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With mouth wide open, vibrating air coming up the throat from the vocal chords leaving the open mouth and spreading in all directions. Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50+ best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years and now am creating this science website.   My scream was not staged. The picture was to be of two adult cats, which I was holding. A microsecond before the camera snapped, the two cats dug their claws into my skin as they prepared to leap out of my arms. A picture like this is great for making inferences. Kids could make "guesses" as to why I am screaming. They would be drawing on facts from the photo, such as I look like I am in pain or maybe I am just pretending.

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Home » Teacher Tips:Making Science Fun

Teacher Tips:Making Science Fun

By Janice VanCleave

Notes from Janice’s Desk

Q. What makes science fun for kids?
A. Kids find science fun when they are actively involved.

As a science teacher I collected ideas that kids liked most about science. As a writer I used these ideas to create science experiment books that kids could play and find out about science. Following are some of these ideas:

1. Hands-on activities; things that kids can do themselves.
2. Kids want to be active problem solvers.
3. Investigations with a touch of magic
4. Investigations to make kids say “WOW!”
5. Information that is easy to understand.
6. Investigations with bite-size pieces of information.
7. Information related to their age level.
8. Real World investigations
9. Explorations that have that …….“ah- ha!” response.
10. Anything kids can make happen themselves.
11. Investigations that really work.
12. Investigations involving “around the house” materials so they can safely repeat the experiments at home–many times.

Teaching the Fun of Science to Young Learners

The book is designed to help young students catch the “science bug” 

Teaching the Fun of Science to Young Learners

The book’s 75 lessons and reproducible activities touch on all areas of science and provide the key to a world of science magic and mystery. While kids will have fun doing the activities and learning to love science, they are also being encouraged to develop other skills, including reading, writing, math, and art.

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Filed Under: General Science Tagged With: Teaching Tips

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The spoon hanging from the string vibrates when struck and these vibrations are transmitted through the string and the sound is amplified by the plastic cups. ABOUT ME: Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50 best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years. MORE.....

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