A Resource Bank to

Help Teachers Deviate

from Lecture-Based
Instruction

By: Monique Czaczkowski and Kevin

VanHaaren
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Table of Contents
Differentiate Instruction Strategies
Page 3 6
-Individual Activities
-Group/Class Activities

Predict-Observe-Experiment (P.O.E) Activities

...
Page 7 16
-Dancing Raisins
-Colour Changing Milk
-Tornado in a Bottle
-Mentos Geyser
-Egg in a Bottle
-Water Screen
-Tea Bag Missile
-Elephant Toothpaste
-Lava Lamp
-Magic Sand

For more P.O.Es visit: http://weirdsciencekids.com/FunExperiments.html

Ice Breaker Games

Page 17

Differentiated Instruction
Strategies
Individual Activities:
Fist of Five: Students use their fingers as a scale of one
to five to express their understanding

Speedometer: Students move crossed arms from being

together to apart to show how much they understand a
particular topic.

Thumbs up, Middle, or Down: As the class if they understand a

concept. If they think they get it, thumbs up. If they are not sure, thumbs
middle, if they dont get it, thumbs down.

Individual Response Boards: Each student has a small white board

or chalkboard. The teacher asks the class a question and the students record
their response on the board.

Exit Cards: The teacher asks a question before they leave and have them
write down the answer on a Q-card.

Index Card Summaries: After a lesson, have the students summarize

what they have learned on an index card.

3-2-1 Summarize: Students state three things they learned, 2 ways the
information relates to them personally, and 1 question they have about the
material.

Two Roses and a Thorn: Name two things that you liked about a

chapter or lesson and one thing you did not like or you still have a question
about.

Circle, Triangle, Square: Something that is still going around in your

head (triangle), something pointed that stood out in your mind (square), and
something that squared or agreed with your thinking.

Red/Green Card: Students hold an index card (that has a red circle on
one side and a green circle on the other) in front of them where you can see
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it. If they are following along with you and understanding the concept, they
show the green circle side. When they miss some information, need
clarification, or dont understand, they turn it to show you the red circle. This
is much more effective than having them raise their hands and lets you know
shortly after they are lost instead of at the end of class.

Three Minute Pause: After the teacher presents a lot of new material,
she asks the students to think for three minutes about what they have
learned. They can jot down notes or sketches to show what they have
learned.

Bubble Maps: This is a good brainstorming activity or

design process of describing attributes of something.

Double Bubble Maps: Similar

to a bubble map but with two main bubbles. It
works well for comparing and contrasting two
things.
K-W-L: Students respond as a whole group, small group, or individually to a
topic as to What they already know, what they want to learn, what they
have learned and record it using a graphic organizer.

Group/Class Activities:
Four Corners: Teacher can choose anything to label the four corners of

the classroom. The teacher may ask an opinionated question and have the
students go to the corner they agree with.

Jigsaw: Divide the students up into four groups and

provide each group with some material to study.

Allow the students to become experts on that
particular topic. Then, by choosing one student from each
group, develop four different groups and allow the
experts to share what they studied with the rest of the

group.

Inside-Outside Circle: Half the class makes a circle facing out. The

other half makes a circle facing the inside circle. They ask each other review
questions then rotate in the same direction.

Think-Pair-Share: Have the students read or study something. Give

them time to think and reflect. Put the students in pairs and let them discuss
the material. Let the pairs share what they have learned or their thoughts.

Pass the Ball: The teacher asks a question and then throws a ball to a

student who has to answer the question. If the student answers the question
correctly, he/she gets to shoot a basket. If the student answers the question
incorrectly, they pass the ball to a teammate for assistance.

I Have-Who Has: Give students card

that have an answer on the top and a

question on the bottom. When one student
asks their question, the student with the
correct answer says the answer, and then
asks their question. This cycle repeats until
all questions are asked.

Trash Basketball: Wad up a piece of paper. Tape off three lines on the
floor each farther away from the trashcan. One by one students come up and
answer a question on a flash card. If they get it correct, they choose to shoot
a 10, 20, or 30-point basket.

Eagles/Hawks: This is a great strategy for having students cycle through

working with random partners. Students sit in partners and decide who is the
eagle and who is the hawk. When students are ready to move to the next
partner you announce, Eagle fly or Hawk fly and one partner must get up
and find a new partner.

