Science at our Fingertips
by Bernice Hauser Primary Education Correspondent
Now that the spring season is just about with us, a colleague from the public schools, Jan Gordon, and I decided to map out an outdoor curriculum guide for the rest of the academic year for four- and five-year-olds. The choice of sites can be overwhelming, yet the most accessible and most available sites are usually the ones closest to the school. For children age five and younger we have learned that both urbanscapes and landscapes should be within walking distance of the school. Young children need to explore the same site at various times of day, in various types of weather, and in different seasons. They thus have a familiar site upon which to build different knowledges, ideas, and content.
Ten to twenty minute excursions are usually sufficient time to undertake a fulfilling exploratory outdoor experience. One of our favorite activities involves sensory discrimination. We select a site which has natural objects, such as rocks, pebbles, trees, flowers, weeds, acorns, chestnuts, and pine cones that is close to human-made objects such as benches, trash baskets, and signs. In addition, we randomly place on site non-natural items such as shiny foil, red ribbon, plastic forks, and cotton. We want the children to focus on the collection of natural and human-made materials.
Prior to our exploration, we have the children brainstorm what they might see and discover. We record all the children's responses and make a kind of pictorial survey for them to fill out. We attach this form to their personal cardboard clipboard and give them a recycled paper bag, into which they are to collect one natural object, one shiny object, one machine-made object, something soft, something growing, a seed, and litter.
The survey form asks them to draw certain objects -- for example, where they can sit. These questions are deliberately open-ended, with some students drawing benches, others grass, and still others large boulders. We want to discover what and how the children are thinking; we do not want preconceived responses.
We share our responses back in the classroom. We use our newly-found objects as sources for story writing, classification, sensory awareness, vocabulary building, safety, civic responsibility, mapping, and discussions. But we don't stop there. We go back to the very same site to note any changes or signs of animals and to listen for sounds. We evaluate the experience by the happy faces, the spirited discourse, the flurry of hands to answer questions, and the eagerness of the children to share their findings. We take polaroid photos of the children and make a captioned photo album of their excursions.
Science at our fingertips requires no money, not much equipment, just some creative thinking and some preplanning on the teacher's part. We do caution you to inspect the site beforehand to make sure it is not littered with glass, needles, or any harmful objects. Some teachers suggest putting plastic baggies on the children's hands for this type of activity. Have fun!
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