Achoo! Cold, flu, and allergy seasons are fabulous times to learn about germs and how to keep them to ourselves. Kids are not always great at covering up a sneeze. The Great Sneeze Experiment will help children understand the importance of sneezing into an elbow.
This science experiment is inspired by Zoey and Sassafras: Gnomes and Sneezes. This is the latest book in one of our all-time favorite series. A fabulous mix of fantasy and science concepts appropriate and engaging for kids ages 4-10.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission from purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you. See disclosures for more information.
Gnomes and Sneezes
In book 10 of the Zoey and Sassafras series, Zoey discovers gnomes in the secret room of her friend's new house. The gnomes have a case of the sneezes! Zoey systematically works through the gnomes' symptoms and the environmental factors in their living space to identify what it causing these sniffles. Readers see her use graphing as a way to collect data.
You'll have to read the book to discover what is making the gnomes sneeze! We thoroughly enjoyed Zoey and Sassafras: Gnomes and Sneezes, and it inspired my kids to read the entire series over again (this will be the 3rd time for one of them!). If you want to encourage kids to test things out, experiment, and use logic and creativity to solve their problems, this series is the best!
You can grab a free Zoey and Sassafras science journal at the bottom of this post.
The Great Sneeze Experiment
In this simple experiment students will collect data on a "sneeze" that has not been covered and a "sneeze" that has.
Tape a piece of paper up about kid's chest level on the wall. (We used re-used paper from packaging.) Mark a place to stand a short distance away from the wall.
Fill up the spray bottle with water. If your paper is dark, using plain water will work just fine. You can also experiment with different colored water. If more than one kid is using the same piece of paper, colors can be helpful to tell whose "sneeze" is whose.
Standing in the spot marked on the floor, hold up the spray bottle at chest level and spray once. It's optional but fun to let out a big "ACHOOO" sound when you do this.
Draw a circle* around all of the spray drops on the paper from the "sneeze". Measure how wide the circle is. Note this on a data sheet.
*This step is important if you are using plain water for your experiment. The wet spot will evaporate and dry fairly quickly, so note your results!
Now, cover an arm with the towel and position your spray bottle as close to the same position as possible. Spray behind the towel covered arm. This represents sneezing into your elbow. Let out another "ACHOOO!"
Again, circle any spray from the "sneeze" you see on the paper. Measure the spots and note them in a data table.
The Great Sneeze Experiment: Results
What did you find out? I don't think I want to be in the way of that uncovered sneeze! If you are completing this experiment as a class, compile all the data before discussing it.
Some discussion questions:
What does covering the sneeze do?
How is this experiment like real life?
How is it different from real life?
More Zoey and Sassafras Science Investigations!
We love Zoey and Sassafras! Here are two other Zoey and Sassafras inspired experiments to try.
I am thrilled to be reviewing Karen Ansberry's new book: Nature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicry, as well as sharing some related STEM activity ideas. In this wonderful new picture book you'll find short poems highlighting the impressive adaptations of plants and animals followed by the story of how these adaptations have inspired engineers to solve a human problem. Nature Did It First is the perfect introduction to nature inspired STEM engineering challenges.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a small
commission from purchases made through these links. Please see
disclosures for more information. As well as links from Amazon.com you will also find links to Bookshop.org, an online book store that works to support local independent book stores. Shopping through Bookshop links can help you support book stores in your area!
Nature Did it First: Engineering Through Biomimicry
The author of Nature Did It First, Karen Ansberry, is a former classroom teacher and co-author of one of my favorite elementary science curriculum resources, Picture-Perfect Science Lessons. Ansberry is a master of combining science concepts, story and engaging STEM activities. (Not to mention an awesome facilitator for science education professional development, I have been lucky enough to attend her workshops, they are great!)
Wereally enjoyed readingNature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicryat our house. It is the perfect mix of fun little poems and really interesting information about how animals like geckos and kingfishers and plants like burrs have influenced engineers to solve human problems. I also really like that there are materials and additional resources available for teachers at the end of the book and online, including a free STEM lesson plan found here.
What is Biomimicry?
First of all, what is biomimicry anyway? If you break down the word, into "bio" and "mimic" you probably can figure it out. Biomimicry is the process of designing nature-inspired solutions to human problems. It is mimicking what we find in nature to help us in our daily lives.
As I read this book to my daughter, I was surprised by many of the ways that animal and plant behavior or physical adaptations have been incorporated into designs in the human world.
Did you know that gecko toes have inspired the development of adhesives?
Did you know that the fins of humpback whales helped engineers design more smooth and efficient windmill and water turbine blades?
How about this- did you know that the slippery surface of a pitcher plant inspired a material that helps ketchup slide out of bottles more readily?
