Natural Sciences
INVESTIGATIONS
Natural Sciences
INVESTIGATIONS
with Foundation Phase Learners
A lot of the ideas in this booklet owe their germination to a long collaboration between Alan and
Viv Kenyon. We have shared a passion for primary education and primary teacher development for a
long time. This dates back from the progressive 1960s, when we first started teaching, to the early
1970s together in London. It continued at Lovedale in Alice, and then at Cape College in Fort Beaufort,
where colleagues and students helped grow and contextualise many of these ideas. Subsequent work
with teachers and in classrooms has helped refine the practical relevance of this work.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Section 1
What’s the best way to make ice disappear? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Investigating Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Investigating Bread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Section 2
Investigating Mini-Beasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Investigating Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Section 3
How many ways can you make a torch bulb light? . . . . . . . . . . 36
Investigating Pushes and Pulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Section 4
Investigating the Phases of the Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Investigating Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The learner will be able to act confidently on curiosity about natural phenomena, and to investigate
relationships and solve problems in scientific, technological and environmental contexts.
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Introduction
In 2004 the Foundation Phase teachers from 9 primary schools in the South
district began working with the PSP to develop and trial Natural Science
investigations with their learners, as part of the MSET Project, funded by the
Shuttleworth Foundation. This booklet is an outcome of our work together over
three years.
What is in this booklet?
In this booklet we have set out the 9 investigations that we carried out with
learners. These investigations worked well with learners from Grade R to
Grade 3. You will find suggestions for using readily available, everyday
materials to help you carry out these nine investigations with your class.
How the booklet is structured
We start with a focus on Raising questions. Then the booklet is divided into
four sections. Each section focuses on one of the strands in the Natural Ice, clay, and bread
We hope you will find the suggestions practical and inspiring. And we hope
INTRODUCTION 3
FP Sc pp1-27 2/9/08 11:25 AM Page 4
that, like us, you will find Natural Sciences is a fascinating and wonderful area
of the curriculum to investigate with your learners. Science can be a powerful
basis and link to good integrated work across the broad Foundation Phase
curriculum.
Raising questions
Often in classrooms teachers tend to be the ones who ask questions. And as
teachers, we expect our learners to answer the questions. We believe that if a
curriculum is to be truly child-centred, we need to give our learners
opportunities to do the actual asking. We need to make sure that they have lots
of chances to ask the questions that they have. And they need opportunities to
investigate their own questions.
You will find in this booklet that we frequently suggest ways to encourage
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learners to think and voice their questions, and to even provoke them to ask
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more questions. And we don’t need to be afraid that the children will raise
suggest ways to questions that we feel unable to answer. We don’t have to answer all their
encourage questions when they raise them.
learners to It is really important that our learners have time to ponder and think about
think and voice some of their questions. They need time to think of possible answers, to puzzle
their questions, over the questions and possible answers. Later on when they are learning more
about whatever it is that they want to know, they will discover the answers,
and to even and true learning will take place. Bruner has said that ‘discovery favours the
provoke them to prepared mind’. Children who have had time to think about things, will be
ask more ready to discover and learn because they have had time to puzzle over
questions. possibilities.
INTRODUCTION 5
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SECTION 1
Matter and Materials
What’s the best way to make ice disappear?
TASK 2
Grade R and Grade 1
If you work with Grade R or Grade 1 learners, give them very careful
instructions about what you want them to do next. We suggest that you tell
them exactly what you want them to do. Tell them that as a class you are going
to try to find the best and quickest ways to make a cube of ice melt. Then tell
them that you want them to work in pairs and that you are going to give each
pair a cube of ice. Tell them that you are all going to go outside the classroom
and you want them to see who can find the best ways to make ice disappear
completely. Remind them to try to think of the quickest ways.
Take your learners outside. Either tell them to find a
partner, or put the children into pairs. Give each pair an
ice-cube in a polystyrene cup. You will need to decide how
far away from the classroom you take them. You may
choose to work in the playground so that you don’t disturb
the other classes. You may be able to work just outside
your classroom. You will also need to make sure that you
are able to observe every pair. Encourage your learners to
think of different ways to get their ice to melt.
When most of the learners have got their ice-cubes to
melt, take your class back into the classroom to discuss
what they did and what they found.
Grade 2 and Grade 3
If your learners have already been in school a year or two,
we suggest that you give them some time to plan in their
small groups of two or three to carry out their investigation
in two stages.
I First of all, tell them to spend a short while thinking and
talking about what they could do.
I Then tell them that they must draw up a plan of what
they will do. Encourage them to predict what might
happen. Limit the time for these two tasks. Thinking is
important, but you also want them to try out their ideas
and plans.
I Next tell them to carry out their investigation. Tell your
learners that you want them to observe what happens.
Remind them to record what they see.
As with the younger learners, we suggest that you take your
learners outside for this investigation. Give each pair or
group of 3 an ice-cube in a polystyrene cup. Make sure that
you are able to observe what each small group is doing, and
that you are available to prompt and encourage those
learners who struggle.
As they wait for their ice-cube to melt, they need to watch it
and report on its progress: ‘It’s melted a bit’; ‘It’s half-
melted’; ‘It’s completely melted’; and so on. Grade 2s and
Grade 3s can measure the time it takes for their ice-cube to
melt using the clock or a watch.
