VIRTUAL SCIENCE EDUCATION - ELEMENTARY RESOURCE
Welcome to the Virtual Science Education blog post. Today, we are going to focus on some Elementary resources to support younger children as they continue to do and think about science while at home.
WHAT’S THE PHENOMENON? - DOING SCIENCE WITH M&M’S?!?!
Properties of Matter are often seen as a difficult topic to cover without having a ton of fancy science materials and a TON of background knowledge about the chemistry and physics of molecular motion & interactions. This science investigation will show that this is not always the case!
What happens when you place M&M’s in any dish and add a little warm water? Have your students fill out a “I Notice & I Wonder” chart. What happens to the colors? What happens to the chocolate? What happens to when they mix? What happens to the “M’s?”
SUPPORTING STUDENTS AS THEY SHARE THEIR THINKING
Ok, so your students are at home. What else can you share to help support them (and their families) to capture their thinking? We put together some slides to help prime students as they prepare to think about matter, provide a place to record their noticings and wonders and a follow up page - what else can we do with this investigation?
We’re going to share both the PDF version and a Google Slides version so you can make changes as needed. Please share your experiences with students and give us feedback via email to ngssphenomena@gmail.com or via Twitter @ngssphenomena.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - SPOILER ALERT!!
The warm water causes the colored bits of the M&M to move around faster and because these bits are soluble (mix easily with water) they begin to color the water. The color is, in a sense heavier (more dense) than the water and sinks below the clear water. Eventually (around 8-10 minutes usually), the letter “M” will float away from the candy and come to the top. This is because the “M” is not soluble in water - and instead is made out of edible paper.
To continue your investigation with your scientists, what else could we try?!? Different candy? Different liquids? Different temperatures? Get creative!!
Post written by Chris Zieminski and TJ McKenna for ngssphenomena.com
Comment below, or email ngssphenomena@gmail.com.
