Sid the Science Kid TM & © 2015 the Jim Henson Company

Summer Adventure!

Sid’s Outdoor Adventure

This out-of-school resource was developed by Maryland Public Television.

The contents of this activity were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]. © 2015 Public Broadcasting Service. • Sid the Science Kid TM & © 2015 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved. Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Introduction Get ready to explore the great outdoors! In this unit, children learn about animals, plants, weather, shadows, and rocks using math concepts such as measurement (length and temperature) and sorting strategies. First, children will measure different animals using a variety of household objects, and then move on to measuring temperature and exploring weather. As children head outdoors for a “leaf hunt” activity, they will investigate size and growth by comparing plants. They will also learn about shadows by using shapes to make shadow puppets. In the closing activity, children will investigate rocks by going on a nature walk and collecting, organizing, and sorting their own rock collections. As they explore, children will record their investigations in their science journals.

Math Overview This unit focuses on measurement skills involving length and temperature as well as sorting skills for children ages 4-5. Refer to the More About Math to learn additional information about these math topics as they relate to the Sid’s Outdoor Adventure learning activities.

Before You Begin

• Create a free account on PBS LearningMedia to access videos for this Summer Adventure. http://www.pbslearningmedia.org

• Print and cut out one set of the following handouts: Summer Adventure! Summer Adventure! Summer Adventure! • Plant Cards • Shape Cut-Outs (one set of shapes for each child on heavy paper or cardstock) • Rock Collection

• Print and staple a copy of My Science Journal for each child.

Sid’s Outdoor Adventure • Prepare the following materials: Measuring Length and Temperature, Sorting My Science Journal • Measure and cut a 70-foot piece of string or yarn. • Cut small pieces of fruit to freeze in ice cube trays. Make enough so that each child can have Name his or her own fruity ice cube.

This out-of-school resource was developed by Maryland Public Television. The contents of this activity were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]. © 2015 Public Broadcasting Service. • Sid the Science Kid TM & © 2015 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved. • Part 3: Sizing Up Plants • Cue the following video for easy access before you start the learning activities. Sid the Science Kid: My Shrinking Shoes (4:07)

• Create space indoors for the Leaf Walk activity if you do not have access to an outdoor space for the children. Place leaves/plants around the room or use the Plant Cards as an alternative. 2 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5 Handy Resource Guide Get Ready! Your summer adventure includes videos, online games and mobile apps, hands-on activities and books. Use this resource chart to plan ahead.

WATCH PBS KIDS Videos Part 1: Measuring Animals PLAY Sid the Science Kid: The Whale Episode (3:26) Online Games & Mobile Downloads Sid the Science Kid: Rug Time Measurement (1:42) Part 1: Measuring Animals Sid the Science Kid: Super Fab Lab - Exploring Measurement (5:09) Dinosaur Train: How Big Are You? Between the Lions: If You Were a Blue Whale (1:05) Part 2: Investigating Temperature Part 2: Investigating Temperature Sid the Science Kid: Weather Surprise Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 1 (3:13) Sid the Science Kid: Gerald’s Weather Wheel Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 2 (1:57) Sid the Science Kid: Snowflake Match Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Live Action (1:33) Part 3: Sizing Up Plants Part 3: Sizing Up Plants Sid the Science Kid: Vegetable Planting Sid the Science Kid: My Shrinking Shoes (4:07) Peg + Cat: Scrub-A-Dub Sid the Science Kid: Growing Plants (1:49) Between the Lions: My Favorite Word: Miniscule (:31) Part 4: Making Shape Shadows Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Show The Cat in the Hat: The Great Shape Race Part 4: Making Shape Shadows Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile! Part 1 (4:01) Part 5: Balancing Weight Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!—Part 3 (3:47) Sid the Science Kid: Sorting Box Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!—Part 4 (3:38) Sid the Science Kid: Collection Jar

Part 5: Sorting Rocks Peep and the Big Wide World: Collecting and Sorting (1:28) Dinosaur Train: Discovering Minerals (1:52)

(continued) 3 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5 Handy Resource Guide (continued)

