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ACTIVITY BOOKLET
Property of Science Playground
Table of Contents
Ask: Remember, the purple string represents the small intestine and
the red string represents the large intestine. Which one is longer?
 Introduction to the Discovery Boxes
Say: The small intestine is longer! It is 20 feet long while the large
intestine is only 5 feet long. The small intestine is a long tube that
breaks down food into even smaller bits and sends vitamins and minerals that give our bodies’ energy to the liver until your body needs
them.
 Directions for Using the Discovery Box Activity Booklet
 Teaching Methods for the Discovery Box Activities
 Human Body Overview
 What’s Underneath?
 Anatomy Apron
 Heart, Blood and Lungs
 The Skeleton
 Skeleton poster
 Giant Tooth Care
 Where does your food go?
 What do intestines do? Poo!
Teaching Methods for the Discovery Box Activities
Ask: What do you think happens after the food goes through the
small intestine?
Say: The food travels to the large intestine, which turns what your
body does not need into poo. Then when you go to the bathroom
your body gets rid of it. When we drink liquids they travel to our
kidneys. The kidneys get rid of extra liquid when we go to the bathroom. The kidneys also help keep our blood clean.
What do intestines do? Poo!
Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the small and large
intestines, using a visual aid to see the length.
Age Range: 3 & up
Supplies
 20 ft. long purple string representing small intestine
 5 ft. long red string representing large intestine
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Ask: What do you think happens to food once it has been broken
down in the stomach?
Explore: p. 42-43 Eye Wonder Human Body book.
Say: After the food is all broken down it travels to the small and
large intestines.
Ask: Which do you think is longer, the small intestine or the large
intestine?
Say: Let’s find out. This purple string is the length of the small intestine. Can I have a volunteer?
Do: Hold the end of the purple string and tell the volunteer to
stretch it out along the length of the room. Tell them to go slow and
stop at the end.
Say: Good job! Now let’s see how long the large intestine is. This
red string is the length of the large intestine. Can I have another volunteer?
Do: Have the second volunteer stretch the red string out next to the
purple string, again reminding them to go slow and stop at the end.
Introduction to the Discovery Boxes
The main goal of the Discovery Boxes is to give young children hands
on and authentic experiences around a big idea. We can introduce
the ideas through storybooks, open-ended explorations of real objects, open-ended questions and conversations, investigations and role
-playing.
In this activity booklet you will find many things to help you introduce
or further explore a thematic topic with young children. It was also
designed for an Educator or Volunteer to choose which works best
for them and their space. The materials provided can guide you or
you can make up completely new activities for the materials in the
box. The choice is yours. We only ask that you supervise the
use of items in the box and return it the way you found it!
The Discovery Box themes were selected for their relation to the
real world. Young children are very egocentric and therefore experience most ideas from a personal perspective. For example, activities
associated with how things work, animals, habitat, family dynamics,
food, shelter, survival hold the most meaning for young children.
Keep these in mind when discussing how something works. Try to
relate it to these ideas, as they are concepts that young children relate to.
Young children are natural scientists, eager to find out about the
world around them. Children use the process of play to investigate
in much the same way scientists use the scientific method. A comparison of the two processes reveals many similarities:
Process of Play
See
Scientific Method
Observe
Wonder
Hypothesize
Try
Test
Make Sense
Conclude
Adult roles during play vary from commenting on play, extending the
activity and actively participating, to providing verbal interpretations,
emotional support and suggestions or alternatives. By fostering children’s natural curiosity, adults can help them develop positive attitudes toward learning, as well as important critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. To help children develop confidence in their own
abilities, the Discovery Box activities.
Directions for Using the Discovery Box Activity Booklet
The activities that follow are directions for hands on experiences
that can take place anywhere in the museum. The activities are arranged in the booklet so that the most basic concepts about the
topic are covered in the beginning and then move onto to more in
depth concepts at the end.
Each activity includes the following:
Icons: These icons will indicate the subject of an activity. All the
activities are scientific in their nature, but they may fall more into a
craft activity or a game.