Investigating clay
The ‘Feeley-Box’ – Integrating Language
and Science
A ‘feeley-box’ or a ‘feeley-bag’ is a very useful piece of
equipment for any primary school teacher. It is a box or bag
with a number of articles inside. The idea is for somebody
to be able to put their hand(s) inside to touch and feel
something, without anybody being able to see what exactly
they are holding. A 5-litre fruit juice box works well. So
does an empty box (with its lid) that has held photocopy
paper. It works best if there are two holes on opposite sides
of the box so that children can put both hands into the box
to get a better sense of what they are holding.
You can use a feeley-box (or feeley-bag) to develop and extend
your learners’ use of descriptive language. And you could use it
for Numeracy, Science, and Life Skills. As this section focuses on
Matter and Materials, a feeley-box is really valuable in terms of
getting young learners to think about the properties of matter and
materials.
Before you use the feeley-box with your learners, plan what you
could put in the box for this occasion. Put in familiar items,
items with different textures and shapes. For Grade 2s and 3s, try
to include items that combine different textures and shapes. For
example you could include a toothbrush, a tennis ball, a sponge
or scourer, a nail brush, a stone, a pencil or pen, a comb.
Investigating matter using touch
All Grades
The first time you use a feeley-box or a feeley-
bag, gather your learners around you. Tell them
that you want them to listen very carefully. Tell
the children that you are going to ask one child
to come and put her / his hands into the box
and to pick up something to touch and feel.
Make sure that the children understand that they
are not to remove the item from the box. They
are only going to use the sense of touch to work
out what they are holding. Tell your learners that
you do not want the child
to tell the rest of the class
whatever s/he is holding.
Instead you are going to
ask some questions to try
to find out what it might A feeley-box is really valuable in
be. You are going to try to terms of getting young learners
guess from the answers
to think about the properties of
s/he gives to your
questions. matter and materials.
Ask them,
I What does it look like?
I What does it feel like?
I Have you seen anything that looks like this?
Investigating bread
When you decide to have your discussion, take a sheet of flip-chart paper and
either some thick koki-pens or wax crayons. Gather your learners around you
and ask them what they know about bread. Record everything that they tell
you in the form of a spider-web or a mind-map.
Shared reading
Make a copy of a recipe for each group, even if you are working
with the youngest learners. We want them to become used to
seeing print around them. And although their mothers, aunts,
grandmothers, and sisters may not use recipes, recipes are
another genre (type) of printed text that is a real part of life.
Even if you feel that this is a waste of time because your
learners “can’t read yet”, we suggest you provide them with a
recipe. It is another way of making language and literacy a real
and meaningful part of this investigation. Make a large version
to put up on the wall. Then, read the recipe aloud to your
learners. Ask them to join in and read with you as you read the
recipe again.
Cooking / baking the bread dough
You will need to think about how the bread will be cooked. Most of the schools
we worked with did not have stoves. But they made arrangements to either
make vetkoek, rooster brood, or even brought in portable ovens to their
classrooms. You will need to decide how to solve this problem in your school.
You may decide to make the bread dough with your class towards the end of
the day, then take it home yourself to bake. You can bring the cooked results
back to your class the following day to share with your class.
If you take the bread dough home to cook, you could cook it in different ways.
This would enable you and your learners to compare textures and flavours.
SECTION 2
Life and Living
Investigating mini-beasts
However you feel about mini-beasts, we hope that you will investigate
the range of small creatures available in your neighbourhood, with
your class. Young children are often fascinated by the different
creatures in their environment and mini-beasts provide a
wonderful resource for investigations.
You will have to think about the time
of year that you choose to
investigate these creatures. We
chose late Summer /early
Autumn, when there are
quite a lot of different
creatures around.
Crickets
Milliipede
If you are working with Grade R or Grade 1 learners, we would suggest that
you focus on one mini-beast at a time. You will probably need to collect a
number of specimens of whatever creature you have decided to focus on.
Whatever you collect will depend on the time of year and the locality of your
school. But you will need enough so that you can give each group a few to
observe.
Whichever Grade you teach, and whether you collect the mini-beasts or your
learners collect them, you will need to prepare ‘hotels’ for the creatures to stay
in while you investigate them. This links nicely with Technology and you could
involve your learners in the construction of the ‘hotels’.
We have found that clean, used, plastic 2-litre cool drink bottles work well. You
can cut off the top carefully, and then invert the top so that the creatures have
air, but are less likely to “check out” of the hotel before you and your learners
have investigated them. You can also use clear plastic freezer bags full of air.
You can keep the mini-beasts for a day or two before releasing them.
Observations with Grade 2 or Grade 3
If you have collected mini-beasts for your learners to
observe, give some (in their ‘hotels’) to each group. If your
learners have collected their own mini-beasts, they can
observe them in their clear plastic bags. Tell the children to
look very very carefully at their mini-beasts. Tell them that
you want them to draw what they see. You will need to
give your learners time for this task so that they can make
careful drawings. Drawing requires us to observe really
carefully and provides evidence of just how carefully
somebody has observed something, whether or not they
are ‘good at drawing’. You could also ask your children to
label their drawings.
Observations with Grade R or Grade 1
If you work with younger learners, it
is a good idea to guide their
observation. First of all, place some
mini-beasts on the tables of each
group for the learners to observe.
Then, with your learners gathered
around you, tell them that you want
them to look really carefully at the
creatures that you have placed on
their tables. Send the children back to
their groups and ask them to look at
their mini-beasts, and then you will
call them back to tell you what they
have seen.
