Kategori: English

Memory with digital microscope

Using a digital microscope (i.e. ”Web ägget” or Wifi puck), you shoot images taken with a microscope.

Then have the children try to pair the images with the right object using the microscope. Here it is important to examine carefully as the image may have been taken by a small detail of the object you are studying.

Hint: use magnifying glass as a complement!

Then let the kids look for exciting objects, take their own photos and challenge each other.

Try to draw from your fantastic pictures.

(Thanks to Hands-on pedagogen  for the idea)

Is there sunshine are there also shadows

The sun is nice, with it can also be interesting shadows. Here are two tips for working with shadows:

In the shade of trees
Roll out the paper roll in the shade, under a tree or bush. The children draw the outline of the shadow. Older children can draw details; tree leaves and branches.
Paint the shadows.
Shadow Pictures

  1. Place an animal or other object so that it forms a clear image of the shadow drawing on paper.
  2. Draw the object’s outline.
  3. When the contour is finished, you can add details to it if you want.
  4. The shadows of an object can become an interesting peace of art.

Soap Bubble ideas

Summer heat and soap bubbles work well together!

Try to make soap bubble art: Pröva att göra konst med hjälp av såpbubblor.

  • Mix soap mixture with liquid watercolor paint.
  • Collect a bundle of straws together.
  • Put the bundle in the color mixture.
  • Then blow the bubbles onto paper – they create beautiful patterns.
  • Bend aluminum foil in different shapes and soak them in the seed solution.
  • Blow the bubbles on the paper.Why not take a look at some chemistry at the same time –

    Blow soap bubbles through geometric figures:

  • The children form geometric figures of aluminum wire.
  • What shape does a soap bubble come from a square stick?
  • From an oval?
  • What do that depend on?Blås såpbubblor genom olikt formade pinnar.

    Again, thanks lekolar.fi for the ideas!

Leaf insects

At least here in Turku isn’t the summer booming in full force, but you still want to enjoy the pre-summer. Why then not drag in som leaves, press them in a plant press (would probably work with just underneath some heavy books). Mix theReady-Mix paint with som Artmedium varnish, that the surface will be shiny. Paint the leaves to look like insects.

Gör egna insekter av blad.

Idéa taken from lekolar.fi.

 

Cobweb

As if the forest is not full of cobwebs anyway …

Try to study together with the children how a spider web looks. Maybe take a picture of it too. Then try to build something similar back on your farm.

Think of course also why the network is built as it is …

Cobweb
Spindelnät
(The picture, and the idea is borrowed from lekolar.fi)

Build a Bridge!

Let the children try to build a bridge. Determine a distance, say between two pulpets and then see which constructions they can come up with to create a firm bridge.
Broritning
Materials can be:
• Toothpicks and soaked peas (carefulwith the peas, they can crack easily)
• Straw. Tape them together, or use pins.
• Paper & tape.
• Glass sticks and glue.

Please let the children do a plan first on paper hard thoughts go, or you can always try and see what ideas work and which ones do not.

Document the children’s thoughts before they begin to build, and evaluate afterwards to see how their thoughts have changed.

Positive attitude toward math predicts math achievement in kids

A positive attitude toward math boosts the brain’s memory center and predicts math performance independent of factors such as a child’s IQ, a Stanford study has found.

A new Stanford study found that kids with a positive attitude toward math performed better in the subject.
For the first time, scientists have identified the brain pathway that links a positive attitude toward math to achievement in the subject.

In a study of elementary school students, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that having a positive attitude about math was connected to better function of the hippocampus, an important memory center in the brain, during performance of arithmetic problems.

The findings were published online Jan. 24 in Psychological Science.

Educators have long observed higher math scores in children who show more interest in math and perceive themselves as being better at it. But it has not been clear if this attitude simply reflects other capacities, such as higher intelligence.

The new study found that, even once IQ and other confounding factors were accounted for, a positive attitude toward math still predicted which students had stronger math performance.

Read more here

The 4 C:s

This is not just a truth for STEM, but it’s generally good practice.

The 4 C:s are good foundation for learning:

  • Communication
  • Critical thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity

Next time you plan for an experiment leave keep this in mind. Leave room for communication and ideas from the children, spend some time thinking on the result, let them have working together, not just watching, and leave room for their creative approaches!