Dancing Popcorn: Encouraging inquiry in young children
Young children are natural scientist. They are curious about the world around them and how things work. The goal of science investigations for young children should be providing opportunities that foster this curiosity by promoting children to observe, predict, compare, and use scientific tools.
By using four simple ingredients you can provide your child with an experience that will provoke their natural curiosity, bring out the natural little scientist within them. "Dancing Popcorn," helps young children build lanauge as they describe what they see as they mix the different ingredients together and make predictions about what they think will happen next.
First, start by filling a glass with 1 cup of water. Next show your child their ingredients (popcorn kernels, vinegar, baking soda), and see how many they can name. Help your child describe what they notice about these ingredients; how they smell, feel, and look.
Once the ingredients have been identified, help your child follow along the instructions that are displayed below. Be sure to draw attention to the tools (measuring cups) being used for the investigation.
As your child follows along the instructions, make sure to ask a lot of questions about what they see, smell, and hear. After each step, stop to make a prediction about what they think will happen next. Make sure to acknowledge your child's response, even if it is not accurate. Redirect their response by stating your observations as well. For example, a child may say something like, "its making bubbles. The popcorn is going to pop." You may respond, "I see the bubbles too! All the bubble are under the popcorn when it goes to the top. Why do you think the popcorn is going to pop?"
By using four simple ingredients you can provide your child with an experience that will provoke their natural curiosity, bring out the natural little scientist within them. "Dancing Popcorn," helps young children build lanauge as they describe what they see as they mix the different ingredients together and make predictions about what they think will happen next.
First, start by filling a glass with 1 cup of water. Next show your child their ingredients (popcorn kernels, vinegar, baking soda), and see how many they can name. Help your child describe what they notice about these ingredients; how they smell, feel, and look.
Once the ingredients have been identified, help your child follow along the instructions that are displayed below. Be sure to draw attention to the tools (measuring cups) being used for the investigation.
As your child follows along the instructions, make sure to ask a lot of questions about what they see, smell, and hear. After each step, stop to make a prediction about what they think will happen next. Make sure to acknowledge your child's response, even if it is not accurate. Redirect their response by stating your observations as well. For example, a child may say something like, "its making bubbles. The popcorn is going to pop." You may respond, "I see the bubbles too! All the bubble are under the popcorn when it goes to the top. Why do you think the popcorn is going to pop?"
Use the materials list and instructions below to help complete the investigation.
Materials
Instructions
