National Academies Press: OpenBook

Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science (1996)

Chapter: 3. Physical Science

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Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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CHAPTER 3
PHYSICAL SCIENCE

PHYSICAL SCIENCE-CORE MATERIALS

3.1 Balance and Motion. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, III.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 1, 2 In Balance and Motion, children discover how objects balance, spin, and roll. They explore balance, counterbalance, and stability by using counterweights to balance cardboard shapes and to make a pencil stand on its point. They apply their understanding of balance and stability by making mobiles. Students investigate spinning—rotational motion—by constructing tops, zoomers, and twirlers. They explore rolling motion by rolling objects down slopes; constructing and experimenting with wheel-and-axle systems; observing the way paper cups roll, then exploring ways to make them roll straight and weighting them to see how their rolling changes. In a final activity, students make one long runway through which a marble can roll nonstop.

The 3 activity folios in Balance and Motion require a minimum of 13 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 3 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-1142-7), $101. Complete module, $339. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.2 Balancing and Weighing. STC. Field-test ed. Washington, D.C.: National Science Resources Center, 1993.

Grade: 2 Balancing and Weighing presents activities that help young students explore the relationship between balance and weight. Working in groups of two to four, children manipulate objects, use a beam balance, and build mobiles to explore balance. They use an equal-arm balance to compare objects and then place them in serial order according to weight. They learn through experimentation that weighing is simply the process of balancing an object against a certain number of other units. Children apply what they have learned about balancing and weighing to explore the relationships among density, weight, and volume by working with cupfuls of food. In a final activity, they use equal-arm balances to find out which of five

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×
Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "PHYSICAL SCIENCE—CORE MATERIALS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Materials, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 4 of this guide. In addition, each annotation has a two-part entry number. For each entry number, the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter.

For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2, and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core Materials, Supplementary Materials, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic Information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication.

  • Series title, or series acronym if commonly used.

  • Authors (either individual names or organizational author).

  • Name and location of developer (in parentheses), if different from publisher.

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication.

Series Acronyms

Following are acronyms of series titles in "Physical Science—Core Materials." (Series titles that are spelled out are not included in this list.)

FOSS

Full Option Science System

SCIS 3

Science Curriculum Improvement Study

STC

Science and Technology for Children

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information is presented in a block immediately below the annotation. Included are the following:

  • Prices of teacher's guides, activity books, and kits or units.

  • The name of a principal publisher/supplier (not necessarily the sole source) for the items listed in the price category. (The address and phone and fax numbers for each publisher and supplier appear in appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers.")

  • An indication of the various sources from which one might obtain the required materials.

containers holds a certain number of marbles. Throughout the unit children gather and organize data in graphs and tables and make weight comparisons.

Balancing and Weighing is a 16-lesson unit requiring 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, reproducible masters for teacher's record charts of student progress, and an annotated bibliography. An optional consumable notebook for students accompanies the unit.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Consumable Student Notebook, $2.00. Unit, $399.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.3 Balls and Ramps. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: K, 1 In Balls and Ramps, children learn about the properties and characteristics of balls and the things that affect the way balls move. Working in both small and large groups, students investigate the bounciness of balls of different size, weight, and composition; the effects of shape, size, weight, and smoothness on how a ball rolls; the relationship between the height of the starting point and the energy of a ball when it leaves a ramp; and the effect of the weight and size of a ball on how quickly it reaches the bottom of a ramp and how far it goes. Concepts such as gravity, friction, inertia, and

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

momentum are discovered by students during these activities, although teachers are advised not to introduce these terms to young students.

Balls and Ramps consists of 14 Learning Experiences, requiring about 20 class sessions over 6 to 8 weeks. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 14 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-165-X), $65. Materials kit, $298. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.4 Changes of State. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 4, 5 In Changes of State, students learn that water is a form of matter that can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas, and they discover the factors that cause changes in the state of water. Working both individually and in small groups, students investigate the factors that influence how fast ice melts, and they explore evaporation, condensation, and freezing. An optional activity on sublimation and condensation to a solid is included. Students learn that changes of state are physical and that they can be reversed by adding or taking away heat energy. In a final activity that can serve as a performance assessment, students create small terrariums for watching and recording the water cycle. As ice melts they record the temperature of water and graph the data. They also design and conduct experiments that explore how heat and surface area affect speed of evaporation. Throughout the module students conduct and record their own observations with charts and drawings and in notebooks. They are encouraged to explore how changes of state affect their lives. Students are not expected to understand their observations on a molecular level.

Changes of State consists of 15 Learning Experiences, requiring a total of at least 20 sessions, or about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 15 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-175-7), $65. Materials kit, $324. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.5 Chemical Tests. STC. (Developed by National Science Resources Center, Washington, D.C.) Burlington, N.C.: Carolina Biological Supply Co., 1994.

Grade: 3 In Chemical Tests, students perform a series of physical and chemical tests to identify five "mystery" solids (sugar, alum, talc, baking soda, and cornstarch). At the same time they explore some concepts basic to general chemistry: they investigate physical and chemical properties and how to describe them, and they explore physical and chemical changes that occur when different solids and liquids are mixed together or separated. As a result, students are introduced to solubility, filtration, evaporation, crystallization, acids, bases, and neutral substances. From experimentation and observation, which are emphasized throughout the unit, students have the opportunity to learn basic safety and laboratory skills. They record, question, analyze, and draw conclusions from test results. The student activity book includes simple instructions, reading selections, and ideas for exploring topics further.

Chemical Tests is a 16-lesson unit that requires 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, an annotated bibliography, and instructions for making test solutions and a materials management poster.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $349.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.6 Circuits and Pathways. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 4, 5 In Circuits and Pathways, students learn about electricity and how it works by exploring its properties in simple circuits. In the first half of the module, they explore ways to wire a motor to a battery to make the motor spin in different directions; they light a bulb in different ways, using only a battery, a bulb, and a wire; they observe the inner structure of a bulb and trace the pathway the electric current follows through the bulb; and they discover what materials conduct or do not conduct electricity. In the second half of the module, students explore and create series and parallel circuits, construct bulb-brightness meters, make switches, investigate electric resistance, and build fuses to determine how they function in a circuit. In a culminating activity, students use what they have learned to design mystery boxes.

Circuits and Pathways consists of 15 Learning Experiences, requiring a total of at least 20 sessions, or about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 15 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-176-5), $65. Materials kit, $428. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.7 Electric Circuits. STC. (Developed by National Science Resources Center, Washington, D.C.) Burlington, N.C.: Carolina Biological Supply Co., 1991.

Grade: 4 Electric Circuits introduces students to the basic properties of electricity as they construct and test electric circuits using wires, light bulbs, and cells (batteries). Working in teams of two to four, students explore different kinds of circuits and switches, learn about conductors and insulators, construct circuit testers, light bulbs and then a flashlight, and discover the properties of diodes. For the final activity, students apply what they have learned to wire a cardboard box house, lighting each room. Throughout this unit, students also collect, record, and interpret data and learn to use the data and observations to predict results of additional experiments.

Electric Circuits is a 16-lesson unit that requires 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview; the 16 lesson plans; an annotated bibliography; and illustrated instructions on using a wire stripper, removing the base from a light bulb, and making circuit boxes. A student activity book with simple illustrations and instructions accompanies the unit.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $349.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.8 Energy Sources. SCIS 3. Herbert D. Thier and Robert C. Knott. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1992.

Grade: 5 Energy Sources provides students with opportunities to learn about the energy transfers that accompany the interaction of matter in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms. Students explore multiple energy transfers as they conduct controlled experiments with rotoplanes (propeller-driven rotating platforms); observe the transfer of energy from warm water to cold water; conduct experiments in which they melt and preserve ice; focus on motion as evidence of energy transfer by working with spheres that roll down ramps and collide with a moving target; and explore the use of sunlight as an energy source. Throughout the unit students measure and record distances and temperatures, display their data in histograms and on line graphs, and use their measurements to make quantitative comparisons.

Energy Systems is organized in 5 sections consisting of a total of 20 chapters. The teacher's guide includes an introduction to the unit, lesson plans for each of the 5 sections, a glossary, and blackline masters for a student journal.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-939-7), $39.50. Kit, $760.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.9 Fabrics. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grade: K The Fabrics module uses a familiar product to teach scientific concepts and themes to young learners. In this unit, children observe and describe the different properties of fabrics. They compare fabrics to discover how they are alike and different, and they observe interactions of fabric with water and other substances. Students take fabric apart into threads to see how it was made. They make a fabric by weaving yarn, try to remove various stains from fabrics, and dye fabrics. The unit is designed for ''working alone together"—that is, for students grouped in clusters of 4 to 10, with each student using his or her own materials in close proximity to others. Although written for kindergarten, the activities and materials may also be suitable for first grade.

Fabrics consists of 2 activities requiring a minimum of 11 class sessions. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 2 individual activity folios, an annotated bibliography, and instruction cards for adults assisting with the learning centers.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-1158-3), $101. Complete module, $395. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.10 Floating and Sinking. STC. Field-test ed. Washington, D.C.: National Science Resources Center, 1992.

Grade: 5 Floating and Sinking introduces students to the phenomenon of buoyancy through a series of investigations with freshwater and salt water. Students first make and test predictions about which objects will float or sink. Then they consider the variables involved. After calibrating a spring scale for weighing objects, students begin isolating and testing the effect of these variables on an object's buoyancy. To investigate the effects of size and weight, students design, build, and test boats made from clay and aluminum foil, measure the weight of objects in and out of water, measure the weight of equal volumes of freshwater and salt water, and measure buoyant force by pulling objects under water. In the final activity, students apply what they have learned to predict whether a mystery cylinder will float or sink. Throughout the unit, students make and test predictions, record observations and test results, and construct charts and graphs to facilitate data analysis.

Floating and Sinking is a 16-lesson unit that requires 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, an annotated bibliography, reproducible masters, and instructions on repairing the spring scale. The student activity book that accompanies this unit provides helpful illustrations and directions for completing activities.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $399.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.11 Food Chemistry. STC. (Developed by National Science Resources Center, Washington, D.C.) Burlington, N.C.: Carolina Biological Supply Co., 1994.

Grade: 5 In Food Chemistry, students investigate the basic nutrients in foods they eat. They conduct a series of physical and chemical tests to discover which nutrients—starches, glucose, fats, and proteins—are in common foods. They learn about the role nutrients play in human growth and development, read about the importance of vitamins and other nutrients, and examine food labels for nutritional information. In a final activity, students apply testing techniques they learn in the unit to analyze the nutritional components of a marshmallow. Throughout the unit, students gather, organize, and interpret data. By comparing results from tests, they learn the important concept that chemical tests are not always clearly positive or negative.