Graffiti: Post chart paper around the room with a topic, question, or
problem on it. In groups, students write their ideas on the chart paper. When
signaled, they move to the next paper. Once done, groups do one more
round to read the ideas of others.

Gallery Walk: This activity is good for having students share information
after a jigsaw activity. Each group puts their ideas on a large paper and
hangs it on the wall. In groups, students then cycle around the room
examining the ideas/work of others. One alternative is to have one group
member stay back and explain the groups work.

Student Conference: One-on-one conversation with students to check

their level of understanding.

One Question, One Comment: Students are assigned a chapter or

passage to read and create one question and one comment generated from
the reading. In class, students will meet in either small or whole class groups
for discussion. Each student shares at least one comment or question. As the
discussion moves student by student around the room, the next person can
answer a previous question posed by another student, respond to a
comment, or share their own comments and questions. As the activity builds
around the room, the conversation becomes in-depth with opportunity for all
students to learn new perspectives on the text.

Coloured Cups: Give students in groups 3 different coloured cups. Green

means they are doing well. Yellow means they need help. Red means they
are stuck and need a lot of help. This is a great way for the teacher to
monitor group work.

Predict-Observe-Experiment
(P.O.E) Activities
Dancing Raisins Experiment
Materials:

A can of colorless soda (e.g. 7-Up or Sprite)

Water
2 tall, clear glass or plastic cups
Several raisins (fresh raisins work the best)

Demo Description:
1. Pour the can of soda into 1 tall glass and fill the other tall glass with water.
2. Drop 6-7 raisins into the glass.
3. Watch the raisins for a few seconds.

Explanation:
Initially, because raisins are denser than the liquid in the soda, they sink to
the bottom of the glass. The carbonated soft drink releases carbon dioxide
bubbles, which stick to the rough surface of a raisin. This lifts the raisin due
to the increase in buoyancy. When the raisin reaches the surface, the
bubbles pop, and the carbon dioxide gas escapes into the air. This causes the
raisin to lose buoyancy and sink. The rising and sinking of the raisins
continues until most of the carbon dioxide has escaped, and the soda goes
flat. Also, with time the raisin gets soggy and becomes too heavy to rise to
the surface.

Colour Changing Milk Experiment

Materials:

Regular milk (not skim, fate free, or low-fat)

Plate
Food colouring (red, yellow, green, and blue)
Dawn dish washing soap (or one that claims to "cut the grease")
Q-Tips / Cotton swabs

Demo Description:
1. Pour enough milk onto the plate to cover the bottom.
2. Towards the center of the plate add one drop of each food coloring (red,
blue, green, and yellow).
3. Dip the Q-Tip / cotton swab into the Dawn Dish Washing soap.
4. Insert the cotton swab into the milk in the center between all the foodcolouring dots and hold it there for about 15 seconds. Do not move the swab
around, stir, or mix.
5. Watch as the colors swirl and explode!
6. Repeat with another fresh soapy swab in a different place on the plate.
Look carefully and notice the colors continue to swirl and mix even after you
have removed the swab.

Explanation:
Milk contains many things but much of it is made up of water, proteins, and
fats. When the "grease-cutting" soap is added to the milk, the fat and protein
chemical bonds are deteriorated and everything gets set loose. The fat and
protein molecules explode in all directions. The molecules in the food
coloring go all over as well, making it easy to see what is happening.
Changes in surface tension also contribute to the water molecules in the milk
zinging around. When the Dawn soap is added, it destroys the bonds that
hold everything together, causing the colours to fly!

Tornado in a Bottle
Materials:

2 Plastic bottles (empty 1 L water bottles work well)

Water
Coloured lamp oil (Optional)
Food colouring (Optional)
Small Styrofoam balls (Optional)
Small washer 1/4"
Duct tape

Demo Description:

1. Fill one of the empty bottles to the top with water.

2. Add a couple drops of food coloring if you want.
3. If you have small Styrofoam balls put them in to simulate flying debris.
4. Put the 1/4-inch washer on top of the filled bottle.
5. Now invert the other bottle on top of it so they are connected. Use duct
tape to make a nice water tight secure connection between the bottles. One
bottle should be empty and one should be full.
6. Take a little extra time to ensure the bottles are snug / flush against the
washer before duct taping them together. You want everything perfectly flat
when you tape.
7. Turn the bottle with the water upside down so the water is on top. How
long does it take for the water to drain into the bottom bottle without
squeezing it (a long time).
8. Now try this! Make a Vortex and watch how fast the water moves from the
top bottle to the bottom bottle. To make a Vortex put the bottle with the
water on top. Hold the bottles with your hand in the middle where the two
connect. Then twirl the bottle around in a circular motion for a few seconds
and hold still. Wham!

