Make A Sundial.docx

MAKE A SUNDIAL: How do you tell time without a watch? Use the sun! The sun can be an accurate time telling device as long as you have the tools to help you. Many ancient peoples used sundials to keep track of time. The earliest sundials we know of are the shadow clocks (circa 1500 BC) that were used in Egyptian and Babylonian astronomy. Show your child how people were able to tell time long before analog, and then digital clocks, appeared on the scene.

What You Need: 

Straight stick about 2 feet long

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Pebbles or small sea shells

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Watch

What You Do: 1. Find a sunny spot and push the stick straight into the grass or earth. If your backyard doesn’t have any grass or earth, fill a small bucket with sand and place your stick into the bucket. 2. Start in the morning when the sun is up. At 7:00 am use a pebble to mark where the shadow of your stick falls. Come back at 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:00am, and so on until there is no more daylight in the day. You may want to mark your pebbles with the time they were placed using chalk. 3. By the end of the day your sundial will be complete. The next time your kid asks what time it is (and the sun is out) point him in the direction of the sundial.

Did You Know? 

The length of the shadows will change throughout the year. In the summer the shadows are shorter and the winter the shadows are longer.

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The term A.M. stands for "ante meridiem." which means before noon. P.M. stands for "post meridiem" or afternoon. Noon is the time when the sun is at its highest point in the sky.

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On a cloudy day you'll be happy to have a digital clock, but a digital clock doesn't give you any clues about the seasons, so both time-telling tools have their uses!

THE SCIENCE OF SOUND Science is fun for kids of all ages. Experiments that dazzle, models that demonstrate, and activities that fascinate are fun for children to watch and participate in. But scientific explanations are often difficult for early elementary students to grasp. By third grade, students are familiar with the scientific process, and are ready to learn the “why” behind science. Here’s a quick and easy sound science experiment that helps to add a visual element to the science of sound. What causes sound? In this activity, your third grader will do more that just find the answer; he’ll see it for himself!

What You Need: 

Empty bowl

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Rubber band

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Plastic wrap

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Colored sugar crystals

What You Do: 1. Have cut a piece of plastic wrap big enough to cover the top of the bowl. 2. Have him put the rubber band over the plastic and around the top of the bowl to hold the plastic in place. Make sure the plastic wrap is held tight, and isn’t sagging. 3. Next, sprinkle a small pinch of sugar crystals in the center of the plastic. 4. Now, have him get down close to the cup, and say his name aloud. Watch the sugar crystals. Ask him to describe what he saw happening.(The sugar crystals look like they’re on a trampoline! They're moving!) 5. Ask him to try to explain what is happening. If he offers his breath as an explanation for the sugar moving, have him try the experiment again, only this time he should hum instead of talk, and be careful not to breathe on the sugar. Do they still move? 6. Ask your third grader to think of ways of altering his voice to repeat this test. (eg: louder, softer, singing voice, speaking voice, high pitch, low pitch, whisper, etc.)

MEASURING WATER Back in preschool and kindergarten, kids learned about measurements in terms of “heavy” and “light,” but now that first grade is here, it’s time to expand the fun and do some scientific measurement. Lots of kids will recognize a doctor’s scale, or perhaps you even have one at home. This activity will help your child understand the basics of scientific measurement and give her a chance to be a little scientist.

What You Need: 

Baking tray

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Mixing bowl that fits inside the baking tray (ideally clear and transparent)

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Measuring cup with ounce measurement lines clearly marked

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Simple objects, such as an apple or an orange

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Water

What You Do: 1. Help your child fill the mixing bowl with water, all the way to the very top. 2. Have her place the bowl in the tray. 3. Then put one of your pieces of fruit into the water, so that it splashes over the edge and into the tray. 4. Pour the water from the tray into the measuring cup. Have her read how many ounces of water is in the measuring cup and explain that the fruit took up space in the bowl and pushed out water to make room. Then explain that the weight of the water splashed out by the fruit is equal to the weight of the fruit. This game is a great way for little minds to expand and gain appreciation for science!

SIMPLE MACHINES Simple machines make our lives easier – we know this but we aren’t always aware of how they help us.

What You Need: 

Paper

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Pencil

What You Do: 1. Fold your paper in half and then in half again so that when you open it you have four sections. Now label each section with the four categories of simple machines: pulley, lever, wedge, wheel and axle. Make one scorecard per child. 2. Explain that this is a scientific scavenger hunt to uncover simple machines in your home. Review the simple machines. o Pulley: a grooved wheel that holds a line, used to raise heavy objects. o Lever: a rigid bar used with a fulcrum to lift an object. o Wedge: a sloping surface. o Wheel and axle: a bar which rotates along with a pair of wheels. 3. Remind your child that some tools consist of one simple machine (nail = wedge) while others combine two or more (wheelbarrow = lever + wheel and axle). 4. Give each child a scorecard to record their finds and a pencil. 5. Let the hunt begin. 6. If one child lags, help him out with a few hints. Here are a few of the most common places to find simple machines in the home: o Pulley: blinds, garage doors, flag poles o Lever: see saw, pry bar, lever action door latches o Wedge: scissors, screw, a knife. o Wheel and axle: office chairs, carts, wheeled carry-on luggage and toy cars.

