Science Lesson: How to make Slime

Time Required:  45 – 60 mins for process, pus you can allow time for research and findings.

Age groups:  Prep to year 9.. Obviously you will need some more time and assistance with the younger and possibly older kids.

Learning Intentions:  To understand what a Polymer is and how chemical reactions can change the state of certain ingredients.

 Click here to download this entire lesson plan and resources as a PDF.

Intro: We are going to make slime, any ideas how we can do it? What ingredients do you think we’ll need?

Show video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emlW5Jh-AHc&feature=relmfu  

Go through step by step instructions of how to make the slime (Paper based instructions included below - Make sure Logistics are good)

ü  Students then create the slime and put it in a bag to take home and show.

Answer the following questions once slime is made.

1.      What happened to the slime when you added the borax powder?

2.      How could we make the slime better, what variations could be offer?

Science Elements:

Now for the SCIENCE part.... This POLYMER is unique because it has qualities of both a solid and a liquid. It can take the shape of its containers like a liquid does, yet you can hold it in your hand and pick it up like a solid. As you might know, solid molecules are tight together, liquid molecules spread out and break apart (drops) POLYMER molecules CHAIN themselves together (they can stretch and bend like chains) and that makes them special. Jell-O, rubber bands, plastic soda bottles, sneaker soles, even gum are all forms of polymers. The polymer you made should be kept in a sealed plastic bag when you aren't playing with it. Also, be sure to keep it away from young kids or pets who might think it’s food. Have fun!

Recap: What is a polymer? Both a solid and a liquid. Molecules which are tiny little molecules chain together which makes an item hold its shape and then can be altered.

What are some other examples of polymers?

Extension Activity

Who can stretch their slime the longest contest?

Who find and display a practical use for it.

Click here to download this entire lesson plan and resources as a PDF.

Exploring the science of skateboarding

The Bones Brigade - Public Domain

Sometimes it can be difficult to hook certain kids into different areas of education and capture their attention. 

Exploratorium has put together an excellent site that will certainly interest anyone who has picked up a skateboard or watched and wondered how people like Tony Hawk, can do their amazing tricks.

Skateboard Science has some really purposeful links to physics, general science and physical education that both explain how to do some complex tricks on a skateboard and also explain the background to what is actually occurring from a scientific perspective.

Take a look at skateboard science here.

118 VIDEOS TO EXPLAIN THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS

I wish I had of thought of this site as the concept of it is both  incredibly simple and useful.

The University of Nottingham has created ‘The Periodic Table of Videos‘which essentially explains what each element is, where it comes from and what it's properties and applications are.

Science teachers would love it as it offers large amounts of into in a short period of time, and it even has some learning tasks and resources associated with to take your lesson further. Below is the video sample for Hydrogen, my personal favourite.

SIMPLE ANIMATIONS TO EXPLAIN COMPLEX PROCEDURES

Below are a collection of animated GIF files that do a brilliant job at visually explaining how complex mechanical procedures such as how a sewing machine works.  These would be great for science and engineering students or simply those who have an inquisitive mind.  Enjoy.

RADIAL AIRCRAFT ENGINE:

OVAL REGULATION:

SEWING MACHINE:

MALTA CROSS MOVEMENT - SECOND HAND MOVEMENT USED TO CONTROL THE CLOCK:

AUTO CHANGE FILE MECHANISM:

AUTO CONSTANT VELOCITY UNIVERSAL JOINT:

GUN AMMUNITION LOADING SYSTEM:

ROTARY ENGINE - AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, THE HEAT RATHER THAN THE PISTON MOVEMENT INTO ROTARY MOVEMENT:

INLINE ENGINE - IT'S CYLINDERS LINED UP SIDE BY SIDE:

50 PHYSICS LESSON PLANS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Here are a number of great science lessons plans for middle school students.  Enjoy

• Air Bags and Collisions - How Do Airbags Prevent Automobile Injuries?
• Airfoil Experiment 1
• Air Pressure
• Air Pressure - What is Air Pressure and How Can It Be Measured?
• Aircraft Fire Rescue - How Does a Firefighter Put Out an Airplane Fire?
• Altitude Tracking
• Antacid Tablet Race
• Balloon Staging - Rocket Staging
• Balloons - Why Are They Stretchy?
• Battery Life
• Bicycles - How Do a Bike and Its Rider Stay Up?
• Car Engines
• Circus High Wire - How Do Tightrope Walkers Keep Their Balance?
• Colored Shadows - Using Lights to Mix Colors
• Cryogenics - Science - Fact or Science Fiction?
• Demonstrating Dew and Frost
• Domed Stadiums - What Keeps Inflated Stadiums Up?
• The Dry Compass Experiment
• Finger Boomerangs
• Fish Tank Optics
• Flying Tube
• Flying Wing
• Four-Wing Paper Boomerang
• Frisbee Physics - How Does Physics Play a Role in Frisbee Flying?
• Glass Blowing
• Hollywood Stunts
• How a Plane Is Controlled
• How Can I Control the Soccer Ball?
• How Do Clocks Keep Time?
• Human Slingshot Ride - How Does the "Ejector Seat" Ride Work?
• Hypercoaster - How Do You Know a Roller Coaster Is Safe?
• Ice Surfers - How Do They Go So Fast?
• In-Line Skating - Do In-Line Skates Really Go Faster than Roller Skates?
• Inca Engineering - How Did the Incas Build Without Mortar or Wheels?
• Lemon Power
• Liquid Bottle Rocket
• Liquid Nitrogen Fun!
• Locks and Dams - How Do a Lock and Dam make an Unnavigable Part of a Waterway Navigable?
• Luge - How Do Engineering and Technology Play a role in the Olympics?
• Making a Barometer
• Making a Hair Hygrometer
• Making an Air Thermometer
• Making a Straw Woodwind
• Making a Weather Vane
• Making a Wind Anemometer
• Making a Wind Sock
• Making a Wind Vane
• Making Paper Airplane Gliders
• Making a Steam-Powered "Rocket Boat"
• "Maple Seed" Helicopters
• Match Stick Rocket
• McEagle Styrofoam Glider
• Microwave Ovens - What Is the Science Behind Microwave Cooking?
• Mummies - How Are Mummies Able to "Survive" the Tests of Time?
• Musical Tube
• Newton Car
• Paper Rockets
• Peanut Power
• Pencil Rockets
• Ping Pong Ball Curves
• Playing with Polymers
• Propeller Experiment 4
• Propeller Experiment 5
• Riverboats - How Does Steam Power Big Machinery
• Robots
• Rock Climbing - How Can the Human Body Stick to a Sheer Cliff?
• Rocket Car
• Rocket Pinwheel
• Science Safari: Energy Resources
• Scuba Diving
• Sewer Science - Where Does Sewage Go?
• Ski Jumping - How Do Ski Jumpers Go So Far?
• Slinky Physics - How Do Toys Work?
• Soda Pop Can Hero Engine
• Splitting Water - H2O Hydrolysis
• Telecommunications - New Frontiers in Electronic Communications
• Using Bubbles to Learn about Light Interference
• Waterskiing - How Do Water Skis Stay Up?
• The Wet Compass Experiment
• What is Infrared Light and How Does It Work?
• Wooden Helicopter

