(Not familiar with the NGSS standards? Then take some time to read "Getting to Know the Next Generation Science Standards: Kindergarten" first.)
Today, I'm going to focus on the Energy Interactive Notebook.
Each science interactive notebook set, including this one, comes with a set of corresponding classroom posters to hang around your room. Here are the posters that come with the Energy set:
This 'Our Sun Warms' Emergent Reader is a great way to bring up initial discussions with your Kinders on the sun.
Each science interactive notebook set, including this one, comes with a set of corresponding classroom posters to hang around your room. Here are the posters that come with the Energy set:
Each idea covered also comes with its own interactive notebook cover.
The cover pages for each concept will help your students keep their notebook well organized.
And just like the first standard we covered, the next page is the vocabulary reinforcer:
This Pocket full of Vocab matches the poster set (shown above). Have students pull the cards out of the pocket and review the meanings of the terms. They can quiz themselves, quiz a neighbor, and even write short definitions on the back to help them remember.
This graphic organizer page will help your students remember all the things you talked about during class discussion time.
You could also project this page on your smart board and fill it out together as a class before students do it on their own.
After you take your students outside to experiment with shadow making, you can bring them back in to complete this activity page.
The boy in the picture is getting too warm on the beach. Your students will need to draw something that will reduce the warmth of the sun on his body. Some ideas might be a beach umbrella, a sun hut, or some type of tarp lean-to.
This is a great unit to bring up astronomers in! Who are they? What do they study? What do they use?
Lift these flaps and write some information down about them.
As I mentioned in a different interactive notebook post, I've noticed that kids LOVE to prove how smart they are. So I created this page that not only reinforces your class discussions on Energy and the Sun, but also give the kids a chance to feel smart, review their friends, and practice what they've learned.
Students simply pull out one of the many questions and either answer the questions or do what it says.
An ice cube investigation is included too!
Here's what kids will be investigating:
Can you slow down the melting of an ice cube?
You'll need to make up some ice cubes ahead of time.
Have your students predict the outcome and write it in under the flap. Then they can survey and tally up the predictions of their classmates. Have them graph out the results.
Place an icecube on a tray or paper plate and set it somewhere in the room on or on the window sill. Time how long it takes that ice cube to melt. Draw and record the results. Then have students create two different types of structures that could reduce the warmth of the sun on the ice cube. Place ice cubes under them and time how long they take to melt. This will be something you'll want to do and then come back to from time to time. Maybe you do one of your center rotations and then come check on the cubes. And you can totally be flexible with the time it took. If your kids were out to recess when the cube melted, just create an estimated time for your kids. They won't know the difference! ;)
Each page gives facts and information about the sun and what it does to the Earth and living things on the Earth.
Well, that wraps up the "Our Sun Warms" portion of the NGSS. Writing about the warm sun makes me wish it were summer time right now! Next up on our NGSS list will be "Earth's Systems"...which I call my Weather Patterns unit.
-Til next time,
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