Design Thinking Process
How does temperature and the sun affect the way we dress? What is the relationship between the sun and heat on the earth’s surface?
Kindergarten has learned all about weather and the seasons. The science curriculum, redesigned in the past year, brings the spark of learning to each child while teaching concrete skills through the design thinking process.
And it begins in our Kindergarten lessons, full of discovery and exploration. Each lesson is structured with an essential question and student objectives, which guide each child’s learning and allow room for flexibility as needed.
A set of lessons that demonstrates this well is Kindergarten’s experimentation with temperature.
Lessons on Temperature
Each student examined a thermometer noticing the numbers, lines, and red liquid in the bottom. When they held the thermometer in their warm hands the liquid rose; however, when they put the thermometer in ice water, the temperature and liquid dropped.
Later, the class went outside to investigate the differences in temperature in areas that were sunny versus areas that were shady. The kindergarten teachers asked the students to predict which areas of the playground would get warmer, and which would stay colder, depending on the sun and shade. The class taped thermometers in different locations on the playground.
The students saw and felt the temperature rise during the day and took note of how shade and sun affected readings on thermometers, documenting their observations and taking notes, later making graphs of the numbers.
Later the Kindergarteners were asked if the data–what the temperatures were in shady spots and sunny spots, supported what they had guessed they would be.
Our school nurse, Amanda, also visited the class to share the similarities and difference between thermometers used to measure body temperature and thermometers used to measure air temperature.
Afterwards, the class watched a Mystery Science episode in which the main character, Keya, went to a pool with her family and left her shoes in the car. When Keya heard the ice cream truck arrive in the parking lot, she was unable to walk comfortably on the hot pavement to get some ice cream. Students worked together and used their knowledge of shade and sun to create a safe path that would protect Keya’s feet.
Take It A Step Further
When it warms a little, if you have a thermometer outdoors, we encourage to look at it with your child or try the above experiments at home. We would love to share more with you about what a Rashi education looks like. Click here for more information or email us at admissions@rashi.org.