How to Teach Photosynthesis in Elementary School
Photosynthesis is the process wherein plants, bacteria and algae convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen energy.The process of photosynthesis can be a complex scientific subject for elementary school children to grasp. By using visually compelling activities, you can help your students better understand one of the most essential processes for maintaining life on earth.
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Things You'll Need
- Three Plants
- Cookie-baking materials (flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, oven, etc)
Instructions
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Start a plant-growing experiment in your classroom. Begin with three plants of the same type and size. Place one in the closet, one by a window near sunlight, and one under incandescent light source, such as a lightbulb. Water the plants every day and ask your class to draw the plants every two or three days. Tell them to pay close attention to the size and color of the plants. After four weeks, discuss with your class the effect of sunlight, incandescent light and no light on the process of photosynthesis.
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Organize a play about photosynthesis. Avoid using carbon dioxide, energy particles and anything the children can not quantify and physically observe. Good roles to assign are "sun", "plant", "water", "sugar" and "animal". Create a large name tag for each role so the students understand each component. Allow a narrator to tell a story about photosynthesis and have the children act it out.
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Use cookies as an analogy. Let the children know how the different ingredients used in making cookies are similar to how oxygen, sunlight and water have on making photosynthesis happen. Use the heat from the oven to symbolize the energy coming from the sun. Once the cookies are done, explain to them how the smell of the cookie is the oxygen and the cookie represents the energy resulting from photosynthesis.
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References
- Photo Credit sun image by Sfetcu Andrei from Fotolia.com
