Hands On

I remember walking with my new principal to my first classroom. She showed me to my room and then the book closet. “This is what we have for science! Feel free to use whatever’s in here!” With that, she told me to let her know if I needed anything and was off. 

I was so overwhelmed! Where do I start? How do I make this engaging for the middle schoolers walking into my classroom next week? How badly I wish I had a resource like Ward’s World all those years ago! 

Ward’s World hits the nail on the head by giving teachers a great balance between rock solid information and engaging classroom activities. Everything you need is right here without having to spend hours searching for content and even more time searching for or creating hands-on activities that make learning real. 

Making Science Relevant Right Now

How Vaccines Take A Big Shot Against Viruses is excellent! Check it out and read for yourself! Students reading this learn what a vaccine is and how it works with their immune system to prevent disease in language they understand. Bring learning to life with Ward’s World Science Take-Out® Pathogens, Antibodies, And Vaccines. Students actually create models to see how vaccines work for themselves. 

Getting kids to do is so critical to their learning. This Looks Like A Moon activity does just that, and again provides students with foundational information that helps them understand what happens as we see different moon phases. As I always look to increase my student’s content specific vocabulary, I love how words are introduced: easy and non-threatening for even the most hesitant learners. Understanding how moon phases work is an abstract concept for some students, but Modeling The Moon’s Motion helps them really see the Sun, Moon, and Earth relationship. This is one of the coolest models to bring moon phases to life, and it builds right into the Looks Like A Moon activity. 

Rainbow Respiration & Photosynthesis

If you teach photosynthesis and respiration, you need Ward’s World Green Glucose Production Kit. It is so cool. All the supplies you need for 15 lab groups to complete the experiment are in the kit. 

Photosynthesis and respiration are easy to talk about in a science class, but really hard for kids to grasp because they can’t see it. They have the opportunity to interact with the process with this kit! Whether the algae is in the process of photosynthesis or respiration determines how much CO2 the algae is releasing. When students add algae beads to the bicarbonate indicator, the pH of the liquid changes based on how much CO2 is released by the algae! 

Students do this by placing one vial under a light to start the process of photosynthesis and they wrap one vial in foil to block out light and start respiration. 

If you’re teaching this while you’re distance learning, do the experiment at home! Take a time lapse video and stop at certain intervals. Or take photos and add them to a digital presentation with an elapsed time underneath each photo. 

(Side note: it’s easy to share digital media with a wide audience. Make sure any digital activities you create with Ward’s World science content is shared with your classroom only!)

When you’re ready to do the lab with your class, you can make or buy algae beads through Ward’s World.

Get A Little Creative

With so many of us participating in distance learning right now, what and how we are teaching is different than what it may have looked like in the classroom. With a little bit of flexibility and creativity, you can still use Ward’s World to teach engaging lessons. 

The Looks Like A Moon activity says it requires cookies. Ask students to make their model out of cookies if they have them. Otherwise, you can ask them to create it out of household items. Or maybe you have them make a model out of recycled objects. Get creative! Have a show and tell on Google Chats (maybe for a little bit of extra credit… I know how hesitant some of them are). Or create a collaborative presentation with a slide for each student where they can add a photo of their model and explain the moon phases next to it. 

Take a look at The Periodic Table of Candy. It is a great in-class activity, but with a little tweaking, you can make it a great digital activity also! Find images of all those candies and create a presentation to share with students where they can drag and drop the images to organize them. Be sure there’s a space to explain why they organized the candy the way they did. Take a few of the most creative or thoughtful, copy those slides onto a separate presentation, and screen share as you discuss them in your Google Chat or digital class meeting. 

For The Bold

If you’re feeling like you’re up for a challenge, use Ward’s World activities to create video lessons. Trust me – when you have students absent for labs or activities next year, you’ll be so thankful you made these. 

A super simple example, again with an awesome article, is their Greenhouse Effect Activity. Record a simple video after your students have read the article so they can see the experiment and record data, creating their own conclusion.

Check out Ward’s World Science Take Out Kits! These are labs and activities are ready to use without needing extra lab supplies. Don’t forget to purchase the class set so you can actually use them in class next year with students! Use your webcam or cell phone to create digital experiments for your students. 

To help navigate distance learning, visit the Resources Page. 

Whether you’ve been teaching for 20 years or 20 minutes, you will find content that helps students engage with, and hopefully, fall in love with science at Ward’s World! 

If you decide to make a purchase on Ward’s Science, be sure to use my promo code SUPERSASS15 for 15% off of your entire order.

Pro Tip: Your administration has money designated to spend on curriculum and supplies. Talk with them about purchasing class sets. If they don’t have the funds available, chat with PTO. They want to support teachers in any way they can. 

I’m a hands on teacher. I want kids to do things instead of me telling them things. But if I’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that the power of science demonstrations is a pretty awesome thing. 

