Open Wide, Look Inside

Hot as an Ice Cube, by Philip Balestrino, is a children’s story that introduces physical science concepts through the use of  simple language and age- appropriate illustrations by Tomie de Paola.

This short story explores real- life activities which involve heat and the physical changes of certain liquids and solids.  An in-depth explanation is given as to why temperature changes occur and how this effects the molecules that are contained inside each and every object in our world.  Each of the definitions in the story is followed by an explanation of a everyday object that goes through a physical change.  The illustrations provided in the story have limited color and capture the ideas presented in the written text which help students visualize the new science concepts. “Things are made of molecules just the way a sand castle is made of grains of sand, except molecules are much smaller.” (pg. 10)

Curriculum Connections:

Hot as an Ice Cube can be used as an introduction to a unit on Matter in order to familiarize students with some of the science vocabulary that will be used throughout the course of the lesson.  This story can be directly applied to Virginia SOL 2.3 for the second grade in which students will investigate and understand basic properties of solids, liquids, and gases.  This also involves grasping the concept of changes in matter from one state to another such as condensation, evaporation, melting, and freezing.

Additional Resources:

• This simple lesson plan allows the students to conduct an experiment in order to observe hot and cold water molecules and their movements.
• Here is another hands- on lesson for students to be able to make their own physical and chemical changes to a piece of paper. This lesson also provides the students with multiple examples of other physicals and chemical changes.

• This group activity helps students to map examples of elements of physical changes and use this diagram for a future quiz on the material.

General Information:
Book: Hot as an Ice Cube
Author: Philip Balestrino
Illustrator: Tomie de Paola
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Publication Date: October 1971
Pages: 35
Grade Range: 1st – 3rd
ISBN: 978-0690404159

What makes a Magnet?, written by Franklyn M. Branley and illustrated by True Kelley, is an engaging and colorful book that clearly explains what a magnet is and how it works.  It also offers examples of simple, yet fun, classroom activities to experience using magnets and making magnets.

This is a clever book that is upbeat and quick, yet informative.  It begins with an exercise that shows you what happens when you put a magnet near various items.  It then shows how the student can make a simple magnet.  It also explains that the earth is a magnet, and then shows how to make a compass, and how that works with the earth’s magnet.

Curriculum Connections:  What makes a Magnet? is a good source for teaching the characteristics of a magnet, how and why magnets work, and how a compass relates to magnetism.  The activities in the book could easily and inexpensively be done in the classroom for an effective hands-on experience to reinforce the concepts relating to magnets.  SOL 2.2

Additional Resources:

• “Discovery Education” offers two hands-on activities: making a compass and making a magnet.  Depending on the maturity level of the students, it may be better to to do them as a group activity.
• “How Stuff Works” offers a really cool experiment.  Iron-fortified cereal can be crushed up to see if it is attracted to a magnet.  This is simple and inexpensive, but also reinforces that anything with iron is attracted to a magnet.
• The Quia website provides a fun way for students to review their knowledge about magnets by playing the “Magnet Millionaire” game.

Book: What makes a Magnet?
Author:  Franklyn M. Branley
Illustrator:  True Kelley
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date:  1996
Pages:  32
Grade Range:  K-3
ISBN:  0-06-026441-1

What Makes A Magnet written by Franklin M. Branley and illustrated by True Kelley explores the exciting world of magnets.  This whimsical book explains what a magnet is, what types of materials magnets are attracted to and how to make a magnet.  What Makes A Magnet also explains how and why the “ends of a magnet are different” (pg. 18) and the Earth’s magnetic field. The book explores why “magnets are strongest at the poles” (pg. 19) by creating a fishing experiment which demonstrates that magnets attract things made of iron.  What Makes A Magnet explains how “magnetism is everywhere on this Earth of ours.  It goes through air and water, glass and walls, cardboard and tabletops.” (pg. 32)

Here are a few excerpts from the book.

• “A magnet picks up only things  that have a lot of iron in them.” (pg. 10)
• “The Earth is a magnet because it contains a lot of iron.  The moon does not have as much iron, so it is not a magnet.  Your compass would not work on the moon.” (pg. 21)
• “Like poles repel each other; unlike poles attract.” (pg. 27)

Curriculum Connections:
What Makes A Magnet is a colorful, educational read-aloud for children in  kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. For kindergarten and first grade, this book will allow students to investigate and understand that magnets have an effect on some materials, make some things move without touching them, and have useful applications.  Furthermore, What Makes A Magnet demonstrates that moving objects exhibit different kinds of motion. (VA SOL K.3 and VA SOL 1.2)  For second grade, What Makes A Magnet is the perfect book to explain slightly more advanced ideas of the Earth’s magnetic field and the north and south poles of a magnet. Students will also be able to investigate and understand that natural and artificial magnets have certain characteristics and attract specific types of metals. (VA SOL 2.2)  

Additional Resources

• TeAchnology is an online website that offers a wide range of introductory lessons to teachers about magnets, the magnetic field and other themes important to magnets and electricity.
• This Core Lesson Plan helps teachers design experiments for kindergartners to aid in their understanding of the subject material and capture their attention.
• What Makes A Magnet offers several activities throughout the text to help students understand the concepts of attraction/repulsion and the north pole/south pole of magnets.

Book: What Makes A Magnet
Author: Franklyn M. Branley
Illustrator: True Kelley
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 1996
Pages: 32 Pages
Grade Range: Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade
ISBN: 978-0060264413

What Happened? by Rozanne Lanczak Williams, is an excellent book that can be used to introduce students to the three states of matter using water. With bright, eye-catching illustrations by Gwen Connelly, and repetitive text, this book grabs the attention of children. What Happened? teaches children that water can freeze, evaporate, and condense by connecting these science terms to a child’s world. “What happened to the water? It froze. And then I went skating. What happened to the ice? It melted. And then I went swimming.”  It also teaches students that some solids can be dissolved in a liquid. “What happened to the sugar? It dissolved. And then I drank lemonade!”

