School-Age
FromBrain Based Early Learning Activities,
Nikki Darling Kuria
What to have
- The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho (Kane/Miller 2001)
- test tubes
- water
- vegetable oil
- Alka-Seltzer tablets or Tub Tints (effervescent color tablets)
What to do
The brain loves it when real life combines with abstract thought. When children make connections between something their own bodies do naturally and spontaneously and something they read about bodies doing in a book, their knowledge about their bodies is reinforced. This type of connection is called text-to-self connection, and making text-to-self connections helps them picture how they fit into the world around them. For young children, ideas presented in books often seem abstract. If they can see how something they do is presented in a book, they begin to realize that books aren’t always about abstract things—that the words on the pages can have meaning in real life. This is a fun activity to demonstrate how our bodies break down and release gas. Even very young children know what a toot is, even if they don’t know what creates it. As an adult, you might be thinking this is a silly, or even offensive, activity, and you may not be comfortable with it. But children love to talk about their bodies and the magic they can produce with it. You will have a rapt audience with this activity. Begin by reading the book The Gas We Pass to the children. Ask them what they know about how the gas comes out and how it got there in the first place. Then demonstrate how our bodies are like a bottle: Fill a bottle three-quarters full with oil. Then fill the remaining space with water. Add the Alka-Seltzer or Tub Tints tablet to the bottle, and explain how the tablet doesn’t begin to dissolve or change color until it reaches the water. Without capping the bottle, watch as the tablet dissolves and the gas bubbles rise to the top of the bottle and pop. Once the gas is released, the bubbles slowly begin to fall to the bottom of the bottle. Then the bubbles pop, releasing the gas.
Why
To promote cause and effect, observing, predicting. To encourage discussion about body functions.
For more activities check out
Brain Based Early Learning Activities: Connecting Theory and Practice
By Nikki Darling Kuria Copyright 2010 School-Age