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Soils
(Live Materials)
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Students
investigate the chief components of soil—sand, clay, and
humus—and explore the relationship between soil and plant
growth.
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Plant Growth and
Development
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Working with Wisconsin Fast Plants®
(Brassica rapa), which germinate, mature, and go to seed within a
40-day period, students plant seeds and observe the entire life
cycle of these plants. New lessons have been added where students
plan and conduct controlled investigations to find out more about
the needs of these plants, particularly the need for light energy
from the sun in order to make their own food.
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Sound
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Students use
tuning forks, slide whistles, strings, and other sound-producing
objects to investigate the characteristics of sound. They then
apply their understanding of pitch to create musical
instruments.
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Organisms
(Live Materials #1)
(Live Materials #2)
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Students
create and maintain a woodland and a freshwater habitat, where they
observe organisms and learn about their basic needs. Recent new
lessons give students the opportunity to observe the entire life
cycle of an animal, the mealworm beetle. Students then compare the
needs of humans with those of the organisms in their model
habitats.
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Balancing and
Weighing
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Introduces students to the
relationship between balance and weight using beam and equal-arm
balances. The relationship between weight and volume is also
explored.
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Rocks and Minerals
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Students explore the differences and
similarities between rocks and minerals by investigating samples of
these earth materials, performing a series of tests similar to
geologists’ field tests, and reading about rocks and minerals
and how they are used.
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Food Chemistry
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Students explore basic concepts related
to food and nutrition and set up their own classroom laboratory to
perform physical and chemical tests to identify the presence of
starch, glucose, fats, and proteins in common foods.
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Ecosystems
(Live Materials #1)
(Live Materials #2)
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Students
create model ecosystems where they observe dependent and
independent relationships between organisms and environment
factors. Students observe the relationship between aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems and set up controlled investigations where
they record the effects of toxins such as acid rain, excess
fertilizer, and road salt.
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Microworlds
(Live Materials)
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Students examine everyday objects as well as
microorganisms with hand lenses and microscopes. Their observations
lead to an understanding of the characteristics of living things,
including cell structure, the difference between plant and animal
cells, and the needs of microorganisms.
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Land and Water
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Using a stream table as their model,
students observe how the flow of streams affect land by erosion and
deposition; and how land affects how water flows. Students plan and
conduct controlled investigations where they compare the amount of
erosion and deposition caused by various variables, including rate
of water flow, slope of the land, and presence vs. absence of
vegetation.
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| Weather |
Using a
variety of tools, students observe, discuss, measure, and record
data on cloud cover, precipitation, wind, and temperature. They
learn how to read a thermometer, construct a rain gauge to measure
precipitation, study cloud formations and use a wind scale to
estimate the speed of wind. Students compare their own weather
predictions with an actual weather forecast and use the weather
data they have collected to form generalizations about the weather
in their own locale.
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Insights (EDC)
Click on each subject to download the
inventory sheet (PDF). |
| Water Exploration |
Exploring Water with Young
Children guides children's explorations to deepen their
understanding of liquids and the properties of water. They engage
with concepts related to water's flow, appearance, and effect on
objects; and explore water using a variety of materials at the
classroom water table and water center. |
| Building Structures |
Building Structures with Young
Children guides children’s explorations to help deepen their
understanding of the physical science present in building block
structures—including concepts such as gravity, stability, and
balance. |
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Balls and Ramps
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Builds on children's prior experiences
with balls and how they move. Children focus
on the properties of balls and how specific properties affect the
way balls roll and bounce. Students plan and conduct fair tests
about bouncing and the movement of balls on ramps of varying
heights. They then design ramp systems that cause balls to move in
predictable ways.
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Circuits and
Pathways
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Students
develop a basis for understanding electricity by exploring its
properties in simple circuits. They are given an opportunity to use
batteries, wire, bulbs, and motors to explore the concept of a
complete circuit, then explore the similarities and differences in
series and parallel circuits.
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Liquids
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Students
explore the unique properties of various liquids and the properties
of various solids. This leads them to a general definition of
liquids and solids. Student investigate how solids and liquids
interact with each other, and observe that heat causes solids to
change into liquids. Then they investigate floating and sinking and
some of the variables that affect how solid objects behave in
liquids of different densities.
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Foss (LHS)
Click on each subject to download the
inventory sheet (PDF). Where applicable, you can also
access the live
materials order form. |
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Wood
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Students are
introduced to a wide variety of woods and papers in a systematic
way. They observe the properties of these materials and discover
what happens when they are subjected to a number of tests and
interactions with other materials.
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Animals 2x2
(Live Materials #1)
(Live Materials #2)
(Live Materials #3)
(Live Materials #4)
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Classroom
habitats are established, and students learn to care for the
animals and plants. Students observe one animal over time, then
they are introduced to another animal similar to the first but with
differences in structure and behavior. New lessons give students
the opportunity to plan and conduct fair tests in order to learn
more about the needs of the animals.
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Fabric
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Students are
introduced to a wide variety of fabrics in a systematic way, so
that they become familiar with fabrics’ properties, discover
what happens when they are tested, and discover how they interact
with other materials, including water.
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Models and Designs
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Students engage in experiences that
develop the understanding of conceptual and physical models as a
way to explain how the world works. Students engage in
problem-solving as they design products to meet specific
criteria.
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