PHYSICS LESSONS FOR ELEMENTARY / PRIMARY STUDENTS

I came accross this great collection of physical science lessons for elementary students.  The activities are really well planned and easy to follow.  I hope you can use them.

• Battery Life
• Engineering Toothpaste
• Fish Tank Optics
• Gliders
• The Hidden Jewels of Geometry
• Ice Energy & Making Ice Cream
• Making a Shoe-Box Guitar
• Making a Water Lens
• Maple-Seed Helicopters
• Materials That Absorb Solar Energy
• NASA Robots
• Paper Clip Sailing
• Paper Rockets
• Pizza Box Solar Oven
• Positively Paper
• Rocket Pinwheel
• A Solar Heat Experiment
• Sounds Like Science - Bottle Organ
• Sounds Like Science - Drums
• Sounds Like Science - Guitars
• Sounds Like Science - Jamboree
• Sounds Like Science - Kazoos
• Water Energy
• Where’s the Air?

• Air Pressure
• Altitude Tracking
• Antacid Tablet Race
• Balloon Staging - Rocket Staging
• Balloons - Why Are They Stretchy?
• Battery Life
• Bicycles - How Do a Bike and Its Rider Stay Up?
• Car Engines
• Colored Shadows - Using Lights to Mix Colors
• Domed Stadiums - What Keeps Inflated Stadiums Up?
• Engineering Toothpaste
• Finger Boomerangs
• Fish Tank Optics
• Flying Tube
• Flying Wing
• Four-Wing Paper Boomerang
• Glass Blowing
• Gliders
• Guess What?! (a lesson about atoms)
• The Hidden Jewels of Geometry
• Hollywood Stunts
• How Can I Control the Soccer Ball?
• How Do Clocks Keep Time?
• Ice Energy & Making Ice Cream
• In-Line Skating - Do In-Line Skates Really Go Faster than Roller Skates?
• Lemon Power
• Liquid Bottle Rocket
• Liquid Nitrogen Fun!
• Making Paper Airplane Gliders
• Making a Steam-Powered "Rocket Boat"
• Making a Straw Woodwind
• Making a Water Lens
• Maple-Seed Helicopters
• Match Stick Rocket
• Materials That Absorb Solar Energy
• McEagle Styrofoam Glider
• Musical Tube
• NASA Robots
• Newton Car
• Paper Clip Sailing
• Paper Rockets
• Peanut Power
• Pencil Rockets
• Ping Pong Ball Curves
• Pizza Box Solar Oven
• Playing With Polymers
• Positively Paper
• Robots
• Rocket Car
• Rocket Pinwheel
• Science Safari: Energy Resources
• Scuba Diving
• Sewer Science - Where Does Sewage Go?
• Soda Pop Can Hero Engine
• A Solar Heat Experiment
• Sounds Like Science - Bottle Organ
• Sounds Like Science - Drums
• Sounds Like Science - Guitars
• Sounds Like Science - Jamboree
• Sounds Like Science - Kazoos
• Splitting Water - H2O Hydrolysis
• Using Bubbles to Learn about Light Interference
• Water Energy
• Where's the Air?
• Wooden Helicopter

Lesson Ideas around Plankton

Well if you thought I haven't posted enough lesson plans about Plankton on Edgalaxy you are wrong.  Here is a great collection of sceince lessons aimed at students from grade 4 - 12 about the life and times of plankton. Download them here.

Paper Helicopters - Learn about Flight

If you are looking for something fun to spice up your writing sessions that you can do with students of all ages then look no further.  Simply Download this template pack I found on Paper Helicopters from Primary Science and you can choose to fo as little or as  far as you like with the science elements from the planner.

Then get you students to create a procedural text explaining how the paper helicopter works.  If you are looking for somewhere to start with procedural texts then look no further than here.

you kids will find this a fun writing activity and really enjoy the opportunity to do something different.  I hope you enjoy it.