Food Chemistry is a 16-lesson unit requiring 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, an annotated bibliography, reproducible masters, and instructions for making test solutions and papers. The student activity book that accompanies this unit provides helpful illustrations and directions for completing activities.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $349.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.12 Levers and Pulleys. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 5, 6 In Levers and Pulleys, students discover that these two types of simple machines are important in their daily lives. They are first introduced to the parts of a lever. Then they construct their own Class 1 levers and experiment to determine the relationship between load and effort for maximum advantage. Subsequently, they explore Class 2 and Class 3 levers, determine the advantage gained by using each, and look at common tools that are applications of each class. Students apply their knowledge of load, effort, and advantage to assemble and investigate four different one-and two-pulley systems. They discover the mechanical advantages and disadvantages of each system. Throughout the unit, students work in pairs or in small groups to construct their own simple machines; conduct their own experiments; and gather, record, and interpret their own data.

Levers and Pulleys consists of 4 activities, requiring a total of 16 class sessions of about 45 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 4 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-0059-X), $101. Complete module, $539. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.13 Lifting Heavy Things. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 2, 3 In Lifting Heavy Things, students discover that the lever, inclined plane, and pulley are simple machines that help people lift heavy things and make work easier. They experiment with miniature levers of different lengths to explore how a lever works, then apply what they have learned to real tools that are levers. Students look for inclined planes in their neighborhood and experiment with miniature inclined planes of different lengths. They discover how pulleys work by constructing one-, two-, and three-pulley systems in the classroom. Applying what they have learned, students design a construction site that uses only human power and simple machines. In the final activity, they go on a scavenger hunt for tools or machines that make work easier.

Lifting Heavy Things consists of 9 Learning Experiences, requiring a total of at least 15 class sessions, or about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 9 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-171-4), $65. Materials kit, $259. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.14 Liquids. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 2, 3 In this module, students explore the unique characteristics of liquids. They investigate how liquids behave with other liquids and how solids and liquids interact with each other. Students explore the physical characteristics of water, oil, and corn syrup and use their findings about the similarities and differences among these and other liquids to create a definition of "all liquids." Then they experiment to determine how liquids behave when they are mixed with one another and how liquids and solids interact with each other. Students investigate the ways various objects behave in each of the three liquids. They identify some characteristics, such as density and shape, that determine whether an object will float or sink in water, and they perform experiments to make "sinkers" float. In a final activity, students apply the concepts they have learned and the skills they have developed as they design and build a boat, a bath toy, or a game that involves liquids.

Liquids consists of 12 Learning Experiences, requiring a minimum of 20 class sessions, or about 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 12 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-172-2), $65. Materials kit, $389. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.15 Magnetism and Electricity. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 3, 4 Electricity and Magnetism consists of 4 multipart activities designed to allow students to discover the properties of permanent magnets, the flow of electricity in circuits and the characteristics of conductor and insulator, and the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Students measure the force of attraction between magnets, construct an electrical circuit, and build electromagnets of different strengths. Finally, they apply what they have learned as they wire a telegraph. Assessment devices, which include hands-on, pictorial, and reflective-question assessment, are included in a separate section of the teacher's guide. Each activity allows for links to other disciplines and for further study.

Electricity and Magnetism consists of 4 activities, requiring 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 4 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-0034-4), $101. Complete module, $559. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.16 Magnets and Motors. STC. (Developed by National Science Resources Center, Washington, D.C.) Burlington, N.C.: Carolina Biological Supply Co., 1991.

Grade: 6 In Magnets and Motors, students are introduced to electromagnetism and electromagnetic motors. They experiment with magnets, make a compass, and observe and investigate magnetism's connection with electricity. They develop an understanding of how a motor works, and they experiment with three different electric motors, including two that they make. During the unit, students apply previous learning to make and test hypotheses and learn how to design and conduct controlled experiments. Students use activity sheets and a science journal to record their questions, ideas, observations, and results of experiments.

Magnets and Motors is a 16-lesson unit that requires 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, an annotated bibliography, and reproducible masters. A well-organized student activity book provides instructions for carrying out the activities. Appendixes include background information and instructions for setting up a classroom learning center.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $404.95. Publisher/supplier: Carolina Biological Supply. Materials : Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.17 Material Objects. SCIS 3. Herbert D. Thier and Robert C. Knott. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1992.

Grade: 1 In Material Objects, young students are introduced to the concept of matter as they investigate the properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Children first sort and group objects by properties such as shape, size, and texture, and then they categorize objects according to the materials of which they are made, such as metal, wood, and plastic. Students apply the concept of material by comparing soil and rock samples. The woods and metals are later classified into subgroups. Students are introduced to the concept of serial ordering as they arrange wooden dowels according to length and thickness. By comparing wood pieces, wood shavings, and wood dust, they observe that an object's shape and appearance can change while the material it is made of remains the same. Students sort liquids by property and then mix liquids and describe the properties of the resulting mixture. They are introduced to floating and sinking. By comparing air-filled balloons with helium-filled balloons, they are introduced to the gaseous phase of matter and to the idea that gases (like solids and liquids) have properties.

Material Objects is organized in 5 sections consisting of a total of 20 chapters requiring about 29 class sessions. The teacher's guide includes an introduction to the unit, lesson plans for each of the sections, a glossary, and blackline masters for a student journal.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-931-1), $39.50. Kit, $650.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.18 Mixtures and Solutions. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 5, 6 Mixtures and Solutions introduces students to some concepts of basic chemistry—mixture, solution, concentration, saturation, and chemical reaction. Activities include separating mixtures using the techniques of sifting, dissolving, filtering, and evaporating. Other activities involve making saturated solutions of salt and citric acid and then comparing the solubility of these two substances in water; determining the relative concentration of salt solutions; and observing chemical reactions that result in the formation of a gas and a precipitate and then applying the techniques of filtering and evaporation to separate some of the reaction products.

Mixtures and Solutions consists of 4 activities, requiring a total of 13 class sessions, or about 7 weeks, to complete. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 4 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-0081-6), $101. Complete module, $469. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.19 Mysterious Powder. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 4, 5 In Mysterious Powder, students discover how scientists investigate and learn about unknown substances. The module emphasizes problem solving and the use of the scientific process as a way of understanding the natural world. By investigating a simulated environmental event (the mysterious appearance of a white powder in a school yard), students learn that substances possess characteristic physical and chemical properties and that knowledge of these properties can be used to solve problems. To solve the mystery, students use their senses (sight, touch, and smell) to explore six unknown white powders, all common household items, that might have covered the school yard. They analyze the six powders using four liquids (water, alcohol, oil, and vinegar) and three indicators (iodine, phenolphthalein, and phenol red). A Neighborhood Map reveals possible sources of the mysterious powder. At the end of the module, using information they have gathered and organized, students are able to identify the mystery powder. They write an environmental report to the school board about what the powder is, whether it is dangerous, and where it could have come from.

Mysterious Powder consists of 13 Learning Experiences, requiring 16 to 20 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 13 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-178-1), $65. Materials kit, $332. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.20 Paper. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grade: K In the module Paper, kindergartners examine the properties of paper, explore the different ways it can be folded and fastened together to make various objects, observe how paper interacts with water, and investigate ways paper can be recycled. Activities include comparing samples of several different kinds of paper, going on a paper hunt, and making paper collages. Students use crayons, pencils, and markers to determine what makes paper suitable for writing and drawing. They fold paper into envelopes and boxes, and they make a piece of recycled paper.

Paper consists of 3 activities, requiring about 15 class sessions of 20 to 30 minutes each. The teachers guide includes a module overview, the 3 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-1148-6), $101. Complete module, $345. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally. from commercial suppliers, or in module.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.21 Physics of Sound. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 3, 4 In Physics of Sound, students employ skills of listening, investigating, observing, comparing, recording, and organizing to learn about the characteristics of sound. First they test their ability to discriminate between sounds made by objects when they are dropped. Then they compare how sound travels through water, solids, and air from a source to a receiver. They construct "musical" instruments to investigate variables that affect pitch—the length of vibrating objects, the tension of vibrating strings, and the rate at which sound sources vibrate. They adjust the instrument to change the pitch, make the sound travel farther, or make the sound louder.

Physics of Sound consists of 4 activities, requiring about 8 to 10 class sessions of 45 to 50 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 4 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-0011-5), $101. Complete module, $419. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.22 Relative Position and Motion. SCIS 3. Herbert D. Thier and Robert C. Knott. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1993.

Grade: 4 Relative Position and Motion is an interdisciplinary unit that focuses on space and time relationships. Activities include making and flying paper airplanes to investigate how variables such as an airplane's weight and the setting of its wing flaps affect its flight; using reference objects to describe the relative position of objects; and examining motion, the direction in which objects move, and the speed with which objects move, through a variety of examples. Students use rectangular coordinates to describe the relative position of pegs on a pegboard and then apply this technique to locate places on a grid map of Washington, D.C. They use polar coordinates to solve a puzzle using a polar grid; they use a specially designed model to simulate the positions and motions of the earth, sun, and moon; and they examine the causes of night and day, the seasons, eclipses, and phases of the moon.

Relative Position and Motion is organized in 6 sections consisting of a total of 20 chapters requiring about 40 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes an introduction to the unit, lesson plans for each of the sections, a glossary, and blackline masters for a student journal.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-937-0), $39.50. Kit, $685.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.23 Scientific Theories. SCIS 3. Robert C. Knott and Herbert D. Thier. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1993.

Grade: 6 In this unit, students are introduced to the meaning of scientific theories through the study of electric circuits, magnets, light, and earthquakes. They have the opportunity to develop and test their own theories to explain their observations. The activities include students comparing interaction at a distance (between magnets) with touching interaction (electric circuits); exploring the periodic motion of pendulums; and testing their hypotheses concerning their investigation of electric circuit puzzles and a mystery box. Students use prisms and filters to develop their first detailed scientific theory—a theory of colored light; they devise a magnetic field theory to explain magnetic interaction at a distance; and they develop an electricity theory to describe and explain the transfer of electrical energy from a battery to energy receivers in a closed electric circuit. Students use lenses and mirrors to formulate a ray theory of light, and they develop theories to explain the causes and effects of earthquakes.

