Air + Water = Science!

TODAY'S ACTIVITY
Usha prepared a remarkably simple experiment about air pressure and vacuum. The focus was as much about devloping keen skills of observation as much as the science content. In doing so, she enables the children to repeat the experiment as many times as they wish in their water/sensory play. It went in two parts:

1) Submerge the empty cup upside down to the bottom of the bowl and tilt slowly. The students were enthralled with the roiling eruption of air. The air in the cup displaces the water, forcing the level to rise.

2) Fill the cup completely by turning it sideways at the bottom. Invert the cup an lift. The cup was remarkably heavy, lifting the water with it until the rim cleared the surface, releasing the vacuum with an enormous splash.

TODAY'S STORY
My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett. This is our first (and my favorite) chapter book. It is chock full of adventure, danger and humor tempered by an empathetic lead character. The challenge of chapter books is that they have far fewer illustrations and far more words than the picture books to which we are accustomed. This book is being presented chapter by chapter, entirely on a voluntary basis rather than a formal storytime. This pre-reading exercise helps to develop the schema (set of ideas and concepts) to aid in verbal comprehension when we formally tackle this tome.