Move from group to group to draw your learners’ attention to different aspects
of the mini-beasts you have put out. When you are satisfied that the children
have had a reasonable chance to look at the creatures, call them back to you.
Ask your class what they saw, what they noticed. We are sure that you will
find that young children are quite observant. But you may wish to draw their
attention to certain aspects.
Collecting mini-beasts
If you decide to let your learners collect mini-beasts for themselves, you need
to give them some very clear instructions before they go to look for them. You
may also wish to discuss what the children might find when they collect mini-
beasts.
You need to remind the children that some creatures can sting or bite. Tell them
not to try to catch bees and wasps or spiders. If they think a mini-beast might
be dangerous, encourage them to ask you to help them.
Remind your learners to be careful when they collect ants. Also remind them
that some spiders are poisonous and that it’s wiser to leave spiders alone.
And you will need to give the children something to collect their mini-beast in.
We found that small clear plastic freezer bags work very well.
An extended observation
After this preliminary observation, we would encourage you to investigate mini-
beasts in greater detail. Begin by having another discussion with your learners.
We suggest that you prepare for this discussion by making a K-W-L Chart
You will find examples
(What do we Know? What do we Want to know? What have we Learned?), or a
in the Appendix on
page 74 and page 75. K-W-T-H-L Chart (What do we Know? What do we Want to know? What do we
Think? How can we find out? What have we learned?).
This is a good way to make sure that the investigations you guide your learners
through, focus on their knowledge and interests. At the end of the investigation
you can ask your learners what they have found out, and what they think they
have learned. So this is a way of recording your planning and assessment of a
particular focus.
K-W-T-H-L Chart
Planning an Investigation with Foundation Phase Learners Gather your class around you.
What do we What do we What do we HOW can we What have we
If you haven’t used a
KNOW? WANT to know? THINK? find out? LEARNED? K-W-T-H-L Chart before,
introduce your children to it.
Ask them what they know
about a particular mini-beast.
Write up what they tell you
under the column, ‘What do
we Know?’ You may be
surprised by the children who
can supply information. Then
ask your learners, ‘What do we
Want to know?’ Again write up
the children’s questions or
what they want to find out.
Then ask them, ‘How do you
think we can find out?’
If you work with Grade 2s or Grade 3s, you may ask your learners to work in
groups to first discuss and plan what they could do. Ask them how they could
find answers to their questions.
If you work with Grade Rs or Grade 1s you will probably discuss this with the
whole class, and record their suggestions on a sheet of newsprint.
Investigating plants
iStock Photos
Preparation
Before you begin an investigation of
plants with your learners, spend some
time at the end of the school day
walking around the school grounds.
Sometimes we think that there are no
plants in a particular environment.
Perhaps this is because we do not
think the plants there are useful or
beautiful. But we are sure that you
will be able to find some plants if
you keep an open mind. The time
of year will also influence what you
find in the school grounds.
It is a good idea to find
some books on South
African plants to display in
your classroom. If you are
unable to find any amongst the books at your school, visit your local library.
Ask the children’s librarian, and explain that you are going to investigate plants
with your learners. Most children’s librarians are very helpful, and will help
you find some suitable books. You may even find some picture story books.
When you have a substantial list, go through the list with your learners and ask
them to tell you which of the plants are trees. Mark these plants with a
different coloured koki or crayon. Are there any other trees your learners know
or can think of? Add names of these trees to the list.
What can we find in the school grounds?
Organise your learners into pairs and
take them out to investigate what’s
growing in the school grounds. Don’t
spend too long outside. You just want
your learners to have a preliminary
look. You want to continue to grow
their awareness of the plants in their
environment.
When you return to the classroom,
you can add the names of other plants
to the list you made with your class. If
you take another colour crayon or
koki for this, you will have a clear
record of the 3 stages of this first
activity. This will provide you with a
record of continuous assessment.
You want them What do we know about plants? What do we want to know?
to write down Grade 2s and Grade 3s
what they know Give each group an A4 sheet of paper with a K-W-L Chart on it (see page 74).
Ask your learners to talk about What they know about plants, and What they
about plants,
want to know about plants. Tell your children that you want each group to fill
and what they in the chart that you’ve given them. You want them to write down what they
want to know. know about plants, and what they want to know.
74
Pl an n in g a n I nv est i ga ti on w it h F ou n da ti on P h ase Le arn ers
When your learners have completed the first two columns What do we KNOW? What do we WANT to know? What have we LEARNED?
of the chart, either get each group to share what they have
written, or put each group’s chart on the wall of the
classroom. This is something that Grade 2s and Grade 3s
should be able to do independently. Tell your learners that
they don’t need to worry about spelling and how neatly
they write. You just want them to get their ideas down.
And if they work in a group, they should be able to carry
When your class have finished their drawings, put them up on the wall. Give
your learners time to look at each other’s work. We have found that children
learn to respect one another’s work if we give it status and model respect.
When learners see the work of their peers, they learn important lessons about
how a particular task can be done differently. We all see differently. And
drawings reflect this. You will also be integrating Arts and Culture with Natural
Sciences. And you will have valuable and aesthetic evidence of what your
learners’ can do.
