Learning about the importance of using soap when washing your hands!
Our Lessons For the Week!
What is our theme? Magic Pepper and Soap Experiment
What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To understand cause and effect in a hands on way.
Also a great way to talk about germs! Pretend the pepper is the germs.
MA Guidelines/Standards:
PreK-PS1-4 (MA). Recognize through investigation that physical objects and materials can change under different circumstances.
Clarification statement: Changes include building up or breaking apart, mixing, dissolving, or changing state.
Learning Outcomes:
Kids can learn about buoyancy, or the concept of sink or float, by adding the pepper to the water. If they’ve already mastered these concepts then this is a great opportunity to introduce surface tension.
When the soap is added to the plate the surface tension changes and the pepper no longer floats on top. The molecules pull back from the soap and it is able to break down the surface tension of water. As the soap moves into the water, and the surface tension changes, the pepper no longer floats on top. The water molecules want to keep the surface tension intact so they pull away from the soap carrying the pepper flakes with them.
With younger kids a simpler explanation works too. When you touch the pepper water with dish soap the pepper moves to the side of the dish. This is a perfect illustration of cause and effect.
Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
*See attached picture*
Materials:
Activity (Procedure):
Pour some water onto a plate or bowl. You want it to cover a fairly large part of the plate. Coloring your water blue with some food coloring is an optional step, but sometimes makes it easier to see the experiment in action.
Sprinkle some pepper onto the surface of the water.
Dip your finger into the dish soap.
Place your finger in the center of the plate into the water.
Watch as the pepper quickly scatters to the edges of the water on the plate.
Activity Wrap Up:
Discuss what you saw. Talk about how to keep germs away and how important it is to wash your hands with soap.
How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Ask reflective questions as children are engaged in activities, such as “What happened when ___? What did you think would happen?”
Talk about what happened to the pepper when the soap was added to the water.
How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
Try adding something like oil to the water to see what happens.
Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If you don't want to use pepper you can also use glitter instead.
Our Lessons For the Week!
What is our theme? Magic Pepper and Soap Experiment
What is the lesson (overall purpose)?
To understand cause and effect in a hands on way.
Also a great way to talk about germs! Pretend the pepper is the germs.
MA Guidelines/Standards:
PreK-PS1-4 (MA). Recognize through investigation that physical objects and materials can change under different circumstances.
Clarification statement: Changes include building up or breaking apart, mixing, dissolving, or changing state.
Learning Outcomes:
Kids can learn about buoyancy, or the concept of sink or float, by adding the pepper to the water. If they’ve already mastered these concepts then this is a great opportunity to introduce surface tension.
When the soap is added to the plate the surface tension changes and the pepper no longer floats on top. The molecules pull back from the soap and it is able to break down the surface tension of water. As the soap moves into the water, and the surface tension changes, the pepper no longer floats on top. The water molecules want to keep the surface tension intact so they pull away from the soap carrying the pepper flakes with them.
With younger kids a simpler explanation works too. When you touch the pepper water with dish soap the pepper moves to the side of the dish. This is a perfect illustration of cause and effect.
Songs, Books & Videos (Motivational Techniques)
*See attached picture*
Materials:
- Pepper
- Plate or bowl
- Water (optional to color it blue)
- Dish soap
Activity (Procedure):
Pour some water onto a plate or bowl. You want it to cover a fairly large part of the plate. Coloring your water blue with some food coloring is an optional step, but sometimes makes it easier to see the experiment in action.
Sprinkle some pepper onto the surface of the water.
Dip your finger into the dish soap.
Place your finger in the center of the plate into the water.
Watch as the pepper quickly scatters to the edges of the water on the plate.
Activity Wrap Up:
Discuss what you saw. Talk about how to keep germs away and how important it is to wash your hands with soap.
How do I know what my child is learning? (Assessment)
Ask reflective questions as children are engaged in activities, such as “What happened when ___? What did you think would happen?”
Talk about what happened to the pepper when the soap was added to the water.
How can you extend this activity? (Modifications)
Try adding something like oil to the water to see what happens.
Helpful Hints: (Pitfalls & Solutions)
If you don't want to use pepper you can also use glitter instead.
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