Forms of Energy Energy is the ability to change or move matter, and matter is everything that takes up space. Without energy, the world could not function! Here is a practical way to demonstrate specific forms of energy that's also completely kid-friendly!

What You Need: 

Bicycle

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Various household items

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Various classroom items

What You Do: 1. Have your child find and write the definition of energy and the different forms of energy: chemical, mechanical, radiant, electrical, and nuclear. By doing the research himself, he’ll be taking the lead in the experiment—always a good skill to foster. 2. Go outside and have your child position himself on a bicycle. Ask him what he needs to do in order to make the bike move. He should respond that he needs to push the pedals with his feet. Then, ask him what happens to the bike when he does this. He should respond that the tires begin to turn and move the bike. Try it out to use a little energy! 3. Have him look at his definitions of the forms of energy. Which one applies to his feet pushing the pedals which in turn move the bike? He should respond by identifying mechanical energy. His legs transfer mechanical energy to the pedals, which transfer the energy to the tires. The tires move the bike from one place to another! 4. Have your child look at his definitions of the forms of energy again. Ask him to look around the house and find something that can demonstrate another form of energy. For example, a toaster takes electrical energy running through the wire and heats up the elements which in turn toast the bread. Or on a sunny day, sit near a window placing your arm next to the window; after a few minutes your arm will be warm because the radiant energy from the sun is transferred through the window onto the arm, which makes it feel warm. Want an example of chemical energy? If you have ever seen a fireworks display, it's an awesome example of the change that takes place in chemical energy; it changes into light, which you see from below.

Physics Word Search Can you conquer our fun physics word search for kids by finding the range of words related to the important way objects interact with each other and the amazing world of physics? Do your best to see how many of the words you can find in this free puzzle game. This teaching resource is a fun and easy activity that will keep students happy and save teachers time.

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CURRENT ENERGY GRAVITY

ECLIPSE FORCE KINETIC

ELECTRICITY FRICTION LIGHT

WHAT HEAT?

ABSORBS

MORE

When you're out in the sun on a hot summers day it pays to wear some light colored clothes, but why is that? Experiment with light, color, heat and some water to find out.

What you'll need: 

2 identical drinking glasses or jars

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Water

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Thermometer

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2 elastic bands or some sellotape

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White paper

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Black paper

Instructions: Wrap the white paper around one of the glasses using an elastic band or sellotape to hold it on. Do the same with the black paper and the other glass. Fill the glasses with the exact same amount of water. Leave the glasses out in the sun for a couple of hours before returning to measure the temperature of the water in each.

What's happening? Dark surfaces such as the black paper absorb more light and heat than the lighter ones such as the white paper. After measuring the temperatures of the water, the glass with the black paper around it should be hotter than the other. Lighter surfaces reflect more light, that's why people where lighter colored clothes in the summer, it keeps them cooler.

MAKE YOUR OWN RAINBOW Learn how to make a rainbow with this fun science experiment for kids. Using just a few simple everyday items you can find out how rainbows work while enjoying an interactive, hands on activity that’s perfect for kid

What you'll need: 

A glass of water (about three quarters full)

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White paper

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A sunny day

Instructions: 1. Take the glass of water and paper to a part of the room with sunlight (near a window is good). 2. Hold the glass of water (being careful not to spill it) above the paper and watch as sunlight passes through the glass of water, refracts (bends) and forms a rainbow of colors on your sheet of paper. 3. Try holding the glass of water at different heights and angles to see if it has a different effect.

What's happening? While you normally see a rainbow as an arc of color in the sky, they can also form in other situations. You may have seen a rainbow in a water fountain or in the mist of a waterfall and you can even make your own such as you did in this experiment. Rainbows form in the sky when sunlight refracts (bends) as it passes through raindrops, it acts in the same way when it passes through your glass of water. The sunlight refracts, separating it into the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

DESIGN AND PARACHUTE

TEST

A

Learn about air resistance while making an awesome parachute! Design one that can fall slowly to the ground before putting it to the test, making modifications as you go.

What you'll need: 

A plastic bag or light material



Scissors

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String



A small object to act as the weight, a little action figure would be perfect

Instructions: 1. Cut out a large square from your plastic bag or material. 2. Trim the edges so it looks like an octagon (an eight sided shape). 3. Cut a small whole near the edge of each side. 4. Attach 8 pieces of string of the same length to each of the holes. 5. Tie the pieces of string to the object you are using as a weight. 6. Use a chair or find a high spot to drop your parachute and test how well it worked, remember that you want it to drop as slow as possible.

What's happening? Hopefully your parachute will descend slowly to the ground, giving your weight a comfortable landing. When you release the parachute the weight pulls down on the strings and opens up a large surface area of material that uses air resistance to slow it down. The larger the surface area the more air resistance and the slower the parachute will drop. Cutting a small hole in the middle of the parachute will allow air to slowly pass through it rather than spilling out over one side, this should help the parachute fall straighter.

REFERENCES: https://www.education.com/activity/article/balloon-static/ https://www.education.com/activity/earth-science/?page=3 https://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_Sundial/ https://www.education.com/activity/article/See_the_Science_Sound/ https://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_a_liquid_scale/ https://www.education.com/activity/article/simple-machines-at-home/ http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/freefall.html http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/makearainbow.html http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/quizzes/wordsearch/physics.html http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/lightcolorheat.html