Say: EWW! No. That taste is stomach acid. It gives you a burning
feeling in your throat. Lucky your stomach has a special lining that
protects it from burning from the acid.
Ask: Where do you think the food will go now that it has been broken down?
Explore: p. 42-43 Eye Wonder Human Body. Take time to ask openended questions, listen to observations, and encourage children to
ask questions of their own.
Notes
 See next page for the “What do your intestine do? Poo!” demon-
stration.
Science
Math
Drama/Game
Craft
Literacy
Title & Purpose: A brief explanation of the activity.
Supplies: These are the items that you need to take out of the box
in order to complete the activity. Please do not take everything
out of the box at once or leave the box lid open for children
to rummage through. You are responsible for returning the
items neatly back into the box. Do not let visitors wander
away with the items. Kindly ask them to leave the items
with you when they are done. Let the visitor know that the
items belong to OMSI and they are for everyone to play
with.
Procedure: It is best to review the activity cards before you interact with the visitors. This allows you to understand the main idea so
you can start the activity with confidence. You can read from the
script directly or refer to it as needed as a way to converse with visitors. Remember to go with the flow and don’t worry if the child is
not interested. Just follow their lead.
Notes: These are helpful hints, cautions and extensions to the activity. It is best to review the entire card before getting started.
Where does your food go?
Visitors will have the opportunity to understand what happens in a
stomach by seeing a model of a stomach.
Age Range: 3 & up
Supplies
 Where Does Your Food Go? book
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
 Ziploc bag
 Banana
 Crackers
 Yellow Gatorade
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Ask: Where do you think our food goes when we eat it?
Say: First we put it in our mouth and use our teeth, tongue and saliva
to chew it up. Then we swallow it down our esophagus and into our
stomach.
Ask: What is a stomach? What does it do?
Say: The stomach is a muscle that contains acid juice, which helps to
break down the food into smaller pieces. It is like a small bag.
Say: Let’s pretend that my hands are the stomach muscles and this
bag is the lining.
Do: Place bananas, crackers, and yellow Gatorade in plastic bag.
Say: The yellow liquid in the stomach is called stomach acid.
Ask: What do you think will happen to the food?
Show: Squish the food in the “stomach.”
Ask: What happened to the food? Do you think that this food broken down with stomach acid would taste good? Has anyone ever
thrown up? Did it taste good?
Teaching Methods for the Discovery Box Activities
 Don’t be a “teacher.” Be a partner in learning.
 Let the child lead with their ideas and suggestions for play. Introduce new concepts through your conversations and actions. Talk
ideas through as you’re doing it. Not only does this introduce a
new idea and model how to do it. It models the concept to the
child as a way to share their ideas.
 Test the theories and construct new knowledge through hands
on exploration, investigation and play.
 Model the scientific process and stating it as you are doing it.
 Model this to caregivers around you.
 Body language says a lot. Don’t just sit in front of them and talk
about something or ask questions in an intimidating “authoritarian
figure” manner. Get on their level. Invite them to find the answer
with you. Ask them to tell you what they think.
 If you don’t know the answer to a question ask the child what
they think the answer is. Try looking for the answer in a book.
 Play and be silly.
 Go with the flow and expect the unexpected. If a child is not interested in doing what you are suggesting. Ask them what they
would like to learn or observe what they are doing with the object and ask them to tell you about it. Or give them words for
their actions. “Oh, I see you like the way the skeleton moves.
Can you feel the bones in your body move? Put you hand on
your knee and bend it.” Show the child how.
 Don’t be offended when a child is disinterested. Be interested in
what they are interested in. Learning is a two way street. You
may have put out an item that you want to teach a child about,
but an opportunity has arisen for you to observe and learn what a
child will creatively do with that item. You have a chance to observe how they will place meaning on to it and how they will talk
about how it relates to their life.
Giant Tooth Care
Human Body Overview
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the function of teeth and
how to keep them healthy.
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the various parts in the
human body and find out the role they play in the body.
Age Range: 3 & up
Age Range: 2 & up
Supplies
Supplies
 Inside Your Outside! book
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
 Plastic human body model
 Giant model of teeth
 Giant toothbrush (Do not let children put it in their mouth.)
