Science lessons
Exploring snow and ice
- Texture and form: Provide students with various tools to investigate snow and ice.
- Textures: Use tactile tools like spoons, fingers, and different textured surfaces to explore the varying textures of freshly fallen snow, packed snow, and ice.
- Forms: Guide students to observe the shapes and formations of snowflakes using magnifying glasses with strong backlights.
- Sound: Encourage students to listen to the sounds of crunching snow, melting ice, and icicles dripping.
- Density and buoyancy: Conduct simple experiments with ice cubes and water.
- Density: Observe how ice floats in water, explaining the concept of density in an accessible way.
- Buoyancy: Experiment with different objects in water and observe how some float while others sink.
Weather observations
- Temperature changes: Use tactile thermometers to monitor temperature changes throughout the day and over several days.
- Create a graph: Help students create a simple tactile graph to chart the temperature fluctuations.
- Wind direction and speed
- Wind direction: Use a windsock with a distinct sound (like bells) to indicate wind direction.
- Wind speed: Utilize a wind chime with varying lengths of chimes to provide a qualitative measure of wind speed (louder chimes indicate stronger winds).
- Precipitation
- Snowfall: Use a rain gauge with raised markers to measure snowfall.
- Rainfall: Use a rain gauge with a funnel that directs water into a container with raised markings.
Resources
APH adapted science materials kit has many of the materials needed for these activities and federal quota eligible.
APH bold line tactile graphs sheets are ready to use chart and collect data, also federal quota eligible.
Create a winter time exploration station in your classroom or as a sensory box.
Creating a winter sensory box
- Textures
- Soft and fluffy: White faux fur, cotton balls, sheepskin, soft yarn
- Rough and icy: Ice cubes, sandpaper, textured plastic wrap
- Smooth and shiny: Smooth stones, polished glass marbles, metal bells
- Natural elements: Pine cones, twigs, dried leaves, small branches
- Smells
- Pine needles: Freshly cut pine branches or pine-scented essential oil
- Pine cones with Cinnamon
- Hot chocolate powder and mini marshmallows
- Sounds
- Jingle bells: Attach bells to ribbons or stuffed animals
- Winter sounds: Recordings of snow crunching, a crackling fire, birdsong
- Musical instruments: Shakers, drums, bells
*Be careful of allergies and students putting materials in their mouths
Snow sensory table or bin
One of my favorite winter activities when we were lucky enough to get some snow was to gather snow in containers and bring them to the vision support classroom for sensory play. We would put hand shovels, cups, plastic animals, and Mr./Mrs. Potato Head materials to make a snowman in the snow and just enjoy.
Don’t have any snow outside?
Put some crushed ice in a blender to have the students explore the frozen ice crystals. You could also freeze water into interesting ice cube molds.
- Ice cube molds in the shape of snowflakes
Melting snowman science experiment
Have students create their own miniature snowman to use for a science experiment to see how long it takes the snowman to melt in the classroom and outside. Collect data and graph it.
Materials
The only thing you really need to create a snowman is SNOW, but adding details add to the lesson and incorporates more than just watching snow melt. It also shows your students that it is only the snow that changes its state as it melts. The other materials stay the same. Using stone eyes, felt scarf, carrot nose, beads, and sticks are just a few objects students can use, but don’t forget a bowl or container as the snowman melts. More simple winter STEM lessons and original lesson credit from Hands on Teaching Ideas can be found here.
More tools and ideas on how to teach science to students with visual impairments:
- Science Instruction for Students with Visual Impairments
- Teaching UEB Science Signs to Braille Learners
- Science Literacy: A Curriculum for ALL Students with Sensory Impairments
- Accessible Science (Perkins School for the Blind microsite)