EXPLORE Hands-on Activities Part 1: Measuring Animals READ • Sid the Science Kid: Let’s Measure • Between the Lions: Big and Little Books • My Science Journal Part 1: Actual Size by Steve Jenkins • Rulers (one for each child) Part 2: All about Temperature by Alison Auch • A 70-foot length of string or yarn previously measured and cut to size (preferably blue, but any color will do) Part 4: Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban • Stuffed animals (or pictures of animals) of assorted sizes Part 5: Let’s Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans • Pennies, crayons, paperclips, or other small items that can be used to measure

Part 2: Investigating Temperature • Sid the Science Kid: Frozen Fruit • Previously frozen ice cubes in trays, with cut-up fruit frozen into each cube (one for each child) • Digital Thermometer • A pitcher of warm or hot water • Small plastic bowls (one for each child)

Part 3: Sizing Up Plants • Leaf Hunt (based on Family Feet) • Plant Cards (one set for each child)

Part 4: Making Shape Shadows • Shape Cut-Out (one set for each child) • Straws • Tape • Markers or crayons • Lamp, flashlight, or other light source for making shadows • Peg + Cat: Stick Puppets • Chalk

Part 5: Sorting Rocks • Home Collections • Plastic baggies (one for each child); or • Rock Collection (one for each child)

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 1: Measuring Animals (1 hour, 15 minutes)

WATCH Sid the Science Kid: The Whale Episode (3:26)

Sid the Science Kid: Rug Time Measurement (1:42)

Sid the Science Kid: Super Fab Lab -Exploring Measurement (5:09)

Sid wonders if he can use a ruler to measure a whale. With the help of his family, his teacher, and his friends, he learns about standard and non-standard measurement.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Leader: Welcome to the Sid the Science Kid Summer Adventure! This week, we will explore the great outdoors with our friends Sid, Gabriela, May, and Gerald. We’re going to learn about animals, plants, weather, shadows, and rocks. Each time we meet, we’ll start with a question from Sid or his friends, and then investigate to find out more. Sid’s first question has to do with rulers, whales, and measuring.

Hand out rulers to the children, and give them some time to look at and observe them. Invite children to discuss and share what they notice about their rulers. Ask, • What do you see on the edges of the ruler? (Lines and numbers) • Are the spaces between the lines the same on both edges? (If the ruler has centimeters on one side and inches on the other, the inch side will have larger spaces) • What are rulers used for? (Measuring)

Now watch the first video clip Sid the Science Kid: The Whale Episode (3:26) with the children. Pause the video at 1:57, on the image of the ruler over the cereal bowl. Ask the children, What did Sid’s dad mean when he said, “Your cereal bowl is five inches across?” How does he know the cereal bowl is five inches across?

Pause to allow children to answer, and confirm or correct their ideas.

Leader: There are spaces on the ruler between each number. Each of these spaces is an inch. The length across Sid’s bowl is five spaces, or five inches.

Count the spaces together and confirm that the cereal bowl really is five inches across. Then press play and continue watching the video with the children.

After the clip ends, collect the rulers and reiterate Sid’s question: Can he use a ruler to measure a blue whale? Invite the children to share their ideas, but don’t offer an answer yet. Encourage children to use the rulers to measure the length of classroom items such as paper, pencils, a table or the seat of a chair.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 1: (continued)

WATCH Now, watch the following Sid the Science Kid video segments with the children: Rug Time: Measurement (1:42) Super Fab Lab: Exploring Measurement (5:09)

As children watch Super Fab Lab: Exploring Measurement be sure to note the rules children should follow when measuring an object. Pause the video at 1:50 to record the first rule: (1.) You can only measure with one type of object at a time. (For non-readers, draw a block, a paperclip and a penny. Circle one—for example, the penny.)

Pause the video at 2:01 to record the second rule: (2.) Do not leave any spaces between the objects you’re using to measure. (For non-readers, draw a book. Then draw pennies beside the book. Make sure the pennies are touching.)

After the video, discuss how the class followed the two rules. Ask: • What did the kids in the real-life class use to measure the classroom? (A girl.) • Would it work to have two girls take turns lying down to be measured? (No, because the girls aren’t the same length.) • How did the class make sure that they didn’t leave any spaces? (They marked the end of the space made by the girl with a block.) • If you wanted to measure the length of a whale, would you prefer to use a ruler or a paper body ruler? Why? (Answers will vary so encourage students to explain their reasoning.)

