Nothing to buy. Nothing to teach. Ten minutes on the first day and one minute a day after that, using two nails and two glasses. This is not homework and it will not be marked — it is a conversation that helps with something your child will use in Science every year to Grade 10.
The activity: two nails, one week
minutes: 10 on day one, then 1 a dayMaterials: two iron nails from the same box, two glasses or empty jars, and tap water. A cut mango or banana will do if there are no nails.
Put the two nails side by side. Ask: <q>Tell me three things you can see about these nails.</q>
Whatever your child says, repeat it back. Do not correct it.
Put one nail in a dry glass and one in a glass of water. Ask: <q>What do you think will be different in one week?</q>
Ask the important one: <q>Why do you think that?</q> The reason matters more than the prediction.
Write the prediction on a scrap of paper and put it under the glass. Do not throw it away.
Every day, look for one minute. Ask: <q>What can you see today that you could not see yesterday?</q>
On the last day, read the prediction back. If it was wrong, say: <q>Good. Now we know something we did not know before.</q>
Three things to avoid
What usually happens
Instead
Telling your child what will happen on day one.
The waiting <em>is</em> the lesson. If they know the answer on Monday there is nothing to find out by Friday, and the point of the week is lost.
Saying <q>that's wrong</q> when a prediction does not come true.
A wrong prediction is not a wrong answer — it is how science works. Say: <q>Good. Now we know.</q> Children who are corrected for predicting stop predicting.
Using the word <q>chemicals</q> to mean something bad or artificial.
Water is a chemical. Salt is a chemical. Food is made of chemicals. Your child is being taught that the word describes what things are made of, and a shopping label that uses it the other way will confuse them.
Three signs it is working
They say <q>I'll know when I see it</q> instead of guessing again.
They ask <q>can we turn it back?</q> about something in the kitchen.
They correct you: <q>that's a physical property, not a chemical one.</q>
If you only have time for one part of this, make it step 4 — <b>why do you think that?</b> A prediction with a reason behind it is science. A prediction without one is a guess, and telling the two apart is most of what Grade 4 Science is for.