RMIT University TCHE 2560: Science Activities for Young Children

This assignment presents a series of hands-on science activities designed for early childhood education, aligning with the RMIT University TCHE 2560 course. The activities cover various scientific concepts, including weather, recycling, numbers, gravity, and rainbows, integrating play-based learning and practical experiments. The document details the recognition of children's prior knowledge, the implementation of activities, links to Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) outcomes, and reflections on children's participation and learning. The activities include making rain gauges, recycling bins, number recognition games, gravity demonstrations, rainbow science experiments, and catapult building. The assignment emphasizes the importance of engaging children with science and natural phenomena, fostering teamwork, and developing fine motor and cognitive skills. The document also includes an integrated planner for the activities and discusses the critical reflection framework.

2018 RMIT University
Date: ___________
RECOGNISE:
Children's prior knowledge,
learning and interests
RESPOND:
Experience(s) planned and
implemented
Link to EYLF outcomes
REFLECT:
Significant changes? How did the children participate and learn?
Following on?
Teaching the weather conditions
1. Children have prior knowledge
about the different methods of
precipitation and the geological
instruments generally used to
measure rain.
2. Recycling the substances
Children have prior knowledge about the 3’R’s of
the environment- Reduce, reuse and recycle.
Children have knowledge about those things that
can be recycled in an environment like papers,
cloth and the also have knowledge about what
that cannot be reused such as plastics.
3. Playing with the numbers
Children had prior knowledge of numbers
concept of colours. Student can count the
numbers from 0-50.
4. Concept of forces of nature-
gravity
Children had prior concepts that each and
everything fall on the earth, concept of non-
contact forces.
1. Teach weather conditions :
Children will make a rain gauge observation
chart and start tracking the volume of rain. A
large mouth jar can be kept fixated at a
place in the backyard then waited for the
rain or the snow. The amount of rain can be
measured by placing a ruler along the side
of the jar and then recorded in the
centimetre to know how much precipitation
is present.
2. This activity is to teach the essence of
recycling.
Children will be asked to make three
bins out of cardboard boxes, and then
they were asked to colour them as blue,
Red and yellow. They have to keep
these three coloured bins in the
classroom and used as dustbins. After a
weak all the students are made to follow
the three bins and look out and analyse
of type of wastes present in those three
bins.
3. The classroom was grouped into two
groups. Different coloured cards were
being the used for the identification of
the numbers. Numbers from 0-20 was
marked on each of the cards. All the
cards were spread on the table. Each of
the child was told a number and they
were supposed to draw out the card
containing the numbers and would write
it on the blackboard by using a coloured
chalk.
4. The entire class population was
grouped in to four groups .Children
were taken in to the balcony under the
surveillance of an educator where few
objects were made to the fall from the
balcony to the ground. The following
has been used for the demonstration—a
papers, a piece of cloth, a coin, a piece
1. Engaging with the early science and
natural phenomena, such as the
formation of clouds, rain.
Measuring the volume of water by a
measuring cylinder. Socialising with
other children due and effective
teamwork (LO-5).
2. Engagement with the basic
environment, with knowledge of
cleanliness. Having the basic
knowledge of waste management.
Experience using scissors to cut the
boards (LO- 5). Development of fine
motor skills while doing the fine
works like holding the scissors and
cutting the papers.
3. Cognitive development of the child,
sorting of the numbers, identification
of the colours, enhancing the
numeracy knowledge (LO-4).
4. Exploring the science knowledge,
experiencing the science skills.
Engaging with the core concepts of
science (LO- 5).
1. The activity is the well accepted by the children. The children enthusiastically
prepares the chart and make table all on their own. They would further dig on the
ground to insert the glass jar in to the ground.
2. Popular activity. Students had been very excited to make the three bins and
colouring them, but were reluctant to look at dustbins at the end of week, although
the bin was filled classroom wasted only.
3. Popular activity, but children loses interest, as the activity is finished quite quickly.
Difficult to manage the other children as each children participates in the activity. A
play-based activity might have been more successful.
4. Arouses interest in the child, but it difficult to take children in the balcony and to
supervise each and every. The setting is difficult to be set up in the classroom.
We are thinking of setting up this types of skills in the classroom itself.
Integrated planner Elise Hunkin

2018 RMIT University
RECOGNISE:
Children's prior knowledge,
learning and interests
RESPOND:
Experience(s) planned and
implemented
Link to EYLF outcomes
REFLECT:
Significant changes? How did the children participate and learn?
Following on?
5. Play based activity for teaching
natural phenomena
Children would have prior
knowledge about the formation of
the rainbows, knowledge about the
sequence of the colours present
along with their names.
6. Science and engineering
Children had been playing with catapult as a
part of the outdoor play.
of wood. Time taken by each of the
objects is recorded by using the stop
watch. Children were explained about
the concepts of gravity and why the
time taken by the subjects to reach the
ground is different.
5. Rainbow science experiments
Several coloured candies are used for
conducting this rainbow science experiment.
The candies are arranged in a classic circle.
Each of the colours are arranged in such a
way, that they take VIBGYOR pattern.
Some warm water has been taken from the
tap and added to the plate. The children are
told to observe patiently, til the colours
spread across the plate.
6. Popsicle stick catapult
Initially children will be taught about the
working principle of a catapult. An audio-
visual demonstration can be shown to the
child explaining about the making of a
catapult.
Ice- cream sticks are tied one in to the other
using a rubber band and a spoon is used for
making the catapult arm. Children used
popsicles instead of paper balls for the
throwing.
5. Children can develop fine motor
skills while sorting out the different
colours of the candy. Children will
work on the patterns by starting on
a single sequence of colours,
exploring chemical science and
chemical reactions. Children might
practice counting as of how many
candies can fit on the plate. The
pre-schoolers can be asked about
the shape of the candy (LO-4).
6. Increases the fine motor skills and
the cognitive skill of the children,
increasing the problem solving skill
and inquisitiveness in children,
exploring engineering,
understanding the cause and effect
(LO- 4).
5. Interesting activity and attracted all the students. However, things went messy,
when a child bumped the plate on the table and all the colours got mixed.
Following on, provide extra candies to those children who were successful in
creating their own rainbow candy without messing the colour.
6. A popular activity, draws attention of each children. The entire activity is time
consuming, but the students got a glimpse of the mechanics involved in the
construction of a catapult such as tension, torsions and gravity.
Following on – A spare cloth was provided to the students for the cleaning as the popsicles
were melting. Next time such experiments can be done by using the paper balls and the
entire straws.
Using the planner
 Do not include information that identifies individuals- initials okay
 Be succinct… but provide enough detail that the reader can understand what was set up/implemented and why
 ‘Recognise’ should link to observations taken- the ‘notice’ phase of the planning cycle
Integrated planner Elise Hunkin