 Skeleton model (Please be careful with him!)
 How many Teeth? Book & Eye Wonder Human Body book
Procedure
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Ask: Have you ever had a question about how your body works?
What do you think is under your skin?
Do: Place the human body model flat on his back and let the children
explore. The organs will not stay in if the model is upright.
Ask: This is a model of the human body. Underneath our skin and
bones, we have organs like these. Do you know what any of these
are? Are you curious about what these are, and what they do?
Ask: Can you find where the heart goes? What does the heart do?
Do: Place the heart in the model.
Show: Teeth model
Ask: Does anyone know what these are? These are teeth. How do
you think our teeth help us?
Say: Our teeth are special bones that help us chew up our food.
Some of our teeth, like these in the front, are sharp. See how the
ones in the back are flat? These different shapes of teeth make it
possible for us to eat different kinds of food.
Ask: Do you have teeth? Where are they? Does this skeleton have
teeth? Where are they?
Say: Our hearts pump blood all through our bodies.
Say: This skeleton shows the bones in our bodies. Our teeth are
special because they are the only bones not hidden under our skin
and muscles. All of our other bones are under our skin and muscles.
Ask: Let’s find where the lungs go. What do our lungs do?
Explore: p. 40-41 Eye Wonder Human Body book
Do: Attach lungs to the model.
Ask: Does anyone do anything to keep their teeth healthy?
Say: Our lungs help us breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon
dioxide.
Say: One thing we can do to keep our teeth healthy is brush them. I
have a giant toothbrush we can use to clean these giant teeth.
Ask: Can you find where the stomach goes? How do our stomachs
help us?
Do: Model brushing the giant teeth using short, circular strokes and
moderate pressure. Let the children have a turn.
Explore: How many Teeth? book
Say: When we eat food first we chew it up in our mouth and it goes
down a long tube called the esophagus and lands in our stomach. The
stomach helps us break down food with stomach acid.
Teeth
Neck bones
Do: Show the path the food takes and point out the purple hole
where the stomach attaches. Attach stomach to model.
Jaw
Collar bone
Ask: Can you see where the intestines go? These are the small and
large intestines. What do they do?
Do: Attach intestines to model.
Breast bone
Upper arm
Back bone
Lower arm
Pelvis
Say: First, food goes through the small intestines, which break down
food into even smaller bits and sends vitamins and minerals that give
our body’s energy to the liver. Then, food moves into the large intestines, which turns what our body doesn’t need into poo.
Ask: Let’s see if we can find where the liver goes. What do you
think our livers do?
Do: Attach liver to model.
Say: Our livers store vitamins and minerals that give our body energy. It also helps to clean germs and toxins out of our bodies.
Tail bone
Wrist
Say: Do you have any questions about the body?
Say: One way we can find answers to our questions is by looking in
books. Here are some books about the human body.
Finger bones
Upper leg
Knee
Lower leg
Toes
Heel bone
Do: Choose a book to read, and look at it together. Take time to
look at the pictures, ask questions, and explore. For younger children, you may not need to read every word on every page. Encourage them to ask questions, and ask open-ended questions of your
own.
Do: Feel free to go off on a tangent, and use the human body model
for further exploration.
What’s Underneath?
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the many layers of their
bodies by playing with a multi-layered anatomy puzzle..
Say: Our ribs protect the lungs, liver, heart, and stomach. Watch
out! Don’t tickle them!
Do: Make a tickle motion and giggle.
Age Range: 2.5 & up
Do: Hips- March around with your hands on your hips.
Supplies
Say: Our hips help our legs move up and down.
 Anatomy puzzle
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
 Skeleton poster
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Say: I have a puzzle that can help us see different layers of our
bodies.
Show: Completed puzzle.
Ask: This is outermost layer of the body. What do you see?
Say: Let’s see what we can find under our clothes and skin.
Do: Let the child dump the whole puzzle out.
Ask: What’s in the very bottom layer?
Say: This is the skeletal system. The skeleton is made up of bones.
