needing 1st grade science experiment suggestions (animal kingdom)

[falwyn]

We'll be starting our first real year of homeschool in a week or so! I'm excited and slightly anxious, all at once. :)

I can't seem to find the Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia (Amazon wants $30-60 for used copies, um, no; I may look at the used bookstore once more if I can get into the city before then), and have the DK First Animal Encyclopedia instead, as well as a couple of "older" animal encyclopedias and Zoobooks, library, etc to supplement.

My concern is for the experiments - I can see from the KF First Body book the type of the thing that is talked about in WTM, but the DK Animal Ency. doesn't seem to have anything like that. (I'm not super hot on its organization either, but ah well.) Any suggestions for resources for the animal experiments? The simpler the better, for me :), but I don't want to skip them entirely.

Thanks everyone.

[Pata]

Just to let you know that the first encyclopedia of animals has the same information, just arranged differently, it's a little less on Amazon. I"m curious why they are so much used since several months ago I bought my copy for $3, but I digress.

As for experiments, Janice VanCleave has a wonderful series of science experiment books. I used her Animals and Science Around the World for my animal plans. Both are easily found at the library. She also has one for the human body and plants. Hope that helps!

[kls126s]

Check out the books by Janice VanCleave. Your library will probably have them. That's where I got mine. I think I got the most animal related experiments from her book on Biomes.

(I tried to put links to Amazon so you can see the books but for some reason it won't let me... :confused:)

You are welcome to look at my science plans for first grade. Click on Agnus Dei in my sig and scroll down to science plans.

[Mommy22alyns]

Wow, that stinks about the Kingfisher encyclopedia - maybe they're reprinting it. I just bought the paperback version in March from Amazon and now it's showing not available. :confused:

I use Living Learning Life Science as a "frame" for my science - it gives some coloring sheets and really simple activities but still uses the encyclopedias as spines. You can look at it here: http://livinglearningbooks.com/cart.php?target=category&category_id=304

[Trivium Academy]

It's very simple.

You make the different biomes, using poster board. As you study the animals, photocopy (or use whatever you can) to put the animal on the different biome posters according to where they live. We photocopied the animals right out of Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia, you could do the same with whatever resource you're using. To add geography to this, on each biome poster, list the deserts of the world, rainforests, list a few deciduous forests in the U.S., polar regions (Arctic and Antarctica), etc.

*Another point- on the Rainforest biome, make sure to list the different levels Understory, Forest Floor, Canopy and Emergent Layer

Classification
Make a poster for Animals with Backbones and another for Animals Without Backbones, at the end of the study you'll be able to talk about what animals you studied were vertebrates or invertebrates.

What do I eat?
Make another poster for Herbivores, Omnivores and Carnivores. List the animals that you've chosen to study. We didn't put any graphics on this and I had my dd define herbivores, omnivores and carnivores before she decided which one that week's animal was.

Food Chains and LA integration
After the biomes are done and all the animals are placed, you could talk about food chains. Which animals eat which ones? (Check your What do I eat? poster) From each biome poster, you could have your child create a story about the animals, give them names, etc.

Don't forget to look at Thornton Burgess' books, Jean Craighead George's A Day in the ______ (Prairie, etc.) and Among the Pond (Forest, Night) People by Clara Dillingham (at www.yesterdaysclassics.com (http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/catalog/displaycatalog.php?catalog=nature)) for engaging yet educational stories.

[lovemyboys]

We'll be starting our first real year of homeschool in a week or so! I'm excited and slightly anxious, all at once. :)

My concern is for the experiments

First off, congratulations, hope you have a great year.

Next, I just listened to SWB's talk about science.

As she outlines the first year with animal study, you want to keep it simple, expose your child to science, exploring and observing at this age. You take the spine book, like Kingfisher or Usborne, and go through with dc to choose about 20 animals to study. Boys here, so we had lots of reptiles and predators. ;)

Next you read through your spine page about the animal to learn its habitat, characteristics, etc. Look at other resources about your animal, look on the internet. Maybe you have a storybook or two that features a fox. Have dc write a sentence or two about the animal (her example was a fox, in 1st grade, dc might write "A fox is a mammal."). With older dc you might have them write a paragraph or two. Maybe dc draws a picture of a fox.

That's your week about foxes. Next week on to the next animal. If dc wants to learn about all the dolphins and whales, take two weeks for that. Her point, as I heard it, was to expose the child to science without expecting alot of deduction and experimentation at the early stages. Another point she made was that dc at this age are capable of learning lots of great science vocabulary words (like the 4 year old who can tell you all the many-syllable names of dinosaurs).

We have several encyclopedia type books on the natural world, animal kingdom, etc. that were in the $10 range at B&N or one of the costco type stores. I also like the Kalman book on animal classification which helps to group things (short and easy to use). ETA: Most of the storybooks and nonfiction books we found at the library, just visit a week ahead or search the library catalag online to place holds for a few books.

If you want some hands-on, you might look for a few of those kits that have you dissect an owl pellet, grow an ant farm, raise butterflies in the spring...things like that. Otherwise I'm not sure what experiments you have in mind, if I remember, the Kingfisher book featured activities that were more like crafts than experiments. The next few years with chemistry and physics lend themselves more easily to experiments, I think.

