Grade level: 1st and 2nd grade

Time: 45-50 minutes per day

Des Moines Science Curriculum Objectives:

1. Students will be expected to work cooperatively in small groups.

2. Students will follow all safety instructions and use materials as directed.

3. Students will be able to identify the important characteristics of air pressure.

4. Students will examine the effects of air pressure through small experiments.

5. Students will know the relationship between air pressure and weather.

Materials: (3 days)

Straws	Clear plastic cups
Piece of plywood/corkboard	Ping-pong balls (4)
Large balloons	4-6 cans of 7-up
Table	Duct tape
String	2 empty soda cans
Long-stemmed funnel	Large Cylinder
Grapes	Glass bottle
Paper	Hard boiled eggs (2)
Macaroni	Food coloring
Matches	Flashlight/lamp
fire extinguisher/blanket

Procedural Steps:

Day One:

1. Introduce ourselves.

2. Balloon on a string experiment:

3. Discussion of what happened when the balloon was released. Ask questions such as,"What caused the balloon to move forward?, What would happen if the balloon were bigger/smaller?"

4. What do you know about air pressure?

5. Go into discussion on air pressure.

6. Breathing observation: Turn to your neighbor, hold your hand on your ribs, take a deep breath and obsserve what happens to your chest. Did you feel it expand? Did you see it expand? How would you explain what happened?

7. Cups and balloon experiment

8. Discussion of experiment: Why did the cups stick? Did air pressure have anything to do with I?

9. Quick overview of air pressure.

10. Egg in the Milk Bottle experiment

11.Draw picture about what they learned and add a couple of words. Collect to make into a booklet for future use.

12.Conclude the day with a short summarization and an assignment to go home and watch the weather, looking for references to air pressure.

Day 2 -

1. Set up learning centers all around the room. Make sure they are spaced out enough so the groups do not interfere.

2. Start the day by reviewing what was learned the previous day. Bring up all of the experiments and stress the importance of each of them. Find out what they learned from the weather (low and high pressure).

3. Go through each of the five centers with the students as a large group. Explain the procedures and what is expected of them.

4. Split class into even groups (preferably 5-6 students). We suggest doing it randomly so that students are working with other kids they normally do not.

5. Send each group to a one of these stations:

6. Rotate the groups through the stations. You should allow about 5 minutes for each station. Any more than that would not allow for each group to visit each station.

7. At the closing of the class period, bring the students back together for a couple of moments. Go through each one of the stations, briefly explaining what was supposed to happen at each.

8. Send them home thinking about other things that are affected by the way air moves.

9. Make sure to have booklet of their Day One drawings ready for presentation on Day Three.

Day 3 -

1. Review all that was learned with the stations.

2. Conduct the The Straw Drinking Race experiment.

3. Discuss what happened in the experiment.

4. Introduce The Balloon Air Lift experiment.

5. Add other items on top of the corkboard. Let students inquire if lifting it is possible.

6. Discuss what happened in the experiment.

7. Recap what we went over the last three days

8. As a class look over the booklet that they have created the last three days.

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