Science Corner

The following lesson plan uses the "Science Corner" section of Highlights for Children magazine and teaches you how to incorporate them into your everyday classroom activities.

SCIENCE
Objective: Learn facts about surroundings

These ideas are organized to meet specific objectives within designated curriculum areas that are shown above.

Have the whole class turn to "Science Corner" and cover up the answer with a book. Read and clarify the question.
Brainstorm possible answers and note them on the board. Discuss which seem the most likely and why. Don’t worry if children peek at first. They will soon learn that there's little glory in coming up with a cheated answer, and all they're doing is spoiling the fun of generating possibilities.
Check what the class thought the most likely answers would be against the answers given the magazine.

Have several children restate the answer in their own words, to make sure that the class has understood what the answer means.
Once the children know the process, they can use it in small groups, reading the feature in other issues of the magazine.
Older students can play a variation of this activity after you have modeled it in class. Working in groups of three, one student reads the question aloud and the answer silently. The other two brainstorm possible answers. The first student can guide the other two with relevant questions. This works especially well with a more complicated "Science Corner."
Have students tackle "Science Corner" in this way with family members. If they play the variation, with one knowing the answer, have the student and the family member take turns at who reads the question.

For a sample of "Science Corner" content, click here.