Pushes and Pulls
Children in Ms. Noonan’s and Ms. Brennan’s Classes went to the playground to identify different forces. They explored through informal activity with toys, forces such as pushing and pulling. Then, they extended their learning and explored how the force applied on an object affects how the object is changed or moved. Each child pushed a ball on the grass 3 times. Each time they started from the same position to make it a fair test. The first time they pushed the ball gently and observed how far the ball travelled. The second time they pushed the ball with medium force and the third time they pushed the ball with a lot of force. The results showed that the more force that was behind pushing the ball, the greater the distance travelled would be.
Here’s our playground pushes and pulls video https://youtube.com/shorts/oXVa45o1SDY?feature=share
Watch our investigation by clicking on this link. https://youtube.com/shorts/WnavaMy-eSs?feature=share
Magnetic or Non Magnetic Materials
Children in Junior and Senior Infants investigated magnetic and non-magnetic materials in class. Before they were given magnets, they predicted whether or not each items would be magnetic or non-magnetic. They learned that materials are magnetic if they are pulled to the magnet and stick and that they are non-magnetic if they do not stick. Then, they tested out a list of items and recorded their results.
Polar Opposite Magnet Investigation
Children in Ms. Brennan’s Class explored bar magnets. They learned how bar magnets have a North and a South pole. They investigated how magnets can push or pull magnetic materials. They tested out how bar magnets react to each other in different positions. They learned how like poles attract (pull together) and unlike pole repel (push away from one another). They then extended this learning to see how they could make boats that they had designed move without touching them. They attached one bar magnet to their boat and another to a wooden ruler. They were able to show how the magnetic repulsion was pushing the boat away from the magnet on the ruler causing it to move.
Galileo Gravity Investigation
Ms. Russell’s class investigated