Exploring the school grounds
Before you take your learners out to explore the school
grounds, tell them that you want them to look at the
plants more carefully. Tell them that you want them to
look at the plants very carefully to find evidence of how
plants make more plants.
Group your children and allocate a particular area of the
school grounds to each group. Then take the children out.
While your learners are observing the plants, move from
group to group. Listen in to what they say to each other
about what they’re noticing.
When you return to the classroom, have
a discussion with your learners to share
what they found. Ask the children,
I What did you find?
I Do you know different names for
these plants?
I Have any of the leaves been eaten
in anyway?
I Who ate them?
I How do we know?
I Who saw flowers, or fruit, or seeds?
Get your learners to choose one plant to
focus on. Grade 1s and 2s could
measure the length and breadth of the
leaves.
Pet plants
If you work with Grade Rs or Grade 1s, ask each group of
learners to choose a plant in the school grounds and to
look after it throughout the year. Get each group to keep a
diary of watering and caring for the plant. Your learners
could complete a monthly chart (like a calendar) and draw
what they have done on the appropriate day.
Leaf rubbings
You will need some thinnish paper
and thick wax crayons (bright green,
brown, orange, red). Then get your
learners to help you collect a variety
of leaves (preferably ones that have
fallen from a plant) for this activity.
Take the leaves back to the classroom.
The children need to place the paper
over a leaf, and then rub with a wax
crayon over the place where the leaf is
underneath. The outline and pattern of
the leaf should appear.
Get your learners to experiment with the top and the underside of leaves.
I What do they notice?
I What do they find?
This is likely to raise interesting questions and comments and generate
awareness naturally of the need for names for different leaf margins and vein
patterns. This could lead naturally to some challenging sorting and classifying.
Our very first own book of plants
At the end of the year, ask your learners
I What have we learned?
I What could we make a book about?
I What would we include?
I What would we leave out?
I How could we do it?
Each pair or group of 3 children could think of
something and then draw a picture of whatever plant
they’ve chosen. With the teacher’s help they could put
their work together and order the pieces. Then they
could help their teacher stick each piece of work on to
a page of the book.
SECTION 3
Energy and Change
How many ways can we
make a torch bulb light?
There are a number of different ways that you can introduce this investigation.
You could start off with a discussion about day and night, and when we need
something like a torch. Or you could tell a story.
iStock Photos
Introduction
During the break (interval) preceding the investigation, the
teachers covered the windows in a classroom with black
paper. They also brought a variety of different lamps to
school. The teachers began by taking the class into the
darkened classroom. It was quite quite dark. You couldn’t
even see your hand in front of your face! They asked the
children what they could see. Then they asked the learners
what would help them. The children gave a variety of
answers, and slowly the teachers switched on one or two
lamps. On the wall at the back of the classroom the
teachers had put up black paper and stuck on some stars.
It was spectacular!!
Now and then
The teachers got the children to sit down on the mat and led a discussion
about what we could use to help us see in the dark if we didn’t have lights to it’s worth
switch on. Eventually somebody suggested that we could use a torch. spending time
This was a really exciting way to introduce the investigation, and we felt very to plan and
privileged to be present and to share the experience. Of course, a teacher can’t prepare
do this kind of thing every day. But now and then it’s worth spending time to something a
plan and prepare something a little different and special. Your class will really
little special.
appreciate this.
Observing torches
What you will need
You will need a working torch for this discussion. We also suggest that you
have a sheet of flip-chart paper with a simple drawing of a torch in the centre.
Draw some lines in the form of a spider-web or a mind-map.
Observation
Ask your learners how they think a
torch works. What are all the parts
torches have? What makes the bulb
light? Record your learners’ ideas on
the mind-map. We think you will find
that the children have a good idea of
what is inside the torch, even if they
are not sure how exactly it works. As
the discussion progresses, take the
torch apart so that they see the torch
cell (what we often call ‘a battery’)
and the small bulb. Ask your learners,
So how does the torch bulb light up?
Finding out how the torch bulb lights up
What you will need
For each group, you will need
I a 1,5v torch cell (battery)
I a torch bulb
I two plastic covered wires about 20
cm long each
You can ask the Science Co-ordinator
• Start by just giving
each group one at your school to order these materials
wire. from Rutland Industries. The address
• Later on you can is in the Appendix on page 82. Make
give each group sure that all the cells and bulbs are
another wire.
working before you start.
You will also need to give each group
I a sheet of paper
I 5 coloured torch cell shapes
I 5 torch bulb shapes
I some Prestik
I and a pencil
Investigating
Tell your learners that you are going to give
each group a 1,5v torch cell, a torch bulb,
and a length of wire. Then give each group a
torch cell, a torch bulb and a wire. Tell your
learners you want them to investigate how
they can make the torch bulb light.
Move from group to group to see what your
learners do. We found that the children were
very curious and persevered. As they tried
different ways, we encouraged them. As they
persisted, we also noticed how well they
worked together to help hold the wires, the
cell and the bulb tightly. Everybody wanted
to join in.
Recording
As soon as a group has managed to
make their torch bulb light up, give
them
I 5 blue torch cell shapes
I 5 yellow torch bulb shapes
I a small piece of Prestik, and
I a sheet of paper.
Show your learners how to stick down
the blue torch cell shape on their
piece of paper in a similar position to
the position it was in when the bulb
lit up. Then ask the children to show
you where the bulb was. Stick down
one of the yellow bulb shapes on the
sheet of paper, in the same position it
was in when the bulb lit up. Then ask
the children to draw in the position of
the wire.