Scientific Theories is organized in 7 sections consisting of a total of 25 chapters requiring about 45 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes an introduction to the unit, lesson plans for each of the sections, a glossary, and blackline masters for a student journal.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-941-9), $39.50. Kit: $715.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.24 Solids and Liquids. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grades: 1, 2 Solids and Liquids engages students in 4 multiphase activities that allow them to develop science process skills while learning the properties and characteristics of solids and liquids. Students first observe, describe, and sort pieces of wood, metal, plastic, and other solid materials according to their properties. Then they use the materials and their new knowledge to construct towers, bridges, and tunnels. They work with beans, rice, and cornmeal to find out how solids behave when the pieces are small. They pour the solids from container to container and separate a mixture of them using screens of different sizes. Next, students investigate the properties of seven different liquids and play games to reinforce vocabulary associated with liquids. In the final set of activities, students mix familiar solids with water, observe the mixtures, and then describe and graph the changes. They also observe what happens when the liquids examined earlier are mixed with water. In the last activity of the set, students investigate to determine if toothpaste is a solid or a liquid.

Solids and Liquids consists of 4 activities, requiring about 19 class sessions of 20 to 45 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 4 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0-78261140-0, $101. Complete module, $575. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

3.25 Sound. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grades: 2, 3 The module Sound begins by having students identify sounds from a tape recording and closes with a classroom recital of students' songs played on instruments they made from lengths of wood, flowerpots and string, or dried beans and a can. During the unit, students investigate some of the main characteristics of sound, including pitch, volume, and quality. Activities include constructing a kazoo to demonstrate that sounds are caused by vibrations; exploring the relationship between pitch and tension using rubber bands, pegboards, and golf tees; and comparing the sounds generated by different-sized washers hanging from strings to determine the relationship between pitch and the size of the vibrating object. Students also build their own "telephones" and explore which materials work best and which variables affect sound transmission.

Sound consists of 14 Learning Experiences, requiring about 24 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 14 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-173-0), $65. Materials kit, $299. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.26 Sounds. STC. Field-test ed. Washington, D.C.: National Science Resources Center, 1991.

Grade: 3 In this unit on Sounds, students investigate the causes and characteristics of sound and explore how people can hear sounds better. They investigate the characteristics of sound by experimenting with a variety of simple devices. They observe that vibrations produce sounds; they investigate how sound travels through different materials; they explore how humans produce sounds; and they discover the effect of the length of the sound-producing material on the pitch of the sound and the effect of tension on pitch. They demonstrate these concepts by making simple sound-producing devices. Students then expand their investigations of pitch to include both length and tension and apply what they learned to building a string instrument. Students build a model eardrum, read about how the ear is constructed, and learn how to protect their ears from damage.

Sounds is a 16-lesson unit, requiring 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 16 lesson plans, an annotated bibliography, and reproducible masters. A well-organized student activity book provides instructions for carrying out the activities. Appendixes include information on coping with hearing impairments.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089278-695-7, California revision), $14.95. Student Activity Book, $3.50. Unit, $421.00. Publisher/supplier : Carolina Biological Supply. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

3.27 Structures. Insights. Newton, Mass.: Education Development Center, 1994.

Grade: 6 Students develop an understanding of some of the basic principles of structures in this unit. The concepts covered include live load (the weight of a structure's own materials) and dead load (added weight), tension and compression, and the relationship of materials and shape to structure and strength. Students first look at structures in their school neighborhood and record the variety of sizes, shapes, materials, and functions they find. Then they explore how these characteristics affect a structure's ability to remain standing. Students learn to build standing structures using straws and paper clips, index cards, and other materials. Next they explore how dead load and live load affect the stability of their straw structures. In the process they learn that the arrangement of beams, columns, and diagonal supports in a framework is important in helping make the structure strong enough to support loads. Students work primarily in groups of four. They have many opportunities for drawing and recording information.

Structures consists of 13 Learning Experiences, requiring at least 24 class sessions, or about 6 to 8 weeks, to complete. The teacher's guide includes a unit overview, the 13 Learning Experiences, reproducible masters for student sheets, and annotated lists of additional resources to use with the module.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 089292-180-3), $65. Materials kit, $259. (Prices differ in California, Nevada, and Indiana.) Publisher/supplier : Optical Data. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.28 Subsystems and Variables. SCIS 3. Herbert D. Thier and Robert C. Knott. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1992.

Grade: 3 In Subsystems and Variables, students learn to identify and define variables in specific systems or subsystems of interacting objects. Within a defined subsystem (i.e., a grouping of objects smaller than the entire system of interest at that time), they investigate variables through controlled experiments. Students apply the concept of subsystems to their investigations of electric circuits, temperature-sensitive cards, solutions and nonsolutions, water and ice, solid and liquid butyl stearate, sound-producing sticks, playground equipment, whirly birds, and the earth as a system. In this unit, complex ideas are introduced through concrete and engaging activities. Students measure temperatures, use the processes of filtration and evaporation, and learn to construct and interpret histograms and line graphs to determine trends in collected data.

Subsystems and Variables is organized in 6 sections consisting of a total of 22 chapters requiring about 37 class sessions to complete. The teacher's guide includes an introduction to the unit, lesson plans for each of the sections, a glossary, and blackline masters for a student journal.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-935-4), $39.50. Kit, $710.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.29 Wood. FOSS. (Developed by Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, Calif.) Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., 1993.

Grade: K Wood, a curriculum module for kindergartners on the properties and uses of wood, consists of 2 multiphase activities. In the first activity, Properties of Wood, students observe and compare five types of wood (pine, plywood, redwood, particleboard, and basswood). Then they go on a wood hunt, experiment with how wood and water interact, and use rubber bands and paper clips to sink equivalent samples of different types of wood. They organize their results by constructing a bar graph with the paper clips. In the second activity, Woodworking, students sand basswood; compare sawdust and wood shavings; make particleboard from sawdust; make sandwich wood (plywood) by gluing together thin pieces of wood; nail pieces of wood together; stain wood; and make wood sculptures using wood, glue, and nails. The children work in small cooperative groups. The module uses a learning center approach for the activities.

The 2 activities in Wood require about 12 class sessions of about 20 to 30 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, the 2 individual activity folios, duplication masters (in both English and Spanish) for student sheets, and an annotated bibliography.

The module includes science background information, detailed instructions on planning for and conducting each activity, an extensive assessment component, and extensions for integration and enrichment. Materials are available in a kit.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 07826-1146-X), $101. Complete module, $355. Publisher/supplier: Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in module.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

PHYSICAL SCIENCE-SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "PHYSICAL SCIENCE—SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Materials, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 4 of this guide. In addition, each annotation has a two-part entry number. For each entry number, the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter.

For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2, and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core, Supplementary, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication.

  • Series title, or series acronym if commonly used.

  • Authors (either individual names or organizational author).

  • Name and location of developer (in parentheses), if different from publisher.

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication.

Series Acronyms

Following are acronyms of series titles in "Physical Science—Supplementary Materials." (Series titles that are spelled out are not included in this list.)

DSM

Delta Science Module

GEMS

Great Explorations in Math and Science

STAR

Science Technology and Reading

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information is presented in a block immediately below the annotation. Included are the following:

  • Prices of teacher's guides, activity books, and kits or units.

  • The name of a principal publisher/supplier (not necessarily the sole source) for the items listed in the price category. (The address and phone and fax numbers for each publisher and supplier appear in appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers.")

  • An indication of the various sources from which one might obtain the required materials.

3.30 Bubble Festival. GEMS. Jacqueline Barber and Carolyn Willard. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1992.

Grades: 5-6+ In Bubble Festival, students participate in a variety of bubble activities in a learning station format. The unit's classroom tabletop activities provide open-ended explorations in an informal, student-centered setting. The guide includes flexible suggestions to help teachers maximize the effectiveness of learning stations and to help them present the challenges of each station, manage classroom logistics, explore scientific content in greater depth, and provide literature and writing extensions. "Activity Task Cards for Volunteers" explain the learning goals of each activity, suggest additional questions to ask students, and explain how to maintain stations so they are safe and ready for successive groups. Blackline masters of signs for the learning stations are included for each activity.

Bubble Festival includes 12 tabletop activities, with detailed instructions on how to set them up.

Price: $12.50 (ISBN 0-912511-80-X). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.31 Bubble-ology. GEMS. Jacqueline Barber. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1987.

Grades: 5-6+ In Bubble-ology, students use bubbles to investigate light and color, aerodynamics, chemical composition, surface tension, and technology. During this unit, they create an ideal bubble-blowing instrument, determine which brand of dishwashing liquid will make the biggest bubble, test the effect of different

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

amounts of glycerin on the size of bubbles, apply Bernoulli's principle to keep a bubble aloft, and use color to predict bubble survival.

Bubble-ology consists of 6 activities requiring 8 to 10 class sessions of 45 to 60 minutes each. The module includes a brief introduction, a materials list, detailed instructions for preparing and conducting the lesson, and extension ideas. Useful summary outlines and reproducible student worksheets are included.

Price: $8.50. Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.32 Color Analyzers. GEMS. Cary 1. Sneider, Alan Gould, and Cheryl Hawthorne. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1991.

Grades: 5-6+ In Color Analyzers, students investigate light and color while experimenting with diffraction gratings and color filters. The unit's activities include using diffraction gratings to look at light sources and using colored light filters to decipher and invent secret messages. These activities draw students into investigations of light and color and help them discover why different objects appear to be different colors. Activities to provide additional experiences with light perception are suggested.

Color Analyzers includes 4 sessions of 30 to 60 minutes each. The lesson plan for each session includes an overview, a list of materials, blackline masters of student worksheets, and complete instructions for planning and conducting the activity. A class set of diffraction gratings and color filters is included with the teacher's guide.

Price: $15 (ISBN 0-912511-14-1). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.33 Color and Light. DSM. The National Learning Center. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1994.

Grades: 5, 6 In Color and Light, students investigate the relationships between pigments, color filters, and the light that strikes them. Students mix samples of water containing different colors of pigments (food coloring) and observe the new colors that form. Then they separate a mixture of these pigments using the process of paper chromatography. Students investigate the effects of passing white light through different combinations of color filters and compare this process with that of mixing pigments. Color filters and flashlights are used to create colored beams of light as students compare additive color mixing with subtractive color mixing. In other activities, they observe what happens when colored light shines on different-colored objects; they discover how primary colors can be used to produce detailed, full-color images; they observe the effect of color filters on sight; they create the illusion of three-dimensional objects on a flat piece of paper; and they discover what causes an afterimage to form.

Color and Light includes 13 activities, which require about 16 class sessions, typically 40 minutes in length. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, a list of objectives for each activity, a planning schedule, background information, and preparation and materials management strategies. A complete lesson plan is provided for each lesson.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-113-2), $24.95. Kit, $275.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.34 Discovering Density. GEMS. Marion E. Buelger. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1988.

