Wonder Why Week - Activity Ideas

8/20/2019 Wonder Why Week - Activity Ideas

1/13

StoryWeaver Wonder Why Week

February 28th - March 6th, 2016

Thank you for agreeing to conduct a reading session to celebrate StoryWeaver’s

Wonder Why Week!

PBChamps have been instrumental in helping children across the country discover

the joy of books. The books we’re sharing during Wonder Why Week cover diverse

topics in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and we are counting

on your infectious enthusiasm to take these ideas to children and make them fun and

exciting!

Below is a curated collection of activities for you to choose from and conduct afteryour reading session. Remember to take photographs of the session and do share

them with a small write up with us. If you have a great activity idea for one of these

titles that you’d like to share with us, please do email us at

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


2/13

How do Aeroplanes Fly?

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4314-how-do-aeroplanes-fly

Sarla wished she could fly high like an eagle or like an aeroplane. Of course you canfly, said her new teacher. Here, Sarla shares all that she has learnt about flight and

aeroplanes.

Activities

WHICH PLANE CAN CARRY THE MOST CARGO

(Source: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/77853/stem-paper-airplane-challenge)

Resources

● Construction Paper

● Cellotape

● A handful of coins of different sizes and weight

● A doorway

● Whistle

What to do

● Ask each child to create a paper aeroplane using the YouTube tutorial shared

here:

https://youtu.be/qhuRw88A-8c

● Once their plane is ready ask them to stick coins of different size and weigh to

it using tape (this is why you need to use construction paper and not regular

A4 paper)

● Decide upon a start line and mark it with masking tape or even a long rope.

Make sure it’s opposite a doorway!

● Ask the children to line up together at the ‘starting line’.

● When you blow the whistle they all launch their planes.

● The plane that glides the farthest wins!

**********

STRAW ROCKETS

(Source: http://lifeasmama.com/10-rainy-day-activities-your-kids-will-love/6/ )

Resources

● Drinking straws

● Paper

● Glue or cellotape

● Scissors

http://lifeasmama.com/10-rainy-day-activities-your-kids-will-love/6/https://youtu.be/qhuRw88A-8chttp://kidsactivitiesblog.com/77853/stem-paper-airplane-challengehttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4314-how-do-aeroplanes-flyhttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4314-how-do-aeroplanes-flyhttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4314-how-do-aeroplanes-fly


3/13

● Crayons or markers.

What to do

● Cut down pieces of paper and decorate to your desire.

● Then lightly fold around the end of a straw and tape the paper together (not tothe straw) like a cap

● Then just blow! Kids can see how far each can blow their rockets or come up

with their own games.

**********

PAPER PLANE TARGET PRACTICE

(Source: http://lifeasmama.com/10-rainy-day-activities-your-kids-will-love/7/ )

This is a variation of activity 1, but a little more tricky!

Resources

● Paper

● Large sheet of thick board paper.

● A doorway

● Whistle

● Scissors

● Masking tape.

What to do

● Ask each child to create a paper aeroplane using the YouTube tutorial shared

here: https://youtu.be/qhuRw88A-8c

● Cut out different sized holes on the board paper and hang it over an open

door using masking tape

● Ask children to line up at a pre-determined ‘starting point’ with their paper

aeroplanes.

● Blow the whistle. Kids must try and get their planes through the holes on the

board sheet!

https://youtu.be/qhuRw88A-8chttp://lifeasmama.com/10-rainy-day-activities-your-kids-will-love/7/


4/13

How Far is Far?

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4445-how-far-is-far

If you thought your friend's house on the other side of town was far away, you haveclearly not read this book. Climb the Magic Math Ladder to get from where you are to

the top of Mount Everest, to Kashmir, to the moon, the Sun, and ultimately, to the

edge of the Universe, which is very, very, VERY far away indeed. Ready, steady, go!

