4-H in the Classroom

Science Alive in the Classroom

Beans about Water

The Properties of Water and Changes in Matter
5th-7th grade classrooms

From condiments to cooking oil,cosmetics to chocolate bars, baby formula to bubble soap, soy products abound in the products we use every day. In this four-lesson curriculum, students, like working scientists, use the plentiful soybean as a tool to study the properties of water and changes in matter. Among the activities:

• testing surface tension
• measuring density
• dissolving solids into solutions
• changing liquids to solids

Lessons can be used in sequence or on a stand-alone basis. The teacher manual includes lesson plans and camera-ready student handouts.

Beans about Water was developed by professional staff at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Soybean Council as part of the Science Alive in the Classroom series of 4-H school enrichment programs.

Breads of the Harvest

Exploring the Science, Nutrition, and History of Bread Making Since the Pilgrims
3rd-4th grade classrooms

What sustained the Pilgrims during their long ocean voyage to the New World? What did they eat to celebrate their first harvest in the American wilderness? What European delicacies did they learn to adapt to their new homeland? Breads. This three-unit curriculum integrates science, language arts, and math concepts in a study of the role of breads in shaping the history of this nation. Among the activities:

• demonstrating the difficulty of grinding grains into flour
• comparing the properties of different leavening agents
• analyzing dietary needs
• testing and tasting various bread recipes

The teacher manual includes lesson plans, camera-ready student handouts, and information on additional resources. Visit our Breads of Harvest web site at http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~breads

Fishy Science

An Aquatic Life Unit
3rd-5th grade classrooms

Water, water everywhere-and yet fish get thirsty. Why? Through observation and experimentation, students learn the answers to that question and many others in this four-lesson curriculum on how fish swim and breathe, their sensory features, and their adaptation to water. Units can stand alone or work as a progression. Among the activities:

• identifying body parts of fish
• adapting a quarter to enable it to float
• detecting carbon dioxide in exhaled air
• exploring the breathing mechanism of fish
• observing fish for color vision

The teacher manual includes lesson plans, camera-ready student handouts, and information on additional resources.

The Incredible Egg

A Biological Studies Unit
3rd-5th grade classrooms

Eggzactly how does an egg become a chick? Students can learn by exercise or observation with this popular teaching package. Designed to be used either independently or sequentially, the four lessons in the curriculum also address the parts of an egg and its nutritive value, all in fun-filled lessons that incorporate science, language arts, and math skills. Among the activities:

• locating the parts of a raw egg
• testing the strength of an egg shell
• observing the stages of a developing embryo
• watching a fertilized egg hatch

The teacher manual includes lesson plans, camera-ready student handouts, and information on additional resources. The curriculum was developed with assistance from the American Egg Board.

Hatching chicks in the classroom can increase student interest in this "eggciting" curriculum. County Extension offices can help you locate fertilized eggs and an incubator.

Rockets Away!

The Science of Motion
4th-6th grade classrooms

Blast off for an action-packed adventure in math, engineering, aerospace, and physics with this three-unit study of rocketry science. Lessons in motion, gravity, and aerodynamics send students' interest soaring. All lead up to the ultimate thrill-building and launching their own rockets. Among the activities:

• understanding and applying Newton's three Laws of Motion
• observing the relationship between force and mass
• testing turbulence
• exploring stability and motion
• constructing and launching a 2-liter bottle rocket

The teacher manual comes complete with lesson plans. An optional IBM-compatible computer diskette presents problem simulations and design and flight configurations for 2-liter bottle rockets. Also included is a program for recording and analyzing launch data. Visit us on the Web:

http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~rockets

Weather Together

An Earth Science Unit
3rd - 5th Grade Classrooms

The 4-H Weather Together project engages learners in the exploration of weather through a variety of classroom-based and self-guided activities. The teaching strategy reflected in this unit encourages inquiry-based learning, the active use of science skills, and the use of creative and critical-thinking skills. Students will explore the influence of sunlight, gravity and moisture on the atmosphere, and the interaction of these influences which creates weather. Students will learn to predict the level and intensity of these interactions on local weather conditions.

Weather Together activities are designed with the busy teacher in mind. This five-week, five-lesson unit is designed to be taught in 60-minute intervals, with the potential to expand to 120 minutes if optional Digging Deeper and Going Beyond Activities are conducted. The book includes photo-ready transparencies, cut and assemble teaching posters, end-of-lesson review tests, read and do worksheets, a glossary of weather-related terms, a shopping list of equipment and consumables, and web page support for predicting local weather conditions;
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~weather