Grades: 6+ In Discovering Density, students learn about the concept of density through 4 hands-on activities using liquids. In the first activity, students layer colored "mystery liquids" of different densities in a drinking straw and discover that some liquids float on top of others. They experiment with colored salt solutions and discover that water containing different amounts of salt also forms layers. Drawing on these two experiments, students learn to define density and to distinguish weight from density. In the third and fourth activities, they create their own mixtures of liquids of different densities using "secret formulas." They predict how the liquids will layer and then test their predictions. Directions for the activities are clear and concise.

Discovering Density requires 4 sessions of 25 to 50 minutes each. The lessons include helpful suggestions for group work, discussion, and classroom management.

Price: $10. Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.35 Electrical Circuits. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: 3-5 Electrical Circuits features a series of activities during which students identify the parts of a circuit; construct series and parallel circuits; and make a circuit tester, a bulb, and a fuse. They also classify materials as conductors and nonconductors and predict the relative electrical resistance of various wires.

Electrical Circuits consists of 12 activities, requiring 13 class sessions of 40 minutes each. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps,

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

teaching suggestions and reinforcement activities. Reproducible masters of student worksheets are included.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-745-9), $9.95. Kit, $231.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.36 Electromagnetism. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1994.

Grades: 4-6 In this unit, students learn the principles of electromagnetism and some of the relationships between magnets and circuits. They first review the properties of magnetism, and then build an electromagnet and experiment to determine which variables affect the strength of the electromagnet. Students apply their knowledge of electric current, magnetism, and electromagnets to construct a buzzer, model motors, and a working telegraph. They observe how a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.

Electromagnetism consists of 12 activities, requiring 15 class sessions of 40 to 60 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes an overview, a list of objectives for each activity, a planning schedule, background information, and preparation and materials management strategies, as well as a complete lesson plan for each activity.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-130-5), $24.95. Kit, $325.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.37 Energy: How You Use Different Forms of Energy. Scholastic Science Place. (Developed in cooperation with Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta, Ga.) New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 1993.

Grade: 2 In this unit, students learn that energy exists in different forms. The lessons are grouped within 3 subconcepts: (1) light, heat, sound, and electricity are different forms of energy; (2) energy moves and changes matter; and (3) there are renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy. For explorations in this unit, students tape colored paper to a window to demonstrate that light can change objects. They create hand-shadow shows to learn how light moves. They compare what happens to tea bags in cold and hot water to learn how heat energy changes things. Students learn to control sound waves by making a musical instrument out of a plastic straw. They use wire and a battery to light a bulb, and they produce a television show to discuss ways people can conserve energy.

Energy: How You Use Different Forms of Energy is a 17-lesson unit typically requiring 35- to 45-minute sessions. The conceptual goals are presented in the lesson-by-lesson story line in the teacher's guide. Each lesson also includes background information; a complete lesson plan, including suggestions for assessing performance and integrating the curriculum; and a list of the print, video, and software support materials required for the lesson.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0-59026210-6), $20.70. Student Book (ISBN 0-590-26142-8), $6.50. Complete unit, $375.00. Consumables kit, $50.00. Publisher/supplier: Scholastic. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.38 Investigating Water. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: K-1 In Investigating Water, students explore water and discover some of its properties and forms. They use their senses to experiment with melting and evaporating water; with motion, boats, and buoys; and with the capacity of containers. Students make bubble machines, create secondary colors by mixing food coloring and water, and use various materials to make sounds with water. They use a variety of tools as they mix, pour, measure, and change water.

Investigating Water consists of 9 activities of 30 minutes each, requiring about 3 weeks to complete. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $49.95. Kit, $173.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.39 Involving Dissolving. GEMS. Leigh Agler. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1991.

Grades: K-3 In Involving Dissolving, making substances "disappear" and then reappear helps children understand the concepts of dissolving, evaporation, and crystallization. Students conduct experiments in which substances such as gelatin, salt, and eggshell calcium (calcium carbonate) dissolve and then are "brought back"—helping them grasp the difficult concept that these substances do not really "disappear" when they dissolve, but remain in liquid in another form. As students compare rates at which various substances dissolve and conduct related experiments, they develop process

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

skills such as observing, comparing, describing, recording, and predicting.

Involving Dissolving includes 4 activities requiring 4 to 6 sessions of 15 to 50 minutes each, plus daily observation for 1 to 2 weeks. The plan for each activity includes an overview, a materials list, and complete instructions. Extension ideas and suggestions for modifying the lessons for kindergarten students are provided.

Price: $8.50 (ISBN 0-912511-50-8). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.40 Length and Capacity. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: 1-3 In Length and Capacity, students use common classroom materials to learn the concepts length, height, width, and capacity, which are basic to the study of science and mathematics. Students learn to compare the length, height, and width of various objects using nonstandard and standard units of measure. Using sand, water, and various containers, they explore the concept of capacity, and then learn about units of capacity.

Length and Capacity consists of 10 activities of 30 minutes each, which can be conducted over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-741-6), $9.95. Kit, $210.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.41 Lenses and Mirrors. DSM. The National Learning Center. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1994.

Grades: 5, 6 In Lenses and Mirrors, students investigate the refraction and reflection of light by lenses and mirrors as they come to understand how light can be manipulated to help us see things. Students learn how light rays behave when they strike a reflective surface. They discover the connection between the location of an object and the apparent location of its reflection. They find out why light rays passing through a very small hole produce an inverted image. Students apply what they have learned about light reflection to direct light through a maze of mirrors. They investigate the reflection patterns produced by various types and combinations of mirrors, and examine the refraction of light through different types of lenses. Finally, they use what they have learned about vision and lenses to explain how eyeglasses correct eyesight.

Lenses and Mirrors includes 12 activities, which require about 15 class sessions, typically 40 to 45 minutes in length. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, a list of objectives for each activity, a planning schedule, background information, and preparation and materials management strategies. A complete lesson plan is provided for each lesson.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-115-9), $24.95. Kit, $350.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.42 Liquid Explorations. GEMS. Leigh Agler. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1991.

Grades: 1-3 In Liquid Explorations, a series of 5 activities, children explore the properties of liquids. They play a liquid-classification game in which they examine various liquids and describe the qualities that make one different from another. They observe how food coloring moves through different liquids and discover that some liquids mix while others do not, as they create a secret salad dressing and an ''ocean in a bottle." Through these activities, students identify the properties of liquids and note changes that occur when other substances are added to them.

Liquid Explorations includes 5 activities requiring 5 or more class sessions. The lesson plans for each activity present helpful hints for hands-on science in the classroom, a letter to parents, and reproducible student worksheets.

Price: $8.50 (ISBN 0-912511-51-6). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.43 Looking at Liquids. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: 3-5 In Looking at Liquids, students explore the behavior of common liquids. They observe, measure, and investigate liquids as they learn about viscosity and cohesion. They compare the reaction of drops of various liquids to several surfaces. They use an equal-arm balance to discover that equal volumes of different liquids do not weigh the same. They measure how fast water evaporates from a wet paper towel and experiment with floating paper clips to demonstrate surface tension. Students alter the surface tension of liquids with soap and alcohol and measure the surface tension of several liquids. They take measurements and record data as they complete the activities.

Looking at Liquids consists of 9 activities that require 3 to 4 weeks to complete. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities. Reproducible masters of student worksheets are included.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-744-0), $9.95. Kit, $231.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.44 Motion: How Moving Objects Interact. Scholastic Science Place. (Developed in cooperation with Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.) New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 1995.

Grade: 4 In Motion: How Moving Objects Interact, students learn that an object's motion is a change in its position over time. The unit's lessons are grouped in 3 subconcepts: (1) forms of motion include straight-line, zigzag, and circular motions; (2) an object's motion only changes if the object is pushed or pulled, and every push or pull is opposed by a push or pull in the opposite direction; and (3) machines can change the size or direction of a push or pull. Activities in this unit include the following: students observe, describe, and make generalizations about moving objects; they investigate forces that affect an object's motion, such as the pushing and pulling action of walking; they make a cardboard wheel to observe how it produces motion; and they use inclined planes and pulley systems to move objects. In a culminating activity, students are challenged to design and make a model of a lifting machine.

Motion is a 17-lesson unit, requiring 24 sessions of 35 to 45 minutes each to complete. The conceptual goals of the unit are presented in the lesson-by-lesson story line in the teacher's guide. Each lesson also includes background information; a complete lesson plan, including suggestions for assessing performance and integrating the curriculum; and a list of the print, video, and software support materials required for the lesson.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0-59027691-3), $27. Student Book (ISBN 0-590-27690-5), $10. Complete kit, $450. Consumables kit, $52. Publisher/supplier : Scholastic. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.45 Of Cabbages and Chemistry. GEMS. Jacqueline Barber. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1991.

Grades: 4-6+ In the module Of Cabbages and Chemistry, students discover acids and bases and some of their properties by conducting experiments with red cabbage juice (a natural indicator) and common household liquids. In the first of 4 activities, students mix cabbage juice with various household liquids, then classify the liquids into groups according to the colors of the resulting mixtures. Next they share and compare their results in a classroom "scientific convention"; relate their classifications to the terms "acid," "base," and "neutral''; and then discover through hands-on experimentation that acids and bases are not discrete categories but points along a continuum. In the third and fourth activities, students in grade 6 and above investigate the concepts of concentration and neutralization and apply what they have learned by testing a variety of new liquids and household products.

Of Cabbages and Chemistry includes 4 activities, requiring 4 to 8 sessions of 30 to 50 minutes each. The guide contains appropriate science background information, detailed lesson plans, reproducible masters of student data sheets, and ideas for extensions.

Price: $10 (ISBN 0-912511-63-X). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.46 Oobleck: What Scientists Do. GEMS. Cary I. Sneider. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1988.

Grades: 4-6+ In this unit, students investigate an unknown substance called Oobleck, describe its physical properties, experiment to identify its unique characteristics, and hold a scientific convention to discuss the similarities and differences among their findings. Students then design a spacecraft that would be able to land and take off again on an ocean of Oobleck. They compare the scientific methods they employed with those of real scientists.

The format for the 4 lessons (requiring 5 or 6 class sessions of 20 to 45 minutes each) includes a list of materials, suggestions for preparation, and directions for the activity.

Price: $8.50. Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.47 Simple Machines. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1994.