EXPLORE Sid the Science Kid: Let’s Measure Between the Lions: Big and Little In this adapted activity, children will experiment with different non-standard units, both small (paperclips and pencils) and large (themselves), to measure a variety of animals.

Gather the children together in a hallway, gymnasium, or outdoor space where they will have room to spread out. Bring a collection of pennies, crayons, paperclips or other small objects, along with the children’s science journals and some pencils and/or crayons.

Leader: Sid never got to measure his blue whale. But scientists who study blue whales have measured them. I’ve cut this piece of string so that it’s as long as a blue whale. Now we can measure how long it is!

We can use any object to measure our blue whale. We could measure it with a ruler, like Sid was thinking. But it may be more fun to measure it with a child, like the kids in the last video did. Let’s try it!

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 1: (continued)

Pull the string tight and straight along the ground. Then pick volunteers to lie down next to the string end to end, in order to measure how many ‘kids’ long the blue whale is (as represented by the string). Have the other children mark the end of each “kid-length” with paperclips or crayons so that you can be sure the volunteer lies down end to end with no spaces in between. Count as you go along.

Ask the children “How many kids long is your blue whale?” Distribute the science journals and have the children write the number down in their science journals and draw how they measured the string representing the length of the blue whale.

Next ask, “What if we used ME to measure the length? Do you think we’d get the same number?” Children may be able to reason that because you are taller than a child, it would take fewer of you to reach the end of the blue whale. If you wish, try it out and compare the numbers!

Prompt the children to work in small groups, using the pennies, paperclips, and crayons to measure the smaller “animals” — either stuffed animals or pictures or cutouts of animals. Remind children of the two measurement rules they learned from the videos: (1.) You can only use one type of object at a time – like pennies or paperclips – to measure. (2.) You can’t leave any space between the objects that you’re using to measure.

As children work, ask questions about what they are doing. For example: • How many pennies long is the bunny? • Is the bunny longer or shorter than the puppy, when measured with pennies? • If you were to use crayons to measure the bunny, would it take more or fewer crayons to reach the end?

Encourage children to write down their measurements in their journals, and draw any pictures they would like to include. Then collect their science journals for next time, and praise their hard work in helping to investigate Sid’s questions about measuring animals.

Keep Going! If you have more time, explore the following resources on the next page.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 1: (continued)

READ Actual Size by Steve Jenkins In this book, children can investigate the size of a variety of animals (often expressed in inches and feet). Read the book aloud to children, pausing to compare the sizes of the animals to the sizes of your children’s hands, feet, and bodies.

WATCH Between the Lions: If You Were a Blue Whale (1:05) Learn more about blue whales, including what they eat, where they live, and how they grow. This video also illustrates another way to measure blue whales – using school buses!

PLAY Dinosaur Train: How Big Are You? Encourage children to explore the size of some really big prehistoric animals: dinosaurs! In this game, children will estimate the length of various dinosaurs using modern animals as non-standard units of measurement.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 2: Investigating Temperature (1 hour, 15 minutes)

WATCH Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 1 (3:13)

Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 2 (1:57)

Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Live Action (1:33) Inspired by an upcoming trip to chilly Minnesota, Sid and his friends learn about temperature, thermometers, and the weather. Sid learns that temperatures vary depending on where you are.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Leader: It’s time to continue with our Sid the Science Kid Summer Adventure! This week, we are exploring the great outdoors with our friends Sid, Gabriela, May, and Gerald. Last time, Sid wondered how to measure a blue whale – so we investigated his question by measuring animals in different ways. Today, Sid is wondering about weather and temperature. Let’s watch this video clip to find out more.

Watch Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 1 (3:13) with the children.

After the clip ends, ask the children what they know about cold weather. Ask: • How does the weather where we live change from season to season? • Why might it snow in the winter but not in the summer? • How could you measure how cold the weather is?

In your discussion, the concept of temperature may come up. If it does, ask the children if they know what temperature is. Tell them that the next video clip will define and explain more about temperature.

Next, watch Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Part 2 (1:57) with the children. When the clip ends, ask if the children have any new ideas about weather and temperature. Ask: • What is temperature? (Temperature is how hot or cold something is.) • How can temperature be measured? (With a thermometer.)