When you have helped your learners make this picture of
what they did, ask the group to find another way to make
the bulb light up. Tell them that there are several ways,
and you want them to find as many as they can. Ask them
to call you when they’ve found another way.
Work in this way with all the groups. Even if you have a
very big class, it is possible to carry out this investigation
with young learners.
Encourage each group as you move around your class.
Offer help where you think it is absolutely necessary. But at the same time try
to let the children do the investigating. No matter how much you want to try
yourself, or show them how, DON’T. Let your children do the practical work of
investigating. We are sure that you will be surprised at the scientific behaviour
they demonstrate, and which you are fostering.
Communicating
When all your groups have found
more than one way, give each group a
chance to share their methods to
make the bulb light up. Stand by the
children as they speak to support
them. Get them to hold up their
pictures of what they did. This is an
important part of the investigation.
Not all the groups may have found the
same way to make their torch bulb
light up. The other children will get
ideas of other ways to make the bulb
light up.
Finding more ways to get the torch bulb to light up
Give your learners more time to try to
find other ways. There are at least 5
ways to make the torch bulb light up.
(You can find these ways in the
Appendix on page 79.) If you work
with Grade 2s or 3s, encourage them
to try to find all 5 ways. If you work
with younger learners, you may feel
that they have spent long enough. You
could always give the children an
opportunity to do this on another day.
It would be interesting to see if they
remember some of the ways they have
found, or whether they find
completely new ways.
Get your learners to write their names on the pictures they have made. Then
display these on the classroom wall.
Close observation of a torch bulb
Grade 2s and Grade 3s
In this activity, you want your learners to observe the torch bulb more closely.
What does the bulb look like? What are it’s features?
Preparing for the observation
You will need to make a large 2-D (flat) model of a torch
bulb for this activity. (We have provided the parts for this
model in the Appendix on page 78. You can photocopy
this, and cut it out. Again, we used yellow card for the
torch bulb and blue card for the torch cell.)
I Cut out the large bulb shape.
I Cut out the other shape for the metal base of the bulb.
I Glue the bottom of the bulb to the right side rectangle
so that it fits over the shaded triangle.
I Use a large black crayon or koki-pen to draw the two
thick wires, as shown.
I Cut out a small oval bead shape from a coloured picture in a magazine and
paste it over the black lines you have drawn. (This represents the glass bead
that prevents the two thick wires from touching.)
I Make a filament from a coil of thin wire, and fasten it
across the ends of the thick black lines. One way is to
stick the ends of the coil of wire through the cardboard
and to use sticky tape on the wrong side (back) to
fasten them down.
I Fold the left-hand side of the base of the bulb over the
right-hand side. Now your model of a torch bulb is
nearly complete.
I Use blobs of Prestik to represent the metal solder mark
on the side of the case, and the bottom metal tip of the
torch bulb.
I Finally, shade the trapezium shape between the metal
case and the metal tip of the torch cell. This shows the
layer of black plastic that separates the metal cylinder
from the metal tip.
This model is specially designed so that you can demonstrate the arrangement
of the inner parts of the bulb. What happens inside a light bulb will always be
a strange mystery to learners unless they have thought about what the
arrangement of the wires might, and then had a chance to find out.
Working with learners
Draw a face on the chalkboard. Ask
your learners,
I What features do we have on our
faces? What are the different parts?
Even very young learners will be able
to give you their suggestions. As they
offer their suggestions, draw in the
features and label each one.
Now tell your learners that you want
to do the same thing with the torch
bulb.
I What are the features or parts of a
bulb?
Give the children a few minutes to
observe carefully. While they do this,
draw the outline of a torch bulb on
the board. When you think your
learners are ready, ask them to tell
you what they see. As they tell you
the different features that they’ve
noticed, draw and label those parts.
iStock Photos
What you will need
You will need enough old magazines so that there is at
least one magazine between two children. You will also
need lots of suitable items that your children will be
familiar with from their homes and daily lives. Try to make
sure that you have a variety of items so that you can give
your learners different experiences to emphasise how
much pushes, pulls and twists are a part of their lives.
We included play-dough, clay, balloons,
stones, some metal, some wood, elastic
bands, Prestik, sponges, small soft balls, a
spring, paper, empty plastic containers with
lids to twist on or off, empty containers that
had lids to pull off or push on, and so on. Put
these things you have collected into a large
box or basket so that you will have them
ready for the first part of the investigation.
Make sure that you also have some marbles,
some balloons, some small toy cars, some
smooth planks of wood, and two or three
bricks. If you work with Grade 2s or Grade
3s, we suggest that you also have some
measuring tapes or very long rulers.
WORK STATION 1
What needs a push, what needs a pull, and what
needs a twist?
You will need to collect a variety of different things that
are familiar to your learners. Look around your home
and the classroom. You could include a plastic bottle
with a screw-top lid, something with a lid that you
push on and pull off, a pen / pencil, an eraser, a
paper-clip, small soft balls, string, a rubber band,
some balloons, Prestik, play-dough, stones, something
made of metal, something made of wood, a spring,
and so on. Put all the materials in a fairly large
shallow box (the lid of a box of photocopy paper
works well) so that a group of children can easily
get hold of something to find out whether you have
to push, pull, or twist.
