This is an activity that is part of a unit on Our Five Senses. To set up the activity gather together up to 17 small film canisters or similar small jars. Place a cotton ball in each container. Use an eye dropper to add a few drops of the following food essences or aromatherapy oils to the containers - peppermint, lemon, orange, vanilla and rose. Mix up a small amount of coffee and pour a ew drops into one of the containers and to the final container add a few drops of vinegar. Place an adhesive dot on each container and then number them. Make a list of the scents and their matching number. This comes in handy for remembering what each scent is. Conduct a discussion with the students about our sense of smell. Invite them to the table that you have set up with the Scent Pots. The students use the worksheet to identify the smells that they recognise and place the correct number next to the scent. Place a cross through any scents that they did not identify.

This is a Frog Quiz to be used at the end of a unit or topic on frogs. All the images are of frogs in the Perth region. Perth in Western Australia. However, the quiz could be used to review frogs in any part of the world. Students work in teams to write their answers.

Students were shown different materials buried in a ‘see-through compost container’. The materials in the container were - a banana skin, plastic knife and paper egg carton. Students then engaged in a discussion about how long it would take the different materials to rot. The students then conducted their own investigation. Students chose one material either; fruit or vegetable scrap, plastic, paper or Chux cloth. Students placed their material in the bottom of a round take away container then covered the material with potting mix. A few weeks later the students uncovered their material and recorded their findings on the worksheet. Resource also includes an assessment rubric.

This activity template could be used for research on any Australian animal. It is a digital learning activity. The file was shared with each student via Google Drive but could be shared using whatever other digital learning platform that you use at your school. The students had to choose one of the informational sites from this my own website designed by Crickcrick herself! http://thescienceworkshop.weebly.com/bandicoot.html They then had to sort the information into the four text boxes on their digital learning file. The students had to describe a bandicoot, list possible threats, describe a bandicoot habitat and list the foods that a bandicoot eats. the students had the choice to upload their own photo of a bandicoot or use the one on the file.

The students investigate how many how metal objects it would take to change the temperature of a cup of water. The students work in their cooperative teams to make a prediction and set up a fair test investigation by measuring the temperature of the water before and after placing hot metals objects into the cup. The students evaluate the investigation by concluding whether the hot metal pieces are heat producers or heated by something else. To conduct this investigation the students will need a thermometer, tongs to pick up the hot bolts, a timer, a polystyrene cup and several hot bolts from a hardware store. The bolts need to be placed in the sun to heat up prior to the lesson. This resource includes a PowerPoint presentation explaining how to conduct the investigation, an accompanying worksheet to record findings and an assessment rubric.

TIn this package you will find - a worksheet and an assessment rubric. To conduct this investigation you will need to collect several metal coat hangers and tie string to two ends of the coat hanger. Place students into teams of two. Each team has a set of materials to test using their coat hanger. The strings on the coat hanger are ‘draped’ around the students ears. This is how the student will pick up and sense the vibration. The student use the worksheet to record their findings. Each student will ‘tap’ a selection of materials onto the wire of the coat hanger and the other student will indicate if they sense the vibration.

This is a detailed powerpoint on how to guide your students to make a ‘circuit’ bug. A circuit bug is an electronic/craft project using LED lights, a 3V disc battery, a peg, copper wire and pipe cleaners. Once the students have created their circuit they can work creatively to make a bug/minibeast. The possibilities are endless. The final slide in the powerpoint is a a set of review questions for the students to evaluate their learning experience.

The students work in teams of two to investigate ’How many times can the bottle be lifted to shoulder height in 30 seconds?’ This powerpoint explains how to set up the investigation. The final slide in the powerpoint includes discussion questions.

This worksheet activity guides the students through three weathering and erosion investigation activities. In the first activity this students are given a half cup of frozen water. The teacher will need to set this up the day before. Each team or pair of students will require a cup of frozen water. They will compare and make observations about a glacier freezing and melting. In the second investigation each team of pair of students is given a small container containing three sugar cubes. By shaking the container the students simulate wind. Particles of sugar will gather in the container. This is the wind weathering rocks. In the third investigation the students are given a small piece of chalk and a container with vinegar and a pipette. The slowly add drop of vinegar to the chalk and observe the changes. This is ‘acid rain’. There are a few photos on the second page and the students identify what type of weathering is happening in each one.

This is an exciting lesson. I was able to set up a night activation camera in the hollow of a tree inhabited by a family of Southern Boobook Owls. Southern Booboook Owls live in Western Australia and they are the smallest owl on the Australian continent. These movies can be used to show the behaviours of any owl species. There are six owl movies. Movie 1 - the baby owlet rotates it’s head/neck 180. Movie 2 - the adult owl delivers a mouse to the owlets in the hollow. Movie 3 - the adult owl delivers an invertebrate (possibly a moth) Movie 4 - the adult owl delivers another invertebrate. Movie 5 - an adult owl enters the hollow. Movie 6 - a second adult owl enters the hollow. Here is link to the owl movies that have been uploaded onto my website. https://thescienceworkshop.weebly.com/southern-boobook-owls.html Use the accompanying worksheet to guide students as they view each movie. Students record what the owls are doing, what they eat and what goes on in an owl hollow in the middle of the night. It’s very busy!!