Now view the third video clip, Sid the Science Kid: Sid’s Holiday Adventure-Live Action (1:33) with the children. Pause the clip at :46 and ask what they predict will happen when the thermometer is placed in the warm oatmeal. Continue to play the video to the end, discuss whether the predictions were right, and reflect on the class’s investigation.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 2: (continued)

Remind the children that in the video, the class measured temperature three times. Ask children: • When was the temperature the coldest? (When the thermometer was in the ice.) • When was it the hottest? (When it was in the oatmeal.) • When was it in the middle? (When it was in the oatmeal with the ice added in.) • What is used to measure temperature? (The thermometer is a tool that measures temperature and there are different types of thermometers.) • Glass thermometers (with mercury inside) measure temperatures slowly. The liquid mercury (or red line) rises in the tube when exposed to warm temperatures and falls as temperatures get cooler. (Please note that the American Academy of Pediatrics urges adults not to use glass mercury thermometers due to safety issues with mercury and broken glass.) • Digital electronic thermometers measure temperatures with a heat sensor and require a small battery. They measure temperatures quickly, usually in less than 30 seconds. The temperature is displayed in numbers on a small screen. Lower numbers on the screen indicate colder temperatures while higher numbers indicate warmer temperatures. • How do you know that the temperature of the ice was the coldest? (We know that the ice was the coldest because the red line was the lowest when it was in the ice.)

EXPLORE Sid the Science Kid: Frozen Fruit Children must come up with a way to make ice melt in this fun, hands-on activity. Gather children in an area appropriate for project work, and set up all the materials needed for this activity: • Previously frozen fruity ice cube trays • Thermometer • Plastic bowls • Hot water

Introduce the activity to the children by showing them the ice cubes with the frozen fruit inside. Place a few ice cubes in a plastic bowl and measure the temperature with your thermometer. Show the children how the level in the thermometer drops, indicating that the ice cubes are cold.

Leader: During the video we watched the children add ice cubes to the oatmeal to make it cooler. What do you think we can do to make our ice cubes warmer and get the ice to melt?

Pause to allow children to answer. They may suggest using warm water to melt the ice, microwaving the cubes, holding the cubes in their warm hands, or just waiting until the ice melts from contact with the warm air around it.

Give each child a small bowl and an ice cube. Allow each child to try his or her own solution. Use the thermometer to measure the temperature of the ice and water in the bowl as you go. Encourage the children to make observations at specific time intervals (1 minute, 3 minutes and 5 minutes), record observations in their journals and talk about what they are seeing. Ask: • What is happening to the temperature of the water in your bowl as the cube melts? Is it getting warmer or colder? • How do you know? • Which of our cubes seems to be melting the fastest? • Why do you think that is? 10 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 2: (continued)

Have the children write down their observations and draw pictures of the activity in their science journals. Then collect their science journals for next time, and praise their hard work in helping to investigate Sid’s questions about measuring temperature.

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Weather Surprise Don’t let that snowman melt! Help Gerald match different items to the environments with the right temperature.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Access the game, but before playing, look at the game screen together with the sound muted. Ask, Which of the two scenes show warm weather? How can you tell? Children will be able to gather clues from the pictures—for instance, the sun may be out in one scene and it may be rainy or cloudy in the other scene. Remind students that the sun can be out even when it’s cold, and it can rain even when it’s very warm. Encourage them to rely on the thermometer to determine which scene is warmer. The thermometer with the higher red line indicates a higher temperature.

Once children are ready to play, unmute the sound and click on Gerald for the directions to be repeated. Call on volunteers to drag the objects to the scenes where they belong. Remind children to make sure the thermometers on the pictures match the thermometers in the scene. As you play, encourage children to use words like hot and hotter, warm and warmer, cool and cooler, and cold and colder.

Keep Going! If you have more time, explore the following resources:

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Gerald’s Weather Wheel In this game, children will need to dress Gerald appropriately for different types of weather. As children play, remind them to look in the hat box for the appropriate hat. After children have played a few times, hand out their science journals and have them draw themselves dressed for their favorite weather. Children may wish to draw a thermometer with a red line to indicate the temperature. Remind them the colder it is, the lower the red line will appear.

