks
 Stacking and knocking over blocks
 Creation of complex structures
allow children to experiment with
balance
 Force used to manipulate various
sizes, shapes, and weights of
blocks
 Moving and transporting during
clean-up time

18. Tinkering and Helping
with Repairs
 Helps children understand how
things work
 Involves taking things apart
 Small repairs can be educational
 Enlist the help of other staff and
community members

19. Woodworking
 Aesthetically pleasing
 Provides children with an
opportunity to work hands-on and
use real tools
 Close supervision is necessary
 Helpful to view woodworking in an
environment outside of school

20. Water as a Force
 Multiple ways to explore water
 Most children are naturally curious
about water
 How water flows, how to vary that
flow, and how to transport water
via tubes, pipes, etc.

21. What is Static Electricity?
• Produced by friction
• Caused by an imbalance of positive and negative charges
Static Electricity (like magnets) causes oppositely charged objects to
attract each other and like charged objects to repel each other.
 Flow of electrons
What are some everyday experiences of it?
• Lightning
• Receiving shocks after shuffling across a carpet
• Taking clothes that cling to each other out of the dryer
• Combing hair in the wintertime
What are some terms you can use to describe static electricity?
• repel, attract, static charge, electron transfer

22.  There are many things you can use to electrically charge a
PVC pipe, balloon, etc.:
 wool ￭ faux fur
 hair ￭ variety of fabrics
 clothes ￭ arms
 Examples of objects that may be attracted or repelled:
 Rice Krispies ￭ water
 salt ￭ pepper
 small pieces of paper ￭ hair
 walls ￭ gelatin
 feathers ￭ small pieces of fabric
 coffee grounds

23. The study of nonliving elements or inanimate matter on the planet and
elements that affect the planet.

24. Earth Science
Effects of Weather
Geology
Light & Shadow
Ecology
Source of Water

25. Four Kinds of Science
Intertwined
 The study of the four types of
science areas are often
intertwined.
When studying the earth, we Earth
learn that soil is formed by Science
decaying plant and animal life.
This process makes the earth rich
for plants to be sustained and
grow and to support animal life.
Children can study small areas of
earth as ECOSYSTEMS by digging Physical Life Science:
up a section of earth and Science Plants
discovering elements of both
plant and animal life.
Children can see a miniature
ECOSYSTEM by creating a
terrarium.
Life Science:
A playground can be seen as an Animals
ecosystem with different places
for play, plants, animals &
children.

26. ECOLOGY: The study “ Teachers have a responsibility to expose children to the delights
of conserving earth and and mysteries of the great outdoors. Before children learn how
humans impact the environment in harmful ways, they need
living systems
opportunities to learn to care about it.” --Kupetz and Twist, 2000
•Humans effect on the
environment shows
negative influences.
•Children usually do not
experience this impact.
•In small observable
ways, children can
picture the changes
humans can make to
keep our spaces on
earth for the people,
animals, and plants and
to preserve resources
for the future.

27.  Focus on what children can see around
them in their own environment
 Examine a water puddle after a rain: step
over it or jump in it
 Feel the force of the wind blowing a
paper streamer
 Observe that water changes to ice and
back again; compare the melted ice to
other ice
 Clouds are too distant to interact with but
children can make observations about their
shape, their beauty can be enjoyed and
notations can be made about them when
the weather changes.
 Young children cannot grasp the steps of
the water cycle because it cannot be seen.

28.  Can be done indoors
and outdoors.
 WATER
 Multisensory: sounds,
textures, changes of
state, soothing feelings
of wetness
 Fascinating, excites,
relaxes
 Valuable for play with
SAND and DIRT

29.  Easy to move & mold.
Can be dug, sifted,
sculpted, poured, and
drawn upon.
 Indoors at a sand/water
table; outdoors in a large
sand area
 Use small toys (trucks,
animals), live vegetation,
kitchenware, tableware,
shovels, molds,
containers

30.  Soap can be added to
water to make bubbles.
• Give children a straw to
blow into to make a bubble
mountain
• Make a bubble machine by
inserting a straw into the
side of a Styrofoam cup.
• Experiment with berry
baskets, shapes made from
chenille stems, plastic rings
from 6-packs of water
bottles

31. • Indoors: put soil from
outside or purchased
soil in tubs and allow
children to explore it
with water
• Outdoors: in a
digging area, place
shovels, buckets,
tablespoons and cups

32. • Use small pumps, water wheels,
funnels and containers of all shapes
and sizes.
• Materials can be organized for
varied water play experiences:
pouring and filling, sieves and
containers with holes, pumps and
wheels, sponges, and materials for
washing.
• When weather changes, children
can decide to create changes with
water, snow, and ice

33.  Rocks
 Sorting, seriating, measuring
 Experiment with volume: how many rocks does it take to
overflow a large jar of water
 Build forms, make paths
 Draw with stones, sand them down
 Change in characteristics can be observed in water
 Some can be cracked open
 When light is shown on some rocks, different consistencies are
shown
 Combine stones and sand to explore different ways of creating
 Sand & Gravel
 Sort with a sieve
 Compare wet and dry; mold and shape, poured and piled
 Rub on hard surfaces and soft surfaces
 Use a magnifying glass to show size of granules
 Soil
 Dig it up
 Compare it to sand
 Used wet, damp or dry
 Mix with sand, small rocks and crumbling leaves, grass, bark and
flowers

34. • Using small trowels, spoons and table knives, collect about a cup of earth from each area
• Label each cup with the source of the earth, such as sandbox, garden, under the tree.
• Bring the samples indoors and provide a tray for each sample.
• Provide tea strainers, colanders, pencils, spoons, bug catchers, magnifying glasses,
and/or microscopes to examine each cup of earth.
• Children may draw the results they find.

36.  The bending of light
 Light travels at
different speeds
through various
materials
 When light changes
speed, it bends in a
new direction

38.  What did we think
was going to
happen?
 What actually
happened?
 Why did this
happen?

39.  Complex phenomena for young children

40.  Flashlights,
Light bulbs,
Light tables
 Placing
different
materials on
light sources

41.  Why do you have a
shadow?
 Do you always have a
shadow?
 How does your shadow
change?
 What happens to your
shadow when you
wave? stretch out your
arms? spin around?

42.  Making observations makes the topic meaningful to them
 Best and most memorable observations occur when the
students are actually outside to observe the weather

45. Stratus Cumulus
Cirrocumulus Cirrus

46.  Helps introduce
and solidify what
children already
know
 Enlivens topic
 Focuses attention
on inquiry