These are just a few of the wild ways humans have been inspired by nature! You'll find several more fascinating examples when you read Nature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicry. This book would be a fantastic introduction to a STEM lesson at school, or the perfect read-aloud for nature-loving children at home. I highly recommend it!
In this engineering challenge, students will study nature, brainstorm a problem that can be solved by an idea from nature, brainstorm and design an invention, build a model and share their creation. An added language arts component could be to write a poem about the natural idea they investigated, similar to the wonderful poetry in Nature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicry.
Many, many thanks to Karen Ansberry for sharing her wonderful book with me!
Creating art from natural items is an excellent way for kids to hone their observation skills while developing creativity. I'm excited to be reviewing the Nature Arts and Crafts printable pack from author Penny Whitehouse of the Mother Natured blog. Not only is this a beautiful and clever resource for families, teachers and summer camps, but it also provides opportunities for STEAM learning and building science observation skills.
There are over 30 activities included that only require a printer, a place in nature and an excited kid! I predict it will provide hours of creative hands-on engagement for the kids in your life. Check out what we've done so far with our copy.
This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more information.
What are Nature Arts and Crafts?
The Nature Arts and Crafts printable pack is a 60 page digital book including over 30 activities to take out into nature and create art. The activities are open-ended, inspiring creativity in nature loving kids. Not only do they get to explore art while out in nature, but also hone some important science and math skills in the process.
There are printables for all skill levels included in the pack, from learning patterns and developing fine motor skills for young children, to creating intricate nature mosaics and nature journals for older kids.
STEAM Learning Opportunities
Not only will kids get to be artistic and explore nature with these activities, but they also learn a lot in the process. Elements of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) are inherent throughout. Concepts like symmetry, and patterning develop math skills. Activities like basket weaving inspire nature engineering projects.
As kids choose the natural items they will use to make art, they make careful observations, looking for specific shapes and colors in nature. This can even lead to better plant identification skills. Using the printables during different seasons of the year can help children understand the changes that nature goes through.
Fun with Nature Arts and Crafts
So far we've enjoyed a few of the activities and are excited to try them all. The best part is that you can do them over and over again and each time they come out differently! It only reminded me that I need to get a little laminator like this for home so that I can make sturdy copies of each that we can take with us whenever we go on an outdoor adventure.
Our cherry tree was just losing its blossoms when we were collecting materials, so we had plenty of pink petals to craft with! Here are some of our other "supplies".
Pattern practice, first an AB pattern, then ABC!
We also had fun with dress-ups!
I love that there are so many different ways you can use the same printable to create something new! Here is another example:
Where Can You Get Nature Arts and Crafts?
Ready to try these yourself? You can follow this link to learn more and to purchase the printable pack. This digital download is well worth the money, as you can print them over and over once you own it.
I am so thrilled to be sharing a new science-themed fiction book series: Zoey and Sassafras
with you! I've found there are great non-fiction kid's books to spark a
love of science, and wonderful fictional picture books that have themes
that can be used in the science classroom. Zoey and Sassafras manages to do both! Read on to find out more about this book, and how to use it to spark curiosity in science. You'll find the directions for a Next Generation Science Standards aligned insect investigation lesson as well as a free printable Zoey and Sassafras themed science journal. I guarantee this book series and activity will be a big hit with your students or kids at home!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission from purchases made from these links at no additional cost to you, please see disclosures for more details.
Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows
Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows is the first book in this fun series by Asia Citro. This illustrated chapter book, aimed at readers in Kindergarten through 4th grade, features a curious girl named Zoey and her cat Sassafras. Zoey loves science, insects and other animals. She's not only a strong female character, but also, incredibly relatable to any kid who loves investigating questions, getting down in the dirt, and a little bit of magic. The series is perfect for budding scientists, aspiring veterinarians and zoologists.
I fell in love with Zoey immediately because the story opens with her flipping over a big, mossy rock to investigate what creatures lie beneath it. She proceeds to build a bug circus with what she has found. Flipping over a rock in search of insects and other macro-invertebrates is something you could find me doing when I was a kid (and admittedly, you still might find me doing it today!).
Zoey and Sassafras are tasked with caring for some magical animals in the series. To do so, they must use scientific thinking. Skillfully woven throughout the story are examples of experimental design, science vocabulary, and scientific reasoning. There are examples of science journal entries throughout and a glossary of science terms at the end. You can read a sample of the first story here, but be warned, you'll want to know what happens next! Since we love insects and other crawly creatures, we thought it would be fun to design some experiments just like Zoey does. So, grab your thinking goggles, because off we go!
