Backyard Science: Watch and Record

Grades K-5About 45 minutes a week

Science starts with noticing and writing it down, day after day, until a pattern shows up that nobody told him about. Weather, the Moon and shadows are free, right outside, and change on a schedule he can catch.

What you need

  • A science notebook with a table drawn in it
  • An outdoor thermometer
  • A straight-sided jar and a ruler (rain gauge)
  • A ribbon on a stick (wind direction) and a compass
  • A hand lens, a measuring cup and a kitchen scale
  • A stick and chalk for a shadow tracker

What done looks like

  • A notebook with weeks of dated entries in his hand.
  • He can predict tomorrow's Moon shape or the afternoon shadow and explain why.
  • He tells you a pattern from his own data, not from a book.

What to do, grade by grade

  • K: a sense walk (look, listen, touch, smell) and a weather picture each day for three weeks; choose the right tool; put it back.
  • Grade 1: a weather log across a whole season; a simple investigation recorded in words or a labeled drawing; count how the family uses water in a day.
  • Grade 2: draw the Moon every clear night for a month; a table of measurements over several days (a bean sprout's height).
  • Grade 3: rain in the jar, wind direction and temperature at the same time daily; a family traits survey (eye color, earlobes).
  • Grade 4: a second Moon month, predicting the next shape before looking.
  • Grade 5: mark a stick's shadow every hour on a sunny day.

How to teach it

  1. Same time, same place, every day. Consistency is the lesson.
  2. Draw the table before the first reading: date, time, what was measured, the number, a note.
  3. Ask "what did you notice?" before you say anything yourself.
  4. After two weeks, lay the pages side by side and ask what repeats and what changed.
  5. For the survey, ask every person the same question the same way, and write each answer down before the next person.
  6. For the shadow stick, ask why the shadow moved when the stick did not. The answer is that Earth turned.

Safety: Never look at the Sun, even through a lens. An adult goes outside with him after dark.

Curriculum goals this sheet covers (15)

In the words of the grade-by-grade guide.

  • Answer a question about the world by looking, listening, touching and smelling, then say out loud what was noticed.
  • Describe today's weather in plain words and keep a simple daily record for two or three weeks.
  • Pick up a hand lens, a measuring cup or a balance without being told which one the job needs.
  • Follow basic safety rules and put materials back where they came from.
  • Plan and carry out a simple descriptive investigation, then record the result in words, numbers or a labeled drawing.
  • Track the weather across a season and describe the pattern that shows up.
  • Identify where fresh water is found, how a household uses it, and one way to use less of it.
  • Record measurements and observations in a table over several days, then say what the numbers show.
  • Observe the Moon over a month and describe how its shape appears to change.
  • Measures and records precipitation over time to describe the weather where he lives
  • Observes and records wind direction and air temperature to compare day-to-day weather
  • Collects data on family traits to show that traits are passed from parents to offspring and that they vary within a group
  • Collects his own data by asking every person the same survey question and recording each answer
  • TEKS 4.9(B): collect and analyze data to identify sequences and predict patterns of change in the observable appearance of the Moon from Earth
  • TEKS 5.9(A): demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis about every 24 hours, causing the day and night cycle and the apparent movement of the Sun, which changes shadow position and shape

Goals covered: Answer a question about the world by looking, listening, touching and smelling, then say out loud what was noticed.Describe today's weather in plain words and keep a simple daily record for two or three weeks.Pick up a hand lens, a measuring cup or a balance without being told which one the job needs.Follow basic safety rules and put materials back where they came from.Plan and carry out a simple descriptive investigation, then record the result in words, numbers or a labeled drawing.Track the weather across a season and describe the pattern that shows up.Identify where fresh water is found, how a household uses it, and one way to use less of it.Record measurements and observations in a table over several days, then say what the numbers show.Observe the Moon over a month and describe how its shape appears to change.Measures and records precipitation over time to describe the weather where he livesObserves and records wind direction and air temperature to compare day-to-day weatherCollects data on family traits to show that traits are passed from parents to offspring and that they vary within a groupCollects his own data by asking every person the same survey question and recording each answerTEKS 4.9(B): collect and analyze data to identify sequences and predict patterns of change in the observable appearance of the Moon from EarthTEKS 5.9(A): demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis about every 24 hours, causing the day and night cycle and the apparent movement of the Sun, which changes shadow position and shape

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