Explanation:

Twirling and swirling the bottle creates a vortex as the water moves down
through the hole in the washer. What you see is basically a hurricane in a
plastic bottle. When the vortex is generated, air from the bottom bottle can
more easily move to the top bottle and the water comes out quicker. Try
looking in the center of the bottle as you do the experiment and you will see
the hole in the middle also known as "the eye of the hurricane". It takes more
time for the water to move down when you let the bottle sit without making
a vortex because the water and air must take turns moving through the hole
in a burping effect.

Mentos Geyser
Materials:

Mint Mentos
Large bottle of Diet Coke
Test tube (or some creative insertion device)

Demo Description:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Unwrap the Mint Mentos.

Put them into a tube of any sort.
Uncap the diet coke.
Dump them in and run.

Explanation:

When you drop the Mint Mentos candy into the Diet Coke it starts to foam
and erupt into the air. Do not use the fruit Mentos because they have a
smoother surface that will produce a small or no reaction at all. The Mentos
and Diet Coke experiment is an example of a physical reaction.
There are many factors that cause the physical reaction. Ingredients
contained in the Diet Coke (carbon dioxide gas, benzoate, caffeine,
aspartame, potassium) and Mentos mints (gelatin and gun Arabic) react
when combined together. However many scientists think the primary cause
of the eruption reaction may be attributed to the physical makeup of the
mint Mentos candy itself and the nucleation on the surface. Nucleation on
the surface of the mint Mentos is evidenced by all of the tiny little holes
found there. These small nucleation holes permit carbon dioxide bubbles to
form very fast and grow rapidly when the Diet
Coke is added. What results is a big eruption of foam.

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Egg in a Bottle
Materials:

Clear glass bottle (I.e. Starbucks Ice Mocha Glass)

Hard boiled eggs (medium size)
Lighter
Bowl
Water
Paper

Demo Description:

1. Hard boil some eggs. Let them cool in a bowl of cool water for at least 10
minutes.
2. Carefully remove the shells and put them back in the cool water bowl. Let
your unshelled hard-boiled eggs sit in the water bowl until you lift out to put
onto the bottle top in step 7.
3. Set a hard boiled egg on top of the glass jar and show everyone it will not
go down into the container on it's own without force. Then remove and put
back into the water.
4. Dip your finger in the water and get a little moisture on it. Rub that on the
rim of the glass to give it a little lubrication.
5. Rip a small piece of paper off.
6. Light the paper on fire with the lighter. Let it get going pretty good and
then quickly put the ignited paper into the glass bottle.
7. Now be fast with this part. After you put the lit paper into the glass bottle,
gently place the egg on top of the bottle. Be quick because the fire will go
out fast.
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8. Sit back and watch the egg get sucked down into the bottle. Listen for the
cool sucking sound as it goes inside!

Explanation:
When we ignite the piece of paper it heats the molecules of air inside the
bottle. This makes the molecules expand and move away from each other.
They go up and out of the bottle with the heat from the fire. Once the fire is
extinguished the air cools down, but the egg on top of the bottle prevents
new air from outside from entering the bottle. The air pressure inside the
bottle is now lower since new air from outside has been prevented from
moving inside (new air can't fill the empty space in the bottle). This means
the air pressure outside is greater than inside the bottle. As a result the
greater air pressure outside pushes the egg down into the lower pressure
bottle.

Water Screen
Materials:

Plastic mesh bag used for produce at the grocery store or wire screen
door mesh
Glass bottle
Rubber band
Index card
Water

Demo Description:
1. Cut a piece of plastic mesh or wire screen large enough to cover the
mouth of the glass bottle with some extra room.
2. Place the mesh over the bottle mouth and secure it with the rubber band.
3. Pour water through the screen and fill the bottle. This will illustrate to
everyone that water really does go right through it. Fill it all the way up to
the top.
4. Take the index card and cover the screen. Now turn the bottle upside down
with the index card still covering the screen. Once upside down, slowly
remove the index card. Magically, the water does not come pouring out
through the screen.