Science Demonstrations Are Captivating

Think of the moments you crave as a teacher – where students are completely engaged. They can’t take their eyes off of what is going on. They have huge smiles on their faces and ask so many questions. I find myself in those moments most during demonstrations. I forget how captivating science can be! 

Teachers are told that kids need to be doing the work and manipulating the materials. What is the point if they aren’t directly interacting with it? Turns out, there is a time and place for demonstrations.

Kids are uniquely engaged while a demonstration is taking place. They feel suspense and excitement. They’re so curious. It’s a feeling that is rarely matched.

Check out three of my favorite demonstrations! 

pH Testing

First of all, did you know that red cabbage contains an enzyme that reacts with a substance to reveal its pH?? I didn’t either! Read about how to make it here if you’re interested, it’s a lot to explain! 

This lab was a must. I wanted my seventh graders to grasp the concept of pH. However, buying enough supplies for eight group in each of my five classes was not an option.

So instead of giving up, I did a demonstration. The supplies were laid out on the counter. We tested apple juice, vinegar, shampoo, glass cleaner and a few other things. Students came up to measure, pour, and stir. Acids turned red and bases turned blue. The kids were so excited. The ooohhs and aaahhhs I heard as we measured and poured were the best! Definitely a win!

Convection

I knew this was not going to go over well if I let the kids do it. No. Way. 

This demonstration super easy, but super cool! This is easy, because it doesn’t take a whole lot of time. The basic idea of convection is that hot material rises and cold material sinks. 

Collect four small, identical jars or beakers. Fill two small jars with hot water and two small jars with cold water. Add some food coloring to the hot and cold water to differentiate between them. 

Make Predictions

Even middle school science students who have learned about convection think the two colors of water are going to mix in both demonstrations. Why wouldn’t it? Every other time they have added one color to another, they’ve mixed to create a new color. 

By placing the jar of cold water on top of the jar of hot water, convection occurs and the two colors mix uniformly. Students watch the convection currents mix the water and are completely captivated. They ALL want to know what is happening. 

When you place the jar of hot water on top of the jar of cold water, convection doesn’t happen! The cool water is already at the bottom and the hot water is already at the top. The colors do not mix. 

Students are completely mind blown. I hear about this demonstration in the hall for the rest of the day and at the next parent teacher conferences!

Half of their excitement was probably from me spilling water so many times, but oh well! I suggest using glass bottles if you try it! Plastic did not work so well. 

Density of Gasses

This one is fun! 

Carbon dioxide is more dense than air. But that means nothing to the student sitting in your class. If anything, it is going to be a fact they memorize with absolutely no understanding behind it. (PS… if you want to read about how to teach density, check this blog post out!)

Create CO2 Gas

First, get a clear bucket with deep edges and fill the bottom with water about an inch or so high. Drop some dry ice in the bottom. (Do not touch the dry ice with your bare hands! Remember your lab safety skills!)

Next, let this settle a little bit. The process where it goes from a solid directly to carbon dioxide gas is called sublimation. 

(If you can’t or don’t want to deal with dry ice, put a layer of baking soda in the bottom and pour vinegar in it. The chemical reaction creates carbon dioxide gas. Just let the bubbles settle down before you continue with the next part.) 

Demonstrate!

You have a few options here. One, bubbles. Two, fire. 

Blow bubbles into the classroom. Students will notice that they sink to the ground. Next, blow bubbles into the bucket. They don’t float all the way down. The reason? They’re filled with air. Air is less dense than carbon dioxide. And while students can’t see the CO2 gas, it’s there keeping the bubble from landing in the water. 

Light three small candles. Your students should know that fire needs oxygen to burn. Grab a pitcher and scoop some air out of the bucket. Not the liquid at the bottom the CO2. You’re students will look at you like you’re crazy!

When you ask them what’s in the pitcher, they’ll likely say nothing or air. Actually, carbon dioxide gas is in the pitcher. Slowly pour it over the flame. 

The candles will burn out. Why? The CO2 gas is more dense than air and stays in the pitcher until you pour it out. Student’s can’t see this because, well, it’s a gas. But they can see the evidence of the gas when the flame goes out. 

Make It Even Better

If you’re up for it, find a paper towel roll, cut it in half long-ways and tape the ends together. You’ll have a long half pipe shape. Do the same demonstration, but prop one end of the paper towel roll up on a stack of books.

Light the candles, be careful, and place in a horizontal row with the paper towel roll, but not too close. When you pour the CO2 at the top of the ramp, the candles will go out one at a time. 

This demonstration is so exciting! Chances are, they’ve never seen something like it.  Best of all, it illustrates a concept that is so hard for students to grasp!

Let Them Participate

Engage them. Let them pour, or cut, or measure. Ask questions. Have a conversation with them as you are presenting your demonstration. This is what makes science come alive to your students! 

It is totally possible to be engaging, exciting, and authentic without handing the reins completely over to your students. Every day is different. Every topic is different. Use your judgement on when to do a lab or a demonstration. 

Tell me your favorite science demonstrations in the comment section! I want to know what you use in your classroom!

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