[nobe-l] Teaching Elementary School Students

[Kaden Colton]

Hello,

I have been invited to teach a kindergarden and 5th grade class about
meteorology.  I am not exactly sure how to teach these two age groups.  I
have to give 10 to 15 minute demonstration in each class.  Could I get some
help with how to make some of the activities accessible or suggestions on
what I can do?  I am wanting to make the presentations interactive.

For the kindergardeners, I am planning  on demonstrate a tornado in a
bottle and drawing the water cycle.  The tornado in a bottle involves 2
two-liter sized bottles tapped together at the neck  One of the bottles is
filled about a third of the way up with slightly colored water and maybe
some beads.  When to bottles are flipped and then swirled, a little twister
can be seen spinning in the top bottle.  The water cycle drawing idea is to
have the kindergardeners draw clouds, rain drops and a body of water, like
a lake or the ocean.  Then, having the kids collaborate to figure out how
the water cycle works, like where water comes from, how it is transported
and then rains.

In the fifth grade class, I am looking at either crushing a can and the
tornado dance.  The crushing can experiment uses a small heating plate,
empty soda can, a small tub of ice water and tongs.  The can is heated up
for a few minutes, then put into the ice water bath.  Generally, this
crushes the soda can.   A tornado dance includes standing up and imitating
the motions of how cloud circulation can cause a tornado to form.


Cheers,
Kaden