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5. When your ready to prove that there was no trick or secret substance
covering the screen, while still holding the bottle upside down, tip the bottle
to one side or the other.

Explanation:
When you submerge a screen into water and then pull it out, you will see
that water fills the screen holes. This is due to a force called cohesion.
Cohesion is the attraction of molecules that are the same to each other.
Surface tension allows water molecules to form a membrane. As a result,
water stays in the bottle even after the card has been removed. The water
molecules are bound together to form a thin membrane between the screen
openings. When you tip the bottle it breaks the surface tension and the
water comes whizzing out.

Tea Bag Missile

Materials:

Tea bag
Plate
Lighter or matches
Scissors

Demo Description:
1. Use the scissors to cut the tea bag at the top where the string meets the
bag. Make a nice flat straight cut through both sides of the tea bag.
2. Empty the contents of the tea bag out.
3. Open the tea bag and shape into a cylinder.
4. Place the tea bag cylinder onto the plate.
5. Use the lighter or matches to ignite the top of the tea bag.
6. Watch it close as it burns and takes flight!
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Explanation:
When the tea bag is ignited hot air is generated and begins rising. As the tea
bag burns thermal convection currents start to form between the tea bag
and the plate. Eventually the tea bag has burned all the way to ash. As this
happens the thermal convection currents become stronger than the weight
of the tea bag ashes and propel them into the air.

Elephant Toothpaste
Materials:

30% Hydrogen peroxide

Sodium iodide 2M
Food coloring
Dawn dish soap
Empty clear plastic soda bottle
Plastic trash bags
Container or basin

Demo Description:

1. Cut open some plastic trash bags and tape them to ground or table. This
will make clean up easy and limit the mess.
2. Put on plastic lab gloves and safety goggles. Do this at the beginning. 30%
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hydrogen peroxide is nasty stuff and can cause major skin burns. You do not
want this to make contact with and part of unexposed skin, eyes, etc. Be
careful!
3. Secure the plastic soda bottle into the container or basin you have chosen
to use.
4. In a separate plastic cup measure one teaspoon of sodium iodide. Mix in
one ounce of water. Mix until the sodium iodide dissolves into the solution.
5. Pour 50 mL or 1.69 ounces of the 30% hydrogen peroxide into clear plastic
soda bottle.
6. Pick your favorite food coloring and add a drop or two to the 30%
hydrogen peroxide in the bottle.
7. Add a nice squirt of dawn dish soap into the bottle with hydrogen peroxide
and Food colouring. Squirt the soap down the inside wall of the plastic bottle.
Let it run down.
8. When ready very quickly pour the sodium iodide solution into the clear
plastic water bottle containing the 30% hydrogen peroxide, food colouring,
and Dawn soap. Do it fast and stand back.
9. A large steaming foam column will erupt from the water bottle like
lightning as the exothermic reaction occurs and instantly decomposes the
oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide. As the erupting column settles is will
produce a big foaming pile of steam!
**Remember don't touch the foam without gloves and goggles.

Explanation:
The chemical reaction that takes place is called an exothermic reaction or
one that releases heat. 30% Hydrogen peroxide is very strong and contains
10 times the amount of oxygen when compared to the kind typically sold in
pharmacies and supermarkets. In this reaction we are adding a catalyst in
the form of sodium iodide to decompose and release the oxygen in the
hydrogen peroxide instantly. The food colouring adds some flavor and the
soap produces the foam. Its actually oxygen gas trapped in the soap bubbles
that creates the foam or elephant toothpaste. When hydrogen peroxide is
broken down and decomposed, it releases oxygen gas, heat, and water.

