TEACH PRESCHOOL SCIENCE
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    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Earth and Sky Science Index >
        • Shadow Chasing
        • Sun Effects
        • The Night Sky
        • Kinds of Clouds
        • Dressing for the Season
        • Classifying Rocks
        • Colors of the Rainbow
        • Who Has Seen the Wind?
        • Rain
        • Snow
        • Litter Hunt
        • We Can Take Care of the Earth
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact

Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work

(How to Be a Scientist)

Core Learning Experience + Supplies and Equipment

  • ​Set out a collection of tools and simple machines that are relatively unfamiliar to the children. For example, a drain stopper, a music box, a corkscrew, an ink cartridge, a plunger, a potato peeler, a turkey baster.
  • Ask item-specific questions, such as “Which tool do you think we might use to put in a sink to stop the water from going down the drain?”
  • This game could also be played by asking the children what each item might be used for.
  • Set out some old machines for the children to explore, to take apart, and possibly put back together, such as a radio, a telephone, parts of a computer, camera, etc. Ask for donations from the families.

Possible/Expected Discoveries

  • ​The more we learn about how things work, and how technology makes things easier for people, the better our brains can think of new inventions. If we learn about things that have already been made, we can use those ideas to lead to new ideas.
  • Scientists and inventors are curious, with a good imagination just like you. You can be a scientist or an inventor just by thinking about how things work, and how they might work better. Then you build your invention, and then try it out. Scientists don’t give up if something doesn’t work the way they want it to. They just think about it some more, and try again.
  • All the tools and machines we have were invented by somebody. There are many ideas and inventions that haven’t been thought of yet. Anybody can be a scientist or an inventor if they want to be.
  • Have you ever thought about something you could try to make or do? Let’s think about it now.
  • Discuss the importance of recording your plan and your results somehow: with a drawing, with words, photos, having an adult or older friend help.

Extended Learning and Other Curriculum Areas

  • ​​Set up a permanent table and chair or other area for scientific thinking, exploration and discovery. Stock it with paper, writing tools, scissors, tape, string etc. Also lots of bits and pieces made of metal, plastic, cardboard, resin, fabric, wire, wood, etc and age appropriate books. Put up a banner “I can be a scientist”.
  • Celebrate originality, effort, cooperation, and thinking things through.
Preschool science activities - making a hypothesis

Activity Packs and Printables

Websites

Books

​Everyone is a Scientist by Lisa Trumbauer
Scientists at Work by Susan Ring
Science Play! Beginning Discoveries for 2-To 6-Year-Olds by Jill Hauser

USEFUL LINKS

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This site is sponsored and supported by the preschool themes site www.KidSparkz.com
Activities written by (c) Susan Portman
Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com
Copyright © 2005-2023 Teach Preschool Science - Permission granted to reproduce for personal educational use only. Commercial copying or selling is prohibited. No part of this resource may be uploaded to, or published on, any other site for any reason.
  • Home
  • Lesson Plans Index
    • Life Science Plants and Animals >
      • Comparing Leaves
      • Exploring Pumpkins
      • Shucking Corn
      • Earthworm Observation
      • Parent and Baby Animals
      • Collecting Ants
      • Spider Season
      • Visit to a Pet Store
      • Living and Non Living Things
      • Animals Come in Many Shapes, Sizes and Colors
      • Ways Animals Move
      • Animals Need to Eat
      • Difference Between Wild and Tame Animals
      • People Can Use Products Provided by Animals and Plants
      • Animal Coverings - Hair, Fur, Feathers, Scales and Skin
      • Animals Live in Different Places
      • Metamorphosis and Change in Biology
      • Nocturnal Animals
      • Egg Science
      • Exploring Fish
      • Tree Skin Bark
      • Roots Growing Potatoes in Water
      • Stems - Making Daisy and Clover Chains
      • Flowers
      • Digging in the Dirt
    • Life Science People Index >
      • Parts of Our Body and How We Use Them
      • Our Heart
      • Our Hands
      • Our Feet
      • Fun With Balance
      • Sound Search
      • Sense of Touch
      • Exploring the Sense of Sight
      • Follow That Scent
      • Stop That Germ!
      • Interesting Tools That Doctors Use
      • We Need Healthy Teeth
      • Keep Those Muscles Moving!
    • Physical Science Index >
      • Blowing Bubbles
      • Magnify!
      • Ways to Measure Time
      • Magnetic Attraction
      • Ramps in Motion
      • Ice Melting
      • Sink or Float a Boat
      • Sponges and water
      • Dropping Things Through the Air
      • Static Electricity
      • Battery Electricity
      • Properties of Soap and Water
      • Weights and Balances
      • How Can Heat Change Things?
      • Tools Can Help Us Do Things
      • Lifting with Levers
      • Earth and Sky Science Index >
        • Shadow Chasing
        • Sun Effects
        • The Night Sky
        • Kinds of Clouds
        • Dressing for the Season
        • Classifying Rocks
        • Colors of the Rainbow
        • Who Has Seen the Wind?
        • Rain
        • Snow
        • Litter Hunt
        • We Can Take Care of the Earth
      • Wheels
      • Predicting How Simple Machines Will Work
      • Computers and Other Devices
      • Discoveries With Straws
      • Different Ways of Making Light
  • Teaching Notes
  • Links
  • Contact