Nurturing Curious Minds

1
Nurturing Curious Minds

• Laurie Burrell
• 5th Grade Teacher
• Wilson K-8
• AEF Ambassador for Excellence

2
Materials and Classroom Management

• Colored Trays
• Jobs

Getter
Recorder
Clean up
Reporter
3
Scientific Method

• P Problem or Question
• H Hypothesis
• M Materials
• P Procedure
• O Observation
• C Conclusion
• Patty has many pieces of candy!
• Big Idea Word Bank

4
Milk Kaleidoscope

• Pan of milk
• Drop of food coloring
• Drop of Sunlight detergent
• Problem What is making the milk move? What is
  causing it?
• www.amphi.com/school/wilson/teachers/lburrell/home
  /html

5
Fortune Telling Fish

• Place fish on your palm
• What is happening?
• What statement can you make to predict what is
  causing your observation?
• What variable do you have? Is your experiment
  doable and measurable (quantifiable)?
• Hypothesis Confident statement on what you
  believe is happening in your experiment.

6
Vortex in a Bottle

• Water bottle filled ¾ with water
• 4 drops of food coloring
• Two 12 oz. plastic soda bottles (coke in the new
  8 pack work best, stronger and top fit vortex
  tube)
• 1 vortex tube
• Materials must have a concise list of materials
  recorded in order to replicate experiment

7
Crushing a Marshmallow

• Place 1 small marshmallow into a 12 oz. plastic
  soda bottle
• Screw on Fizz-Keeper and weigh
• Pump in air, count the pumps
• Observe what happens to the marshmallow
• Feel the temperature of the bottle as the pumps
  increase
• Stop pumping at 150, weigh and compare
• Release pressure with a small turn of top, too
  much will shoot top in air, Very DANGEROUS!!!
• Procedure Specific steps taken to accomplish
  experiment in order to replicate.

8
Popping Canisters

• Place ¼ piece of Alka Seltzer tablet into a film
  canister ¾ full of water.
• What do you
• Observations Record what you noticed
• (data, results or findings)
• Journaling Tips

9
Insta Snow

• Super Absorbent Polymer, pour capful of powder
  into a cup and slowly pour water over powder
• Dont forget to ask What If?
• Conclusion What did you learn? Was your
  hypothesis correct? What will you do next? New
  variable? Design a new experiment?

10
Science Clubs

• K-2 and 3-8
• Parent Volunteers
• Monthly meetings, 35 kids per meeting
• Meet with a different grade each week
• Modify experiment to be age appropriate
• Hour long experiment with concept discussion
• Sign-up and fee
• End of year Rocket Launch

11
Q A

• Web Site
• www.amphi.com/teachers/lburrell/home.html
• For Notes look under
• Seminar Notes
• Nurture Curious Minds,
• The next Einstein may be sitting
• in your class!