I'm Brenda, and I care for ten children in my home,
ages three to five.
We've been exploring ramps for a few days now,
mostly by rolling and sliding different objects
down ramps and tracks.
As we're exploring,
the children are talking about what they're doing...
Well, I think it's stuck.
BRENDA: They're posing questions...
What happens if I put all of these at the same time?
BRENDA: Making observations...
Too much tape.
It's too much tape.
BRENDA: ...and describing their thinking and ideas.
It rolled down.
It rolled down?
Did it go fast or slow?
Faster.
We call this science talk.
One of our first activities was investigating
how different objects move down ramps.
Choose an item and predict for us
if it's going to roll, slide, or stay in place.
Slide.
You think it's going to slide?
All right, she predicts it's going to slide.
Whoa, what did it do?
Roll.
BRENDA: As the children make discoveries,
I try to ask open-ended questions.
When you put the block on the board, what happened?
It slides down because it's wooden.
BRENDA: How come it didn't roll?
GIRL: This one is flat
and this one's not flat.
BRENDA: One, two, three.
The block slid and the cucumber rolled.
BRENDA: We asked the children to make predictions,
and that was a good opportunity for them to use
the vocabulary we learned, like "roll" and "slide."
What is the boat going to do?
Slide.
CHILDREN: Slide!
BRENDA: Now why did you predict that it would slide?
Because it's smooth and it doesn't...
Like, a cucumber rolls, but a boat doesn't.
It just slides down.
BRENDA: Sometimes it takes a while
to get kids used to using science talk,
so I start out by asking them simpler questions,
or even one-word answer questions.
What happens when you put the car on the towel?
It's not moving.
Why?
BRENDA: Does it move on the bubble?
No.
BRENDA: Does it move on the smooth?
Maybe.
Does it move on the smooth?
Yeah.
Line up your car and see if they're gonna go down the hill.
With enough practice, they eventually gain more confidence
in expressing their ideas.
Why can't they move?
- Because it's-- because it's so wrinkly.
BRENDA: Wrinkly?
Yeah.
Want to make another one?
Wait, I don't need this.
Yeah, you do!
BRENDA: I also encourage the children
to use science talk with each other.
A good way to do this is to pair children up
and give them a problem to solve,
like creating a rollercoaster for a marble.
One at a time.
I made a loopy loop.
BRENDA: I love hearing all the science talk
that the children do here.
It shows me that they're questioning, wondering,
and exploring, and really having fun with science.
Yay!