Activities

USE YOUR BODY

Resources

● A Metre scale or strips of newspaper cut and taped together into meter long

strips

What to do

● Find something long to measure. It could be a boundary wall, the length of

garden pathway - anything you like!

● First ask the children to lie down head to toe, one after the other along the

length of the item and find out how many ‘children’ it takes to measure the

wall.

● Next, ask them to measure the same distance with their metre long strips of

newspaper.

● What’s the difference in the measurement? Talk about how it’s important to

have a standardised unit of measurement!

GUESSTIMATE!

Resources

● Globe

● Google

Ask the children to pick any two places on the globe and guesstimate how far apart

they are. Then use Google to find the correct answer.

The closest guestimates win a prize!

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4445-how-far-is-farhttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4445-how-far-is-farhttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4445-how-far-is-far


5/13

Dum Dum-a-Dum Biryani

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4772-dum-dum-a-dum-biryani

Basha and Sainabi are in a panic. Ammi is ill, and Saira aunty has just announced

that she is arriving for lunch - with 23 other people! Budding chef Basha thinks he

can cook Ammi's Dum Biryani, but her recipe only makes enough for 4 people. Math

wiz Sainabi jumps in to help, declaring that she knows how to turn a 4-person recipe

to a 24-person recipe. Do the siblings succeed in serving up a truly Dum

Dum-a-Dum biryani?

Activities

BALL TOSS!

Material needed: A ball

How to play

● Have the children stand around in a circle.

● Toss the ball to the next child, or any child if you want to make it mad.

● Say a food ingredient while tossing the ball (keep this open across languages,

for eg: haldi will do).

● Every time the ball is tossed the child who catches it has to say the name of

an ingredient.

● First child to repeat or blank is out.

Play till you get 3 winners.

WEAVE A STORY

Resources

● Paper

● Pens

What to do

● Put up a picture or a first sentence as a writing prompt.

● Prompts: My pet kangaroo was hungry and all I had in the fridge was a pod of

garlic….

● More Prompts: We, my sister and I, were making our first ‘all-by-ourselves’

cake for my mother’s birthday. What started out as a special day soon turned

bizarre…to say the least…

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4772-dum-dum-a-dum-biryanihttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4772-dum-dum-a-dum-biryani


6/13

● And more: Remember the summer break when we managed to catch the

‘milk stealing thief’ of our colony.

● Divide the children into small groups and have them create the story from that

prompt.

● Each child takes a turn writing one sentence to add to the story and passes iton to the next.

● Keep it going in the group until they have finished it (maybe helpful to have a

length or a time limit so that the stories don’t go toooo out of control)

● When all the groups have finished, ask a volunteer to come up and read the

story out!

THIS ISN’T A SPOON.... IT’S A...

Materials needed: A bunch of kitchen utensils (10): ladle/spoon, pressure cooker

whistle, lid of a pan, fork, wooden spatula, lemon squeezer

What to do

● Divide the group into clusters of 5 kids each

● Hand over 2 utensils to each group.

● Give the teams 15 minutes of preparation time to devise a play and use the

utensils as creative props; use them for creative purposes other than their

regular use. Is it a ladle or a microphone?

● Other Teams and you act as judges and award points to each other.

Team with the highest points wins!


7/13

Let’s Go Seed Collecting

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4407-let-s-go-seed-collecting

Join Tooka, Poi, and their best friend Inji the dog, as they go around collecting

seeds. The adventure begins when the three friends meet Pacha the tamarind tree.

Activities

TREE 20 QUESTIONS

Resources:

● Blank visitings cards

● Cellotape

● Markers

● Timer

How to play

● Write down the names of trees and plants on blank visiting cards.

● Divide the group into batches of 4-5 children each.

● A volunteer from the group will come up and choose a card without seeing

what’s written on it.

● Stick the card to the volunteer’s forehead without letting them see the name of

the tree.

● The volunteer returns to their group. Everyone else in the group can see the

name of the tree.

