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- Show before and after pictures of Mt. St. Helen's explosion.  What caused the change in its shape?
-Present students with different kinds of volcanic rock.  Sort the rocks according to color and other characteristics.  Why are they different?
-Present students with different kinds of rocks (jagged, rounded, etc.) Sort the rocks and explain how they were categorized.

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Human Machine, lesson 3: How can some animals see in the dark? 

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Human Machine, lesson 3: How can some animals see in the dark? 

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Which Animals Have Night Vision? | Animal Autofill

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Students watch a video on the dust bowl and think about how and/or why this occured?

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What had gone wrong? What caused the Dust Bowl? It took years for scientists to figure out all the pieces to this puzzle.

One thing that might help us understand the Dust Bowl is to think about where it took place. When studying a place, scientists look at the land, water, air, and living things.

In this activity, you'll explain how the land, water, air, and living things affected each other during the Dust Bowl. It's okay if you don't know how all of these elements interacted yet--you'll add new information to your model after each Mystery.

We'll walk you through it, step by step.

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What had gone wrong? What caused the Dust Bowl? It took years for scientists to figure out all the pieces to this puzzle. One thing that might help us understand the Dust Bowl is to think about where it took place. When studying a place, scientists look at the land, water, air, and living things.

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Toothpaste volcanoes. Talk to your students about lava buildup and how it can form new land.

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Kids love volcanoes. We've studied them several times in the years since we've begun to homeschool. The great thing about topics like volcanoes is that you can make them as technical or fun as you want and your kids can handle.

Recently, my kids wanted to learn about different types of volcanoes, their eruptions, and how islands form as a result of them. So, despite having made volcanoes before, we dove back into a study of these forces of nature.
This time, we focused on hands-on ways to show different types of eruptions.
In the past, we always turned to the standard baking soda and vinegar eruption when we wanted to play with volcanoes, and we did that this time, too. But, we tried other things afterwards to shake things up. Here are four different volcano activities to try with your kids.

Toothpaste Eruptions

Some islands form from lava slowly rising to the surface and cooling, while piling on top of itself. Look up some of these volcanic islands with your child and talk about their landscapes. Then, take a paper plate and a brand-new tube of toothpaste. Poke a hole in the plate and stick the toothpaste through the hole.

Hand it over to your child and let him squeeze gently, allowing the toothpaste to pool up on itself. Talk about the lava build-up and how this can form new land.

Pop Bottle Eruptions

Some eruptions occur in an extremely explosive manner. Gases, heat, and pressure build up and build up until they blow. Try this easy demonstration - take a two-liter bottle of soda and let your child shake. And shake and shake and shake. Then (while standing far away) let him open the top and watch the "gas and ash" blow. You might want to have him wear a raincoat.

Popcorn Eruptions

For a fun way to show how rock and lava disperse in a violent eruption, use a hot air popcorn popper. Put the recommended about of corn inside the popper, place it on a table, and leave the lid off. Turn it on and step back.

Watch how the popcorn explodes high up into the air with parts of the kernel floating higher - like ash. Observe how the majority of the "rock," or popcorn, settles at the "mountain's" base. Leave it alone and pop another serving of corn. See how the popcorn continues to build up? It's just how mountains continue to grow after repeated eruptions.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Eruptions

Even if your child has made baking soda and vinegar eruptions dozens of times, there's something about this simple activity that encourages young thinkers. Try making a permanent volcano that your child can erupt again and again.

Using an air-dry clay, have your child sculpt a landscape in a foil tin or other water-tight container. Give him a small tube like a film canister to use as the basis for his volcano, and have him sculpt around it. Let the creation dry, have him paint it, and once it's all done, he can pour vinegar and baking soda into his volcano again and again.

These are just a few fun ideas to enhance a volcano study. What other projects have you tried with your kids?

You might also like...

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Kids love volcanoes. We've studied them several times in the years since we've begun to homeschool. The great thing about topics like volcanoes is that you can make them as technical or fun as you want and your kids can handle.

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Human Machine, lesson 3: Structure and function of eyes

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Human Machine, lesson 3: Structure and function of eyes

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Just look at how pupils, lenses, and irises enable us to see the beauty in the world--including that piece of chocolate cake!

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Wringing out Water on the ISS - for Science!

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How It Works

When weathering breaks down the Earth's surface it forms small pieces of dirt, sand, and small rocks. All of this material can get moved through erosion - this happened in the model when flowing water in the riverbed moved some of the material down the hill. Eventually, these pieces ended up somewhere else. The process of the material being deposited at the bottom of the hill is called deposition.

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Weathering & Erosion Activity for Kids - Erosion Model DIY

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1.  Where does faucet water come from?
2.  How is water made?
3. How to make electricity from water?

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Have students explore different size ramps at a station with a toy car.
Explore and build with dominoes.
Explore with open and closed circuits to create electricity.

