Jersey City Public Schools

Early Childhood Department

2016-2017

“Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand.”

STEAM: INQUIRY BASED LEARNING

Unit of Study

Title: Balls

Name: Margaret Da Costa Pereira

School/Center: Jersey City Day Care 100

Index It all started when…

Teacher Preparation

Resource Hunt

Study Web

K-W-L Chart

Activities

“Aha!” Moments

Photo Opportunity

Teachers Helpful Hints

Documentation Panel

It all started when…

In the box below, please state the originating idea for your study.

We had an open discussion during Greeting Time about balls. We then

created a KWL chart as the children were gathering information about

what they knew about balls and what they wanted to learn about balls.

Some of the things the children shared with the group were: MV “I

have a Spiderman ball. JV “My ball bounces really high.” DM “My ball is

broken.” Then I asked DM, “How did your ball break?” DM said, “It’s

flat.” T-“Why do you think your ball became flat?” DM “I don’t know.” T

“Would you like to find out?” DM “Yes!”

After a few back and forth exchanges, we decided to further

investigate what makes a ball bounce, what’s inside of a ball, and how to

make a ball.

TEACHER PREPARATION Materials needed:

●Variety of balls E.g., tennis balls, basketball, soccer balls, whiffle balls, golf balls,

marbles, bouncy balls, ping pong balls, beach balls, bowling balls, etc.

●cardboard tubes

●plastic tubes

●funnels

●discovery ramps

●wooden blocks

●painters tape

●strips of construction paper

●paper plates

●pipe cleaners

●sink and float chart

●water

●large container

●measuring tape

●outside slides (inclined planes)

●parachute

●paint

●metal trays

●computer

●camera

●writing materials

●measuring spoons

●air pump

●playdough

●aluminum

●yarn

RESOURCES

Books

Watch me throw the ball –Mo Willems

Balls! –Michael J. Rosen

Balls!- Melanie Davis Jones

Peanut and Fifi have a Ball –Randall De Seve

Elmo’s World: Balls!

Can I play, too? – Mo Willems

Watch me throw the ball! –Mo Willems

A Ball for Daisy –Chris Raschka

Websites

Ball ramps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReaIZFxiy4I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5sNYWTbhSk

Ball Bouncing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZlYl0l2lFs

Inside of a basketball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHvHGCMkjkQ

Songs

Pass the “ball” sung to the song, “Pass the beanbag.”

Take me out to the ball game

Fingerplays/Chants

Basketball sight word chant

Students pretend to dribble and shoot as we spell the sight

word, “y-o-u-! spells you!”

Poems

Bounce the ball

My ball is round

Parents/Home-

School Connection

STEAM letter to parents (see attached)

Ball hunt

Ball show and tell

Dear Parent(s):

STEAM education stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. All throughout

your child’s Preschool year we are learning content from each of these areas. Now we are going to

focus on a study of Balls, incorporating all of these areas of STEAM. We choose to do a study on

balls from the interest of the children, deriving from conversations they had with us about their

personal experiences with balls. Also, from their conversations about balls during Greeting Time

when we created a KWL chart about what the students know and want to learn about balls. Given an

opportunity please talk to your children about this topic. You can connect any experiences they have

had playing sports that involve balls or to the experiences they are having in the classroom with

discovering the many things you can do with balls. Throughout the next month you may send your

child’s favorite ball to school so he/she can share with the class. Please feel free to share anything

else that you think may have a connection to our study! We look forward to sharing our discoveries

with you as our study on balls progresses!

Best Regards,

Ms. Maggie & Ms. Reina

Queridos padre(s):

La educación del STEAM significa ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería, arte y matemáticas. Durante todo

el año preescolar de su hija/o, estarán aprendiendo el contenido de cada una de estas áreas. Ahora

nos vamos a enfocar en el estudio de las Pelotas , incorporando todos estos áreas de STEAM. Este

tema viene del interés de los niños, derivando de las conversaciones que tuvieron con nosotros

acerca de sus experiencias personales con las Pelotas. Tambien, de sus conversaciones sobre las

Pelotas durante el tiempo del saludo cuando creamos un gráfico KWL sobre lo que los estudiantes

saben y quieren aprender sobre las pelotas . Dada una oportunidad por favor hable con sus hijos

sobre este tema. Puede conectar cualquier experiencia que haya tenido practicando deportes que

involucren las Pelotas o las experiencias que están teniendo en el aula con aprender sobre ellos en

profundidad y descubrir las muchas cosas que usted puede hacer con las pelotas. Durante el próximo

mes, usted puede enviar la pelota favorita de su hijo/a a la escuela para que él / ella pueda

compartir con la clase. Por favor, siéntase libre de compartir cualquier otra cosa que usted piensa

que puede conectarse a nuestro estudio! ¡Esperamos compartir con nosotros nuestros

descubrimientos y creaciones!