READ All About Temperature by Alison Auch Read this book aloud to reinforce children’s understanding of temperature and how it is measured. PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Snowflake Match In this game, children match snowflake halves to make a whole snowflake. As they play, show children how to trace a “line of symmetry” down the center of the snowflake and explain that two identical sides are produced when the snowflake is folded along the line. Encourage children to create their own paper snowflakes and draw a line of symmetry down the center. Place a hand mirror along the line and help children see the whole snowflake that appears because the mirror image of one half is identical to the other. 11 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 3: Sizing Up Plans (1 hour, 15 minutes)

WATCH Sid the Science Kid: My Shrinking Shoes (4:07) In the first clip, Sid wonders why his shoes seem to be shrinking and learns that all living things grow.

Sid the Science Kid: Growing Plants (1:49) Students plant lima bean seeds in class. As they grow, the students compare and measure the size of their plants.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Leader: It’s time to continue with our Sid the Science Kid Summer Adventure! This week, we are exploring science with our friends Sid, Gabriela, May, and Gerald. Last time we met, Sid wondered about weather and temperature. Today, Sid has some questions about shrinking and growing. Let’s watch this video clip to find out more.

Access the first clip, “My Shrinking Shoes, Part 1,” and watch the clip with the children. After the clip ends, ask: • Why did Sid think his shoes didn’t fit? (He thought his shoes were shrinking.) • Why did Sid’s shoes really not fit? (His feet are growing.)

Reiterate what Sid’s mother told him in the video clip: all living things grow. Tell the children that today, you are going to investigate the size of different things. You’ll start by looking at plants that have grown to different sizes.

Hand out the Plant Cards—one set to each child—and press play. After the video ends, challenge the children to order their plants cards like the students in the video did. Ask them to order their cards from shortest to tallest, tallest to shortest, and for an extra challenge, from oldest to youngest.

EXPLORE Leaf Hunt (based on Family Feet) Children will go on a walk to collect leaves and then compare them, order them, estimate (guess) their sizes, and measure to find out their actual sizes. If you do not have access to an outdoor space, create the leaf walk indoors by placing leaves/plants around the room or use the Plant Cards as an alternative.

Gather the children together and let them know that they are going to continue investigating plants where they grow—outside! Pair the children up and give them their assignment: they will go on a leaf hunt and collect four different-sized leaves.

Lead the children outside and give them about ten minutes to find their leaves. Remind them that grass has leaves, and that they can also use leaves that have already fallen off trees and bushes. When the pairs have finished collecting their leaves, ask them to compare their leaves. Which is the biggest? The smallest? Challenge the children to order their leaves from largest to smallest, or smallest to largest. When they are done, have them combine leaves with a different pair of children and place them all in order from largest to smallest.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 3: (continued)

If you have extra time, bring the leaves back indoors and have the children use small classroom items, such as crayons or paperclips, to measure each leaf. First, have children predict how many of the item each leaf will measure, and then find out (e.g., the smallest leaf is three pennies long, and the largest leaf is eight pennies long). You may even use the leaves to measure objects in your space. Challenge the children, for example, to find out how many of their smallest leaves it takes end to end to reach from one end of the table to the other.

When all the children have had a chance to measure, have them draw their leaves, from largest to smallest, in their science journals.

Keep Going! If you have more time, explore the following resources:

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Vegetable Planting It’s time to plant with Gabriela! In this game, each type of vegetable seed or seedling needs its own planter box that is just the right size. Children should follow Gabriela’s instructions to make sure the seedlings go in the right box. As children play, encourage them to use words such as small, medium, and large. In the first round, there will only be two boxes: the large box and the medium box. Ask, If one of the boxes is the medium-sized box, could there be another box? What do you think? Will it be smaller or larger than the two shown?

PLAY Peg + Cat: Scrub-A-Dub The farmer wants to take a picture of his animals, and that means one thing: bath time! But some animals are bigger than others, and some are smaller. Help Peg and the farmer get them sparkly and clean by matching each animal to the correct sized materials for their bath.

WATCH Between the Lions: My Favorite Word: Miniscule (:31) What are some other words for small? This video segment from Between the Lions illustrates synonyms for the word “small.” List the words as they are given, and after the clip ends, encourage your children to come up with their own synonyms for “large.”