Grades: 5-6+ By the end of this module, students will have constructed and/or used six Simple Machines and will understand how these machines are used to perform a variety of important tasks. During the unit they construct a lever and investigate mechanical advantage, they investigate the transfer of force between the axles and the wheels of a model tractor, they experiment with friction and traction (moving friction), and they examine the structure of a gear and observe how force that is applied to a driving gear is transferred to a driven gear. In other activities, students observe how a pulley redirects applied force, discover how an inclined plane can be used to reduce the amount of force needed to do a given amount of work. and observe how wedges and screws make work easier.

Simple Machines consists of 12 lessons, requiring 12 class sessions of

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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40 to 50 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes a module overview, a list of objectives for each activity, a planning schedule, background information, and preparation and materials management strategies. A complete lesson plan is provided for each activity. An assessment activity and reproducible masters of student data sheets are also included.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-119-1), $24.95. Kit, $260.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.48 Sink or Float. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: 2, 3 In Sink or Float, students investigate the concept of buoyancy and principles governing the behavior of boats. Working in pairs, they build a variety of floating vessels. Students first predict the buoyancy of pieces of clay formed in various shapes as they learn how shape influences buoyancy. Then they experiment with a variety of materials and designs to identify variables affecting the load capacities of floating vessels. The module culminates in a cargo contest in which students construct boats designed for maximum capacity.

Sink or Float consists of 7 activities that require about 3 weeks to complete. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities. Reproducible masters for student worksheets are included.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-742-4), $9.95. Kit, $121.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.49 Solids, Liquids, and Gases: States of Matter and How They Change. Scholastic Science Place. (Developed in cooperation with New York Hall of Science, Corona, N.Y.) New York, N.Y.: Scholastic, 1993.

Grade: 1 In Solids, Liquids, and Gases, students learn that matter changes in a variety of ways. The unit's lessons are grouped in 3 subconcepts: (1) matter has properties by which it can be observed and described; (2) properties of matter, such as shape, color, and state, can change; and (3) changes in matter require adding or taking away energy. Examples of activities in this unit include the following: students listen to a story about what scientists do; they take a video trip that introduces them to solids, liquids, and gases; they compare the way liquids and solids behave; they observe what happens when different types of liquids are mixed together; and they melt ice to observe that matter changes form with the help of energy.

Solids, Liquids, and Gases has 17 lessons (typically 20 to 40 minutes in duration). The conceptual goals of the unit are presented in the lesson-by-lesson story line in the teacher's guide. Each lesson also includes background information; a complete lesson plan, including suggestions for assessing performance and integrating the curriculum; and a list of the print, video, and software support materials required for the lesson.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0-59026204-1), $20.70. Student Book (ISBN 0-590-26136-3), $6.50. Complete kit, $375.00. Consumables kit, $59.00. Publisher/supplier: Scholastic. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in unit.

3.50 Sound. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988.

Grades: 2-4 Sound introduces students to the concept of sound and what causes it. The unit opens with an activity called Sound Detectives, in which students try to identify objects by the sounds the objects produce. Students develop an operational definition of volume, compare how sound travels through air and through a solid, and manipulate variables to determine which ones can alter the pitch of a sound.

Sound consists of 10 activities, requiring 12 class sessions to complete. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 087504-747-5), $9.95. Kit, $147.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.51 STAR Flight Lab. STAR. Washington, D.C.: Reading Is Fundamental, 1995.

Grades: 5-6+ STAR Flight Lab introduces activities on the science of flight with a collection of historical anecdotes tracing the development of flight science and technology. Students experiment with kites, parachutes, airfoils, gliders, and balloon rockets to understand 4 forces acting on an aircraft in flight—lift, drag, thrust, and gravity. They measure altitude, wind speed, rate of descent, and flight distance. Information, procedures, and test data are recorded in student flight logs. Examples of cross-curricular activities include analyzing the elements of science fiction stories; constructing a flight history timeline; calculating and comparing flight

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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times for airplanes throughout history; and drawing a scene as viewed from a hot air balloon.

STAR Flight Lab provides a list of resources, including books, computer software, and audiovisual materials.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $21.90. Mentor's Guide, $3.90. Publisher/supplier : Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.52 STAR Inventor's Lab. STAR. Washington, D.C.: Reading Is Fundamental, 1994.

Grades: 3-6 The story of Lewis Latimer, an African-American inventor who was a colleague of Thomas Edison, provides the context for a series of investigations using electrical circuitry in STAR Inventor's Lab. As apprentices, students construct simple electric circuits and an electromagnet. As journeymen they apply their skills and knowledge to build a model cottage with electrical sources, an electromagnetic crane, or an electronic quiz game. As inventors they are challenged to create an invention or a prototype of an invention. The unit includes additional activities to tie the inventor's lab to reading, social studies, art, and mathematics, including learning more about inventors by reading about their lives and careers, wiring a dollhouse, and building a better book bag.

STAR Inventor's Lab provides a list of resources, including books, computer software, and audiovisual materials.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $21.50. Mentor's Guide, $3.90. Publisher/supplier : Kendall/Hunt. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.53 States of Matter. DSM. Hudson, N.H.: Delta Education, 1988. Grades: 2-4 In States of Matter, students discover the effects of temperature on changes in states of matter. They predict and then measure the time required to melt an ice cube and infer variables that affect the rate of melting. Then they design and conduct experiments to increase the rate of melting and construct insulated containers to prevent ice from melting. Through simple experiments, students learn that not all substances change state at the same rate and that different substances have different freezing points.

States of Matter consists of 7 activities. Each activity includes a vocabulary list, a list of materials needed, preparation steps, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide, $9.95. Kit, $169.00. Publisher/supplier: Delta Education. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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PHYSICAL SCIENCE-SCIENCE ACTIVITY BOOKS

3.54 Adventures in Science and Mathematics: Integrated Activities for Young Children. Julie G. Whitney and Linda J. Sheffield. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Cuisenaire Company of America, 1991.

Grade: 2 In Adventures in Science and Mathematics, students use the scientific method to investigate a variety of concepts, primarily in the physical sciences. In the first of the 5 units in this guide, they develop their observational skills by identifying and comparing the characteristics of a variety of rocks. In the second and third units, they explore the relationship between force, energy, and motion through simple experiments using blocks, balloon rockets, pendulums, pulleys, and balls. In the fourth unit, students study motion in fluids by investigating the behavior of waves, testing the viscosity of various fluids, and simulating soil erosion. Students learn about light in the fifth unit by experimenting with mirrors, prisms, and screens. Every activity is designed to follow the same basic process: experiment and observe, discuss, hypothesize, test hypotheses, discuss results, and explore further.

Each of the 5 units in Adventures in Science and Mathematics begins with an overview and background information about each activity in that unit. The 22 activities can be done in small groups or in pairs, in combination with class discussion.

Price: $9.95 (ISBN 0-938587-18-8). Publisher/supplier: Cuisenaire Company of America. Materials: Available locally.

ABOUT THE ANNOTATIONS IN "PHYSICAL SCIENCE—SCIENCE ACTIVITY BOOKS"

Entry Numbers

Curriculum materials are arranged alphabetically by title in each category (Core Materials, Supplementary Materials, and Science Activity Books) in chapters 1 through 4 of this guide. In addition, each annotation has a two-part entry number. For each entry number, the chapter number is given before the period; the number after the period locates the entry within that chapter.

For example, the first entry number in chapter 1 is 1.1; the second entry in chapter 2 is 2.2, and so on.

The entry numbers within each curriculum chapter run consecutively through Core, Supplementary, and Science Activity Books.

Order of Bibliographic Information

Following is the arrangement of the facts of publication in the annotations in this section:

  • Title of publication.

  • Series title, or series acronym if commonly used.

  • Authors (either individual names or organizational author).

  • Name and location of developer (in parentheses), if different from publisher.

  • Place of publication, publisher, and date of publication.

Series Acronyms

Following are acronyms of series titles in "Physical Science—Science Activity Books." (Series titles that are spelled out are not included in this list.)

AIMS

Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science

CESI

Council for Elementary Science International

GEMS

Great Explorations in Math and Science

Price and Acquisition Information

Ordering information is presented in a block immediately below the annotation. Included are the following:

  • Prices of teacher's guides, activity books, and kits or units.

  • The name of a principal publisher/supplier (not necessarily the sole source) for the items listed in the price category. (The address and phone and fax numbers for each publisher and supplier appear in appendix A, "Publishers and Suppliers.")

  • An indication of the various sources from which one might obtain the required materials.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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3.55 Animal Sounds. Mary Marcussen. San Francisco, Calif.: California Academy of Sciences, 1991.

Grades: 3-5 Animal Sounds fills the classroom with sounds made by frogs, crickets, whales, mosquitoes, songbirds, and penguins. The teacher's guide, with 19 activities, is accompanied by a cassette tape of various animal sounds narrated by scientists who explain what animal is making the sound, how the sound is physically produced, and how the animal uses sound to communicate. The teacher's guide is divided in 5 sections. Activities in the first 3 sections provide a basic understanding of the physical principles of sound. In the fourth section, students then use their understanding of how sound works to explore the human ear and the human voice-producing mechanism and compare them with those of other animals. The final section explores ways in which animals use sound for communication and ways in which humans use sound in technology. Activities include students making voice prints, comparing how sound travels through different materials, and demonstrating how echoes are produced.

The activities in Animal Sounds include an introduction, a materials list, procedure, things to think about, and extension ideas.

Price: $12.95 (ISBN 9-940228-31-9). Publisher/supplier: California Academy of Sciences. Materials: Available locally.

3.56 BUZ: A Hands-on Electrical Energy Education Program. Delmarva Power Energy Education Program. Wilmington, Del.: Delmarva Power, 1989.

Grades: 4-6 The nuts and bolts of electricity and its use are explored in BUZ: A Hands-on Electrical Energy Education Program. Through the activities in this guide, students investigate simple circuits, examine electricity as a form of energy, test conductors and insulators, make circuit diagrams, discover how electricity is generated and delivered, and learn to use electricity safely and wisely. Activities include predicting whether or not a bulb will glow in given circuits before testing the circuits, using balloons to investigate static electricity, and classifying items as electrical conductors or as insulators. In other activities, students distinguish between safe and unsafe electrical environments and chart the kilowatt usage of various appliances.

Each lesson includes background information and several activities. Reproducible worksheets and a set of transparency masters accompany the teacher's guide.

Price: Teacher's Guide comes with a BUZ teacher training workshop. Publisher/supplier: Delmarva Power. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit from Delmarva Power.

3.57 Circles: Shapes in Math, Science and Nature. Catherine Sheldrick Ross. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press, 1992.