Design Your Own Insect Investigation
The most important part of an insect investigation is understanding that you are working with living creatures, and that they must be treated with kindness, care and respect. Be gentle with anything you collect, and be sure to return it to where you found it before too long!
drinking straws or other natural tubes, like plant stems (for making a bug hotel, see below)
...and basically anything else you can come up with! Just remember to be gentle with your creatures!
Let's learn more about what insects need, just like Zoey and Sassafras had to do with their dragon in Dragons and Marshmallows. First, you'll need to collect some insects, bugs, worms or other small creatures. Look under rocks, small logs or pieces of bark. Dig in the soil. Where else can you find them? (If you need creatures for a classroom project and/or live in an area where you can't access nature easily, you can investigate crickets purchased online or at the pet store, or even worms sold as bait! The same careful, respectful handling rules apply to these creatures.)
Experimental Question and Hypothesis
Time to start your investigation. Leave the experimental design open-ended for young minds to ponder. Here are some ideas for experimental questions:
Does my animal prefer light, or dark?
Would my animal like to live where it is damp or dry?
What types of food does my animal prefer?
What type of home would my creature like to live in?
What is your hypothesis? Be sure to make one before you begin!
For more excellent STEM activities and extensions to compliment Zoey and Sassafras, check out the book's website here.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Kindergarten:K-LS1-1
(making observations of what animals need to survive)
2nd Grade:2-LS4-1
(making observations to understand the diversity of life in different habitats)
2nd Grade: Take it a step further- include plant investigations! 2-LS2-1
(design an investigation to see if plants need light and water to grow)
Are you looking for other NGSS aligned lessons that deal with small critters? Check out one of my favorite curriculum books: More Picture Perfect Science and the "Wiggling Worms at Work" lesson. It uses 2 great children's books: Diary of a Worm, and Wiggling Worms at Work.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows in exchange for an honest review. Zoey and Sassafras character art is used with express written permission from Marion Lindsay and The Innovation Press.
In our house we read books every day. Yes, the "old-fashioned" type
of books, made of paper. Although we would never give up reading this
way, we were excited to give Epic! book service a try when offered a free trial.
We found all of our fiction favorites like Where the Wild Things Are and Clifford, and chapter books like The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Ramona Quimby books.
Not
only were there great fiction titles, we were excited to see lots of
non-fiction too. There was a whole DIY section ranging from eco-crafts,
to keeping chickens and gardening. There were books on building
contraptions and a variety of titles from National Geographic Kids.
This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more information.
Epic! has been touted at the "Netflix of children's books". With tens of thousands of kid's book titles available, this moniker is really accurate. The service works on any device, is free for educators, and is reasonably priced at $7.99/month for others.
I really liked that the variety of non-fiction titles allowed kids and students to do quick research on something they were interested in without me having to worry about what misinformation or inappropriate content they might stumble upon on a regular Google search of a particular subject.
Recommendations are made based on what kids have read already. I liked that kids could have control over tracking their reading progress with weekly logs, and incentives to read with badges to earn. I can see this as being really motivating for reluctant readers.
A selection of read-aloud stories, like those from Sid the Science Kid and many others are fun for those still too young to read themselves, or anyone who likes to be read to (and who doesn't?).
Although we love the feel of a good book in our hands, and no device can replace that, after using Epic! I can see a lot of merit to subscribing to this book service as an option for the most voracious and reluctant readers. It would be excellent on a long trip, or when you can't haul a big bag of picture books along with you.
The opportunities for tracking reading progress and allowing kids opportunities for non-fiction project research from actual books would be invaluable in a classroom.
If your kiddo already has screen time each day, why not make it reading time too? We highly recommend Epic! Learn more and try it out here.
Disclaimer: I received a free two month trial subscription of Epic! for this honest review of the service. All opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated for writing this review.
I'm excited to be reviewing Eduporium, an online platform that helps connect kids, schools, homeschool and makerspaces to educational technology. Not only am I sharing all of Eduporium's services and resources with you, but Eduporium has also been very generous in providing a fun DIY Electro Dough kit, and a $50 shop credit for us to give away to a reader. Additionally, Eduporium is offering Share it! Science readers an exclusive discount code. You'll find details about each at the end of this post.
The Eduporium vision resonates with me in that they strive to provide experiences for children that will help them build skills, hone their imagination and creativity, and allow them to become real world problem-solvers. Another fabulous goal of Eduporium is to make ed tech accessible to schools and other organizations through education, program support, profit-sharing programs and educational discounts.
This video sums up Eduporium's mission nicely:
Eduporium offers a bright and engaging web page for students, parents, teachers and school administrators. Exploring their offerings you'll find cool tech, projects, a map of skills, activities and resources. For teachers and school administrators there is the Tech Lending Library, workshops, teacher collaboration sites, options for making ed tech affordable, and more.