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 4: Making Shape Shadows (1 hour, 15 minutes)

WATCH Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 1 (4:01) Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 3 (3:47) Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 4 (3:38) Sid and his friends investigate shadows. They learn how to make shadows, and then investigate how shadows are similar to and different from the objects that cast them.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Leader: It’s time to continue with our Sid the Science Kid Summer Adventure! This week, we are exploring science with our friends Sid, Gabriela, May, and Gerald. Last time, Sid wondered about shrinking and growing – so we investigated growth and sizes. Today, Sid and his friends are wondering about shadows. Let’s watch this video clip to find out more.

Access Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 1 (4:01) Press play and watch the clip with the children.

After the video, ask the children what they already know about shadows. Ask, • Have you ever seen your shadow? • What did it look like? • What do you think Sid’s mom meant when she said, “Shadows only show the shape of things?”

Next, access Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 3 (3:47) View the video with the children and afterwards, continue your discussion of shadows. Ask the children: • What two things did Miss Susie say are necessary to make a shadow? (A light source and an object that blocks the light.) Finally, select Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Smile!-Part 4 (3:38) and watch the video clip with your children. Reiterate what the students in the video discovered: shadows can show the shape of an object, but they can’t show details like colors and textures.

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Shadow Show Children experiment with creating shadow shapes which match a picture on a card. They will learn how squares, triangles, circles, rectangles, trapezoids, and parallelograms can fit together in a variety of ways to form new shapes.

Access the game, and mute the sound. Have children name the shapes and explain why they identified a certain shape the way they did (i.e., “That is a triangle. I know because it has three sides and three angles”). After children have identified all the shapes, unmute the game and refresh the page to hear the directions again. As children play, move throughout the room asking questions like: • Which two shapes did you use to create the figure? • How many sides does your new figure have? • What does your new figure look like? (A house, a cat, etc.) 14 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 4: (continued)

EXPLORE Shadow Investigation Children will make shadow puppets from a range of shapes.

Gather children in an area appropriate for project work, and set up all the materials needed for this activity: • Shape cut-outs (one set for each child) • Straws • Tape • Markers or crayons

Show the children the shape cutouts, and ask them to name and describe them if they can. In particular, encourage the children to notice how many sides and angles each different shape has.

When you have looked at all the shapes, demonstrate how to place two or three shapes together to form a picture. For example, you may put together a square and a triangle to resemble a house, or a square, a semi-circle, and two circles to resemble a car.

Tape your shapes to one of the straws, and show the children that you have now created a shadow puppet! Demonstrate with a lamp, flashlight, or other light source how to cast a shadow with your shadow puppet.

Next, allow the children to create their own shadow puppets using the materials at hand. After they have created their puppets, they may color them in and add details with markers or crayons.

As the children create their puppets, ask them to predict what the puppet will look like as a shadow, and to draw their predictions in their science journals. Then move the puppets in front of the light source to see the shadows. Ask children to draw their puppet and the shadow in their science journal. Discuss their observations as a group. Ask questions like: • Does your shadow puppet look like you predicted? • Can you see all of the shapes that you used to create the figure? • How does the shadow change when you move the puppet closer to the light source? Further away? • What happens when you rotate your shadow puppet? How does the shape of your shadow change?

After the puppets are assembled, have the children create shadow puppet stories. They may take turns presenting their stories to the group.

When all the children have had a chance to present, praise their hard work in helping Sid investigate his questions about shadows.

Keep Going! If you have more time, explore the following resources on the next page.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 4: (continued)

READ Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban Shapes are everywhere! This book contains photos of all kinds of shapes in everyday environments. Read it aloud to the children and encourage them to describe the shapes they see.

EXPLORE Peg + Cat: Stick Puppets More fun with shapes and puppets! In this activity, children will make Peg and Cat stick puppets from ovals, circles, semi-circles, rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids.

PLAY The Cat in the Hat: The Great Shape Race Help Sally and Nick complete the “Shape-a-thon” race by collecting shapes throughout this fun obstacle course.

EXPLORE Changing Shadows If you are able to go outside with your children, you can use the sun to make shadows. Lead your children outside to a paved area, assign each child a partner, and have the children trace their partners’ outlines in chalk. Then come back an hour or two later, have the children stand in the same spot, and ask their partners to trace their shadows again. What do they notice about the position of the shadow? Discuss how the position of the shadow changes as the sun moves across the sky.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 5: Sorting Rocks (1 hour, 15 minutes)

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Sorting Box In this game, children will help May sort her rock collection by color.