Atentamente,

Sra. Maggie y la Sra. Reina

K What do you

KNOW?

W What do you

WANT to know?

L What did you

LEARN?

“You can throw a

ball.” –MV

“You can catch the

ball.” –DM

“I like to play

basketball.” –DK

“Balls bounce.” –LH

“They come in

different sizes.”

“Balls and big and

small.” –JV

“My ball bounces

really high.” -JV

“Balls are round.”

–RL

“My ball is broken.

It’s flat.” -DM

“How high can the

bouncy ball go?” -

JV

Which ball bounces

higher?

Which balls do not

bounce?

Do balls sink or

float?

“What’s inside a

basketball?” -LH

“Why did the ball

become flat?” -DM

How can we make a

ball?

What do we need to

create a ramp for

our balls? Do all

balls roll?

“The bouncy ball

bounced the

highest.” –JV

“The marble don’t

bounce.” –AS

“The balls float!” –

GL

“Air is inside a

basketball. It don’t

have any air.” –DM

“We can make a ball

using playdough.”

–RL

“My ball rolls.” –MC

“We need the long

blocks. Then he put

it on top of another

block. Now the balls

can roll”-MV

Study Web

Technology

Message Boa

Art

Engineering

Science

Math

-Classify, sort, order balls. -Make a ball pictograph. -Measure how far the ball rolls and bounces. -Compare groups of balls.

-Test predictions in a sink & float experiment. -Discover what’s inside a basketball. -Use ramps to explore how far/fast different balls roll.

Title: Balls

-Marble painting -Create 3D works of art using playdough, aluminum, or yarn. -Paint a ball.

-Take pictures of children working. -Watch Youtube videos on how to make a ball ramp, what’s inside a basketball, which balls bounce?

-Marble painting -Create 3D works of art using playdough, aluminum, or yarn. -Paint a ball.

Activity 1: Paper Plate Marble Maze

This lesson addresses the following area(s): (Please check one or more) Science Technology Engineering X Art __X__ Mathematics

____

Daily Routine:

Small Group _X___ Large Group ____ Outdoor/Indoor ____ Transition ____

Other ________________

Originating Idea: After adding balls to the block area, JE created a tunnel for the

balls.

Standards/COR items: Use imagination to solve problems, use materials, role play,

write stories, move the body, or create works of art E.g., create pretend spinach

out of torn green construction paper to make a sandwich. ATL 9.2.2.

Materials: Marbles, paper plates, tape, pipe cleaners, strips of construction paper

Beginning: Using imagination to create a maze on the paper plate, students will

use trial and error to tape a variety of materials, such as, strips of paper, yarn,

pipe cleaners onto the paper plate to create a maze for the marbles. Teacher

will say, “Here are some materials to use to create your maze.” Encourage peer

to peer problem solving. For example, “Can you hold this while I put the tape?”

Middle: Demonstrate how to use the paper strips to create tunnels. Also, show

them how they can use the pipe cleaners and yarn to make pathways for the

marbles. While modeling ask children for their opinion, “How should I stick the

tape?” or “The tape isn’t sticking does anyone have a solution?”

End: When students are just about done with their mazes ask them to explain

how they did it and if any one helped them in the process. Give them each a

marble to test on their maze. Have children switch with a peer to test out

another way of creating a maze.

Child Anecdotes: AS “I made a tunnel. Jeylani helped me.”

JR “The ball goes around and around.”

JV “I worked with Alana. The ball went under and around.”

REFLECTIONS:

What worked was pairing

the children to work

together in creating a

marble maze. While one is

holding down the materials

(strips of paper and pipe

cleaners) the other one is

taping it to the plate.

Higher Order Questions: I wonder what will happen when you put your marble on the paper plate

maze.