Ask your learners to investigate the materials, to find out whether they have to
push, pull, or twist. Tell them that you want to sort the materials into 3 groups:
those we have to push, those we have to pull, and those that need a twist. If
you work with Grade 2s or 3s, you could make a Task Card with instructions. If
you work with Grade Rs or Grade 1s, you will probably rely on giving them
oral instructions.
A sample Task Card
If you work with Grade 2s or 3s, you
could also ask your learners to record
their findings. You could either
provide them with a table with 3
columns for them to record each item
under the appropriate column, or you
could ask them to draw their findings.
WORK STATION 2
What makes a toy car go faster?
You will need at least 6 different small toy cars. You
should be able to buy these quite cheaply in one of the
supermarket chains. They are often available in sets of 3
or 4 making them quite inexpensive. However, do try to
choose a variety of cars, 4 x 4s and trucks. This will
mean that the children can think about
I what causes one vehicle to move more quickly than
another? or
I what causes one vehicle to go further with the same
push?
Part 1
I Mark out a part of the classroom
where the group can carry out this
activity.
I Mark a starting line for the learners
to start their races.
I Tell the group that you want them
to find the fastest vehicle.
I Make it quite clear to the children
where they may “race” their cars.
I Tell them to make sure that they all
start from the starting line.
I Tell the children that one child
must tell the others when to start.
I Then give each child in the group one of the vehicles.
I As soon as that child says, “Go!”, each of the other children must give their
car a single push to get it rolling.
I Which car goes the fastest? Why?
I Which car goes the furthest? Why do they think this is?
Grade 2s and Grade 3s can measure the distance that their cars travelled.
Part 2
In the second part of the investigation
you will need to make a ramp. You
can use 1 or 2 bricks to raise the
height of one end of a stiff board or
plank. And you will need to make
space in your classroom for your
learners to ‘race’ their cars.
I Tell your learners to take turns to
release each car from the top of the
ramp, without a push.
I Which car goes the furthest? Why
do they think this?
I Ask them to record the informa-
tion. Grade 1s can draw the car
that goes the furthest. Grade 2s and
Grade 3 could complete a table.
I Grade 2s and Grade 3s can measure the distance that their cars travelled
from the bottom of the ramp.
I Get the group to repeat their investigation several times. Ask the children to
record the results each time.
I If they change the slope of the ramp, what difference does it make? Do the
cars go further? Encourage your learners to try to explain any differences.
I If the children put a block of wood at the bottom of the ramp, does it stop
the cars? Or do the cars move the block? What happens if they add another
block of wood?
If you work with Grade 2s or 3s, make
sure that your learners record their
findings. They can do this by drawing,
or in the form of a table, or even a
graph.
I Which car went furthest without
the ramp?
I Which car went furthest when the
children used the ramp?
When your learners report to the rest
of the class on their findings, ask
them,
I What makes the cars go faster?
I Do the cars go faster when you
send them down a ramp?
I Does the slope of the ramp make a difference? Why do you think this is so?
They can also think about how you can give the same ‘push’ to 2 different cars.
WORK STATION 3
Starting and Stopping
You will need a bag of marbles and some straws for this
investigation.
Give a group of learners the marbles and let them play
with the marbles for a short time. Then ask your learners
to investigate how they can get the marbles to move.
Ask them,
I How can you make a marble move?
I What do you do to make it move?
I Are there different ways to make a marble move?
I Is there one way that is better than others?
I Why do you think this is so?
Give your learners some time to think about how they make the
marbles move. Then encourage them to think about what they do,
and also, what they can do to stop marbles moving.
Ask them
I How many ways can you find to stop a marble moving?
I Which way works best?
I What makes something start to move?
Next give your learners straws and ask them to use their straws to make their
marbles move. Can they use the straws to stop the marbles moving? Give the
children time to experiment and find as many ways as they can to use the
straws to move their marbles, and to stop them.
WORK STATION 4
What do magnets ‘pull’ towards them?
You will need to collect a variety of items made of different materials. Try to
collect lots of different things that your learners are likely to find either in their
home environment, or in the school. Put these different items on a large tray or
in the shallow lid of a large box so that all the learners in a group can reach the
items to investigate their properties.
You will also need a magnet for each learner. It
is best if all the children in a group can
investigate at the same time, so that nobody
waits for a turn to use a magnet.
Place the tray with the different items on the
table, and give each child a magnet. Ask your
learners to investigate the different materials
and to find all the things that the magnets
attract, or that the magnets ‘pull’ towards
them. Ask the children to make two sets. They
need to make a set of items that the magnets
attract. And they need to make another set of
items that the magnets don’t attract. Ask your
learners to record their findings either by
drawing, or in the form of a table with two columns.
If you work with Grade Rs or Grade 1s, make sure that you
spend some time moving around, supporting and
encouraging the children. Make sure that they too record
their findings. Even young children can draw what they
have found in their investigations.
A final word
Pulls are part As we discovered at the workshop, pushes and pulls are part of our daily lives.
Two teachers involved in the project used a Physical Education lesson to
of our daily
provide an investigation of pushes and pulls for their learners. This was really
lives. interesting and clearly demonstrated just how much pushes and pulls are a part
of every movement we make.
SECTION 4
Planet Earth and Beyond
This investigation focuses on the different phases of the Moon. You will need to
get your learners to observe the Moon over a period of at least 30 days. But if
they are interested, continue the observation for even longer. We were excited
to find that even Grade 1s at the beginning of the year were able to sustain
such a long observation. And they were able to record what they saw!