What Happened? is a great read-aloud to students in kindergarten and first grade. The children will love to answer the questions in the book and at the same time are learning valuable science vocabulary.

Teachers who want to introduce the concept of the different states of matter in their classroom should defnitely consider using the book, What Happened? It can be used in kindergarten classes as well as first and second grades. I think this is a great book to introduce the terms solid, liquid and gas to kindergarteners (VA SOL K.5a).  It also would be a good book to teach first grade students how some solids will dissolve in water (VA SOL 1.3b). In second grade,  students would grasp the processes involved with changes in matter that are introduced in What Happened? (VA SOL 2.3b).

Additional Resources:

• On the back page of the book, there are 2 activities that can be used to reinforce the topics found in What Happened?
• Here is a link to many lesson ideas about the states of matter. One of my favorites is using jello in the classroom to demonstarte solid, liquid and gas.
• The Creative Teaching website has some wonderful practice pages that help teach the science concepts introduced in this book.
• On Education. com there is a worksheet which helps students in identifying states of matter.

Book: What Happened?
Author: Rozanne Lanczak Williams
Illustrator: Gwen Connelly
Publisher: Creative Teaching Press
Publication Date: 1994
Pages: 16
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN: 0916119475

If you are beginning to teach simple machines to your students, Michael Dahl’s book Pull, Lift, and Lower: A Book About Pulleys, is an easy to understand introduction to the way pulleys work. The illustrations by Denise Shea are simple, yet show enough detail for children to comprehend the mechanics of pulleys.

The author begins the book by using the crane to introduce the concept of lifting heavy objects. He then gives children easy to comprehend definitions of the simple machine and pulley.  “A simple machine is anything that helps people do work.” “A pulley uses a wheel and a rope, or cable. The rope wraps over the wheel. When the rope is pulled at one end, the wheel helps lift the rope on the other end.” Children are then shown examples of pulleys that they are probably familiar with, such as window blind cords and flag poles.  The author continues to introduce and explain to the reader different types of pulleys in easy to understand text.  For example, “Some pulleys use more than one wheel. More wheels make a load easier to lift. A block and tackle is a combination of several wheels and ropes that work together.” The author closes with another image of the crane and the idea that “Pulleys help keep the world moving.”

Curriculum Connections
This book would be a great way to introduce the study of simple machines in your classroom. It seems best suited to 2nd and 3rd graders. The concepts presented would integrate well with science lessons where the students investigate and understand types of simple machines (lever, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and wedge) and their uses, (SOL 3.2 a, b) and become familiar with examples found in the school, home, and work environment. (SOL 3.2d)

Additional Resources

• The back pages in the book provide a simple experiment, some fun facts on pulleys, and a glossary. Also included is list of additional books on simple machines.
• Other books in this series, such as Scoop, Seesaw, and Raise: A Book About Levers, and Roll, Slope, and Slide: A Book About Ramps  would be useful in continuing lessons about simple machines.
• Daily Doings With Simple Machines  is a nice homework scavenger hunt to incorporate with the lesson.  If Simple Machines Weren’t Around… is another printable to get kids thinking about the benefits of simple machines.
• Marvelous Machine Experiments provides some good ideas for classroom experiments.

Book: Pull, Lift, and Lower: A Book About Pulleys
Author: Michael Dahl
Illustrator: Denise Shea
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Publication Date: July 2002
Pages: 24 pages
Grade Range: 1-3
ISBN: 978-1404819085

Physics — Why Matter Matters by Dan Green is an engaging guide to deciphering the mysteries of physics.  Geared towards students in grades 2-6, this book introduces the elements of physics as wacky, cartoon-style characters, that are grouped in the following ways: “Old School” (mass, weight, density, etc.), “Hot Stuff” (energy, entropy, etc.), “Wave Gang” (sound, frequency, etc.), “Light Crew” (radio wave, microwave, etc.), “Atom Family” (proton, electron, etc.), “Nuclear Heavies” (radioactivity, alpha particle, etc.), and “Electric Cuties” (static electricity, electric current, etc.). Each  grouping starts with an introduction and every concept is given its own spread that shows the cartoon figure and describes its “personality.” The information is presented in an engaging, kid-friendly tone.  Along with the narrative, which is written in the first person from the concept’s point of view, other key facts are presented.

Curriculum Connections
This book would be a wonderful “hook” to use in the “engage” phase of a learning cycle lesson.  Since abstract concepts of physics are introduced via cartoon characters, the book could also serve as a handy guide to writing and performing a scientific play.  Each student could perhaps take on the role of one physical concept/character.  These activities would foster greater retention of knowledge and allow students to forge connections to the material.  This book covers the following concepts: mass, weight, density, speed, acceleration, force, inertia, friction, gravity, energy, entropy, vacuum, radiation, water wave, sound, earthquake, frequency, and many more.  All these things relate to the Force, Motion. Energy, and Matter standards in grades 2 through 6.

Additional Resources

• To access a powerpoint presentation on mass and weight click here.
• You will find a hands-on lesson plan on mass here.
• If you would like to explore more on your own, check out this website.
• If you’re looking for another awesome science resource, try this book.

Book: Physics — Why Matter Matters
Author: Dan Green
Illustrator: Simon Basher
Publisher: Kingfisher
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Pages: 128
Grade Range: 2-6
ISBN: 978-0753462140