Grades: 5-6+ From superdomes to sunflowers, Circles: Shapes in Math, Science and Nature takes in just about every round thing that children may be able to think of. This activity book has 9 topic areas: amazing circles, living in circles, far-out circles, spheres, discs, cylinders, cones, spirals, and be a circle. Students learn to measure the circumference, radius, and diameter of a circle. They fold circles to make other shapes; interlock circles to make petal patterns; and make ellipses, domes, sundials, pinwheel disks, castle towers, cone hats, and other round objects. Historical material focuses on Stonehenge, the circular cities of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and many other topics.

Price: Canadian $12.95 (ISBN 155074-064-4). Publisher/supplier: University of Toronto Press. Materials: Available locally.

3.58 Crime Lab Chemistry. GEMS. Jacqueline Barber. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1989.

Grades: 4-6+ In Crime Lab Chemistry, students play the part of crime lab chemists to solve a mystery. They discover which of several black pens was used to write a ransom note. This guide capitalizes on students' enthusiasm for solving mysteries to develop such skills as analyzing data and making inferences. Students use the process of paper chromatography to separate the pigments contained in the ink on the ransom note. This same technique is then used to analyze the ink in several pens. Students compare the chromatograms to determine which pen was used to write the note.

Crime Lab Chemistry requires 2 class sessions of 35 to 45 minutes each. The teacher's guide includes an introduction, detailed information on time and materials needed and on steps in advance preparation, as well as suggestions for other mysteries to be solved, and summary outlines for both sessions.

Price: $8.50. Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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3.59 Cycling Back to Nature With Biodegradable Polymers. Robert L. Horton, Joe E. Heimlich, and James R. Hollyer. Chevy Chase, Md.: National 4-H Council, 1994.

Grades: 6+ Cycling Back to Nature With Biodegradable Polymers is a source book of activities addressing the environmental influence of natural products, manufactured products, and by-products of the earth's natural cycles. The guide's 9 chapters focus on (1) earth's four natural cycles; (2) interaction between producers, consumers, and decomposers within natural cycles; (3) the production of plastic; (4) the presence of plastics in the environment; (5) biodegradable polymers as an important breakthrough; (6) composting as nature's way of recycling; (7) the need to recycle traditional plastics; (8) the range of possibilities for packaging with biodegradable polymers; and (9) increasing public awareness. Activities in the unit include experimenting with the effects of yeast on food decomposition, taking inventory of the plastic items in the packaging of students' lunches, and experimenting with water-soluble biodegradable polymers. Lessons may be used independently of each other or in sequence.

Appendixes in the unit include an earth cycle bio sheet, instructions for making a compost pile, plastic labeling information, a packaging scavenger hunt, and a letterwriting tip sheet.

Price: $9. Publisher/supplier: National 4-H Supply Service. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.60 Electrical Connections. AIMS. Maureen Allen, Diane Bredt, Judy Calderwood, and others. Fresno, Calif.: AIMS Education Foundation, 1991.

Grades: 4-6+ Electrical Connections is a collection of activities in which mathematics and science skills are tested and other disciplines are integrated. Students investigate the following topic areas: static electricity, electric circuits, switches, circuit breakers, conductors, insulators, electromagnetism, galvanometers, and chemical and electrical energy. Among the many activities in the guide, students experiment with static electricity, construct a circuit quiz board, and make a galvanometer to detect small amounts of electrical current.

Electrical Connections provides worksheets with lively illustrations for its 26 activities, each of which has a complete lesson plan.

Price: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 1881431-28-2), $14.95. Publisher/supplier : AIMS Education Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.61 Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book. John Cassidy. Palo Alto, Calif.: Klutz Press, 1991.

Grades: 3-6 Complete with its own magnet, two pouches of agar, and plastic shields that bend light waves, Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book offers more than 50 activities designed to help students extend their thinking, research, and problem-solving skills. The activities are grouped in 7 sections: (1) magnetism, (2) bending light waves, (3) bacterial stories, (4) light wave craziness, (5) homemade science, (6) bouncing light rays, and (7) optical illusions. Activities include constructing an antigravity machine, making food for bacteria, and following a mirror maze. Except for the section on homemade science, each section contains the special tools needed for the activities.

Prices: $18.95 (ISBN 1-878257-14-5). Publisher/supplier: Klutz Press. Materials: Most materials needed are included in book. Any others needed are available locally.

3.62 Exploratorium Science Snackbook: Teacher Created Versions of Exploratorium Exhibits. Exploratorium Teacher Institute. San Francisco, Calif.: The Exploratorium, 1991.

Grades: 3-6+ Exploratorium Science Snackbook offers teachers the opportunity to create exhibits from a unique science museum in their own classroom. This resource book offers 107 "Snacks" from the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Each Snack contains instructions for building a classroom version of a particular Exploratorium exhibit. Examples include suspending a ball in a stream of air, using mirrors to make multiple images, making a portable cloud in a bottle, using polarized light to make a stained glass window without glass, and creating a simple electric motor. A Snack can be used as a demonstration, as a lab, or as an interactive exhibit for student use.

Each "recipe" in the Snackbook includes instructions, advice, and helpful hints and is accompanied by photographs and line drawings. Icons identify the main concepts associated with each Snack.

Price: $29.95 (ISBN 0-943451-25-6). Publisher/supplier: The Exploratorium. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or from suppliers listed in "Materials" section of Snackbook.

3.63 Flight Power: Practical Science Activities for Grades 4-6. Power of Science. Grant Phillips. Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia: Dellasta, 1991.

Grades: 4-6 The easy-to-follow activities in Flight Power introduce students to various aspects of flight. Using everyday materials and working individually or in groups, students construct and explore simple aerofoils, gliders, helicopters, hot-air balloons, parachutes, boomerangs,

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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balloon rockets, and a vinegar rocket launcher.

Each of the 8 activities in Flight Power includes an explanation of how the construction works, together with reproducible investigation sheets for recording information and observations. Also included are challenge sheets and problem pages that encourage critical thinking and creativity.

Price: $10.95 (ISBN 0-947138-87-0). Publisher/supplier: Mondo. Materials : Available locally.

3.64 Flights of Imagination: An Introduction to Aerodynamics. Wayne Hosking. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: National Science Teachers Association, 1990.

Grades: 5-6+ Flights of Imagination provides instructions for activities using student-constructed kites, gliders, and airfoils to investigate fundamental principles of aerodynamics. Students explore questions such as how the wind makes a kite rise; why some kites require a tail; how a dihedral adds stability; and what effect different materials have on a kite's durability, construction time, and flight performance. The more quantitative investigations on topics such as aspect ratio, weight-to-area factor, wind speed and lift, and angle of elevation are more appropriate for secondary school students but may be of interest to teachers who wish to improve their background knowledge.

Flights of Imagination consists of 18 activities. Appendixes on when, where, and how to fly a kite are included, along with a safety code, glossary, and resource list.

Price: $10.50 (ISBN 0-87355-067-6). Publisher/supplier: National Science Teachers Association. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.65 Gears. Enfield, Conn.: LEGO Dacta, 1993.

Grades: 4-6 This booklet contains information about gears, simple hands-on gear activities, and appropriate diagrams and illustrations. It is designed to be used with the LEGO DACTA Gear Set, which uses the popular LEGO construction blocks to teach about gears. Students first learn the definition of a gear. Then they build models that will gear up (increase speed) and gear down (increase force). They arrange gears so they turn in the same direction, in opposite directions, or at 90-degree angles to each other. They discover that how fast or how slowly one gear makes another turn depends on the number of teeth on the gear. Students are challenged to design and build a spinning sign and a moving target.

Each activity in Gears states the main idea involved and provides illustrated instructions, additional information, and extension ideas. The guide lists the process and critical thinking skills involved in the activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0914831-82-8), $5. Gear Classroom Pack, $175. Individual Gear Set, $15. Publisher/supplier: LEGO Dacta. Materials : Available from LEGO Dacta.

3.66 Idea Factory's Whodunits: Mysteries for Science Class Detectives. Marilyn Blackmer and Sandi Schlichting. Riverview, Fla.: Idea Factory, 1991.

Grades: 2-4 Idea Factory's Whodunits: Mysteries for Science Class Detectives is a collection of "mysteries" and problems occurring at home, at school, and on the playground that can be solved with a little science knowledge. Each mystery includes a short story followed by the question to be investigated. One mystery is included for each of the following topics: fingerprinting, mirror images, chromatography, magnetism, capillary action, the characteristics of matter, conductors and nonconductors of electricity, physical properties and chemical changes, colors, body proportions, properties of air, crystals, inertia, and density. Each lesson can stand alone or can be used as part of an on-going unit.

The book's introduction offers teachers suggestions for grouping students, approaches to problem-solving, brainstorming tips and rules, and a section on science safety. Each lesson includes objectives, background information, a list of materials, brainstorming ideas, procedure, extension activities, and appropriate student data sheets.

Price: $10.95. Publisher/supplier: Idea Factory. Materials: Available locally.

3.67 In the Air. Science Spirals. Julie Fitzpatrick. London, England: Evans Brothers, 1991.

Grades: 2-4 In the Air is a little book filled with student-directed activities on the subject of air. Aided by simple instructions, easily obtained materials, and colorful illustrations, students make flying tails, bags-on-a-stick, parachutes, and kites. They test the effects of altering the shape and weight of materials on the speed with which they fall through the air. They make and test the flights of paper gliders of various sizes and weights, and they use balloons to simulate the effects of a jet engine. A master materials list is included.

Price: $13.95 (ISBN 0-237-60207-5). Publisher/supplier: Trafalgar Square. Materials: Available locally.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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3.68 It's a Gas. Margaret Griffin and Ruth Griffin. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press, 1993.

Grades: 4-6+ It's a Gas contains simple activities and brief reading selections from which students learn about the properties and behavior of gases; about how gases differ from liquids and solids; and about gases in our bodies, gases used for lighting, heating, and refrigeration, and gases in the earth's atmosphere. Students conduct experiments to discover that some gases weigh more than others. They learn about the expansion of gases in bread and cake dough during baking. They build a model greenhouse to see what a good heat-trap a greenhouse can be and to understand how greenhouse gases trap heat in a similar way. These activities require common materials such as vinegar, sodium bicarbonate, rice, plants, and plastic bottles.

Price: US$9.95 (ISBN 1-55074-120-9). Publisher/supplier: University of Toronto Press. Materials: Available locally.