How did you create the tunnels and pathways for your maze?

New vocabulary:

Marbles

Maze

Tunnel

Pathways

Scaffolding Technique: How can we get the pipe cleaners to bend to make a tunnel? When

students were having difficulty getting their tunnels and pathways to

stick, teacher encouraged peers to help one another.

PHOTO OP

Activity 2: Which balls bounce/roll?

This lesson addresses the area(s) of: (Please check one or more) Science x Technology x Engineering Art ____ Mathematics __x_

Daily Routine:

Small Group __x__ Large Group ____ Outdoor/Indoor ____ Transition ____

Other ________________

Originating Idea: When working with marbles the previous day, we noticed when the marbles

fell on the floor they didn’t bounce.

Standards/COR items: Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and phenomena during

classroom activities indoors and outdoors and during any longer-term investigations in

progress. Seek answers to questions and test predictions using simple experiments or

research media. S 5.1.2

Sort, order, pattern, and classify objects by measurable attributes E.g., length,

height, and width. M 4.3.1.

Use the internet to explore and investigate questions with a teacher’s support. T 8.5.1

Materials: A variety of balls, measuring tape, writing materials, computer, inclined plane, and

yarn

Beginning: After previously watching a video on which balls can bounce students will be

observing, predicting, and investigating which ball will roll the furthest and bounce the

highest. Students will each be given one ball to test and they will measure the length using

a low inclined ramp, non-standard and standard measurement. Before beginning, ask

students to predict which ball they think will go the furthest. Then say, “I wonder what

we are going to use to measure the balls? Does anyone know how we can measure how far

or how high the balls will go?

Middle: If students are unsure, say, “Here are some materials we can use to measure how

far the ball will roll.” Show children the blocks, yarn, and tape measurer. After all the

students took a turn rolling their ball, teacher will say “I wonder how we are going to use

these materials to measure the distance. Then ask, “I wonder what ball rolled the

furthest? What ball rolled the closest? Were our predictions right? How do you know?

Now we are going to measure the ball in different way. We are going to test to see which

ball bounces the highest. Students will gather around near the wall where there is a piece

of measuring tape. Students will take turns dropping their ball on the ground and the

teacher will put a piece of tape where the ball bounced at its highest point.

Child Anecdotes: “The bouncy ball bounced the highest.” –JV

“The golfball didn’t bounce.” –AS

“Jospeh ball next to mine.” -GL

REFLECTIONS:

When rolling the balls on

the carpet the balls didn’t

roll as far so it was easier

to measure the distance

that each balled rolled.

Bouncing the balls on the

carpet made the balls

bounce a lot lower than on

the wood floors.

Higher Order Questions: I wonder what we are going to use to measure the balls.

Does anyone know how we can measure how far or how high the balls will go?

I wonder what ball rolled the furthest. What ball rolled the closest?

Were our predictions right? How do you know?

New vocabulary:

Bounce

Low, high

Far, close

Measure

Length, Height

Scaffolding Technique: Teacher demonstrated the action and paired it with the word. Examples: Bounce

(Teacher bounced the ball). Bounce high (Teacher bounced the ball really high) and

Bounce low (Teacher gently bounced the ball.)

End: After all the students took turns dropping their ball. Ask, “What ball bounced the

highest? What ball bounced the lowest? That’s right the balls that are made out of

rubber tend to bounce higher than the balls that are hallow or made out of plastic. If

you have a small ball please drop it in the basket. If you have a big ball you may now

drop it in the basket.

PHOTO OP

Activity 3: How to Make a ball

This lesson addresses the area(s) of: (Please check one or more) Science x Technology Engineering x Art __x_ Mathematics ____

Daily Routine:

Small Group __x__ Large Group ____ Outdoor/Indoor ____ Transition ____

Other ________________

Originating Idea: AC was working with playdough and she made several balls by molding the playdough into a

ball.

Standards/COR items: Bring a teacher-directed or self-initiated task, activity or project to completion.

Approaches to Learning 9.1.5

Investigate how and why things move S 5.2.4

Materials: Playdough, aluminum, yarn, tape, ramp, basket

Beginning: Use a variety of materials, such as aluminum, paper, felt, tape, or clay to

create a ball. Teacher will say, “Today we are going to use different materials to make

a ball. I wonder how we are going to get the shape of a ball. Does anyone know how we

have to use our hands to make the ball round?” After showing the children the

different materials they can use, model using one of the above materials. Middle: Encourage children to bring the project to a completion by saying, “I know you

can do it. If you need help you can ask a friend to show you how they did it again.