Another idea would be to do some lapbook style books featuring a couple of her favorites. ETA: Mine preferred little nature journals at this age, small book to draw or write names in if we took walks or field trips.

hth:001_smile:

[sagira]

Check Rainbow Resource. That's where I got my copy of Kingfisher's First Animal Encyclopedia. If all else fails, I'll sell you mine and use dh's adult animal encyclopedia, let me know ;)

[nestof3]

http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Pets-Activities-Exploring-Wildlife/dp/0471416932/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219260189&sr=8-1

I have this book and love it for its experiments. Perhaps your library has it -- mine does.

[sagira]

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?S=R&qisbn=9780753454985&qsort=p&siteID=iXJLaS8dYMs-tpbzyDx76PVuzjzxkAWHrw

I love this series, also done by Kingfisher. Each section has an experiment tied to it. Simple, colorful, well-explained. I own the Maps and Mapping, Weather and Climate, Flowers, Trees and Fruits, The Human Body and Butterflies, Bugs and Worms. They are great little books.

This could be what you're looking for.

BTW, Rainbow Resource doesn't have the KF Animal Encyclopedia anymore either.

[falwyn]

Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! I must check out the library (we just moved, so I haven't been there yet). :blush5:

[Michele B]

We just did a simple and fairly messy experiment with Crisco! Put two plastic (like doctors wear) gloves on one hand and layer 1 glove, 2inches of Crisco, and another glove on the other hand. Stick both hands in ice water and write down your observations. The Crisco represents the blubber on some animals - whales, walruses etc.

We had fun. Pictures on my blog.

Good Luck,

Michele

[Karen in CO]

I did a 10 week class on animals with high energy kids . Here are some of the highlights.

We started with owl pellets - and tried to identify what animal had been eaten - most of the kits come with an identification sheet.
This got us discussing food chains and such.

When we did fish, we looked at a goldfish. Here are the things we pointed out:

What is the fish doing? Be specific. – List these on the board.
What is the difference in the coloring on the top and bottom of the fish? (counter shadowing) What do you thing this is for?
What is the fish doing with his mouth?
Look at the operculum. Is it open or closed when the fish opens his mouth?
Count how many breaths the fish takes in one minute.
Does he have an eyelid?
When he swims, which fins seems to be moving?
Which fins don’t seem to move at all?
Look at the dorsal fin. Why would a goldfish be classified as a ray-finned fish?
Sketch the fish on the notebook paper. Label the fins


You can also get a whole fish from the seafood department and do fish print paintings.

We grew frogs from tadpoles. Only one of ours made it to almost frog stage, but it was fascinating to watch them change.

We did an "Imagine" activity that went like this:

Imagine you are an Amphibian
Say, “We are going to imagine that we are amphibians today. We’re going to do some things to help us see what life is like for amphibians, and to see how different they are from us.”
Say, “The spotted salamander gives off a sticky liquid to defend itself. Rub some honey on the back of your hand, and see what happens when a friend touches your hand.” Distribute honey and let students share their findings.
Say, “Amphibians tongues are connected at the front of their mouths. Stick out your tongue, and see where yours is connected. Observe a friend’s tongue to see where their tongue is connected.” Let students share their observations. Ask, “Why do you think amphibians’ tongues are connected at the front instead of the back?” Let students share ideas.
Say, “Some frogs give off a creamy liquid to keep predators away. Put some lotion on the back of your hand, and see what happens when a friend touches it.” Distribute lotion and let students share their discoveries. The lotion keeps their friend from being able to grab their hand because the hand is slippery; the same is true of the frog. Its predators aren’t able to catch it as easily, since it becomes slippery.
Say, “Some amphibians also shed a layer of skin, just like reptiles. Make a layer of ‘glue skin’ on the back of your hand, and see what it feels like to peel it off.” Let students try this experiment and share what it feels like.
Say, “One kind of toad can squirt poison up to 1 meter away. Would any of you like to pretend to be that toad and see how far you can squirt some water with your mouth?” Lay out some towels to catch the water, and let students try squirting the water to see how far they can send it. See if any of your students can squirt this “poison” over a meter!
Say, “Frogs keep from dehydrating by absorbing water into their skin. Rub some water onto your skin. Does it absorb into your body?” Let students give it a try and share their findings.
Say, “Tree frogs have sticky pads on their feet. Put double sided tape on your finger tips. See what kinds of things stick to your fingers. Why do you think tree frogs need sticky pads?” (So they can stick to the trees and climb easily.)
Say, “Some frogs flatten themselves to keep cool. They tuck their legs and feet under their bodies and flatten their bodies. This reduces the surface area of their bodies that can absorb heat from the sun. How small and flat can you make your body?” Let students try.


When we studied birds, I got a cow thigh bone cut in half from the butcher and a chicken thigh bone and cleaned and baked them. Then let the kids compare them. Bird bones are lighter and more hollow than mammal bones. Its why cows can't fly (among other reasons). Also a hummingbird egg is the size of a navy bean. It is good to compare.


Those are the types of things we added to our animal study besides frequent zoo trips and lots of wonderful books.