Rev Up Your Class With Science

As another school year begins, here’s the gauntlet we throw at you. Make your kids crazy for science. No, not mildly interested, sort of engaged, or moderately interested. We mean CRAZY for science. Not only will this help them learn science concepts that they will later be expected to know on standardized tests, narrow achievement gaps, and make them better and informed citizens, it will also be of great importance to many other aspects of the young child’s development (Eshach & Fried, 2005, Watters, Diezmann, Grieshaber, & David, 2000).

But, in addition, your classroom will be a place they WANT to be. They’ll be excited about learning. And we all know that’s an infinitely more productive and rewarding place to be—for you and for them! So how can you make the “dinner table” conversation with science? Here are but a few ideas;

• Scientific Summer—for second graders on up.
• Think Tank—can be adapted to any age group Parent/Grandparent.
• Science Day—again can be adapted to any age group.
• Question of the Day—Daily Science Trivia—what child doesn’t like a contest?
• Daily CSI Challenge-challenges target observations and problem solving skills.
• The Quirkles®!—Of course we couldn’t skip an opportunity to plug the Quirkles. Integrate the Quirkles® into literacy time or use as stand-alone science. These wonderful science characters can fit into any teaching schedule—once a day, a special day of the week—ie., Quirkles Friday, afterschool programs, etc.

So check out the Quirkles® for easy, researched for you, lessons that will make you truly comfortable teaching science. But also check out the website http://sciencespot.net/index.html for more on the ideas listed above. And, yes, it will take a little time and thought to modify some of these to an age appropriate level (it’s geared for middle school). There are a wealth of great ideas, handouts, and plans to help you on your way. And finally, remember this. Don’t modify these lessons too much. It’s amazing what students can do when they are turned on to science!

It’s All A Matter of Perspective

This year promises to be a challenging one budget-wise for many schools, programs, and homes in the U.S. No one can deny that. However, Quirkles co-author Sherry Cook travelled to Mozambique in southeast Africa this past month and had the opportunity to get a perspective-changing look at schools in the area. According to USAID, as of 2009, Mozambique lacks sufficient schools and teachers to guarantee education for the nation’s youth. An estimated 60% of adults cannot read and write, with the illiteracy rate higher among women. As of 2001, 49 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade five. In 2007, one million children did not go to school, most of them from poor rural families, and almost half of all teachers in Mozambique were still unqualified.

There is, however, some improvements and hope. Sherry visited a village where people were fortunate to have a new well, health facility, and school. Because the village is very remote and most accessible by boat, teachers generally spend the week in tents or dorms and then leave for the weekend. Two incredibly bright secondary students served as guides and interpreters. Their English was outstanding and had been taught by Peace Corp instructors. Who could not be hopeful when looking at the faces of these beautiful children? For more details and pictures of the school and facilities, click here.

Go Back to School with the Quirkles®

It’s back to school and time to start a new Quirkles science year. While the Quirkles® can be taught in any sequence, we prefer to start a new year with the book Inquisitive Inman. The word “scienta,” means transfer of knowledge. Students will work together to do just that as they learn to evaluate, infer, and analyze information to form a hypotheses. Furthermore they will learn what a scientist does and practice science process skills.

Nothing gets young children (or older adults for that matter judging from the ratings of the many CSI type TV series), more excited than getting to play detective. Several forensic type activities are offered in the Inquisitive Inman book and More Quirkles Experiments book. These include Inquisitive Inman’s Fingerprint Dusting Investigation, Inquisitive Inman’s Invisible Ink, and Inquisitive Inman’s Teeth Impressions. But perhaps the favorite is Inquisitive Inman’s Water Mystery. While not as hands-on as some of the other experiments, this activity stresses the importance of scientific observation. It’s guaranteed to get the school year started on a high note! You can also see Quirkles co-author Terri Johnson demonstrating this with weatherman Tom Trton below. Enjoy! (Fun Science Experiment - Inquisitive Inman’s Water Mystery)

Keep up with the Quirkles’ Travel Schedule

The Quirkles authors will criss-cross the country at various conferences in the next few months. Jesse Kuhn will represent the Quirkles® at the National Conference on Science and Technology in Out of School Time, in Los Angeles, in September and will then present at the EIRC-6th Annual Gifted and Talented Learning Fair in New Jersey a week later. Trips are also planned for Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, New York, and Connecticut in September and October. Stop by our table and say hello! (Events)

Like Free Quirkles Stuff?

Download the free Quirkles coloring page and activity sheets featured in August.

(Free Quirkles Resources)

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