This investigation provides students with a hands-on experience to demonstrate how gravity separated the planets. Students work in teams to conduct and record findings in a fair test investigation to demonstrate how the planets were separated in the Solar System. Each team fills three plastic cups with sand, rocks and water. The students take turns to gently tap each cup with equal force and then measure how far the contents spread. Students record their findings and data on the worksheet. The students use the data to construct a column graph. Final slide includes review questions.

This activity is about the frogs in the area where you live. The students choose one frog commonly found where they live. In their journals or a piece of paper they divide their page into quarters like shown on the powerpoint. The students read through the text for their chosen frog and then sort the information into habitat, description, noise and food by recording the information into each box.

This worksheet guides students as they work in teams to investigate the different properties of rocks. Each team is given a rock and worksheet. You will need th following materials to conduct the tests magnifiers digital scales tape measure water and pipette scissors torch vinegar and eye dropper

This is a powerpoint to guide students through an individual investigation where they explore their nervous system. To conduct the investigation the students will need one pin 1 paper clip ice a polystyrene cup hot water a fine tipped black texta a piece of 1cm grid paper The students will use a black pen to draw and 1cm grid on the back of their hand. In this grid they will use different materials to test out their sense responses. The students will make a duplicate grid on a piece of 1cm graph or grid paper. On this piece of paper they will record their responses using codes. The final slide in this resource includes discussion questions.

To conduct this activity you will need to purchase about 10-12 Hexbug Nanos. I recommend fishpond.com. Explain to the students that Hexbug Nanos are robotic toys that move and react with sensors. Explain to the students that they will be working in teams of three to construct and create their own maze. Firstly get the students to draw a maze design that they will be able to build. Give each team the lid from a box of A4 photocopy paper. Cut an entry and exit opening for the students. Get them to make a mark where they want the opening to be cut. Pre cut several strips of hard cardboard with a guillotine (this will make it easier and quicker for the students to commence construction). Students construct their mazes using the strips of cardboard and masking tape. When their maze is complete they can test it out with their Hexbug Nano. On the worksheet the students can measure and record the distance travelled by their Hexbug. Then the students are ready to conduct their trials. For each trial the students place their Hexbug at the entry point and using a timer record how long it takes for the Hexbug to travel through the maze and out through the exit. If the Hexbug gets ‘stuck’ they re to record at which point it gets stuck and then make improvements to the maze. The goal is to continually improve the maze so that the Hexbug improves it’s travel time with each trial. The worksheet includes further questions on evaluating their investigation.

The students make their own Scribblebots in teams of three. Once the students have completed their Scribblebot’s conduct a brainstorm with the students and record their ideas on how they could test out their Scribblebot’s performance. Give each team very large piece of paper. Use the worksheet to plan the investigation and record data. At the conclusion of the activity each team presents their findings to the class and gives a demonstration on how they conducted their challenge.

This is an interactive investigation where the students are taken to a bushland setting in Perth Western Australia or have access to a bushland area on their school site. The students use the worksheet to guide their investigation about the Nyoongar season of Kambarang which occurs in October/November Djeran which occurs in March/April Makuru which occurs in June/July Djilba which occurs in August/September There are several Nyoongar Six Season posters that can be purchased or found online. I purchased mine from SERCUL in Beckenham. I do not have a worksheet for Birak. This season is over the Jaunary/December period and Australian students are on their summer holidays at this time.

This is a powerpoint, youtube clip and worksheet that explains to students how to set up a fair test to investigate coral bleaching. Students will take two marine shells, weigh each shell then place one shell in a bowl of tap water and the other shell in a bowl of vinegar. Over the next week the students make observations and record the changes to each shell. There is also a worksheet to accompany this powerpoint. The worksheet is called ‘Investigating Coral Bleaching student worksheet’ . The students will make their own conclusions about the effect of Carbon Emissions on our coral reef ecosystems. The worksheet can be adjusted so that the investigation runs over a sorter period eg, one week.

Students will investigate the following question ‘How much soil is blown away when we use a straw to blow consistently on a landscape for 20 seconds?’ Students will take two containers and using a spoon fill each container to the top with soil from the garden. Then leave one container ‘dry’ and use a spray bottle to ‘dampen’ the soil in the second container so that it is moist. Students will weigh the dry soil and record the weight. To conduct the investigation one student places the dry container at the end of an A3 piece of paper and sets the timer to 20 seconds. The student places the tip of the straw at one end of the container and blows across the soil landscape for 20 seconds. They are modelling the effect of a strong wind. The student weighs the container a second time (after blowing) and records the weight Now repeat for the second (moist) container. The powerpoint explains how to conduct this activity and includes review questions.

This resource includes a powerpoint presentation to guide students as they investigate water with their fives senses. Some of the activities include shining a torch onto the cup of water and dropping a marble into the cup of water. Included is a worksheet for the students to record their findings about water.