Lava Lamp
Materials:

Clean clear plastic soda bottle (16 oz) with cap

Vegetable oil
Food coloring
An Alka-Seltzer Tablets
Water

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Demo Description:
1. Add vegetable oil to the soda bottle until it's about 3/4 full.
2. Add about 1/4 water to the rest of the bottle.
3. Put about 10 drops of your favorite food coloring into the bottle. Make sure
your water color is dark.
4. Break 1 or 2 Alka-Seltzer tablets into chunks.
5. When ready start dropping the chunks into the bottle. Sit back and enjoy
the lava lamp show. You can let the lava lamp settle and repeat by adding
more chucks of Alka-Seltzer tablets.
6. Once you have used up all the Alka-Seltzer tablets. Top off your soda
bottle to the rim with the vegetable oil and screw on the cap. Let the lava
lamp settle and then try tipping it back and forth to see the neat waves that
are created when oil and water don't want to mix.

Explanation:
First and foremost we have learned that oil and water don't mix. Even if you
give the bottle a good shaking, you will notice the oil molecules go into little
bubbles and don't mix with the water. However, the food coloring and water
do mix well. Water is more dense or heavier than oil. Therefore when we
added the water it sank to the bottom of the bottle. The oil was lighter than
the water so it floated on top. When we added the chunks of Alka-Seltzer
tablets to the water there was a reaction. The reaction created small bubbles
of carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide bubbles attached to the blurbs or
strands of colored water and caused them to float to the surface. Once the
bubbles popped, the color blurbs sank back to the bottom of the bottle and a
new one rose in its place. This created the lava lamp effect.

Magic Sand
Materials:

Sand
Silicon spray
2 clear plastic or glass containers with large mouths

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Demo Description:
1. Layout the sand on a piece of cardboard or on top of some newspaper.
Spread it thin. Spray the sand with a couple coats of the silicone spray. Make
sure to mix the sand around between coats to ensure coating all sides of the
sand. Let the silicone dry overnight or at least 12 hours.
2. Fill the clear plastic cups or glass containers about 1/2 full with water.
3. Add a generous amount of the magic sand to one of the containers.
4. Notice that the sand appears to be dry even though its under water.
5. Prove its still dry by pouring the water from one container to the other.

Explanation:
Magic sand works because the silicone coating makes it repel the water
molecules. The scientific term for this is hydrophobic meaning to "fear
water". Regular sand referred to as being hydrophilic or "water loving"
because it will absorb water. You can explore the properties of water
molecules by making a hypothesis about what will happen when you add
water to both magic sand and regular sand. Then perform the experiment
and note the differences between hydrophobic and hydrophilic sand.

Ice Breaker Games

Two Truths and a Lie: Ask students to arrange themselves in a circle.

Instruct each student to think of three statements about themselves. Two

must be true statements, and one must be false. For each person, he or she
shares three statements (in any order) to the group. The goal of the game is
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to determine which statement is false. The group votes on which one they
feel is a lie, and at the end of each round, the person reveals which one was
the lie.

Lost on a Deserted Island: Given the scenario that everyone is lost

and stranded on a deserted island, each person describes one object that
they would bring and why. After everyone has introduced their object and
why they have chosen that object, divide into smaller groups and ask
everyone to work together to improve their chances of survival by combing
the various objects that they introduced.

React and Act Game: Ask five people on each team to randomly select
an event from the bag. Instruct them to react to this event, without explicitly
giving away what the event is. Choose a time limit (usually 30 seconds-1
minute) and when you say GO! have all five people to simultaneously react
to their event using exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and their voice
(I.e. just won the lottery- raise his or her arms and scream excitedly, jumping
up and down). Each of the five actors can interact with each other. After time
expires, the other members of the team try to guess what happened for each
person.

Extremes: Where do you stand? In front of the room, create an

imaginary line. All the way on the left side is one extreme, and all the way on
the right side is the other extreme. Make sure there is enough space for
people to stand anywhere along this imaginary line. Ask your students
several questions (I.e. winter or summer, sweet or salty, Hawaii or New York
City, rock music or classical, chocolate or strawberry, morning person or
night person?). Everyone will then respond by standing somewhere along the
imaginary line according to how strong of an opinion they have on that item.
If they are neutral, they will stand in the middle.

Group Juggling: Ask the group to form a large circle, with everyone
facing the center. Start by tossing the ball across the circle to another
person. As you toss, say the name of the person to whom you are tossing.
This lets them know the ball is coming to them and lets everyone hear their
name. Once that person catches (or retrieves) the ball, they pick someone
else, shout their name and toss them the ball. Play continues with the one
ball until it makes it to everyone in the group.

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