Staff at Emerald Nursery and Children's Centre have created practical troughs which children can use to investigate a wide range of materials using child-size tables and plastic storage containers. Recently they have been using one to explore changes as ice melts.
Planned learning intentions
To use vocabulary that reflects the breadth of their experiences
To begin to talk about the shapes of everyday objects
To show an awareness of change
To show an interest in what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel
Resources
Low table with washable surface ,plastic storage container with overhanging edge ,ice moulds for various shapes ,blue food colouring ,jug ,computer ,printer ,paper ,sticky-backed plastic ,magnifying glasses Preparation
Fill the ice moulds with water and put them in the freezer. Create an investigation trough by sawing a hole in the surface of a table and dropping a plastic container into it so that it stays in place with the overhanging edge. Type out words associated with ice and melting, such as 'cold', 'melt', 'liquid', 'solid', 'frozen', 'change'. Print a sheet of words in black and one in red. Cut out the words, cover with sticky-backed plastic and arrange the red on one side and black on the other side of the table.
Step by step
* Invite children to push the ice shapes out of their moulds into the trough. Discuss the shapes and how the ice feels.
* Fill a jug with water, add a few drops of blue colouring and pour it on the ice.
* Encourage children to play freely and, if they mention a word displayed on the table, ask them to try to find it. See if they can find the same word in another colour.
* Introduce magnifying glasses and draw attention to the patterns of the air bubbles in the ice.
* Read all of the words together, find the matching ones and discuss the meaning of each one. Emphasise initial letter sounds and sound out simple words such as 'melt'.
Activities
* Add plastic sea creatures to encourage imaginative play.
* Change the words according to the materials in the trough, such as soil, compost, shredded paper.