Gather children at your computer or interactive whiteboard so everyone can see.

Leader: It’s time to continue with our Sid the Science Kid Summer Adventure! This week, we are exploring science with our friends Sid, Gabriela, May, and Gerald. Last time we were together, Sid wondered about shadows. To help him out, we learned how shadows show the shapes of different objects. Today, Sid and his friends are curious about rocks. In fact, May is so curious about rocks that she has started her own rock collection. In this game, we are going to help her sort them.

Access the game but mute the sound. Ask the children to take a close look at May’s rock collection, which is spread out at the bottom of the screen.

Leader: May has so many rocks that she needs to better organize them. So she’s going to sort her rocks. Does anyone know what that means?

Pause to allow children to answer.

Leader: You have some good ideas about sorting! Sorting means separating objects into groups based on shared features, traits, or characteristics; for example, size or color.

Ask the children to look at May’s box and guess how she’s going to separate the rocks. Then unmute the game and click on May to hear the directions again. Call on volunteers to drag the rocks into the correct columns. After each round, ask the children: • What color groups did May use to sort the rocks? • Were there any objects in your collection that could not be sorted into these color groups? • Can you think of another way to sort May’s rock collection?

EXPLORE Home Collections Take children on a nature walk to collect items and then sort them in different ways.

Suggestions for activity modification: If you don’t think the children will be able to find appropriate rocks in your outdoor environment or if an outdoor space is not available at all), choose one of the following options: 1. Collect a large set of rocks on your own and have them available for children to complete the learning activities. 2. Collect a variety of other natural objects, like sticks, leaves, and seeds to complete the activity. 3. Print several copies of the the Rock Collection cards for children to use to complete the activity.

Gather the children together and let them know that they are going to continue their rock investigation by going on a nature walk and collecting their own rocks. Go over the rules established by your program about where the children can go and what behavior is expected of them while they are outside. Then divide children into pairs and give each pair a baggie, along with their assignment: Go outside and collect at least eight rocks. (The rocks should be small enough so that they all fit in the baggie.) 17 Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant

Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 5: (continued)

Give the children about 15 minutes to collect their rocks, and then head back inside or to a quiet outdoor space where they can work and talk with their partners. Ask the children to sort and organize their collections into two groups. Children will most likely come up with the idea of sorting by color or size. That is a good place to start. Allow adequate time for children to come up with more complex ways of sorting. Rotate throughout the groups, asking questions like: • How are your rocks the same and different? • What two groups are you using to sort your rocks? • Are there any rocks that don’t fit into these two groups? • Is there a way you can sort your rocks into three groups?

When children are finished sorting, have them record the different ways they sorted their objects through drawings in their science journal. Then ask them to share their ideas for sorting with the whole group.

Leader: Congratulations—we are finished! We investigated all sort of questions about the great outdoors this week—questions about animals, weather, plants, shadows, and rocks—and learned all about measuring, ordering, sorting, and identifying shapes! As we worked, we documented our work in our science journals. Now it’s time to take them home and show your families all the hard work from this week.

Keep Going! If you have more time, explore the following resources on the next page.

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Topic: Measuring Length and Summer Adventure! Temperature, Sorting Theme: Sid the Science Kid – Great Outdoors Ages: 4-5

Part 5: (continued)

WATCH Peep and the Big Wide World: Collecting and Sorting (1:28) In this clip, three children group objects they find in their yard based on different characteristics. Before watching, ask your children if they have a collection—of rocks, baseball cards, or stuffed animals, for example. After the video, ask your children to name the collections the children in the video built, and challenge them to think of different ways the children could have sorted their collections.

READ Let’s Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans Why would anyone be interested in collecting rocks? This book shows what’s appealing about rocks: they’re ancient, they’re everywhere, and some are very valuable, for starters. Read the book aloud to your children before their nature walk to give them some ideas about characteristics they can use to select and sort their rocks.

PLAY Sid the Science Kid: Collection Jar What’s in Sid’s collection jar? In this interactive activity, children can explore Sid’s treasures and sort them in different ways.

WATCH Dinosaur Train: Discovering Minerals (1:52) Mr. Pteranodon explains the difference between rocks and minerals: while rocks are made up of many materials, minerals are made of the same material all the way through.

