I've always been a fan of "hands-on" learning. And science is a tremendous avenue to get this kind of learning happening in the elementary classroom.
Our recent unit in science has been focused on the earth. We've been discussing the earth's surface, plant-life, and fossils. Recently we've been learning how plants help us in our daily lives. Students have learned how we use plants for food, building material, medicine, and even clothing!
Students really enjoyed a short informational book entitled, From Tree to Paper . We were really surprised by all the steps that go into making trees into paper. This great book inspired us to try to make paper of our own!
We are currently in the midst of a paper-making experiment. We tore up sheets of newspaper and soaked them in buckets of water overnight. (Actually it ended up being two days, after another snow day!) When we got back to class we took the pulpy mixture from the buckets and pressed it out onto a screen. Each student got to handle and form their own bit of homemade paper pulp.
At this time we're waiting for the pulp to dry and will be comparing our homemade paper to real paper with a Venn Diagram.
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What are your thoughts on our experiment? Do you have any experiences making paper you'd like to share? What do you remember most about science from your school experience?
