ECE 13

a science concept is like a key idea that helps us understand how things in the world work. It's a
way of explaining why stuff happens and how things are connected. For example, gravity is a
concept that explains why things fall down, like how a ball comes back when you throw it up.
Another concept is photosynthesis, which tells us how plants make their food using sunlight.
These concepts are like puzzle pieces that help us figure out how the big picture of our world fits
together.

Rain Cloud in a Jar:

Explanation: This activity demonstrates the concept of how rain clouds work. The shaving
cream represents the cloud, and the blue colored water represents rain. As you drop the colored
water onto the shaving cream, it gradually filters through and "rains" into the clear water below.
This illustrates the process of condensation (cloud formation) and precipitation (rainfall) in a
simple and visual way.

Step-by-Step Activity:

1. Fill the jar with water: Explain to the children that the jar represents the atmosphere. Fill
the jar about 3/4 full with water to create the "atmosphere."

2. Create the cloud: Spray a layer of shaving cream on top of the water. Discuss how clouds
are made up of tiny water droplets and that the shaving cream will represent these
droplets.

3. Add colored water: Show the children the blue colored water and explain that it
represents rain. Use a dropper or spoon to drop the colored water onto the shaving cream
cloud.

4. Observe and discuss: As the colored water filters through the shaving cream cloud and
falls into the clear water below, encourage the children to observe and discuss what's
happening. Ask questions like:

 What do you see happening to the colored water?

 Where is the colored water going?

 How is this activity similar to rain falling from real clouds?

5. Recap and reinforce: Summarize the activity by reviewing the concepts of cloud
formation, condensation, and precipitation. Emphasize that clouds are made of tiny water
droplets, and when these droplets become heavy enough, they fall to the ground as rain.
Through this interactive activity, preschoolers can grasp the fundamental concepts of weather
and water cycle in an engaging and hands-on way. It's essential to use age-appropriate language
and encourage open-ended questions to foster their curiosity and understanding.

Developing Conceptual Understanding in Science

This chapter describes how early years settings endeavor to extend children’s experiences to use
of all their senses. In particular, means of nurturing conceptual development by extending the
modalities that children might be encouraged to use in making sense of their encounters with the
physical world are discussed.

It talks about ways to help children develop their understanding of the world by using
different ways of experiencing things, like seeing, touching, and more.

The role of direct experiences in conceptual development

Both indoors and outdoors, early provision regularly offers youngsters opportunities to
engage with materials: water, sand, clay, foam, slime and ‘mini worlds’ of models as well as all
manner of 2-D and 3-D construction materials. Real world objects are also collected, examined
and displayed, with observations recorded. These perceptions of thought-provoking objects,
materials and events give rise to the need of vocabulary development. For example, different
qualities of sand need to be described. They might be ‘gritty’, ‘lumpy’, ‘grey’, ‘damp’, ‘dry’,
‘fine’, ‘coarse’, or ‘runny’. These attributes may affect how sand behaves when handled and so
incidentally thinking about handling properties introduces the ways that materials are classified.

In both indoor and outdoor places where young kids go, they get to play with things like
water, sand, clay, and other cool stuff. They also look at and talk about things they find
interesting, like rocks or toys. This helps them learn new words. For example, they might
learn words to describe different types of sand, like how it feels or looks. This helps them
understand how things are different and how they work.

It is during interactions around the experiences, with other children and with adults, that
children will be helped to make meanings. By engaging with and reflecting upon such
experiences, children develop various categorization systems. Children can learn and
communicate the knowledge that, to be molded and made into sandcastles, sand needs to be not
too dry, nor too wet, but just dump enough. Agreeing named attributes of things allows ideas or
‘concepts’ as we are calling them, to be shared. In playing with sand, tactile observation plays a
key role in in learning about the material, predicting its behaviour and using the knowledge
acquired purposefully.

When kids play with other kids and grown-ups, that's when they learn the most. They talk
and share ideas while doing things together. For example, when they play with sand, they
learn that for sandcastles, the sand shouldn't be too dry or too wet, but just right. They also
come up with words to describe things, like how sand feels or looks. This helps them
understand and talk about their ideas. When they touch and feel the sand, they learn how
it behaves and use that knowledge to do things with it, like building sandcastles.