● The volunteer then begins to ask questions about their plant. The team can

only answer yes or no. Egs Do I produce an oil? Am I fruit bearing? Do I grow

in India?

The volunteer has to guess which tree he is in 20 questions or in under 90 seconds.

HOPPING CORN

You’ve heard about pop corn what about hopping corn? This experiment makes corn

hop up and down repeatedly in a container for over an hour. It’s so much fun to

watch!

Resources

• A clear glass container

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4407-let-s-go-seed-collectinghttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4407-let-s-go-seed-collectinghttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4407-let-s-go-seed-collecting


8/13

• Popping corn

• 2 1/2 – 3 cups of water

• 2 Tbsp. of baking soda

• 6 Tbsp. of white vinegar

• Food colouring (optional)

What to do

● Fill the glass container with water and add a couple drops of food

colouring.

● Add baking soda and stir well until it has completely dissolved.

● Add a small handful of popping corn kernels.

● Add the vinegar and watch the corn start to hop up and down!

Talk about a terrific way to work on measurement concepts, listening skills, andpractising patience too!

The science behind it

When the baking soda and vinegar combine, they react to form carbon dioxide

(CO2) gas. The gas forms bubbles in the water which circle around the corn kernels.

The bubbles lift the kernels up to the surface and when they get there they pop and

the kernels sink again. The “hopping” continues until the vinegar and baking soda

have finished reacting.

SEED SEARCH

1. Printed Word Searches

2. Timer

3. Highlighter pens

Divide the group into teams give them a pre printed word search or crosswords with

a seed/plant theme. The first team to finish in under XX minutes gets a prize!

Here are some links to ready made word searches

1.http://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/word-search-puzzles/plants-word-sea

rch-worksheet

2. https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/seedsword.pdf

3. http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/seeds-seedlings-word-search/

https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/seedsword.pdfhttp://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/word-search-puzzles/plants-word-search-worksheethttp://www.havefunteaching.com/worksheets/word-search-puzzles/plants-word-search-worksheet


9/13

Bonda and Devi

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4782-bonda-and-devi

Do best friends always have to be alike? Devi and Bonda are best friends, but Deviis a little girl, while Bonda is a… Well, he can lift heavy boxes, he can extend his

arms and legs, he never forgets anything he’s told, he can be turned on and off. Can

you guess what he is?

Activities

CREATIVE WRITING

Resources

● Paper

● Pen

● Colour pencils

Imagine if you had a robot of your very own! What would you call it? What would it

look like? What would you programme it to do? Draw a picture of your robot too

Cereal Box Robot

(Source: http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/64846/recycled-crafts-cereal-box-robot)

Materials

1. Old cereal boxes of different shapes and sizes

2. Bottle caps

3. Toilet paper rolls

4. Aluminium foil, old newspaper

5. Paint

6. Glue

7. Scissors

8. Cello Tape

9. Bowls

10.Paintbrushes

What to Do

● Create small workstations by spreading newspaper on the ground

● On each workstation leave a collection of supplies

● Let the kids go crazy and create their own robots!

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/64846/recycled-crafts-cereal-box-robothttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4782-bonda-and-devihttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4782-bonda-and-devihttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4782-bonda-and-devi


10/13

MAKER SPACE IDEAS

If you have slightly older children in your group, do check out these links on making

simple robots that actually move!

1. http://researchparent.com/homemade-wobblebot/ - my first robotics idea2. http://researchparent.com/homemade-wigglebot/

3. http://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/bristlebot-a-tiny-directional-vibrobot/

http://researchparent.com/homemade-wigglebot/http://researchparent.com/homemade-wobblebot/


11/13

Where Did Your Dimples Go

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4938-where-did-your-dimples-go

Langlen has curly hair like Appa and a cleft chin like Imma. It makes her wonder whybrothers and sisters, or parents and children look alike. Is she just a collection of

traits, then? So many questions, but Imma and Appa have all the answers.

