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About this video

This video was made in a mixed-age community college child care center serving a 2,000-square-mile area, and many parents had to travel a considerable distance to attend class. Children of students typically attended only on the days that their parents traveled to campus. Children of faculty, staff, and community members also attended our center. The project on cars provided continuity and a common frame of reference for children from diverse backgrounds who had variable attendance patterns.

The teacher took the 3- and 4-year-olds to visit the automotive lab next door to the classroom. The next day she asked the children to predict what parts of a car would attract a magnet. She showed them a chart she had made that had three columns, headed: “I think the _____ will attract a magnet,” “yes,” and “no.” As they made their predictions, the teacher wrote them in the first column, along with their name.

Video

Transcript

Part 1

Sallee: (Pointing to script at the top of the chart.) “I think the blank will attract a magnet.”

And you can tell me which parts of the car you think will attract a magnet, that the magnet will stick to…? And then we’ll go in the auto lab and test it out. So, what parts do you think that a magnet will stick to on a car? Oh, let’s see if anybody has an idea.

Sara (5.8 years old): I have an idea.

Sallee: Sara, what do you think?

Sara: (Twining the end of her hair around her finger.) I think it will stick, um … you get a couple of magnets, then you see which magnets will do…

Sallee: So you think…

Sara: Not all of them stick.

Sallee: So not all of the magnets will stick, so we should take some different kinds of magnets.

Sara nods.

Sallee: And what should we try ’em out on, on the car? What are some parts of the car we could try them on?

Alex (5.7 years old): The part that you hook a trailer on.

Sallee: A trailer hitch? We could see if we can find a trailer hitch (begins to write “trailer hitch” on the chart).

Jace (4.8 years old): I… I…, um, on that truck that, um, Sallee, I um… um, on that truck that had a flat tire, and I saw a hitch on that one that you hooked up to.

Sallee: Okay, we could look for that one.

Part 2

The teacher then took groups of four or five children into the automotive lab where they could test their predictions with an assortment of magnets on a car that we had permission to explore. They were interested in experimenting with different parts of the car and moved quickly from one part of the car to another.

At first, Nic, the youngest of the first group of four children, wanted everyone to stop and notice his discovery that the magnet would stick to the hood, but then he realized that the other children were involved in their own explorations and were moving at a quicker pace. He quickly adjusted his own pace, so he could move with the others as they tested parts of the car. The teacher stood on the periphery and recorded their findings.

Sallee: (Recording on the clipboard version of the chart.) And you said the windows were “no”?

Sara: Nope, I couldn’t feel it.

Sallee: The windows was a “no.”

McKenzie: Ha! It sticks to the car.

Sara: (Pointing into the car.) Hey lookit! There’s CDs in the car!

Nic: (Placing his magnetic wand on the hood of the car and looking at the teacher.) Mine sticks.

Jace: I’m gonna see if it sticks to the bottom of the car.

Nic: Mine sticks.

Sallee: Does it stick to the bottom of the car?

Jace: No.

Sallee: (still responding to Jace) Really?

Nic: Mine sticked.

Realizing that the teacher’s attention is focused on another child’s experiment, Nic turns toward the other children.

Jace: No. It doesn’t stick to the bottom.

McKenzie: It sticks to the trunk.

Child: Yeah!

Sallee: Now antenna is not on our list, but you could try that.

All four children try their magnets on the antenna.

Child: Yeah. I tried it.

Child: Yup. It did.

Sara: It sticks.

Sallee: It does stick? OK. (recording results on the clipboard)

Nic: Watch this, Jace. (sticks magnetic wand alongside of the antenna)

Sallee: We’re saying “yes” for antenna (recording results).

The children then tried their magnets on the front license plate before moving to the rear of the car.

Nic: (trying the magnet on the rear license plate) It sticks.

McKenzie: It sticks.

Sallee: But does it stick to the front one?

All: No.

Sallee: Why not?

Sara: Because it has plastic on it.

Part 3

Jace: (pointing to a yellowish knob that is part of the engine) I don’t know what this is.

Sara: (pointing to a magnet that has attached to another part of the engine) This sticks, this sticks.

Nic: This sticks.

McKenzie: This sticks.

Sallee: (responding to Jace and pointing to the yellowish knob) I think that’s for the oil. That’s where the oil goes.

