SC.2.3.1.a: Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different…

Earth and Sky at Home Grades K–5 · partly supports this outcome

Make a rainbow on the kitchen floor, grow crystals on a windowsill and build a cloud in a jar. Three classic home experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.

• How do crystals grow? 40 min to set up, then 5 min a day for 5 to 7 days

  Children watch the grown-up make strong salt, Epsom salt and sugar solutions, set out dishes and a string, then check them every day for a week. They finish able to explain that crystals form when dissolved particles line up as the water leaves.

Kitchen Chemistry for Families Grades K–5

Four famous kitchen experiments, done properly: a homemade lava lamp, oobleck, a baking soda volcano and invisible ink. Each one starts with a real question, works with things from your cupboard, and leaves your child able to explain what happened.

• Is oobleck a solid or a liquid? 45 min

  Kids mix cornstarch and water into oobleck, then poke, squeeze, slap and drip it to find out when it acts like a solid and when it acts like a liquid. They finish able to explain why speed and force change the way it behaves.

Test It, Choose It: Materials Grades K–2

What is a spoon made of, and why isn't it made of paper? Children sort objects by material, test which materials keep the rain out and which keep the sun off, and choose the right material for a job. Kitchen, stationery and recycling-bin materials, no weather needed.

• What is it made of? 40–50 min

  Children reach into a feely bag, describe what they touch and guess what it is made of, then sort a tray of everyday objects into wood, metal, plastic, glass, paper, fabric, rubber and rock. They learn to tell an object from its material and to describe materials with property words.

• Which material keeps the rain out? 45–55 min

  Children stretch squares of cloth, paper, foil, plastic and cardboard over cups, drip ten drops of water on each and look inside to see which ones let the water through. Then they choose a material and build a roof that keeps a toy dry.

• Which hat keeps the sun off? 50–60 min, or two 30-minute parts

  Children lay dark cloth, light cloth, paper, foil and card in the sun or under a lamp, feel which gets warmest and test which makes the darkest shadow. They also stretch, bend and squash materials to see which spring back. Then they design and build a sun hat and say why they chose each material.

Printable practice for SC.2.3.1.a

• Kitchen Chemistry for Families workbook included with the unit

  1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Test It, Choose It: Materials workbook included with the unit

  2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 1 word wall, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

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