Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Like the other books in the "TOYS" series from Terrific Science Press, this book is an excellent resource. Although the cover indicates an intended audience of grades 4-8, I think the most of the 21 activities could be used with high school students as well.
The book includes a 10-page section on pedagogical strategies that is specific to the content of the activities and that also includes a sample assessment rubric. There is also a 13-page content review that I found to be both clear and useful.
Each activity is clearly laid out with the following sections: time required, key science topics, student background (if required), national science education standards, additional process skills (for some activities), materials - for getting ready - for introducing the activity - for the procedure - for the extensions, safety and disposal, getting ready, introducing the activity, procedure, variations and extensions, explanation, assessment suggestions (for some activities), cross-curricular integration, suggestions for further reading, and handout masters for some of the activities.
Although I like this book, I found myself a bit frustrated as I tried to find the toys needed for some of the activities. I found some, but not others. Some items are easy; we can all find LEGO's. Other items are more difficult. I bought out the toy store's end of summer clearance stock on the Explorer Gun a few years back. This year, it took me a few nights searching the web to find a distributor. I gave the book 4-stars because of this problem; it might mean that not all of the activities will be useable. I put an asterisk after those activities requiring items I found difficult to locate. You may be luckier.
Activities: (1) What Makes It Go? (2) The Toy That Returns (3) How Much Energy (4) Exploring Energy with an Explorer Gun®* (5) Pop Can Speedster (6) Ladybug, Ladybug, Roll Away (7) Rubber Band Airplane (8) Slingshot Physics* (requires a Sling Thing™) (9) The Catapult Gun* (requires the Insect Gun®) (10) Loop-the-Loop Challenge* (requires a Darda® car) (11) Homemade Roller Coaster (12) Bounceability (13) The Energy Transformation Game* (requires the Guess Who® game) (14) Drop 'n' Popper (15) Apply Your Energy Knowledge (16) Doc Shock* (requires the Operation® game) (17) Make Your Own Motor (18) Chemical Energy Transformations (19) Simple Machines with LEGO® (20) Get it in Gear with a LEGO® Vehicle (21) Squish 'em, Squash 'em, Squoosh 'em* (requires the Grape Escape® game)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Exploring Energy with Toys: Complete Lessons for Grades 4-8
A pop-can speedster illustrates the conversion of elastic potential energy to kinetic energy. An Operation game becomes a lesson on electronic circuits. Simple machines built with Lego kits demonstrate the principals of levers, gears, and pulleys. Is it fun, or is it science? It's both! Classroom-tested and developed with funding from the National Science Foundation, Teaching Energy with Toys helps instructors teach about mechanical energy and energy conversion with confidence and students' full attention. Using toys, games, and hands-on activities, the experiments in this jam-packed resource book convey complex science principals to young people more vividly and effectively than any textbook on the market. All toys can be inexpensively purchased or created by students with readily-available household materials. Each motivating lesson, which includes reproducible activities and integrated cross-curricular connections, is linked to the NSTA's National Standards for Science Education, and is perfectly suited for home or school instruction.
Click here for more information about Exploring Energy with Toys: Complete Lessons for Grades 4-8
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