McKenzie: There, it sticks up here.

Sara: (laughing) They stick everywhere.

Nic: They stick everywhere!

Jace: (trying the magnet on the windshield wiper) I don’t think they do…

Sallee: Do they stick to the windshield wiper?

Jace: No.

Some places the magnet would stick, and some places it wouldn’t. The children were delighted when they found a place where it would stick, and they were thoughtful when they found a place where it wouldn’t stick. When they found a place where the magnet wouldn’t stick, they would make repeated attempts, just to be sure.

Sara: (attaching a magnet to the rearview mirror) It sticks here. It sticks there.

Sallee: Oh. It sticks to the side mirror.

Sara: (nodding enthusiastically) Uh huh. (She attaches the magnet to the mirror and removes her hand.) Lookit!

Jace: Hey, Sara. Cool!

The children continued with their experiment for a while, until the teacher gathered them together to return to the classroom.

Sallee: (holding the clipboard out) We’re going to record what we found on the great big poster, and I’m going to need some volunteers to write “Yes” and “No.” Who wants to help write “Yes” and “No” on the poster?

Sara: (raising her hand) I want to do yes.

Sallee: Okay. Okay. All right, so let’s go (heading back to the classroom).

When we returned to the classroom, Sara recorded the results of two of our experiments, and then Jace took over. The children were able to test most of their predictions, and Sara discovered that all the magnets we took into the lab were attracted to the car, but only some of them would stick to the car without a person holding the magnet up. The completed poster was mounted on the bulletin board for discussion later at circle time.

Benchmarks and How They Were Met

BenchmarksHow They Were Met
Language Arts
1.A.ECa: Follow simple one-, two- and three-step directions.
The children listened to and followed the teacher’s description of procedures for charting predictions and conducting the experiment.
Language Arts
1.A.ECc: Provide comments relevant to the context.
Children dictated predictions about what parts of the car would attract a magnet.

Sara, McKenzie, Nic, Jace, and Alex described what was happening as they tested the magnets on the car.
Language Arts
2.C.ECa: Interact with a variety of types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems, rhymes, songs).
Sara, Alex, and Jace contributed ideas for the teacher to add to the list she created.
Language Arts
5.A.ECb: Use scribbles, letterlike forms, or letters/words to represent written language.
Sara and Jace recorded results of the experiment on the chart.
Language Arts
5.C.ECb: With teacher assistance, recall factual information and share that information through drawing, dictation, or writing.
The children discussed the results of the experiments with each other and the teacher.

Sara and Jace recorded results of the experiment on the chart.
Mathematics
8.A.ECa: Sort, order, compare, and describe objects according to characteristics or attribute(s).
The children distinguished between parts of the car that did and did not attract a magnet.
Mathematics
10.A.ECb: Gather data about themselves and their surroundings to answer meaningful questions
The children collected data to find out what parts of the car would attract magnets.
Mathematics
10.B.ECa: Organize, represent, and analyze information using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs, with teacher support.

Children dictated their findings to the teacher in the lab, then transferred the information when they returned to the classroom.

Sara and Jace used the words “Yes” and “No” to represent their findings on the chart.
Mathematics
10.B.ECb: Make predictions about the outcome prior to collecting information, with teacher support and multiple experiences over time.
The children made predictions about which parts of the car would attract magnets, based on previous experience with magnets.
Science
11.A.ECa: Express wonder and curiosity about their world by asking questions, solving problems, and designing things.
The children laughed with delight when the magnet was attracted to a part of the car, such as the rearview mirror. Jace asked what the yellow dial was on the engine.
Science
11.A.ECc: Plan and carry out simple investigations.
The children made and tested predictions about the magnets and the car.
Science
12.D.ECa: Describe the effects of forces in nature.
Children described what happened as they tested magnets on different parts of the car. They all noticed that the magnet would not stick to the front license plate because it was made of plastic.
Science
13.B.ECa: Use nonstandard and standard scientific tools for investigation.
The children all used magnets to conduct their investigation and test their predictions.
Social/emotional Development
30.C.ECa: Exhibit eagerness and curiosity as a learner.
The children eagerly explored the relationship of the magnets to the various materials of the parts of the car.
Social/emotional Development
30.C.ECc: Show some initiative, self-direction, and independence in actions.
Each child explored independently and shared findings with the group.