Curriculum: Earth Model Cupcakes
"Curriculum is uninspired and mediocre at best," my ass. Check out what we did yesterday:
Earth Science Week Day 5: The internal structure of the earth (aka "I took a geology class once")
Warmup: Kinetic Earth game
1. Introduce topic by pointing out that while we discussed tectonic movement, topography and rock formation/cycles, we haven't discussed what's below the continents.
2. Have everyone stand up and join hands (or not join hands, depending on squirreliness), and move in shoulder to shoulder. We are now the outermost layer of the Earth, the solid rock layer made up of continental plates: The crust. The crust people should make their best strong-sounding noise and rotate as a group very slowly.
3. Select a third of the kids to move in to the middle and join elbows in a circle to be the squishy, semimolten layer, the mantle. (You could do upper and lower mantle, but we didn't have many kids.) I should have talked about convection currents causing tectonic movement. Have the kids make their best squishy noise and move slowly opposite the crust.
4. A quarter of the remaining crust kids move in to be the liquid outer core. The inner and outer core are mostly metal, but the outer core is liquid from all the heat inside the earth from when it was formed. The outer core kids make liquid swishing noises and move more quickly than the mantle.
5. One kid is the solid inner core. The inner core is solid because it's under way too much pressure to melt, and as the earth cools, the core solidifies. The inner core kid makes a solid noise (our kid chose "pop") and stands very very still.
6. Let the kids make the earth chorus and movements for a little bit, then have the outer core cool slightly, moving outer core kids into the inner core group. Return to the mantle, talk about how when continental plates collide or separate (like when we discussed mountain formation or tectonic movement), the mantle leaks out and turns from magma to lava. Get the mantle kids to make lava noises and leak out to form the crust (or, if your kids are like mine, explode across the room). The crust can also collide and join the mantle.
7. Recap and review with a few questions, then break.
Upon retrospect, know what would have been ever cooler? To have the group start out as a swirling mass and then sort out the layers from the inside out.
Activity: Earth cupcakes!
Profiteroles or those round pancake puffs would have been better models, as they're spherical and the crust is more apparent. Either way, explain that we're going to make edible versions of the Earth, and walk through what we just learned about the layers, especially the textures, getting them to point out differences and similarities between the real thing and the edible stand-in. Make cupcakes. Hype kids up on sugar and send them home with their parents.
Inner core: M&M or Hershey's kiss
Outer core: Peanut butter or blob of frosting (Could also find a "hard on the inside, squishy on the outside" candy, like a peanut M&M, to stand in for both.)
Mantle: Cupcake (or profiterole innards)
Crust: Crispy, cooled outside of mantle, accentuated by frosting. I provided my kids with sprinkles for landforms, but explained that the earth was so big that even mount everest would be only a small irregularity on the surface.
Few notes: I find it works well to write ingredient tasks on slips of paper to pass out randomly so that everyone has a job, but also allow everyone to mix and pour the batter. The kids like baking and are already conversant in the skills needed, including fractions, but reinforcement is always helpful. We decided the easiest way to add the core to the cupcake was to put a blob of frosting on the M&M, then push it gently into the cup of batter until it was just under the surface. With profiteroles, it's easy enough to add the core after baking.
If you notice any glaring (or not so glaring) inaccuracies, do let me know! As I said, my geology background is limited to geology 101 and online research the weekend before.
In other news, I found a worthy Portland substitute for Ivar's Fish & Chips: Hawthorne Fish House. Oh man, walleye is delicious. I liked it more than the oysters! (Also, the majority of the menu is gluten-free, they have a full bar, and display pamphlets on healthy oceans and sustainable fishing at the table. Under the glass table liners are maps of the Columbia River. Cool!)
Earth Science Week Day 5: The internal structure of the earth (aka "I took a geology class once")
Warmup: Kinetic Earth game
1. Introduce topic by pointing out that while we discussed tectonic movement, topography and rock formation/cycles, we haven't discussed what's below the continents.
2. Have everyone stand up and join hands (or not join hands, depending on squirreliness), and move in shoulder to shoulder. We are now the outermost layer of the Earth, the solid rock layer made up of continental plates: The crust. The crust people should make their best strong-sounding noise and rotate as a group very slowly.
3. Select a third of the kids to move in to the middle and join elbows in a circle to be the squishy, semimolten layer, the mantle. (You could do upper and lower mantle, but we didn't have many kids.) I should have talked about convection currents causing tectonic movement. Have the kids make their best squishy noise and move slowly opposite the crust.
4. A quarter of the remaining crust kids move in to be the liquid outer core. The inner and outer core are mostly metal, but the outer core is liquid from all the heat inside the earth from when it was formed. The outer core kids make liquid swishing noises and move more quickly than the mantle.
5. One kid is the solid inner core. The inner core is solid because it's under way too much pressure to melt, and as the earth cools, the core solidifies. The inner core kid makes a solid noise (our kid chose "pop") and stands very very still.
6. Let the kids make the earth chorus and movements for a little bit, then have the outer core cool slightly, moving outer core kids into the inner core group. Return to the mantle, talk about how when continental plates collide or separate (like when we discussed mountain formation or tectonic movement), the mantle leaks out and turns from magma to lava. Get the mantle kids to make lava noises and leak out to form the crust (or, if your kids are like mine, explode across the room). The crust can also collide and join the mantle.
7. Recap and review with a few questions, then break.
Upon retrospect, know what would have been ever cooler? To have the group start out as a swirling mass and then sort out the layers from the inside out.
Activity: Earth cupcakes!
Profiteroles or those round pancake puffs would have been better models, as they're spherical and the crust is more apparent. Either way, explain that we're going to make edible versions of the Earth, and walk through what we just learned about the layers, especially the textures, getting them to point out differences and similarities between the real thing and the edible stand-in. Make cupcakes. Hype kids up on sugar and send them home with their parents.
Inner core: M&M or Hershey's kiss
Outer core: Peanut butter or blob of frosting (Could also find a "hard on the inside, squishy on the outside" candy, like a peanut M&M, to stand in for both.)
Mantle: Cupcake (or profiterole innards)
Crust: Crispy, cooled outside of mantle, accentuated by frosting. I provided my kids with sprinkles for landforms, but explained that the earth was so big that even mount everest would be only a small irregularity on the surface.
Few notes: I find it works well to write ingredient tasks on slips of paper to pass out randomly so that everyone has a job, but also allow everyone to mix and pour the batter. The kids like baking and are already conversant in the skills needed, including fractions, but reinforcement is always helpful. We decided the easiest way to add the core to the cupcake was to put a blob of frosting on the M&M, then push it gently into the cup of batter until it was just under the surface. With profiteroles, it's easy enough to add the core after baking.
If you notice any glaring (or not so glaring) inaccuracies, do let me know! As I said, my geology background is limited to geology 101 and online research the weekend before.
In other news, I found a worthy Portland substitute for Ivar's Fish & Chips: Hawthorne Fish House. Oh man, walleye is delicious. I liked it more than the oysters! (Also, the majority of the menu is gluten-free, they have a full bar, and display pamphlets on healthy oceans and sustainable fishing at the table. Under the glass table liners are maps of the Columbia River. Cool!)