GEMS: Sifting Through Science

Three free-exploration learning stations build to a whole-class activity where students directly apply what they’ve learned. At the stations students investigate properties of objects, including:

1. Materials that sink or float
2. Magnetic and non-magnetic objects
3. A sand and bean mixture, with tools to sift and separate the elements in the mixture.

Then each student is given a “mini-garbage dump” and challenged to separate the “garbage” using the knowledge, tools, and techniques from the previous activities. Mathematics is integrated throughout; graphing and other data analysis deepen the learning. Students discuss their work in the context of recycling, adding real-life relevance.

Kindergarten?Æ2
4 Activities
104 pages
ISBN: 0-924886-46-3