To examine what is involved in conceptual development, we can begin with a definition of a

concept as ‘an idea formed in the mind-brain’; a mapping between what is outside and
what develops inside the head. A science concept will have been arrived at through experiences
that allow a learner to order and classify an instance and to make a generalization. An example
relevant to children’s developing understanding in the early years is the concept of ‘living things’
or what it is to be ‘alive’. There is evidence that by 3 years children form views that help
them to distinguish between some living things and artifacts (Gelman, 2003; Greif et al.,
2006). Greif et al., (2006) found that the questions children (3-5 years old) ask reveal
insights into what they count as important characteristics of living and inanimate objects.
They were found to be much more likely to ask questions of the kind that probed uses of the
artifacts. In contrast, they posed questions about food choices, location and reproduction, etc. to
find out more about unfamiliar animals. The questions children posed suggest an awareness of
relevant biological characteristics that may contribute to a developing understanding of living
things. A way of encouraging children to think about being ‘alive’ is to arrange for them to
engage in classifying things, preferably real objects, so that each individual in a discussion
is aware of exactly what is being discussed. We might all agree that a parrot squawking in its
cage is alive, whereas referring to a photograph or a stuffed soft toy requires clarification of the
ambiguity: the image is not alive but the animal represented might be. To avoid this uncertainty,
an adult could point to real objects around the room, naming the objects, and posing the question,
Is X alive? The targets of the questioning should include clear-set and non- set members as well
as introducing uncertainties that serve to sharpen the criteria. For set inclusion or exclusion,
referring to real objects outdoors, from oak trees to ants, ensures that the size of the items and
their mobility is not a limiting factor.

1. Views Formed by 3-Year-Olds: By the age of 3, children begin to develop ideas that
help them differentiate between living things (like animals and plants) and artifacts (man-
made objects). This means that even young children are starting to understand that there's
something different about living things compared to things we create.

2. Greif et al.'s Study (2006): In a study conducted by Greif and colleagues in 2006, they
observed and analyzed the questions that children between 3 and 5 years old ask. These
questions provided insights into how these children perceive and distinguish between
living and non-living things.

3. Children's Questions about Artifacts: The study found that children were more likely
to ask questions about how artifacts are used. For example, they might ask questions
 about what a toy car can do or how to play with it. This shows that even at a young age,
children are curious about how things work and serve specific purposes.

4. Children's Questions about Living Things: In contrast, when it came to living things
like animals, children posed questions about various aspects like food choices, where
they live, and how they reproduce. These types of questions show that children are
naturally curious about the life-related characteristics of animals. They want to know
about things like what animals eat, where they live, and how they have babies.

5. Awareness of Biological Characteristics: The questions that children asked in the study
indicate that even at a young age, they have an understanding of important traits that
distinguish living things from non-living things. For example, their interest in animals'
food choices and reproduction suggests they are aware of biological aspects that make
living things special.

In essence, this research highlights that even by the age of 3, children are developing a sense of
what sets living things apart from non-living things. Their questions show that they are naturally
interested in exploring how different things in the world work and what makes them unique. This
curiosity and early awareness lay the foundation for their understanding of biology and the
natural world as they grow older.

Imagine you're helping kids learn about what things are alive and what things are not alive. You
can do this by pointing to objects in the room and asking, "Is this object alive?"

For example:

1. Pointing to a Toy Car: You ask, "Is this toy car alive?" Kids will understand that the car
is not alive because it doesn't eat, grow, breathe, or do other things that living things do.
So, the toy car is a "non-set member" because it's not in the group of living things.

2. Pointing to a Plant: You ask, "Is this plant alive?" Kids might say "yes" because plants
grow, need sunlight and water, and show signs of being alive. So, the plant is a "clear-set
member" because it belongs to the group of living things.

3. Pointing to a Rock: You ask, "Is this rock alive?" Kids will likely say "no" because
rocks don't do the things living things do. So, the rock is a "non-set member."

4. Pointing to an Ant: You ask, "Is this ant alive?" Kids might say "yes" because ants
move, eat, and show signs of life. So, the ant is a "clear-set member."

5. Pointing to a Pencil: You ask, "Is this pencil alive?" Kids will likely say "no" because
pencils don't show any signs of being alive. So, the pencil is a "non-set member."
By using real objects like plants, toys, ants, rocks, and pencils, you're helping kids understand
what it means to be alive and what doesn't. This way, you're introducing "set inclusion" (putting
things in the right group) and "set exclusion" (saying what's not in the group) in a way that's
clear and easy to understand. And by including some cases where it might be a bit uncertain (like
whether a plant or an ant is alive), you're helping them think more deeply about the criteria that
define living things. It's like a fun game of figuring out which things are alive and which things
are not!