Kindergarten Science Units:
- Earth and Space Science: Weather and Climate
- Physical Science: Forces & Interactions: Push & Pulls
- Life Science: Interdependent Reltionships in Ecosystems: Animals, Plants and their Environment
General Research
-
National Geographic KIDS
-
Journey North Online Projects
1. Weather and Climate
- ACCU Weather forecast
- ACCU Weather US satellite forcast
- CNN Weather - Weather for Oradell, NJ
- National Weather Service - U.S. weather
Tools
- Welcome to Eye on the Sky - Generate a weather report using real time information.
- Weather Watch Tools - Scholastic
Our World
- Sunrise, Sunset - Beacon learning center
- As the World Turns - Beacon learning center
- 4 Seasons - animated
VOCABULARY
- cloudy- having many clouds in the sky
- cold- having a very low temperature
- forecast- using information to predict the weather
- hot- having a very high temperature
- hurricane- an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm
- precipitation - general name for water in any form falling from clouds. This includes rain, drizzle, hail, snow and sleet.
- rainy- having a lot of rain
- shelter- a structure that covers or protects people or things
- snowstorm- a storm with a large amount of falling snow
- snowy- having a lot of snow
- storm- an occurrence of bad weather in which there is a lot of rain, snow, etc., and often strong winds
- sunny- having plenty of bright sunlight
- temperature- the measurement of how hot or cold something is
- thermometer- the instrument which measures temperature
- thunderstorm- a storm with lightning and thunder
- weather - the temperature and other outside conditions (such as rain, cloudiness, etc.) at a particular time and place
- windy- having a lot of wind
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
- Record and chart daily weather patterns: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation (rain/snow). Compare the weather of different seasons.
- Make a paper plate sundial
- Make a pinwheel
- Design and build a sun structure to measure the effects of sun on the earth’s surface
- Using UV beads to test if the sun penetrated the surface
- Made for the Shade -UV sensitive Lizards
- Cloud observations
- Shaving cream rain clouds
- Create a class weather vane
RESOURCES:
- NSTA - NGSS Standards, by topic * Learning Center * Resources
- Discovery videos and lesson ideas
- Open Ed - Background and lesson
- Online Simulations - PHET - U. of Colorado
- Science Spot lessons
- Concord Consortium simulations (requires Java)
- Weather Wiz Kids activity ideas, daily weather, experiments
- Web Weather for Kids - UCAR - activity ideas
- Brainpop
- ShiShow Kids YouTube (4 min video clips and experiment ideas)
2. Forces & Interactions: Push & Pulls
- Push and Pull game - BBC
- Push and Pull to the playgroun d - video
- Push & Pull Forces - video with examples
- Push or Pull song
-
Build a Roller Coaster - Learner
-
Build your roller coaster - Discover > new webite coming soon
- Teacher - How Stuff Works
TEACHER
- Lever Investigation video - Sid the Science Kid
- Balance videos - PBS
- Lifting with levers - PBS
- Ramps - PBS
- Fun with Friction with Sid the science kid
VOCABULARY
- bump - t o hit against an object in a sudden and forceful way
- backward - toward what is behind
- collide - to hit or crash
- direction - the line or course on which something moves.
- force - a push or pull
- forward - toward what is ahead
- gravity - a force that pulls things to Earth
- motion - the action or process of moving or being moved
- pull - when you make things move towards you. Pulling is a force.
- push - when you make things move away from you. Pushing is a force.
- ramp - a sloping surface which can change the speed of an object
- rolling - moving by turning over and over
- slope - ground that slants downward or upward
- speed - how fast things move
- start - to begin moving
- stop - to not move
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
- Push - Pull change directions
- Marble roll
- Roller Coaster
- Ramp Builder
- School Scavenger Hunt for examples
- Bowling
- Dominoes
RESOURCES:
- NSTA - NGSS Standards, by topic * Learning Center * Resources
- Discovery videos and lesson ideas
- Open Ed - Background and lesson
- Science Spot lessons
- Concord Consortium simulations (requires Java)
- Brainpop
3. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems:
Animals, Plants & their Environment
Living or Non-living
- Living or Non-Living - video
Living Things
Chicks & Eggs
- Baby Chick Hatchery - Museum of Science in Chicago
- Egg hatching
- 4H - Chicks Egg CAM, photos and movies
- Worms
Animals
- Animals - Busch Gardens
Farm Animals
- Out and About the Farm - video
- Kids Farm
- The Kids' Farm - National Zoo
- About Farm Animals
Sheep
- Sheep Herding with LED's
- Sheep drawings
- Sheep Shearing - Show 1st 4 minutes
Cows
- Cow Parade - video
- Cows mooing - video
- Happy cows - video
Plants
Non- Living Things
VOCABULARY
- animal - a living thing that has movement and basic needs of food, water, air, and space to live
- earth - the planet on which we live; the world; soil
- environment - the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates
- food - any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth
- habitat - the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
- natural resources - something found in nature that can be used by people
- plant - a living thing with basic needs of nutrients, sunlight, water, air, and space pollute - contaminate water, air, or a place with harmful or poisonous substances
- recycle - to make something new from something that has been used before
- survive - continue to live
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
- Science Juornal
- Plant seeds
- Where do Polar Bears Live?
- BrainPop Jr. - Animals, Plants, Habitats, Conservation
- The Needs of living Things
- Living Things and Their Needs
- Paper Towel Plants
- Compare & Contrast animals
- Build a bird house
- Use recycled materials
RESOURCES:
MORE SCIENCE LINKS
Health
- Food Champs -
- Food Group Games - Nourish Interactive
- Nutrition for Kids - Sheppards
- The Story of Sparky
- Ourselves comparison game- BBC
Solids & Liquids
-
Make a Snowman - ABCya