I like to teach a topic with a holistic approach. While introducing the concept of geography and the idea that we can live/move either on land, air, or water, many other topics emerge. Understanding the 3 natural resources that sustain life on earth is the first step to understanding both geography and science. It is the first step in understanding our relationship to the world around us.
For an introduction to land, air, and water- put together 3 bottles containing each of the 3 elements- some dirt, water, and an empty bottle (to explain that we cannot see air) out on a tray. Have different pictures to match up with each of the bottles:
-Pictures of the sky for air
-Pictures of grass, sand, & dirt for earth
-Pictures of the ocean & springs for water
-My kids loved matching the cards up! The topic even led to a discussion about the different states of water! This was a great jumping off point, but it was really only a start. Read on for books that helped us dive deeper and for a list of activities & ideas to further your learning experience.
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Books:
Air:
Air is All Around You is a great introduction to the idea of air. It even includes some experiments to help you littles understand what and where air is.
Air: Outside, Inside, and All Around gives more reinforcement to the idea of being in an ocean of air.
A great way to introduce a bit of history into your lessons. This book is a little more advanced, but still a good read.
Why Can’t I Jump Very High is an interesting way to segue into the discussion of gravity. CPALMS recommends reading this book in conjunction with the “Fly, Fly Away” activity (see below).
Water:
Water by National Geographic Kids lives up to its name. I don’t think there is a Nat. Geo Kids reader out there that isn’t beautifully illustrated and easy to understand. This is a level 3 reader, but I would say 4/5 years + is a good time to introduce these readers.
Who Sank the Boat is a fun book to read before or after your “Will it Sink?” activity (see below). Recommended for 3-7-year-olds with a sense of humor. 🙂
Earth:
From the same writers as the Air: Outside, Inside, and All Around book, Dirt: The Scoop on Soil has a similar feel. Informative and easy to understand.
Let’s Go Rock Collecting is a great book to read before going out and getting your hands dirty!
Everybody Needs a Rock is an ode to finding the magic in the everyday. The author describes the uniqueness of rocks and gets little minds moving on how they can perceive things differently and take a closer look into the world around them. This is a great book to read before rock collecting and before working on classifying activities!
Activities:
Air:
“Kite Building”– You only need a piece of paper or plastic bag, some skewers (with the sharp end cut off, some tape, a popsicle stick and some string. Here is a great YouTube video that walks you through the steps. Kids may need help cutting out the shape of their kite and some guidance taping things down. If you want a simple template for kite building, check out Big Wind Kite Factory. Get them thinking about what makes their kite fly well or what they can do to get their kite flying better!
“Wind Racers” – Create wind racers with your kids using only a pencil, paper, and legos (the ones with a wheelbase!) Measure how far your wind racers can travel and make changes to record the difference weight, height, and shape have on how fast and far your racers travel.
“Make a pinwheel!” – You only need a piece of paper (cut into a square), a push pin, a pencil with an eraser, a ruler, a hole puncher, and some scissors. Once they have finished their pinwheel, have them test out their creations! Have them blow lightly on their pinwheel and tell you how it moves vs. when they blow as hard as they can. They will start to notice that “things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.”
“Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!” – Use wands of different sizes and shapes and have your students predict how the wand will affect the bubble created. You can even Create your own bubble wands and test them against store bought! Rate and record which bubble wands worked the best. Check out our bubble wands here!
“Papier-Mache Hot Air Balloons” – Blow up a balloon, cover it in
“Bubble Recipes” – Work with your student to come up with your own bubble recipe using different amounts/kinds of soaps, vegetable glycerin, corn syrup, sugar, and different kinds of water (bottled, tap, distilled, pool, lake, ocean, stream, river etc.) to create the longest lasting bubble! Use a timer to track and record your findings!
“Fly, Fly Away” – CPALMS has a great lesson to explore air with the use of a few coffee filters, cupcake holders, and paper. It is also a great opportunity to transition into a lesson about gravity. See more on our lesson about gravity here.
*Questions to guide this lesson:
1. Why does your object stay afloat in the air when put over the moving fan?
2. Why doesn’t your object stay afloat in the air while it is over the fan?
3. How can you change the shape of your materials to overcome the force of gravity?
4. What is making your object stay suspended in the air
“Tornado Crazy!” – Build a “tornado” old school style- with two soda bottles and some duct tape. Make it crazy by adding some glitter, food coloring, water beads etc.
“Bubble Paintings!” – Use food coloring and bubbles to create your own one of a kind painting!
Water:
“Will it Sink?” Set up a tub of water and then go around your house and collect small test objects. Kids predict what items they think will sink and what items they think will float and then test it out! (Read Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen before starting for extra reading time!)
Count on Sesame Street to come up with games they can play if they are allowed any screen time this week Sesame Street Sink or Float Games. BBC has one as well Nash’s Adventures
“Boat Building” – Build your own boats using corks, straws, paper, popsicle sticks, egg cartons or any other materials you can find and test out their buoyancy. Which boats float the best? Check out our boat building class here and get a free printable record sheet to keep track of their awesomeness!
“Ship Savvy” – Create a model ship of your choice and label the different parts of the ship. My kids are super into pirates right now, so we did a pirate ship and I drew out a picture of the model we used so they could color/label its parts. Find out more about our pirate activities and how we weave them into our education here.
Earth/Land:
“Rock Collecting!” How many times did your parents yell “GO OUTSIDE!” when you were a kid? When you want to learn about the earth, get outside and dig into it! Go rock collecting on a hike or in your backyard! Talk about what senses you are using when you choose a rock – (sight & touch). What kind of textures does your student prefer? What colors are most exciting to them? Have them describe their observations gathered through sight and touch and sort the rocks they have collected (your student is learning to list attributes/properties!). Then, have them pick one rock to share why they picked that rock with a friend or family member later!
Prior to “Rock Collecting!” – Read over the lesson plan from CPALMS Finding the One!! – The parent reads Everybody Needs a Rock (An Aladdin Book) and asks their student why the author wrote the story.
“Crystal Sorting” Yes, I am the kind of person who has a gazillion crystals at any point lying around my house! Time to put them to use! I created cards that have the crystals and their names on them, and let my kids match them up! Have them describe the differences between the crystals like you did in “Rock Collecting!”
If you need them:
COMMON CORE STANDARDS COVERED
*Fly, Fly Away Resource ID#: 35178
SC.K.P.12.1-Investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc.
SC.K.N.1.1– Collaborate with a partner to collect information.
SC.K.N.1.2 – Make observations of the natural world and know that they are descriptors collected using the five senses.
SC.K.N.1.3-Keep records as appropriate — such as pictorial records — of investigations conducted.
SC.K.P.8.1 – Sort objects by observable properties, such as size, shape, color, temperature (hot or cold), weight (heavy or light) and texture.
LAFS.K.RI.1.2 – With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
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