3.69 Kids' Kitchen Chemistry. Anne Lawes. Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia: Dellasta, 1993.

Grades: 3-6 In Kids' Kitchen Chemistry, the characters Sally and Pete make their own kitchen chemistry set and proceed to learn about basic principles of chemistry with materials found around the house. Soap-powered boats, ice cream spiders, and fantasy-colored fountains are just a few of the products that come from the 20 experiments in this book. Activities include making a working model of a soda-acid fire extinguisher, growing crystals from a salt solution, using detergent to change surface tension, and separating colored chemicals using a simple chromatography column.

Kids' Kitchen Chemistry features 20 activities. Each activity includes a stated goal, lists of equipment and chemicals needed, step-by-step instructions, a place to record results, and postexperiment comments.

Price: $14.50 (ISBN 1-875627-16-2). Publisher/supplier: Mondo. Materials : Available locally.

3.70 Kitchen Chemistry. Step-by-Step Science Series. John B. Bath and Sally C. Mayberry. Greensboro, N.C.: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Co., 1994.

Grades: 4-6 Kitchen Chemistry is a collection of 39 activities designed to introduce students to solutions, mixtures, acids and bases, and chemical reactions using readily available, inexpensive materials. Activities include demonstrating that particles of water move faster when heated, making a suspension, making invisible ink, testing for acids and bases using a red cabbage indicator, and making a soap-powered boat.

Each activity in Kitchen Chemistry includes background information (where appropriate), a problem statement, a list of materials, procedure, expected results, and critical thinking questions.

Price: $5.95 (ISBN 4-4222-1137-6). Publisher/supplier: Carson-Dellosa. Materials: Available locally.

3.71 Levers. Enfield, Conn.: LEGO Dacta, 1993.

Grades: 5, 6 This booklet contains information about levers, simple hands-on lever activities, and appropriate diagrams and illustrations. It is designed to be used with the LEGO DACTA Lever Set, which uses the popular LEGO construction blocks to explore the three classes of levers. Students first learn the definition of a lever. Then they construct working models of first-, second-, and third-class levers and build models of devices that incorporate them. Students are challenged to design and build two devices: one that can pick up a weighted brick while being operated with one hand, and another that can be raised and lowered and locked into a raised and lowered position.

Each activity in Levers states the main idea involved and provides illustrated instructions, additional information, and extension ideas. The guide lists the process and critical thinking skills involved in the activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0914831-83-6), $5. Lever Classroom Pack, $175. Individual Lever Set, $15. Publisher/supplier: LEGO Dacta. Materials: Available from LEGO Dacta.

3.72 Light. Investigate and Discover Series. Robert Gardner. New York, N.Y.: Julian Messner/Simon & Schuster, 1991.

Grades: 5-6+ Many of the investigations and features in Light are related to exhibits at the Science Museum at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Each chapter features science background information and as many as 7 investigations. Through the experiments and activities in this guide, students explore the shadows cast by objects in bright light and try to explain the shadows' shapes and sizes. They investigate how light is reflected, how images are formed, and where those images are. They produce pinhole images, experiment with refraction of light, and examine and attempt to explain the behavior of colored light and colored objects. In a final activity, students are introduced to the wave and particle models as explanations of the properties of light.

Each chapter features extensive science background information and up to 7 investigations, including

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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experiments with step-by-step instructions and less-structured activities that encourage students to explore on their own, at home or at school.

Price: $9.95 (ISBN 0-671-69042-6). Publisher/supplier: Silver Burdett Ginn. Materials: Available locally.

3.73 Light, Color, and Shadows. Windows on Elementary Science. Joan Westley. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Creative Publications, 1988.

Grades: PreK, K-2 In Light, Color, and Shadows, children use mirrors, prisms, colored cellophane, and stained glass, and play shadow tag to investigate light and shadows. Students observe how much light passes through objects, order colors from lightest to darkest, make rainbows, see how a mirror reflects light, and play shadow games. The 28 activities are sequenced by increasing level of difficulty, but it is not essential to use them in order.

Each 2-page activity in Light, Color, and Shadows has a summary statement describing the investigation, a list of the skills and necessary materials, and directions on how to set up for instruction. Also included are sections on getting started, guiding children's actions, and stretching their thinking.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 088488-709-X), $13.75. Complete kit, $250.00. Publisher/supplier: Creative Publications. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.74 Machine Shop. AIMS. Donna Battcher, Sheldon Erickson, Karen Martini, and others. Fresno, Calif.: AIMS Education Foundation, 1993.

Grades: 5-6+ Journal entries about the uses of various simple machines and the forces that affect them provide a story line for the activities in Machine Shop, an activity book on the mechanics of physics in which mathematics and science skills are tested and other disciplines are integrated. Students investigate the following topic areas: simple machines; friction; inclined planes; levers and leverage; force, energy, and energy conservation; wheels and belts; gears and tooth ratios; wheel and axle systems; and pulleys, wedges, and mechanical advantage. Activities include students using a seesaw to explore the properties of effort, resistance, and torque; constructing and testing a high-performance catapult; and determining the mechanical advantage for different nuts and bolts.

Machine Shop provides reproducible student worksheets, including data charts, tables, and graphs. A complete lesson plan is included for each of the 23 activities.

Price: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 1881431-39-8), $14.95. Publisher/supplier : AIMS Education Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.75 Machines at Work. Project Science. Alan Ward. New York, N.Y.: Franklin Watts, 1993.

Grades: 3-5 The simple activities and projects in this 32-page book provide an introduction to machines. Machines at Work focuses on levers, pulleys, ramps and screws, cranks, compound machines, work, force, and friction. Each section has a brief introduction followed by several activities, each of which includes an illustration, a materials list, and directions for performing the activity. A glossary is included.

Price: $16.80 (ISBN 0-531-14243-4). Publisher/supplier: Franklin Watts. Materials: Available locally.

3.76 Marble Mania. Prepared by Museum To Go Resource Center. Philadelphia, Pa.: Franklin Institute, 1989.

Grades: 3-5 Marble Mania uses marbles to introduce students to the concept of systems and subsystems. In 8 activities, students develop an awareness of the interdependence of subsystems through observation of interacting objects. Activities include designing and building a marble maze, observing and discussing the effect that changing one part of the maze has on the whole system, then redesigning and enlarging the maze so that the original maze is a subsystem of the new maze. Students make predictions based on observations of patterns and compare predictions with actual data. They use a variety of procedures to separate a system into its subsystems.

Each activity in Marble Mania features a teacher's page with an overview of the lesson. Reproducible student pages include a materials list and instructions for setting up and conducting the activity, including questions, diagrams, and recording sheets.

Prices: Complete kit, $255. Consumables kit, $50. Publisher/supplier : Science Kit and Boreal Laboratories. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.77 Mechanical Power: Practical Science Activities for Grades 4-6. Power of Science. Phillipa Beeson. Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia: Dellasta, 1992.

Grades: 4-6 Students investigate pulleys, levers, gears, wheel-and-axle systems, inclined planes, and flywheels in Mechanical Power. This book is a collection of activities about the mechanics of machines and tools. Students compare the lifting power of single and double pulley systems; they experiment with levers to find the best position

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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to apply effort; they demonstrate how wheel-and-axle systems reduce friction; and they design and build a machine that either fulfills an entirely new function or improves upon an existing machine. Reproducible student worksheets are included.

Price: $14.95 (ISBN 0-947138-90-0). Publisher/supplier: Mondo. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.78 Mirrors. Science Spirals. Reprinted with revisions. Julie Fitzpatrick. London, England: Evans Brothers, 1991.

Grades: 1-3 Mirrors is a colorful little book of mirror-related activities. Students use mirrors to explore the changing effect of reflections and to investigate some of the uses of mirrors. They use mirrors to make symmetrical patterns, practice "mirror writing," construct a simple kaleidoscope, and compare images produced in concave and convex mirrors. Plastic or double-sided unbreakable mirrors are recommended. The book provides easy-to-follow instructions, color drawings, and diagrams for these student-directed activities.

Price: $13.95 (ISBN 0-237-60209-1). Publisher/supplier: Trafalgar Square. Materials: Available locally.

3.79 Mirrors: Finding Out About the Properties of Light. A Boston Children's Museum Activity Book. Bernie Zubrowski. New York, N.Y.: Beech Tree Books (Morrow), 1992.

Grades: 4, 5 Students explore mirrors of every type from every angle in Mirrors: Finding Out About the Properties of Light. Activities are organized in 3 sections—plane mirrors, transparent mirrors, and curved mirrors—and are designed to be used in sequence. Examples include students lining up two mirrors to see hundreds of reflections, playing "hide and seek" using four mirrors, using a flashlight and mirrors to create a "monster maze," shining flashlights on plastic sheets to create ghostly images, using mirrors to create optical illusions, and making funny faces in flexible plastic sheets.

The lessons in Mirrors include diagrams, illustrations, and background information. Six activities use a game format.

Price: $6.95 (ISBN 0-688-10591-2). Publisher/supplier: William Morrow. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.80 Mystery Festival. GEMS. Kevin Beals and Carolyn Willard. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1994.

Grades: 2-6+ Mystery Festival contains instructions for organizing 2 make-believe crime scenes, or "mysteries," in a classroom. Student-detectives subsequently observe, investigate, and attempt to solve the mysteries. The mystery "Who Borrowed Mr. Bear?" is for younger students (grades 1-3), and the mystery "Who Killed Felix?" for older students (grades 4-8). Working in teams, students gather evidence at the crime scene and then conduct hands-on forensic tests, such as a thread test, fingerprint comparisons, chromatography, pH tests, and powder tests at activity stations. Students learn to distinguish between evidence and inference. They develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Preparation for the 2 mysteries is substantial when using the unit for the first time.

Mystery Festival provides detailed information and planning instructions, and includes suggestions for pre-teaching games and for the use of parent volunteers.

Price: $20 (ISBN 0-912511-89-3). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.81 Physical Science Activities for Elementary and Middle School. CESI Sourcebook V. 2nd ed. Mark R. Malone. Washington, D.C.: Council for Elementary Science International (CESI), 1994.

Grades: 1-6 Physical Science Activities for Elementary and Middle School, a sourcebook of physical science activities, contains materials developed for teachers by teachers who have tested them with their own students. Topics include sound, light and color, electricity, forces and motion, simple machines, heat, matter, chemistry, and space. Activities include making a cardboard tube kazoo to investigate sound, making paper dolls dance because of static electricity, predicting the velocity of a rolling ball by observing its motion along a rail, using shadows to tell time, and learning about bonding by making slime.

The lesson plan for each of the 119 activities in this guide includes the following components: a short description of the concepts and/or skills developed by the activity; a list of materials and equipment needed; suggestions for planning, organizing, and implementing the activities; ideas for extending the lesson; and a list of references.

