Chemistry: Atoms & Molecules (Block 1)

Och! Chemistry for a seven-year-old? Not an easy find. After spending a ridiculous amount of time searching and thinking, I finally settled on coordinating Louise and Richard Spilsbury's Building Blocks of Matter series with Carson-Dellosa's Hands-On Chemistry Experiments resource books, Bill Nye the Science Guy videos and an assortment of related titles available from our local library for our first two six-week blocks of chemistry. For our third and final block, we studied the period table of elements, which I'll detail in a later post.

   

Carson-Dellosa's Hands-On Chemistry Experiments includes student lab sheets, which Tessa completed in addition to the experiments themselves. Both the experiments and labs sheet may be previewed in full on Carson-Dellosa's Web site.

Completed August - October 2014.


Day 1

• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Atoms DVD by Disney.
• Read What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells.

Day 2

• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "What Are Atoms?" (pages 4-5) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "What Is Inside Atoms?" (pages 6-9) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Conducted Janice VanCleave's 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping, and Bouncing Experiments - "83. Building Blocks" (page 48) by Janice VanCleave.

Using Janice VanCleave's "83. Building Blocks" experiment as a guide, Tessa created a model of a lithium atom with a plastic milk jug cap, pipe cleaners and colored pony beads.

Day 3

• Conducted Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work - "4. Paper Hop" (page 8) by Janice VanCleave. (Can be seen via Amazon's "Look Inside" preview.)
• Conducted Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work - "5. Do Not Touch" (page 10) by Janice VanCleave. (Can be seen via Amazon's "Look Inside" preview.)
• Watched Rock N Learn: Physical Science DVD by Rock 'N Learn. (Lab safety, scientific method, atoms and molecules, states of matter, and physical and chemical changes sections only. Saving the rest for Physics next year.)

Day 4

• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "What Are Molecules?" (pages 10-12) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Conducted Janice VanCleave's 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping, and Bouncing Experiments - "84. Bonded" (page 48) by Janice VanCleave.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Moving Molecules" (page 30) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Using Janice VanCleave's "84. Bonded" experiment as a guide, Tessa constructed a model of the physical structure of a methane molecule with toothpicks and gumdrops.

Day 5

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Water Loves Water" (page 20) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Water Bubble" (page 26) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Watched Physical Science in Action: Atoms & Molecules DVD by Schlessinger Media. (There are several other Physical Science in Action DVDs that would have been great for our study of chemistry this past year, but Atoms & Molecules is the only one out library currently has in its collection.)

Day 6

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Surface Tension" (page 28) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Broken Tension" (page 30) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Craters" (page 32) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 7

• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "How Do We Measure Matter?" (pages 13-15) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Read How Do We Measure Matter? by Lynn Peppas.
• Conducted Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "Sinking Canister Demostration" (page 15) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.

Day 8

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Pack 'Em In" (page 14) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Heavy Weight, Light Weight" (page 16) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 9

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Layers" (page 18) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Drop It" (page 20) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Tessa observed that oil, water and corn syrup have different densities. Before dropping small objects of various weights into the cup, she guessed where each would stay and then recorded the actual results. This was quite entertaining.

Day 10

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Floating Sphere" (page 22) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Rainbow Streamers" (page 24) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Is it magic? No, it's density!

Day 11

• Read What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.
• Read Joe-Joe the Wizard Brews Up Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Eric Braun.
• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Phases of Matter DVD by Disney.

Day 12

• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "What Are Solds, Liquids & Gases?" (pages 16-21) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Read Splat!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments with States of Matter - "Matter All Around" (pages 4-5) and "Properties of the States of Matter" (pages 6-15) by Suzanne Slade.

Day 13

• Read What Is a Gas? by Lynn Peppas.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Air Everywhere" (page 10) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Bubble, Bubble" (page 12) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 14

• Read What Is a Solid? by Lynn Peppas.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "No More Room" (page 6) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Its Own Space" (page 8) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 15

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Iceberg" (page 10) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Is There Air in There?" (page 14) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 16

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "In-the-Cracks" (page 12) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Tessa created a model with marbles and rice to demonstrate how salt can be poured into a seemingly full glass of water without flowing over. The grains of rice fill in the spaces between the marbles just as the grains of salt move around in water and take up the empty pockets of space that are between the water molecules, which is what initially keeps the glass from overflowing.

Day 17

• Read What Is a Liquid? by Lynn Peppas.
• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Fluids DVD by Disney.

Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Let It Flow" (page 18) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing fits well here, but we did not conduct it due to its simplicity. Tessa had completed similar activities in the past.

Day 18

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Soak It Up" (page 22) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Wiggle Worms" (page 24) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 19

• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Slime Time" (page 56) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "More Slime Time" (page 58) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 20

• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "When Does Matter Change State?" (pages 22-29) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Bend It, Change It" (page 44) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 21

• Read Splat!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments with States of Matter - "Changing States of Matter" (pages 16-23) by Suzanne Slade.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Shake It Up" (page 48) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "The Weight of Water" (page 50) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.
• Read Building Blocks of Matter: Atoms and Molecules - "Shrinking Ice Experiment" (page 25) by Louise and Richard Spilsbury.

Day 22

• Scheduled, but did not conduct Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Solid to Gas" (page 54) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing. (I really wanted to conduct this experiment, but I could not find any place locally that sells dry ice.)
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "What's That Smell" (page 56) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades K-2 "Popsicle Puddles" (page 52) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing fits well here, but we did not conduct it due to its simplicity. Tessa had completed similar activities in the past.

Day 23

• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Heat DVD by Disney.

Day 24

• Scheduled, but did not conduct Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Melt Down" (page 58) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing. (The weather was just too cold and cloudy.)
• Conducted Hands-On Chemistry Experiments, Grades 3-5 "Water Out of Thin Air" (page 64) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing.

Day 25

• Read Splat!: Wile E. Coyote Experiments with States of Matter - "A Sticky Situation" (pages 24-29) by Suzanne Slade.

Tessa Makes "Big" Hair Donation to Wigs for Kids

It was high time for a hair cut! After mentioning to Tessa about a month ago that I thought her hair might be long enough for her to donate to a child in need, she decided this was something she definitely wanted to do. Committed to providing long enough pieces of her hair to help make a "girl wig," she donated five ponytails 13-14 inches in length each to Wigs for Kids. Wigs for Kids is partnered with Girl Scouts to help bring awareness to the great need for hair donations. Participants have the opportunity to "learn more about illnesses that cause hair loss" and can help "make a difference in the lives of other children." Any Girl Scout may also receive a custom patch to commemorate her hair donation.

Tessa donated five ponytails 13-14 inches in length each to Wigs for Kids. It can take 20-30 ponytails to make one wig.

Tessa wanted to donate enough of her hair to help make a girl-length wig.

Wigs for Kids custom Girl Scout patch