Each of these bones has a different name and helps move, support, or
protect a different part of the body.
Do: Knee bones- Put your hands on your knees and feel them working.
Ask: How do you think our knee bones help us?
Say: Our knee bones make it possible for our knees to bend.
Do: Ankles- walk around and point toes.
Say: Our ankle bones help us walk and point our toes.
Notes
The model skeleton is very fragile. You may hold the skeleton and bend the arms and legs, etc., but have the children
only look or touch gently while you hold it.
If a child talks about skeletons being bad or scary, be sure to remind
them that skeletons are an important part of our bodies.
Say: Sometimes people dress up as skeletons and pretend to be
scary on T.V. or during Halloween. But real skeletons aren’t scary or
bad. Everyone has a skeleton under their skin and muscles, even me
and you. Our skeletons make it possible for us to move and protect
our soft organs.
Do: Build the next layer (organs), giving the children time to put the
pieces in by themselves. Feel free to encourage and advise, but help
the children place pieces only if they are very stuck or frustrated.
Explore: The first page of My First Body Book. You can point out
that the skeleton is another layer of our bodies.
Ask: What do you see on this layer?
Explore: The first few pages of The Skeleton Inside You and p. 12-13
Eye Wonder Human Body book
Say: This layer shows many of our soft organs. Our skeletons help
protect them. Many of our organs work together to do their job.
The heart and lungs move air and blood throughout our entire body.
Ask: Can you feel the bones in your hand? If you bend your fingers,
you can see how your bones work. What do you think it would be
like if you didn’t have any bones in your hand?
The Skeleton
Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the skeletal system.
Age Range: 3 & up
Supplies
 Skeleton model (Please be careful with it!)
 Skeleton Poster
 My First Body Book
 The Skeleton Inside You book
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Show: The skeleton model and poster.
Ask: Does anyone know what these are?
Say: This is a model of a skeleton. A skeleton is made up of bones.
Underneath every person’s clothes, skin, and muscles, we have a
skeleton.
Say: Let’s discover some of our bones and what they do! Do what I
do and you’ll see.
Do: Point to the model skeleton or skeleton poster as you mention
each bone as well as pointing to the location of the bone in your own
body.
The digestive organs like our stomach and intestines turn our food
into energy so we can think and move around.
Ask: What do you think this gray thing at the top is? What does it
do?
Say: This is the brain. It tells every part of your body what to do.
Your brain tells your legs to move, your lungs to breath, your eyes to
blink, and anything else you can imagine.
Ask: What other things can you see on this layer?
Do: Give the child time to observe and ask questions. Look on the
“Human Body Overview” card for simple definitions, or explore the
Eye Wonder Human Body book together if interest is shown in a certain subject.
Do: Build the next layer together (muscles).
Ask: What do you think this layer shows?
Say: This layer shows our muscular system. Muscles go over our
bones and make it possible to move. Can you feel the muscle in your
upper arm?
Do: Place your hand on your bicep and triceps and move your lower
arm back and forth.
Ask: Did you feel you muscles working? What else do you think our
muscles help us do?
Explore: p. 16-17 Eye Wonder Human Body book
Do: Skull- Knock on your skull with your hand.
Do: Build the next layer together (skin).
Ask: What do you think our skulls do?
Ask: This layer shows something that covers the whole outside of
our bodies. What do you think it is?
Say: Our skulls protect our soft brains.
Do: Collar bone, shoulder blade, shoulder joint- Move arm in a circle.
Say: These bones help to move your arm around.
Ask: Ribs- What do you think our ribs do?
Say: This layer shows the skin. Our skin is stretchy and helps control our body’s temperature and protect us from germs. Also, when
we touch something, tiny touch sensors in our skin send messages to
our brain so that soft things feel soft, and hot things feel hot.
Anatomy Apron
Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the function and
location of several organs in their own bodies.
Age Range: 3 & up
Supplies
 Anatomy Apron kit including apron, Velcro lungs, heart, liver,
stomach, and intestines
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
 Mirror
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Explore: p.20 in the Eye Wonder Human Body book
Ask: How do we breathe?