Activities

MAKE YOUR OWN FAMILY TREE

(Source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/442267625880885092/)

Ask the children to bring photos of their family members - siblings, parents,

grandparents… may be even their pet dog!

Resources

1. Printouts of family tree template

(http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~archibald/Pedigree-tree.j

pg )

2. Glue stick

3. Colour pencils

What to do

● Children can stick their family members in the family tree template and colour

it in.

● Afterward they can study each other’s tree and decide who they look like, or

perhaps older children can discuss who they take after in their family.

WHAT DO YOU THINK A….

Resources

● Paper

● Pencils

● Colour pencils/sketch pens

What would happen if a monkey and a giraffe had a baby together? What traits

would it inherit from both its parents? Draw the results - which we promise will be

hysterical!

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~archibald/Pedigree-tree.jpghttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~archibald/Pedigree-tree.jpghttps://in.pinterest.com/pin/442267625880885092/https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4938-where-did-your-dimples-gohttps://storyweaver.org.in/stories/4938-where-did-your-dimples-go


12/13

Jadav and the Tree-Place

https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/5052-jadav-and-the-tree-place

Jadav has the best job in the world: he makes forests! How does he do it? Read this book to

find out!

Activities

DIY JUNGLE TERRARIUM

(Source: http://hikebloglove.com/tag/terrarium/)

Materials Needed:

● Rocks

● Potting Soil

● Plants (mosses, ferns and african violets work well)

● Jar/container with lid (even a 2 L soda bottle will work)

Procedure:

● Fill the bottom of your container with a layer of small rocks or pebbles.

● Add a layer of potting soil. Make sure to only fill the container up about 1/3 of the way

full.

● Add some plants. (Ferns, rocks and tiny plants)

● Water your tiny forest and place the lid on.

● Set the terrarium in a place where it can receive bright but indirect sunlight.

After a little bit of time has passed, you can see the water cycle has begun.

Be sure to open the lid and let some fresh air circulate every couple of weeks to prevent

mold from growing. Don’t overwater it either.

Click here for image references/inspiration!

TAKE A TREE WALK

A nature walk is a fantastic way to get children in touch with plants and animals. You don’t need to go far either. Your local park is home to numerous insects, birds and small animals

and will do just fine.

(Source:

http://www.ourmontessorihome.com/curriculumscope-sequence/botanyzoology/ideas-for-nat

ure-walk-with-kids/)

We love the idea of a Bingo Nature Walk! Make a simple bingo card with 3 rows and 3

columns. In each square draw a little picture of something for the child to find, like a butterfly,

flower, leaf, etc. If you laminate the card, the child can circle what they find and then reuse the card for another walk.

http://www.ourmontessorihome.com/curriculumscope-sequence/botanyzoology/ideas-for-nature-walk-with-kids/http://www.ourmontessorihome.com/curriculumscope-sequence/botanyzoology/ideas-for-nature-walk-with-kids/http://hikebloglove.com/tag/terrarium/http://hikebloglove.com/tag/terrarium/https://storyweaver.org.in/stories/5052-jadav-and-the-tree-place


13/13

HOW OLD IS THAT TREE?

(Source: http://www.education.com/activity/article/How_Old_Are_They )

What You Need:

● Tree

● Measuring tape

● Marker

● Pen

● Paper

What You Do:

1. Find a tree that is at least as tall as a grown up and wrap the measuring tape around

the widest part of the trunk.

2. The distance around the trunk of a tree is called the circumference. Write this

measurement down on a piece of paper.

3. The measurement of the circumference in inches is also the approximate age of the

tree in years!

Did You Know?

Every year a new layer of growth occurs just under the bark. Some trees like firs and

redwoods may grow more than this in a year, while others like cedars may grow less. This

method is a good rule of thumb to estimate the age of a tree.
http://www.education.com/activity/article/How_Old_Are_They

Documents

Wonder Why Week - Activity Ideas