Price: $19. Publisher/supplier: CESI. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.82 Popping With Power. AIMS. Carol Bland, Helen Crossley, Susan Dixon, and others. Rev. ed. Fresno, Calif.: AIMS Education Foundation, 1994.

Grades: 3, 4 Popping with Power includes investigations on a variety of energy-related topics, such as simple machines, heat conservation, and electricity. Students operate simple machines, investigate the

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
×

relationship between pendulum length and frequency, discover why some balls bounce higher than others, design a wind-powered vehicle, and observe the effect of color on heat retention. They determine which materials carry the strongest electrical charge, which home appliances use the most electricity, and how the force of wind affects a suspension bridge. While many of the activities in this revised edition are in their original form, some have been updated and rewritten in a new format and others are new.

Popping with Power provides reproducible student worksheets, including data charts, tables, and graphs. A complete lesson plan is included for each of the 24 activities.

Price: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 1881431-51-7), $14.95. Publisher/supplier : AIMS Education Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.83 Pulleys. Enfield, Conn.: LEGO Dacta, 1993.

Grades: 5, 6 This booklet contains information about pulleys, simple pulley activities, and appropriate diagrams and illustrations. It is designed to be used with the LEGO DACTA Pulley Set, which uses the popular LEGO construction blocks. Students first learn the definition of a pulley. Then they arrange pulleys to investigate the direction of rotation of the driver and the follower and to find out how the turning ratio of one pulley to another is determined by the size of the pulleys. Students are challenged to design and build two devices: a conveyor-belt system that uses a belt drive to carry packages, and a boat mover that winches a boat onto the shore.

Each activity in Pulleys states the main idea involved and provides illustrated instructions, additional information, and extension ideas. The guide lists the process and critical thinking skills involved in the activities.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 0914831-84-4), $5. Pulley Classroom Pack, $175. Individual Pulley Set, $15. Publisher/supplier: LEGO Dacta. Materials: Available from LEGO Dacta.

3.84 Science Express. An Ontario Science Centre Book. Carol Gold. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press, 1991.

Grades: 3-6 Science Express contains 36 simple experiments that can be performed at home or in the classroom. Each experiment focuses on one scientific principle or phenomenon. Examples include racing soup cans, making paper from broccoli, testing the effects of sound vibrations on a lit candle, and making an air cannon. Each activity includes a materials list and step-by-step instructions, as well as an explanation of the scientific principle or phenomenon involved.

Price: $8.61 (ISBN 1-55074-017-2). Publisher/supplier: Addison-Wesley. Materials: Available locally.

3.85 Soap Films and Bubbles. AIMS. Ann Wiebe. Fresno, Calif.: AIMS Education Foundation, 1990.

Grades: 4-6+ Students learn about molecules, surface tension, light waves, air pressure, and patterns by experimenting with soap film in Soap Films and Bubbles. In a series of introductory activities, students first explore the effects of wet and dry surfaces on bubbles. They discover that all free-floating bubbles are spherical in shape, and they explore various combinations of bubbles and the structures and patterns they form. Students construct models of water and soap molecules as they investigate surface tension and the chemistry of soap film. In advanced activities, students take a quantitative look at geometric shapes; they discover the mathematical relationship between the size of two equal rings and the distance soap film will stretch between them (catenary curves). They experiment to determine the minimum distances between given numbers of points (Steiner's problem). They find a formula relating the parts of polyhedrons.

Soap Films and Bubbles provides reproducible student worksheets, including data charts, tables, and graphs. A complete lesson plan is included for each of the 21 activities.

Price: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 1881431-25-8), $14.95. Publisher/supplier : AIMS Education Foundation. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.86 Sound Science. Etta Kaner. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Kids Can Press, 1991.

Grades: 3-6+ Lively illustrations, easy-to-follow instructions, and jokes, games, and challenges are among the features of the activity book Sound Science. The book is divided in sections focusing on the human ear, how sound travels, how sound is used, musical instruments, and devices for sending sound over long distances. Examples of activities include making a wailing bowl, playing sound charades, making and playing a one-stringed instrument, and reinventing the phonograph. Experiments use simple, everyday items; many activities could be conducted independently by students.

Each activity in Sound Science features a short introduction, a materials list, step-by-step instructions, a brief explanation, and short items of interest on subjects such as hearing-ear dogs and sound in outer space.

Price: $9.57 (ISBN 1-55074-054-7). Publisher/supplier: Addison-Wesley. Materials: Available locally.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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3.87 Teaching Elementary Science With Toys. CESI Sourcebook VII. Columbus, Ohio: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education; and Washington, D.C.: Council for Elementary Science International (CESI), 1993.

Grades: K-6 Teaching Elementary Science With Toys: CESI Sourcebook VII is a sourcebook of activities and strategies for using toys to teach science concepts and to develop science process skills. Toys are used in these activities and strategies to help students focus on natural phenomena, to provoke imagination, and to promote scientific thinking. Students use toys that fly, roll, bounce, float, store and release energy, and change colors as they explore concepts of motion, force, energy, heat, sound, light, magnetism, and electricity. Some activities concentrate more on concept development and others more on science process. Examples include exploring the concept of vibration using buttons and string, making a rubber ball from natural latex, predicting the results of a game of pin the tail on the donkey, observing the difference in flight distance of a Frisbee and an Aerobie, and classifying toys in a catalog.

Each of the 29 lesson plans in this sourcebook has background information, step-by-step procedures, and ideas for further challenges.

Price: $19. Publisher/supplier: CESI. Materials: Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

3.88 Towers and Bridges. Science Spirals. Julie Fitzpatrick. Reprinted with revisions. London, England: Evans Brothers, 1991.

Grades: 2, 3 Towers and Bridges is a colorful little book of student-directed activities that emphasizes constructing models that work. Students experience some of the engineering problems to be solved in any construction as they build simple towers and investigate their stability, test the relative strength of two brick walls, investigate various types of supports and beams, and design and build models of arch and suspension bridges. The book provides easy-to-follow instructions, color drawings, and diagrams.

Price: $13.95 (ISBN 0-237-60213-X). Publisher/supplier: Trafalgar Square. Materials: Available locally.

3.89 Water and Ice. Windows on Elementary Science. Joan Westley. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Creative Publications, 1988.

Grades: PreK, K-2 In Water and Ice, children explore mixing, dissolving, absorbing, melting, evaporating, and freezing water. Students compare how sand and salt mix with water; they explore the soaking capacity of materials, construct boats that float, and find ways to keep ice from melting, among the many activities in the guide. The 28 investigations are sequenced by increasing level of difficulty but do not need to be completed in order.

Each 2-page activity in Water and Ice has a summary statement describing the investigation, a list of the skills and necessary materials, and directions on how to set up for instruction. Also included are sections on getting started, guiding children's actions, and stretching their thinking.

Prices: Teacher's Guide (ISBN 088488-708-1), $13.75. Complete kit, $250.00. Publisher/supplier: Creative Publications. Materials: Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.

3.90 Wheels. Science Spirals. Julie Fitzpatrick. Reprinted with revisions. London, England: Evans Brothers, 1991.

Grades: 1-3 Wheels is a small, colorful activity book for young learners. It takes children through the design process of making models with moving parts and encourages them to find ways to adapt their models. Students discover which shapes slide and which roll. They investigate wheel-and-axle systems; experiment with friction, including ways of increasing or decreasing friction; and explore the movement of pulley wheels and gear wheels. The book provides easy-to-follow instructions, color drawings, and diagrams for these student-directed activities.

Price: $13.95 (ISBN 0-237-60214-8). Publisher/supplier: Trafalgar Square. Materials: Available locally.

3.91 Wizard's Lab. GEMS/Exhibit Guides. Cary Sneider and Alan Gould. Reprinted with revisions. Berkeley, Calif.: Lawrence Hall of Science, 1992.

Grades: K-6+ Wizard's Lab provides 10 interactive exhibits that can be used in a variety of settings—for example, at a science center, at a classroom learning station, in a discovery room, or on family science night. The wide spectrum of stimulating activities in physical science offered in this guide includes the spinning platform, solar cells and light polarizers, resonant pendula, magnets, lenses, the ''human battery," the oscilloscope and sound, and the harmonograph. Most of the exhibits utilize common materials and equipment available from most hardware, electronics, or variety stores and lumberyards. The skills developed include observing, analyzing, and finding patterns.

Wizard's Lab provides background information recorded on cards with cartoon wizard figures that briefly explains the principles behind each exhibit. Detailed and illustrated instructions for constructing each exhibit are included in the teacher's guide.

Price: $20 (ISBN 0-912511-71-0). Publisher/supplier: LHS GEMS. Materials : Available locally, or from commercial suppliers.

Suggested Citation:"3. Physical Science." National Academy of Sciences. 1996. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4966.
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What activities might a teacher use to help children explore the life cycle of butterflies? What does a science teacher need to conduct a "leaf safari" for students? Where can children safely enjoy hands-on experience with life in an estuary? Selecting resources to teach elementary school science can be confusing and difficult, but few decisions have greater impact on the effectiveness of science teaching.

Educators will find a wealth of information and expert guidance to meet this need in Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. A completely revised edition of the best-selling resource guide Science for Children: Resources for Teachers, this new book is an annotated guide to hands-on, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and sources of help in teaching science from kindergarten through sixth grade. (Companion volumes for middle and high school are planned.)

The guide annotates about 350 curriculum packages, describing the activities involved and what students learn. Each annotation lists recommended grade levels, accompanying materials and kits or suggested equipment, and ordering information.

These 400 entries were reviewed by both educators and scientists to ensure that they are accurate and current and offer students the opportunity to:

  • Ask questions and find their own answers.
  • Experiment productively.
  • Develop patience, persistence, and confidence in their own ability to solve real problems.

The entries in the curriculum section are grouped by scientific area—Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Multidisciplinary and Applied Science—and by type—core materials, supplementary materials, and science activity books. Additionally, a section of references for teachers provides annotated listings of books about science and teaching, directories and guides to science trade books, and magazines that will help teachers enhance their students' science education.

Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science also lists by region and state about 600 science centers, museums, and zoos where teachers can take students for interactive science experiences. Annotations highlight almost 300 facilities that make significant efforts to help teachers.

Another section describes more than 100 organizations from which teachers can obtain more resources. And a section on publishers and suppliers give names and addresses of sources for materials.

The guide will be invaluable to teachers, principals, administrators, teacher trainers, science curriculum specialists, and advocates of hands-on science teaching, and it will be of interest to parent-teacher organizations and parents.

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