Making Observations
Background Information & Activities

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Help your children develop science inquiry skills to empower them to ask questions and make observations about the world around them. Remind them that when they observe, they pay close attention to something. They use their five senses to observe–seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They can use different tools to help them observe, such as a magnifying lens, microscope, ruler, thermometer, scale, balance, or stopwatch. They should always take notes and record their observations in a chart, graph, or other graphic organizer.

Review the five senses with your children and pick something to observe together, such as an apple. How does it look? Take a close look at the apple together and describe it. Remind your children to observe it closely, noting its color, size, and shape. Remind them to look at all of its different parts. How does it smell? Have your children compare it to other smells they know. Does it smell sweet like candy or a flower? Does it smell sour like a lemon? Then have them feel it, noting its weight and texture. Is it light or heavy? Is it smooth or bumpy? Is it soft or hard? Then have your children listen to the apple. How does it sound? While some objects don’t make sound on its own, they make sound when you interact with them. Take a bite of the apple. What do you hear? Have your children note how the apple tastes. Is it sweet, sour, crunchy, or soft? It is important for your children to understand that they should only touch or taste something if an adult says it is safe. Encourage them to find other ways to describe the apple.

When scientists observe something, they often look at it from different angles. Things can look different from different places. They also take their time to observe since things can change in surprising ways. Some scientists spend years studying the same thing and learn more and more as time goes on. Observe the weather with your children. What is the weather like in the morning, afternoon, and night? How does the temperature change? If you chart the weather on a daily basis in your class, you can look back over your calendars from the past months and observe how the weather changes over time and seasons. Help your children understand that making observations over an extended period of time helps them gather more accurate information about something. What if you only recorded temperature at night? It would be difficult to understand how the temperature changes over the course of a day, week, month, or year.

Your children should be familiar with different tools that can help them observe. Magnifying glasses and microscopes can help them see things up close, while binoculars help them see things that are far away. Rulers and measuring tapes help them measure length, width, and height and scales help them measure weight. Balances help them compare different objects. Thermometers help them record how hot or cold something is. They can use stopwatches and clocks to time something. Encourage your children to use many different tools when they observe.

Remind your children that recording their observations is just as important as making them. They may want to write their observations in words or numbers. For example, the apple is red, shiny, and smooth and has six seeds. They may want to draw pictures, take photos, make videos, or even record sound. Encourage them to be thorough and creative. They should take notes and organize their observations in a chart, diagram, or other graphic organizer. Different organizers work best for different objects, so arm your children with a variety of tools they can use as they observe and find the one that’s best for them.

When scientists make observations, they learn the world around them and help answer questions. They can use what they learned to make predictions and often observations lead to more questions and investigations. Help your children develop strong inquiry skills and foster their curiosity and a love of science.

Making Observations Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Making Observations Family Activities – Click Here!

Making Observations Teacher Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Flower Power

Bring in different flowers for your children to observe. Have small groups examine each one and record their observations. Encourage them to draw pictures and write down what they see using words and numbers. Groups can create their own charts and graphic organizers to record their observations or you may wish to distribute one for everyone to use. Then have groups make comparisons of the different flowers. What did they learn by observing? Students can share their ideas with the whole class.

What’s the weather?

Have your students observe the weather for a week, month, or year. They can use thermometers and make rain or snow gauges by putting a ruler in a clear cup. Remind them about the importance of observing the weather during different times of the day and always checking around the same times each day. Gather the data in a graph or chart and have students interpret the data, make inferences and predictions, or come up with questions to investigate further.

Blindfold

Divide the class into small groups and have one member get blindfolded. Other members can give something for the blindfolded person to observe with the senses. Some suggestions are a potato, a rubber band, a pencil, a leaf, etc. What does he or she feel, smell, or hear? Encourage blindfolded students to compare the objects to things they know and ask questions to the other group members. Once the blindfolded person names the correct object, they can change roles.

Making Observations Family Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

For the Birds

Go bird-watching with your child. You may wish to do it in your backyard or at a local park. You can also find simple and inexpensive ways on the Internet to make a bird feeder to help attract birds to the area. Have your child observe different birds, comparing their size, color, and behaviors. He or she may want to count each type of bird or record different birds’ chirps and songs. If possible, repeat the activity during different times of the year. Which birds appear the most? Help your child make connections and find patterns.

Plant Race

Help your child grow two plants from seeds. He or she should put one plant in a sunny spot and put another in a shady spot. Have your child predict which will grow faster and why. Remember to always give each plant the same amount of water . Then help your child observe each plant over an extended period of time. He or she can use a ruler to measure the height, count the number of leaves that grow, and take photographs or draw pictures. Which plant “wins” the race? Why?