After everyone has created a ball teacher will bring one long rectangular block and

one short one to the table to create a ramp. Have children predict whether or not

their ball will roll down the ramp. Children will investigate how and why their ball did

or did not roll down the ramp.

End: Ask, “Why do you think your ball didn’t roll down the ramp? What do you think

you need to do to make your ball go down the ramp faster? Have children sort the

materials and place them back where they belong.

Child Anecdotes: “The playdough rolls!” –MC

“My ball bounces!” –DM

“I’m going to see if my ball can roll.” –JV

REFLECTIONS:

Children added a basket at

the end of the ramp to

catch the balls from falling

off the table.

Students also tested to see

if their ball bounced.

Next time, we will try and

make a ball of rubber bands

instead of using yarn. The

yarn was difficult for the

children to put together and

tape to create a ball.

Higher Order Questions: Why do you think your ball didn’t roll down the ramp?

What do you think you need to do to make your ball go down the ramp faster?

New vocabulary:

Inclined plane

Fast

Slow

Round

Bumpy

Scaffolding Technique: To show the children what fast and slow meant teacher had students roll their

arms fast and slow. Teacher showed various objects that were round (e.g. ball,

circle, and button).

PHOTO OP

Activity 4: Circumference of a Ball

This lesson addresses the area(s) of: (Please check one or more) Science x Technology Engineering Art ____ Mathematics _x__

Daily Routine:

Small Group __x__ Large Group ____ Outdoor/Indoor ____ Transition ____

Other ________________

Originating Idea: DM said to his peer, “My ball is bigger.”

Standards/COR items: Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and phenomena

during classroom activities indoors and outdoors and during any longer-term

investigations in progress. Seek answers to questions and test predictions using

simple experiments or research media. S 5.1.2

Sort, order, pattern, and classify objects by measurable attributes E.g., length,

height, and width. M 4.3.1.

Materials: Measuring tape, pipe cleaners, yarn, variety of different sized balls

Beginning: observing, predicting, and investigating the circumference of a ball.

Students will each be given one ball to measure the circumference using non-

standard and standard measurement. Before beginning say we are going to

measure the circumference of the balls. The circumference is the distance

around the ball. Middle: Then ask students to predict which ball will have a short or long

circumference. “I wonder what we are going to use to measure the

circumference of the balls. Does anyone know how we can measure the

distance around the balls? If students are unsure say, “Here are some

materials we can use to measure the distance around the balls.” Show children

the yarn, different size pipe cleaners, and measuring tape. “I wonder how we

are going to use these materials to measure the distance of the balls.

End: When the children have finished measuring their balls circumference,

have them lay their measurement next to the ball and compare the distances

with the other balls.

Child Anecdotes: “The bouncy ball is the smallest.” –AS

“The soccer ball is big!” –MC

“My ball is the same as Alana.” -JV

REFLECTIONS:

It was helpful to create a

chart showing children the

different measurements of

the circumference of each

ball.

Higher Order Questions: How do we know which ball is the biggest? Smallest?

What kind of materials can we use to measure the circumference of the

ball?

New vocabulary:

Circumference

Small

Big

Measure

Distance

Scaffolding Technique: Teacher explained and demonstrated using various measuring tools E.g.,

measuring tape and ruler. After demonstrating how we measure objects

teacher then showed students non-standard ways of measuring. E.g., yarn,

pipe cleaners, paper strips.

PHOTO OP

Activity 5: Sink & Float

This lesson addresses the area(s) of: (Please check one or more) Science x Technology Engineering Art ____ Mathematics ____

Daily Routine:

Small Group _x___ Large Group ____ Outdoor/Indoor ____ Transition ____

Other ________________

Originating Idea: New/unexplored materials

Standards/COR items:

Observe, question, predict, and investigate materials, objects, and

phenomena during classroom activities indoors and outdoors and during any

longer-term investigations in progress. Seek answers to questions and test

predictions using simple experiments or research media. S 5.1.2

Materials: Variety of balls, large container, water, sink & float chart, writing materials

Beginning: Children will observe, question, and predict whether or not the

balls will sink or float. Children will seek answers to questions and test

predictions by putting a variety of balls in water to determine whether it sink

or float. Teacher will ask, “I wonder what will happen if we put a golf ball

inside the water? What is the object made of?

