Coweta County School System's focus is on the well being of our students, their families, and our employees. The resources I'm sharing below are not designed to maintain student progress or prepare for a test. They are designed to help parents engage their children in learning activities when possible. Where possible, I have aligned them to our curriculum maps. The statement below is directly from our superintendent's office. You can see the full document here. Please keep it in mind as you share these or any activities with your students.

How are we handling continuity of learning?

Schools are communicating with students and families regarding optional learning activities digital learning as well as learning activities using other formats in some situations. Students and parents should understand that teachers and school officials know that this health crisis is affecting students and families in different ways. We understand that some of our students are caring for family members or taking on additional responsibilities during this situation. We also understand that in some cases internet access is limited and that each home environment is unique. Therefore our digital learning efforts are being provided to assist with learning during this cancellation, but they will not be used in a punitive manner and will not hurt student’s final grade determinations. This health crisis has many unknown variables, and is stressful to varying degrees in homes. As a school system we want to provide support for families during this time, rather than add to their stress.

Bringing Science Home is a fun series of easy activities that you can do with your children with household materials. Aimed at ages 6-12, I think all of our students will enjoy these. Most take less than 30 minutes!

Free Virtual Museum Tours

Smithsonian Virtual Tours

30 Plus Field Trips: Mars, Critter Cams, and More!

Draw a picture of the sky from your yard or from your window. Include objects that you see in the sky as well as objects to serve as reference points like trees and buildings.

At the same time on another day, draw another picture from the same viewpoint. Do you notice any changes? Is the sun or moon in the same spot? Why do you think this happened?

You can repeat this activity with both the day and night sky. It works best if you aim for roughly the same time each day.

Collect some rocks from your yard. Examine the rocks closely with a magnifying glass if you have one or make one from a plastic bottle.

Sort the rocks by their characteristics (color, shape, hardness). Draw the rocks and list their characteristics.

How are they similar? How are they different? Do you think rocks from your yard are the same as rocks from your neighbor's yard? How about from your school?

Fill up a plastic tub, your sink, or bathtub with water. Gather some small objects from around the house. Make a list of the objects and predict whether they will sink or float. Then place the objects in the water and record what happens. Was your prediction correct? Why do you think some sank and some floated?

Side note: Try comparing a can of diet soda versus regular soda! The difference is related to the amount of sugar in each one. Artificial sweeteners weigh less than sugar.

Take some seeds from a fresh fruit or vegetable like a tomato, cantaloupe, cucumber, bell pepper (dried beans won't work). Put a wet paper towel or some potting soil in 3 plastic bags with a little bit of water. Put 1 bag in a cabinet. Put 1 bag on a counter or table. Put 1 bag next to a window. Predict which seeds will sprout first. Keep a journal of each bag of seeds over a week or so. Measure their growth with a ruler. Which ones sprouted? Which ones grew the tallest? Why do you think they sprouted the way that they did?

Make a rain gauge using these instructions. Keep a journal of the amount of rain you get each day. Record the date and time of your observations. Compare your observations to those of the National Weather Service for your zip code. How are your observations similar or different to those of the NWS?

Check out this video of a lesson your 2nd graders can do to explore how forces make things move. Can you push a pig into his pen?

Watch this video of Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed. Discuss how the seed traveled from place to place. Now design your own seed dispersal technique using one of these ideas:

Exploding Seed Pod - This one is messy!

Design a wind dispersed seed

Helicopter Seeds

Students can explore animal adaptions and their habitats with this online game. They can learn as they play. Be sure to click "Enable Adobe Flash" when prompted. There are games for senses, movement, food, and appearance adaptations as well as habitat. Students can write a letter to you telling you what they learned by playing the game.

Play NOAA's Trash Smash. Help a friend otter clean up his habitat by sorting trash that's floating down the river. Be sure to click "Enable Adobe Flash" when prompted to play the game. Students can tell you how to sort trash into the right categories for recycling or disposal.

Watch this video to get inspired to build your own Rube Goldberg machine! See how many steps you can create to do something simple like flip a light switch or close a door. Use your chromebook or other device to record your machine in action and share it with your teacher! Find more inspiration and awesome videos at the OK Go Sandbox website.

Try out this interactive game from the BBC. You can find other habitats to challenge yourself by clicking here. Draw a picture illustrating your favorite food chain. Be sure to include labels for each of the plants & animals in your chain explaining its role in the food chain. Make a similar drawing of the food chains you see in your own backyard.

Let the BBC guide you through an introduction to cells. You can also see the difference between an animal and a plant cell. Draw a picture of an animal cell and a plant cell. Be sure to label your drawings!

You can also explore a cell with Cell Explorers from Legends of Learning!

Students can walk through this introductory lesson on inherited traits and learned behaviors. It also includes a Quizlet vocabulary review game. Have students draw (or use Google Draw or this Venn Diagram maker) to create their own Venn Diagram comparing traits and behaviors. They can share their diagrams with you.

Please contact Dr. Donald White with any questions or comments.

Email: donald.white@cowetaschools.net
Website: bit.ly/CCSSScience
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA 30263
Phone: 770-254-2800
Twitter: @dwhitesciguy