The "cool tech" section is a great resource for learning more about a specific type of technology, i.e. Arduino or circuit stickers, and gives you an
introduction about the tech, how to get started with it, the ways it can
be used in education and some project ideas. In some cases, there are links to state education standards that might be met by using the
technology or completing a project.
I was impressed with the project and activity sections. In "Projects" you'll find tons of fun project ideas that include a full supply list and helpful thoughts on how to put the project
to use in a classroom. Projects include things
like a DIY digital camera and DIY portable boombox. The "Activity" section has plenty of activity ideas that use technology available on
Eduporium. These also include a full parts list so it is easy to get
started and classroom resources.
I think some of the most useful sections as far as developing our student's real-world skills are the "Map of Skills" and "Resources" sections of the site. Both are works in progress, but there is a lot of potential and I look forward to see where each will go. "Map of Skills" features interviews with real-world professionals highlighting the skills needed for that career, how technology plays a role and other useful
life-shaping information. "Resource"s includes "Wise Up Wednesday"
workshops meant to teach about different technology that Eduporium has
to offer schools and makerspaces.
The offerings for teachers and schools are unique. I'm excited to share these resources with colleagues in the field because I think they truly will help bring technology to their classrooms or makerspaces.
The "Tech Lending Library" is a cool program
where teachers can borrow items for a small rental fee, that can then be
used towards purchase if they choose to do so. This is a fabulous idea,
since you never really know if something will work in your particular
teaching setting until you've tried it out. Since obtaining an entire
classroom set of ed tech products can be very pricey, this takes out the
guesswork and allows schools to pilot a product and see if it makes
sense for them to purchase.
By far one of the most important services Eduporium provides is tech affordability. One of
Eduporium's goals is to make technology accessible for all students.
There are several ways they are working to make this possible: profit-sharing, academic discounts, grants and young inventor discounts.
Schools
can become a part of the profit sharing program. This allows schools to
collect a portion of the profits generated from purchases made on
Eduporium by their community members (families, faculty, etc).
Academic discounts are available for those who qualify. A brief questionnaire
makes it easy to find out whether or not you can take advantage of
educational pricing, sometimes up to 85% off in order to make technology
accessible to all classrooms. These discounts were put into place by
some of the major technology companies, but few people know about them,
so the funds go unused. This is your chance to take advantage of these
programs for your classroom!
Eduporium awards an educational technology grant of $250 each month to fund proposed projects. You can submit a proposal for a project on the website.
Discounts
are also available for "young inventors". Kids can write to Eduporium
about how they want to change the world, and they just might get the
help they need to do so.
To help implement technology into schools, Eduporium teaches workshops and provides opportunities for teacher collaboration.
Currently,
Eduporium is offering three different types of workshop opportunities.
The workshops serve groups of students and their teachers, just
teachers, or workshops that highlight how to use different products.
These give people a chance to see this technology in practice, similar
to the benefits of the Tech Lending Library it allows exploration before
committing to purchasing a product before knowing how to incorporate it
into learning or whether it will work in a particular setting.
Any
school or school district can sign up for their own space on
Eduporium's site. These teacher collaboration sites empower teachers within a school or district to
work together and share ideas by providing a space to share lesson
plans, or ask questions. There is the potential for teachers to post
"wish-lists" for upcoming materials that will be required and share them
with their students or the communities' users. Schools and districts
can set up their own stores where products they are choosing to use can
be purchased.
On Eduporium's forums teachers and the community can post questions, collaborate ideas and more. As an educator, I find this to be an invaluable resource. None of us are teaching in a bubble, so it is awesome to have a space for collaboration!
To take some of the guesswork out of building a school STEAM program or get kids started making, Eduporium offers kits and bundles. Different
types of tech are bundled together to create all the supplies needed to
explore a certain area, such as circuits, or robotics. The bundles
teach skills that build upon each other and are chosen for age and skill
appropriateness.
The Eduporium shop provides a space to purchase kits, maker tools, robotics, products to learn coding and even computers and tablets. In fact, Eduporium has offered Share it! Science readers an exclusive discount code. Use the code SHAREITSCIENCE now through May 31st, 2017 to receive 10% off of your ed tech order!
Stay tuned as next week we will feature an interview with Eduporium CEO Rick Fredkin, and another great giveaway!
Ed Tech Giveaway!
Enter to win a DIY Electro Dough Kit plus a special $50 shop credit at Eduporium.com! This kit is a super fun way to teach kids about circuits while building and creating their own dough models and figures that light up or make sounds. This giveaway runs from December 1st, 2016 until midnight (EST) December 7th, 2016. You must be a resident of the United States to enter. Enter by following the directions in the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be announced below and across our social media platforms.