What you will need
76
Gradually you and your learners will see a pattern emerging. And if you
continue the observation for 5 weeks, they will begin to see that the pattern
repeats itself.
Perhaps not all your learners will remember to observe the Moon. But some
will. And we are sure that you will find that as the time goes by, more and
more children will remember to look for the Moon.
Working with Grade 1s
Sukaina Mitchell, a Grade 1 teacher in
the Project, got her learners who had
only been in school for a few weeks
to sustain this long observation. With
Sukaina’s support, these young
children recorded their findings on the
Moon Watch Calendar as well as in a
zigzag book. Sukaina also used this
investigation to link with shape, thus
integrating Mathematics with this
Natural Sciences investigation.
Some things to think about
and discuss with your learners
I You could also suggest that your learners ask their
families what they know about the Moon. Then they
could share this information with the rest of the class.
This information may include cultural lore (knowledge
and beliefs) about the Moon. For example, some people
believe that the best time to plant seeds and seedlings is
when the Moon is getting bigger (waxing). They believe
that seeds and seedlings do not grow so well if they are
planted when the Moon is getting smaller (waning).
I Some people say that when the Moon is in a particular
position, it means that there will be rain.
The Moon
The Moon has phases.
We see the Moon
because it reflects the
light of the Sun.
Investigating weather
At the beginning of the Project, teachers asked their learners what they would
like to find out about their world. Amongst the questions the children raised,
were several about weather and natural phenomena.
I Do clouds actually move? How? (Grade 1)
I What makes lightning? (Grade 2)
I What causes thunder? Why is it so loud? (Grade 2)
I Where do clouds come from? (Grade 3)
In response to these questions, our 9th investigation focused on Weather.
There are many ways you can
introduce Weather as a focus of
investigation. You could link this topic
to work on the changing Seasons, or
you could investigate the Weather as
an extension of your daily recording of
weather with your class.
One way to start
If you decide to link Weather to the
Seasons, we suggest that you begin by
having a discussion about the
Seasons. Get your learners to think
about what the weather is like at that
time. Ask them what it has been like
for the past few weeks (warm, cool,
wet, windy, hot, etc).
If you teach Grade Rs or Grade 1s, you could do what Nigel did, and let them
draw round each other’s shadows and then hang them on the walls of the
classroom. The children could measure their shadows using their feet or hand
spans as a measure.
Investigating weather
You will need to decide how long you want this investigation to continue. You
may decide that your learners should investigate the weather for a period of a
month. Or they could continue the investigation for a whole term. The choice
is yours. The important thing is that you encourage your learners to “think
and act like Scientists” (Skamp, 1998).
So what do Scientists do? They observe and record something regularly for a Talk to your
period of time. If you want to encourage your learners to think and act like
learners about
Scientists, you need to get your learners to record the weather at least 3 times a
day. Discuss with your learners what you want them to do. Encourage them to the way
suggest when would be good times to check the weather. Then set 3 times in Scientists work.
the day when the children will check on the weather regularly for a pre- Tell them that
arranged period of time.
you want them
Investigation planning boards to think about
When you discuss how you will conduct the investigation with your learners
what they can
you may find it useful to use a ‘Planning Board’ with your learners. We found
two good examples of a Planning Board in a book from Australia, Teaching find out and
Primary Science Constructively (Skamp, 1998:44). measure.
7. Choose a fairly open space in the school grounds where the wind sock will
be safe. Place the bottle firmly in a shallow hole in the ground.
8. Make sure that the opening of the wind sock attached to the stick is wide
open.
One way to make a rain gauge
You will need
A plastic bottle with a fairly flat bottom and
flat sides.
1. Cut off the top of the bottle and invert the
top to make a funnel. Place the ‘funnel’
back in the bottle.
2. You could get your learners to mark the
side of the bottle in centimetres with a waterproof koki-
pen.
3. Choose a fairly open space in the school grounds where
the rain gauge will be safe. Place the rain gauge firmly
in a hole in the ground.
4. Each morning (when it is raining) get your learners to
remove the bottle and check how much rain has
collected in the bottle. When they have recorded the
amount, ask them to pour out the rain water, and re-
place the rain gauge.
Conclusion
We hope you have found this booklet useful, and that you
have been inspired to share Science with your learners. We
hope that you have enjoyed the investigations together
with your learners. And we hope that the suggestions we
have made, have encouraged you to investigate other
questions your learners have.
We know that many Foundation Phase teachers encourage
their learners to explore and study their world. This is so
important. Young children are so ‘wide awake’ and
interested in what is around them. We need to make space
in the busy school day, and even create opportunities for
our learners to pursue their questions and explore further,
with our support.
APPENDICES
O b s e r v a t i o n S h e e t s – Afrikaans
Ek kyk na ..................................................
Ek het opgemerk
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Ek kyk na ..................................................
Ek het opgemerk
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Waarneming
Datum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ek kyk na
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’n Prent van wat ek sien
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O b s e r v a t i o n S h e e t s – English
I looked at .................................................
I noticed
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Observation
Date ...................
I looked at
..........................................................
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A picture of what I saw
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I looked at .................................................
I noticed
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O b s e r v a t i o n S h e e t s – isiXhosa
Ndajonga ..................................................