Say: Your lungs help you breathe in air, which contains oxygen.
Do: Put your hands on your ribs and breathe in and out. Invite the
children to do so as well.
Ask: Can you feel your lungs fill with oxygen?
Explore: p. 22 in the Eye Wonder Human Body book; lungs in
human body model.
Ask: What happens when we breathe?
Say: Imagine you could see what is under your skin and bones. Your
inside parts are called organs.
Say: Your heart and lungs work together to bring oxygen and nutrients to different parts of our body. You breathe out a gas called carbon dioxide, which your body doesn’t need.
Ask: Can you name any of the organs inside of your body?
Do: Now jump up and down.
Say: I have a special apron that will help me find some of the organs
in my body. Each organ has a different job. Let’s see if we can find
out what they are.
Say: Feel your heart and lungs again.
Do: Let the child put the apron on.
Say: It’s like a puzzle. Look at the shape of the organ and match it to
the shape on the apron.
Ask: Can you find where the red heart goes? What does the heart
do?
Do: Attach heart to apron.
Say: Our hearts pump blood all through our bodies.
Ask: Let’s find where the lungs go. What do our lungs do?
Do: Attach lungs to apron.
Say: Our lungs help us breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon
dioxide.
Ask: What is happening? Why do you think your heart is beating so
fast and your breathing is so hard?
Say: Your body needs more oxygen when you exercise. This means
that both your heart and lungs have to work faster. You breathe
oxygen into your lungs, and your heart pumps the oxygen to every
part of your body through the blood in arteries and veins.
Notes
 With older children (5 and 6), a stethoscope may be used to listen
to the heart. Encourage parents to help the children find their
hearts.
 This is not recommended for very busy days, for the noise in the
hall can make it difficult to hear one’s heart.
 Be sure the children know not to shout into or tap the stethoscope. Shouting can damage ears.
Heart, Blood and Lungs
Visitors will explore the basic functions of heart, blood, and lungs.
Ask: Can you find where the stomach goes? How do our stomachs
help us?
Do: Attach stomach to apron.
Age Range: 3 & up
Say: The stomach helps us break down food with stomach acid.
Supplies
Ask: Can you see where the intestines go? These are the small and
large intestines. What do they do?
 Eye Wonder Human Body book
 Plastic human body model
 Stethoscopes (optional)
Procedure
Explore the visitors’ knowledge on the subject through open–ended questions before
explaining how the subject works.
Do: Attach intestines to apron.
Say: First, food goes through the small intestine, which break down
food into even smaller bits and sends vitamins and minerals that give
our body’s energy to the liver. Then, food moves into the large intestine, which turns what our body doesn’t need into poo.
Ask: Does anyone know what our hearts do?
Ask: Let’s see if we can find where the liver goes. What do you
think our livers do?
Say: The heart beats to push blood through every part of your body.
This amazing muscle never gets tired. It opens and closes 100,000
times a day, all day and all night, for the rest of your life.
Do: Attach liver to apron.
Explore: Look at p.18 in the Eye Wonder Human Body book, and the
heart in human body model. Make sure the model is flat on its back,
not upright. Take time to ask questions, listen to observations, and
encourage the children to ask questions of their own.
Say: Nice work!
Do: Place your hand on your chest.
Ask: Can you find the beating heart in your chest?
Say: You have to be still and quiet to feel it. (Adults may need to
help children locate it.)
Ask: How does blood move through our bodies?
Say: Your blood travels through little tubes called arteries and veins.
Arteries spread out from your heart to all the parts of your body.
Blood carries oxygen that it picks up from your lungs and energy
from the food you eat and takes it all over your body.
Ask: Can anybody see the veins in their hands? Can you see mine?
Say: Our livers store vitamins and minerals that give our body
energy.
Do: Give the child an opportunity to look at him / herself in the
mirror before removing the apron. You may encourage them to
trace the route of food through the body, ask questions, etc.
Notes
 Feel free to talk about the organs in any order the child
chooses. If interest is shown in one specific organ, you can
use the Eye Wonder book for further information and
exploration.