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1st Grade Mystery Science Book Pairing

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Water Cycle Scavenger hunt station to station

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Water Cycle Scavenger hunt station to station

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Explore, observe and test properties of a frozen water balloon in a tray.

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You could take the students on a virtual space tour. Have the students study the different planets and objects in the solar system.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dmZ_0qp3_n7wnHxl7RyE8teZ0kXw5og5bULNXsKyeyI/edit?ts=5f145bba#heading=h.38jrv1ddj4w6

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Provide a small group of students with a picture of multiple producers and consumers. Include herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. Have the groups talk about different ways these living things are all connected. They could draw arrows to show different ways they think they may be connected.

After discussing each other's thoughts, they could then draw a picture of what the environment would look like if one of these living things became extinct.

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Kindergarten Mystery Science Book Pairing

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Myth Busters Sneeze and Pathogen spread- videos, and demo with tonic water and black light, hand washing etc.   Do this every year will tweak and add to this year.

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Myth Busters Sneeze and Pathogen spread- videos, and demo with tonic water and black light, hand washing etc.   Do this every year will tweak and add to this year.

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There is a mystery doug video about why baby animals look so cute

To go along with this in an exploratory station you could have photographs of animals and their babies for students to match up and make comparisons about.
P-LS3-1. Develop a model to describe that some young plants and animals are similar to, but not exactly like, their parents.

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Project WILD
Project Wild Aquatic
Project WET

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Set of a variety of gummy bears in different solutions for students to observe how they have changed. Another station have food coloring, oil, and water in a water bottle to observe.

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MS-LS4-6. Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time                                 

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MS-LS4-6. Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time                                 

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-Peppered Moths-Industrial Revolution   (look at examples of moths, talk about human impact, fluctuations in moth populations)
-Battle of Beaks- talk about differences in the birds, differences in food sources, how the food sources impact the population changes
-Classroom Beetles (students each get a blank beetle and color it with their favorite colors and patterns and they are then hidden in the classroom; beetles easily found don't survive)
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household
in nature
their suggestions

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Mystery Science Q: What will the weather be like on your birthday?
Question more geared to NYS Science Learning Standard: During this month of June, what type of weather would you see more of (sun, rain, wind, or clouds?) & Draw a picture.
What clothes would you wear to prepare for cloudy and rainy weather? (Draw a picture)

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Gr. 5 Spaceship Earth, Mystery 5:  Can you ever see the moon during the day? 

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Gr. 5 Spaceship Earth, Mystery 5:  Can you ever see the moon during the day? 

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This is simple recall, I'd increase the vigor by having the students explain why sometimes the moon is visible during the day and why it is not visible on other days.

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Question 2: "Can you ever see the Moon during the day?" I want my students to come up with more than a yes/no answer, which I know a lot of my 5th graders would just put the yes/no. I could change this question by uploading the following picture and ask the why this is possible.

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Grade 3: Power of Flowers Unit Assessment

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Grade 3: Power of Flowers Unit Assessment

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Question 1 states, " Would a scientist consider a cucumber a fruit or a vegetable? Why or why not?"

I think that adding a picture/diagram of a cucumber could be helpful to students who may not have the background knowledge of what a cucumber even looks like on the inside.

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Mystery 1. Question 4
Would you be able to move if you didn't have bones?
I might change this to the following. Compare and contrast what a body would look like with bones and without bones.

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The 2nd questions asks "Can you ever see the moon during the day?" This would be a simple yes or no response, which is not what they are looking for. (Most should say yes.) I would like to show a picture of the moon during the day and ask "Explain why you can see the moon during the day sometimes and other times not.

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Unit Assessment
Question 2 - Bees help flowers and flowers help bees. Explain

To help guide the answer we are looking for maybe add some slides/pics to go with the question to get a more specific answer from what was discussed in the unit and from the pollination activity.

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Grade 1: Plant and Animal Superpowers: Mystery 2: Animal Behavior and Offspring Survival (Sousie)

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Grade 1: Plant and Animal Superpowers: Mystery 2: Animal Behavior and Offspring Survival (Sousie)

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I like how Mystery Science has them draw a picture since not all first graders can write answers. You could also have those students draw and tell you their answer. You may need to be more specific for the question....it was vague. Reword by asking how mammals/fish/reptiles/birds/amphibians parents help their young survive in their habitat. Depending on the interest of your class, you could give them a choice of the animal. Again, have them tell, write and all can draw an illustration.

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Grade Pre-K: Plants & what they need to survive

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Grade Pre-K: Plants & what they need to survive

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In Kindergarten mystery science lesson about plants it has the students draw what seeds need to grow.  I was thinking you could show pictures of things plants need to grow including some things plants do not need and have them circle or cross out pictures. Could also do a sorting activity assessment with what plants need vs. what they do not need.