Middle:Students will test a soccer ball, whiffle ball, bouncy ball, golf ball, ping

pong ball, tennis ball, and a basketball. Encourage student to make a mark on

their papers before testing to graph whether they think the object is going

to sink or float. After students have tested their predictions ask the

students, ”Why they think the objects sunk vs. floated.

End: Explain to them that objects filled with air float. There are tiny

particles in objects and if they are loose, they will float. If they are packed

tight, they will sink (e.g., Float- wood, boat, foam, sponge; Sink- penny,

paperclip, rock, key).

Child Anecdotes: “Floated!” –JR

“It went under.” –JV

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 balls float.” –AS

“More balls float.” -MC

REFLECTIONS:

It definitely helped having

previously done a sink &

float experiment for

children to have prior

knowledge in order to make

more accurate predictions.

Higher Order Questions: I wonder what will happen if we put a golf ball inside the water.

What is the object made of?

Why do you they think the objects sunk vs. floated?

New vocabulary:

Float

Sink

Glass

Plastic

Air

Scaffolding Technique: Teacher showed a variety of pictures before and during the lesson

that showed objects that sunk and floated. Teacher encouraged

children to identify the type of object (e.g., glass, plastic, or wood).

For ELL students: teacher narrated what they were doing with each

object (Say, You are going to test the glass marble? What happened to

the plastic whiffle ball? Did the wooden ball sink?).

PHOTO OP

Teacher’s Helpful Hints

Marble Painting What helped when we used marbles to paint was to thin out the paint before giving to the children otherwise the ball won’t roll as well. Marble Maze What worked was pairing the children to work together in creating a marble maze. While one is holding down the materials (strips of paper and pipe cleaners) the other one is taping it to the plate. Next time, I will try using straws and encourage the children to work together to create one big marble maze on a thin cardboard box. How to make a ball? The children were engaged in creating their own ball. The playdough was the easiest way of creating a ball that can roll down the ramp. Aluminum was also an easy way to create a ball. Next time, we will try and make a ball of rubber bands instead of using yarn. The yarn was difficult for the children to put together and tape to create a ball. Although it was good for the ones who like a challenge!

“Aha” Moments!

Moments of sudden insight, discovery, or realization!

Students First Name Students Response

1. Jeylani “My ball doesn’t roll. It’s not round.” We had to then

figure out how we can make the ball round enough to

roll down the ramp.

2. Dante During the make a ball activity DM said, “My ball

bounces!” Then we tested the balls we had created to

see if they would bounce.

3.Max During the How high can a ball bounce activity MV

bounced his ball on the carpet and noticed it didn’t

bounce as high. He said, “It doesn’t bounce high on the

carpet.” We then tested different surfaces to find out

the outcome.

4. Robin When testing balls on the ramp the balls kept rolling

off the table. RL put a small bin at the end of the ramp

to prevent the balls from falling off the table. He said,

“I caught the balls!”

5. Amanda She took different balls and tested them to see which

one would roll the furthest by rolling them down the

slide on the play shaper.

6. Joseph Joseph used the pom poms in another way. He used

them to fill up the entire bottle. We predicted how

many pom poms it took to fill up the entire bottle. JR

predicted 10.

7. Taylor “We can use the water bottles in the water beads

table.”

8. Josiah After forming a ball with the playdough and testing to

see if it rolled Josiah shouted, “It rolled!”

9. Maxx “The soccer ball is the biggest.”

10. La Quan “I can bounce the ball.”

11. Gabriela “Look Ms. Maggie. The ball floated!”

12.Alana “We need tape to keep the cardboard ramp from

falling.”

Documentation Panel/Bulletin Board Photos

Additional PHOTO OP

JR “A pelota.” ( A ball)

"The ball rolls!" -DM

"I did it!" -MA

"I make lines." -RL

"Look. Ms. Maggie!" -AC

"I want to look up how to make a ramp." -AS

"I have three baseballs. I play with my daddy and

Kenny." -MV

"I made a tunnel for the balls." -AS

"The ball went through the tunnel." -JV