Surfing Scientist Lesson Plans (Gr. 4-8)

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LESSON PLANS
Ready to go lesson plans using readily available materials ... these lessons are so much fun, your students won't even realize they're learning!

Lesson 1 - Amazingly Simple Science (60 to 90 min) - These amazing yet simple activities will motivate students about hands on science while introducing the group work model they will use in future science lessons. The Mesmerizing Milk activity (pictured) and Toothpick Trick are easy for students to repeat and will be a big hit at home too! A list of Lab Rules (safety and behavior rules for future lessons) is negotiated in the closing discussion.

Lesson 2 - Submarine science (60 to 90 min) - Students use drinking straws, plasticine and a soft-drink bottle to make an amazing bottle diver and learn about floating and sinking while having fun. They eagerly exercise complex thinking skills to understand and describe how the bottle diver works and can apply this knowledge to submarines and fish biology.

Lesson 3 - Illusions and Perception (60 to 90 min) - Students experience some incredibly simple yet amazing visual illusions while working through a worksheet. They learn will discover that perception varies between individuals and it is sometimes difficult to change perceptions. A closing discussion can help students develop positive attitudes that reach far beyond these simple optical illusions.

Lesson 4 - Fizzy bubbly science (60 to 80 min) - Students investigate how popcorn kernels hitch a ride on bubbles of carbon dioxide produced by vinegar and baking soda. They see soap bubbles bounce and float on this heavy, invisible gas inside a soft drink bottle.

Lesson 5 - Amazing Ice Cubes (30 to 60 min) - Mesmerize your class with a humble ice cube and a glass of cooking oil. Use this lesson as part of a unit on water or the properties of matter, or simply as a motivating activity.

Lesson 6 - The "O-Wing" Experiment (60 to 80 min) - Believe it or not, these strange contraptions fly amazingly well. Made from straws, stiff card and sticky tape, O-Wings also make for a fascinating lesson on the scientific method. Students change variables, make observations and finally design their own experiment. Challenge students to build the most weird and wonderful flying O—Wing for a fun extension activity.

Lesson 7 - Five Cent Science (20 to 30 min) - How many drops of water can a five cent coin hold ... two, three, maybe four? Your students will be amazed at the answer and discover even the simplest things can be affected by many variables. Use it as part of a unit on water or as a great emergency lesson for rainy days.

Lesson 8 - Dry Ice! (40 to 70 min) - This is a WOW lesson your students will never forget! The demonstrations provided are safe, fun, amazing, thought provoking and loud. Use them to discuss the states of matter, evaporation, condensation, temperature and heat. Allow sufficient time to complete all the demonstrations and don't be surprised if you're asked to repeat them over and over again.

Lesson 9 - Mini Water Cycle (60 min) - Teaching the water cycle? Here's a great way to demonstrate evaporation, condensation and precipitation in action using a plastic tub filled with dirt, cling wrap and a pebble. Students will be amazed to see how much water is collected in the plastic cup!

Lesson 10 - Classic Candle Experiment (45 to 70 min) - This classic experiment is cheap, easy and fun to do but a little trickier to explain. A lit candle is covered with an inverted jar in a saucer of water. The flame expires and water rises up into the jar. Students experiment with different candles, bottles and jars to test their explanations. A worksheet is included in the lesson plan.

Lesson 11 - Electric Experiments (70 to 100 min) - Kids love playing with light bulbs and batteries. Using cheap, readily available bulbs and batteries, aluminum foil 'wire' and clothes-peg clamps, they discover how to make a circuit through trial and error. They apply their knowledge to make their very own conductivity tester and use it to classify a range of materials. (Worksheets are included)

Lesson 12 - Salt and germination (80 to 145 min) - This fascinating, cheap and very reliable experiment clearly demonstrates the damaging effects of salinity (salt) on seed germination. Mung beans are germinated on paper towels in takeaway containers using various concentrations of salt water. The activity captivates student interest and results are clearly visible within three days. Use it as part of a unit on plants or Australia's salinity crisis.

Lesson 13 - Food, Exercise & Energy (40 to 90 min) - Students use nutrition information to calculate the number of teaspoons of fat and sugar in their favorite food and drinks. Using tables provided, they convert the energy content into an equivalent amount of exercise. For example, 600ml lemonade = 18 tsps sugar, 1220 kilojoules, approx. 45 min running! They compare these results to their daily energy requirements.

Lesson 14 - Will it float? (40 to 90 min) - Will it float is a surprisingly contagious and fun educational game you can play everyday. Students attempt to stump the class with mystery items from home. From the bizarre to the mundane, each item will captivate students’ interest. In the process, they use critical thinking and learn the difference between a prediction and a guess.

Lesson 15 - Cool Color (5 to 10 min) - Students predict how food dyes from four chocolate buttons will mix in water. The surprising result demonstrates the role of prior knowledge in making predictions and fosters positive attitudes to unexpected outcomes. This lesson is also perfect for learning to work cooperatively in small groups or as a rainy days lesson!

Lesson 16 - DIY pH Indicator (60 to 80 min) - The natural pH indicator present in red cabbage leaves are extracted in a whole class demonstration. This indicator solution changes color from bright pink to vibrant blue when mixed with acids or bases.

Lesson 17 - DIY Lava Lamp (45 to 70 min) - Students make a simple yet spectacular lava lamp using colored water, vegetable oil and a soluble aspirin tablet. This activity is a big hit with kids and adults alike and will impress at dinner parties, barbecues and staff meetings too!

Lesson 18 - Rotocopters (45 to 70 min) - Students use balloons, plastic cups and sticky tape to construct their own Rotocopters. This lesson can be part of a unit on flight or used as a great motivating activity to foster positive attitudes.

Lesson 19 - Flipping coins (60 - 80 min) – Flipping a coin one hundred times might sound mundane but it always produces truly astonishing results. You’ll astonish your class by correctly identifying who really flipped a coin one hundred times at home, and who faked their results.