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Unit Assessment: Question 2
Why do bees and flowers need each other in order to survive? What would happen if one didn't have the other to rely on?

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Grade 5: Spaceship Earth: Mystery 1: How fast does the earth spin?

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Grade 5: Spaceship Earth: Mystery 1: How fast does the earth spin?

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For the first question on this assessment it asks if the sun is moving across the sky while watching a sunset. I would change this question by showing three different pictures sunrise, noon, and sunset with arrows showing the path of the sun. I would then ask the student(s), "Is the sun moving across the sky in these pictures? Explain what is happening to the sun in these pictures.

#2 says: From Sunday evening to Friday evening, how many complete spins does the Earth make?
I would change this to say, "How many complete spins does the Earth make in 24 hours (1 day)? How many spins would it make from Sunday evening to Friday evening?

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1. When you see a sunset, is the sun really moving across the sky? I'd want them to explain the phenomena more, what causes the sun to appear to move across the sky? Or compare the sun traveling across the sky on a winter day vs a summer day to look at how different the height and angles are. If I used this lesson after my inner planets lesson, I'd have them compare what the sun moving across they sky (if it were ever visible) on Venus with its retrograde rotation.

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Grade 3: Mystery 4: What kinds of animals might there be in the future?

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Grade 3: Mystery 4: What kinds of animals might there be in the future?

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The question currently just states : Why are there different kinds of dogs? I would add to the question something more specific like "What trait might a person want in a dog and how might they get a dog with that trait?"

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Unit Assessment: Question 3 - I would add pictures of the rocks at the bottom of the mountains.

Mystery 2 Question 3 - I would just reword it to say "Would you find thin or thick lava in an explosive volcano? Explain why using evidence."

Mystery 3: Question 2 - I would add in some pictures of the possible types of weathering you are looking for and have them explain what is happening in the pictures.

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Mystery 4: Question 2
Add data about average milk production for cows at a farm now vs. 100 years ago - Ask how breeding likely played a role in this increase in production and to explain the process.

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Stations:
Battle of the beaks
Waxy Fingers vs. Ice bath
Create your own animal

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Have students combine different substances together to see how they react with each other.
They would have multiple liquids to mix with multiple solids and observe what happens. This would introduce them to the idea that reactions can occur when certain substances are combined.

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Sorting by solid/liquid, water table play, observing properties of each

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Totes of water

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Give students different items such as household supplies: salt, sugar, water, vegetable oil, baking soda, baking powder, dish soap, food coloring, vinegar etc and see what happens, when they mix certain things together. Have them document their findings and as you go throughout the unit you can refer back to why things happen the way they did.

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Create and test bridges out of different materials in the classroom. Different stations could have different buidling materials or guidelines.

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observation stations with hand lenses  students would look at each object and try to determine if it was a rock or a mineral.  They could sort by color, hardness, luster, surfaces, grains, edges and corners, streak etc.  And then they could even take all the rocks they identified and try to sort further into their origin.

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Observation Stations- Apples, seeds, flowers
Sorting seeds etc.

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Fossil/teeth sort
Classifying animal groups

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In block center, providing materials for students to create ramps and experiment with materials

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Structure, Function and Info. Processing: Biomimicry (Christine Sousie) 1st grade

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Structure, Function and Info. Processing: Biomimicry (Christine Sousie) 1st grade

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I use objects like a bike helmet, shells, velcro, jacket, large broad plant leaf, etc. and have kids match the object to the picture at their station of what plant/animal gave us this idea from nature. At the end of the process and discussion, the kids create their own invention using something in nature to help us in our lives!

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Go on a nature walk record observations as they relate to this unit.
Take a look at the different seeds...compare and contrast
Planting station
Tasting station
Look at maps at where things and grow and when

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Plastic Bowling Pins

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give students pictures of weather events like rainfall, floods, snow falling, sunny day, etc along with images of climate graphs and charts and maybe terms like "drought" and "wet" and have the students sort through all of these to determine which are related to weather and which are related to climate.

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Stations -

Sliding various objects across different surfaces, exploring friction

Run cars down ramps, changing the conditions of the ramps and recording observations

Magnet exploration with various objects

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Patterns in light and shadows.

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Stations:
Magnetic Scavenger Hunt
Building with Magnets, Legos and Index Cards
Designing a bridge
Creating your own slide

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I have a station where they try to categorize like items. (It sounds similar to what you were talking about except the items are in a bag.

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Window Greenhouses

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Exploratory stations:
1. Have students make a landform with some sand then using a straw they blow on the landform and record their observations.

2. Give students a picture of a landform such as a mountain and have them draw what they think it will look like in a million years and write down why.

3. Give students a picture of an example of erosion, deposition, or weathering that is occurring at their school and have them try to explain what is happening. (This is something that could be referred back to through out the unit as well)

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Kids love playing with magnets