Ndaqaphela
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APPENDIX 71
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Igama loSonzululwazi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ndajonga ..................................................
Ndabona
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Endikuqapheleyo
Umhla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ndajonga
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Umfanekiso wento endiyibonileyo
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APPENDIX 73
K-W-L Chart
74
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Torch cells
Torch bulbs
APPENDIX 77
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APPENDIX 79
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Once upon a time an old man planted a little turnip and said,
“Grow, grow, little turnip, grow sweet. Grow, grow, little turnip, grow strong.” And
the turnip grew up sweet and strong and big and enormous.
Then, one day, the old man went to pull it up. He pulled and he pulled again, but he
could not pull it up. He called the old woman. The old woman pulled the old man.
The old man pulled the turnip. They pulled and they pulled again, but they could not
pull it up.
So the old woman called her granddaughter. The granddaughter pulled the old
woman. The old woman pulled the old man. The old man pulled the turnip. They
pulled and they pulled again, but they could not pull it up.
The granddaughter called the black dog. The black dog pulled the granddaughter.
The granddaughter pulled the old woman. The old woman pulled the old man.
The old man pulled the turnip. They pulled and they pulled again, but they could not
pull it up.
The black dog called the cat. The cat pulled the dog. The dog pulled the
granddaughter. The granddaughter pulled the old woman. The old woman pulled the
old man. The old man pulled the turnip. They pulled and they pulled again, but still
they could not pull it up.
The cat called the mouse. The mouse pulled the cat. The cat pulled the dog. The dog
pulled the granddaughter. The granddaughter pulled the old woman. The old woman
pulled the old man. The old man pulled the turnip. They pulled and they pulled
again, and up came the turnip at last.
Task cards
APPENDIX 81
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Useful addresses
Clay Supplier Clip-Clop
Kiln Contracts (Pty) Ltd Fiona & Chris Berensford
11 Celie Road PO Box 2735
Retreat Clareinch
7945 Cape Town 7740 Cape Town
Tel: (021) 701-6682 Tel: (021 671 6686
Fax: (088) 021 671 6686
Science Equipment
Rutland Industries Planetarium
PO Box 27036 Iziko South African Museum
Benrose 25 Queen Victoria Street
2011 Johannesburg Gardens
Tel: (011) 618-3646 8001 Cape Town
Fax: (011) 614-9810 Tel: (021) 481-3822
APPENDIX
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Our Weather
2/9/08
Minimum
Maximum
Wind
Weather
Minimum
Maximum
Wind
Weather
Minimum
Maximum
Wind
Weather
Minimum
Maximum
Wind
Weather
Minimum
Maximum
Wind
Planning Investigations
Learner contributes Learner plans an Learner plans an Learner uses materials
towards planning an investigation investigation as part of selected by the group
investigative activity. independently. group. in order to
communicate the
group's plan.
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Unifying statement: We can classify materials by Unifying statement: We can modify materials in
their properties, in order to establish types and ways we choose, through our understanding of
patterns. Properties determine the selection of their sub-structure.
materials for particular uses.
I Materials have different properties such as I Substances can be mixed and sometimes
texture, colour, strength and heaviness, and changes can be seen, such as the dissolving
can be classified by these properties. “We of a solid or new colour when food
make things with materials which have the colourings / paints are mixed.
properties we want.
Unifying statement: Living Unifying statement: Organisms Unifying statement: The huge
things, including humans and in ecosystems are dependent for diversity of forms of life can be
invisibly small organisms, can their survival on the presence of understood in terms of a
be understood in terms of life abiotic factors and on their history of change in
processes, functional units and relationship with other environments and in
systems. organisms. characteristics of plants and
animals throughout the world
over millions of years.
I Many of our body parts I We depend on plants and I There is a large variety of
correspond to parts of animals for food, and we plants and animals, which
animals, such as limbs, breed certain animals and have interesting visible
heads, eyes, ears, feet, and grow certain plants as crops. differences but also
in many cases animals use I We see cultural diversity in similarities, and they can be
them for the same purposes the kinds of food people like grouped by their similarities.
we do. to eat. I Plants and animals change
I Animals and plants have I Some animals, like flies and as they grow, and as the
needs similar to ours, for ticks, carry germs which years pass, and as the
food, water and air. can make people sick. seasons change.
Unifying statement: Energy is transferred and therefore we need to know how to control
through biological or physical systems, from energy transfers.
energy sources. With each energy transfer, some Unifying statement: Energy is available from a
of the energy becomes less available for our use,
Unifying statement: Our planet Unifying statement: The Unifying statement: The Earth
is a small part of a vast solar atmosphere is a system which is composed of materials which
system in an immense galaxy. interacts with the land, lakes are continually being changed
and oceans and which transfers by forces on and under the
energy and water from place to surface.
place.
I Many different objects can I Weather changes from day I Soil and rocks vary in
be observed in the sky. to day in ways that can be appearance and texture from
Examples are birds, clouds, recorded and sometimes place to place. By investi-
aeroplanes, the sun, stars, predicted. There are gation, learners can find out
the moon, planets and occasional unusual weather that some soils erode more
satellites. All these objects events like storms, floods or easily than others do, while
have properties, locations tornados which impact on some soil types support
and movements that can be people’s lives. plant life better than others.
investigated with a view to They could investigate what
determining patterns, some of the factors involved
relationships and trends. might be.
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