Summer Adventure! Professional Development Extension

More About Math Sid the Science Kid – Sid’s Outdoor Adventure Background for Leaders

In this unit, children will explore the great outdoors with Sid the Science Kid and solve math-related problems. They will explore a variety of math topics appropriate for children age 4-5 years-old; these topics include nonstandard measurement, temperature, size correspondence, shapes, sorting, and symmetry.

Nonstandard Measurement Children at this age are taught to use nonstandard units to measure by laying multiple shorter objects end to end with no gaps or overlaps. For example, you can lay multiple paperclips (same sized) next to a pencil to determine that the pencil is four paperclips long. This allows children to measure objects before they fully understand customary and standard units of measure.

Temperature Children at this age should recognize temperatures as hot or cold. Some children may even know that temperature is measured using a thermometer. They do not need to read a thermometer, but should recognize when temperatures are warmer and when they are cooler and should be encouraged to relate temperature to the weather. Children should recognize that snow and ice are indicators of cold weather and that a sunny beach or flowers are associated with warm weather. Help to expand their vocabulary to include: hot, warm, cool, and cold when discussing the temperature of the environment and/or liquids/solids.

Size Correspondence Children learn size correspondence through comparing objects, ordering objects, and matching objects with similar size. They will learn that all objects have a relative size, meaning that an object is small, medium, or large compared to other objects. Children will answer questions comparing the size of two objects as well as groups of objects. Encourage them to use related vocabulary (smaller, larger, shorter, and taller) to compare two objects. Children at this age should be able to place 3-5 objects in order by size (smallest to largest or largest to smallest). Related vocabulary terms for comparing three or more objects includes smallest, largest, shortest, and tallest.

Shapes Young children should be able to identify and name some shapes as well as recognize that shapes have defining characteristics, such as the number of sides, angles and the lengths of the sides. Children are likely to recognize circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, pentagons and hexagons. Introduce new vocabulary such as ovals, semi-circle (half circle), parallelogram and trapezoid when utilized in these activities.

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Summer Adventure! Professional Development Extension

More About Math (continued)

Sorting

Sorting is the act of grouping objects together based upon their characteristics. At this age children should be sorting items based one or more characteristic. These attributes might be size, color, smell, texture. As children become proficient sorting objects by one characteristic, encourage them to sort objects by two characteristics (for example, sorting by size and color). Young children are capable of sorting into three groups at a time.

Symmetry

When something is symmetrical that means that both halves look exactly the same. Another way to understand this is when a symmetrical object is folded in half, both sides match up evenly with nothing hanging over or sticking out. The line that is created by the fold is referred to as the line of symmetry. When objects are divided along the line of symmetry children should be able to match the two halves back together by looking for shapes or colors that are identical in both halves.

This out-of-school resource was developed by Maryland Public Television. The contents of this activity were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]. • © 2015 Public Broadcasting Service. • Sid the Science Kid TM & © 2015 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved. Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant Summer Adventure!

Sid’s Outdoor Adventure Measuring Length and Temperature, Sorting

My Science Journal

Name

This out-of-school resource was developed by Maryland Public Television. The contents of this activity were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. [PR/Award No. U295A100025, CFDA No. 84.295A]. © 2015 Public Broadcasting Service. • Sid the Science Kid TM & © 2015 The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved. Powered by a Ready To Learn Grant Summer Adventure! My Science Journal

Part 1: Let’s Measure Directions: How many kids long is your blue whale? Write the number on the line and draw a picture of the activity.

The blue whale is ______kids long.

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Part 2: Investigating Temperature Directions: What does the ice look like as it melts? Describe how it looks after 1 minute, 3 minutes and 5 minutes. You can write your observation or draw a picture.

Time Observation

1 minute

3 minutes

5 minutes

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Part 3: Sizing Up Plants Directions: Use small items (like pennies, crayons or paperclips) to measure each leaf. Write the number on the line and draw a picture of each leaf from largest to smallest.

How Many Items Leaf Picture

______

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Part 4: Making Shape Shadows Directions: What do you think your puppet will look like as a shadow? Draw a picture of your prediction. Were you right? Now draw a picture of what the shadows really looked like under the light.

Shadow Prediction

Actual Shadow

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Part 5: Sorting Rocks Directions: Draw pictures to record the different ways you sorted the rocks.

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