Paper Example on Preschoolers Learn Best Through Doing: Teach Science for Optimal Development

Introduction

It is essential that children are taught science in preschool as most children learn best through doing. Children aged between three to eight years find it difficult to grasp abstract thoughts as they primarily learn as they learn well about their surroundings by experiencing through their senses (Harlen, 2018). Therefore, science is essential to them as it deals with things they can see, touch, hear, taste, and smell so that they are continuously occupied with science. Science will assist them in discovering different things and new things in their world. They also get a chance to understand how various things work and learn more about themselves. Children are naturally curious, which makes science one of the best lessons to teach to young children (Harlen, 2018). Opportunities should, therefore, be provided to young children as it helps develop the need for learning and love for science.

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Solubility is an essential aspect of science. It deals with how chemicals can dissolve in other compounds. Solubility can, therefore, be defined as the ability of a material to dissolve into or become part of another (Hurst & Fortenberry, 2015). For example, sugar disappears when put into tea and stirred as it vanishes into the drink. The substance that dissolves is a solute while the material in which it dissolves is called a solvent. It is therefore crucial that preschool children are taught solubility in preschool as it is a part of their daily life experience from an early age.

Scientific Facts on The Concept of Solubility

Solubility is the extent to which a substance dissolves in a solvent to form a solution. Solubility in liquids can either be miscible or partial. Miscible refers to the complete solubility of a liquid in another liquid. For example, ethanol is miscible in water as it dissolves completely. Partial solubility is when one fluid dissolves only slightly in another. Solubility is determined by measuring the maximum amount of solute that can dissolve in a solvent at equilibrium. The solution formed is said to be a saturated solution. Metastable refers to a supersaturated solution created when the equilibrium solubility is exceeded. In such cases, the solvent used is mostly a solid which can either be pure or a mixture. Solids, liquids, and gases can be used as solvents. There is a wide range of solubility moving from infinitely soluble substances such as ethanol and water to poorly soluble such as silver chloride in water topic (Setiowati & Utomo, 2018). Poorly soluble substances are said to be insoluble.

Solubility is essential when it comes to the separation of compounds. Separation methods such as absorption and extraction depend on solubility differences and assists when obtaining pure compounds from a mixture. It is expressed as the distribution coefficient, which refers to how a material dissolves in two different solvents. The solubility of solids in liquids increases with increase in temperature while those of gases decrease with an increase in pressure and temperature. A saturated solution is one where no more solute can dissolve in a solvent at a given temperature and pressure. Substances such as sugar dissolve by losing their bonds, which are broken apart by water particles. The sugar particles then bond with water particles. However, the sugar does not lose its properties of sweetness. Other substances that dissolve in water include flour, oatmeal, cornmeal, and colored sprinkles.

Solubility is affected by various factors, which include temperature, pressure, polarity, and molecular size. Solubility increases with increase in temperature. It is, however, different for gases whose solubility decrease with increase in temperature. Solubility is also affected by polarity where solutes dissolve more readily in solvents that have similar polarity. Polar solvents do not dissolve non-polar solutes. Pressure does not affect the solubility of solid and liquid solutes. However, it affects the solubility of gasses with solubility increasing with an increase in pressure. Size also affects solubility with large sized particles dissolving poorly in solvents. It means that most large sized particles are less soluble. Stirring also increases the speed with which a solute dissolved in water. Stirring increases the movement of solvent particles exposing them to particles of the solute.

Children Misconception on Solubility

Learning of solubility is a cumulative process, and new information is added to what the children already know. However, children tend to bring a lot of preexisting details on the topic, which tends to interfere with their learning of the correct concepts on the subject (Setiowati & Utomo, 2018). These misconceptions arise due to the interactions that children have with the outside world or from their personal experience. The mistakes can be present before and after teaching children on solubility. They inhibit the ability of children to learn about the solubility concepts of solutions and how solutions behave.

An example of a misconception that children have on solubility is that most children fail to understand that gases dissolve better in cold water than in hot water topic (Setiowati & Utomo, 2018). They tend to believe that all things vanish well with the increase in temperature. This misconception can, however, be removed by performing a simple experiment that involves putting cold water in a beaker and observe how it first appears foggy and then clears from bottom to top in a short period. This happens due to air escaping the water due to the increase in temperature of the room, which tends to warm the water.

Children also often confuse the differences between melting and dissolving. Melting involves heating, which occurs at a constant temperature. This is referred to as the melting point. It also includes only one substance and can be reversed through freezing. On the other hand, dissolving occurs over a range of temperature and involves one substance dissolving in another. It can be undone through evaporation.

Another misconception that children have is the belief that stirring a solute-solvent mixture or increasing the surface area of a solute will increase its solubility in a solution topic (Setiowati & Utomo, 2018). It is a misconception as stirring makes the solute to dissolve faster in the solvent but does not increase its solubility. However, heating increases solubility as it is affected by temperature.

Children also have a misconception on saturation equilibrium. For example, they think that in a saturated sugar water solution with sugar resting at the bottom of the beaker, adding more sugar in small portions would increase the concentration of sugar in the solution. This is a misconception because a saturated solution consists of a liquid and solid phase and not a solution with a solute concentration above equilibrium topic (Setiowati & Utomo, 2018). These types of misconceptions represent the kind of out of order mental models that children have on the matter of solubility. It means that for successful teaching of solubility to children, teachers first need to deal with the misconceptions the kids have and address them.

Lesson plan one

In this lesson, the children will be introduced to different materials to learn their attributes. By the end of this lesson, the children will be able to differentiate between solids, gases, and liquids as they are essential in learning solubility. It will be achieved by asking the students to describe their characteristics using colors. It is done by asking them to draw a portrait of themselves and label their distinguishing features in one color. They can then use different colors to describe their other distinct characteristics. From this, they will be able to do a similar thing when describing the attributes of various substances.

The idea of properties and the three states of matter will be introduced to the children. Compressibility is the crucial property used to introduce this topic. It is done by asking the children to describe sand and how it feels when squeezed. She then did the same for liquids by putting water in a syringe and another syringe with air to compare their compressibility. From this activity, the children learn attributes of matter in that solids and water cannot be compressed, but air can be compressed. These properties can then be used to show how different materials dissolve in water

In this lesson, the children will investigate the materials that dissolve in water. When a substance dissolves in water, you can no longer see it as it mixes with the water to make a solution. Substances that dissolve in water are said to be soluble. Those that do not dissolve in water are said to be insoluble. To investigate these materials, we will need sugar, salt, sand, flour, transparent containers such as beaker and water.

In this experiment, we will add a teaspoon of all the solids we have to a glass of warm water and another glass of cold water and then stir. Watch to see which solids dissolve in the cold and hot water. From the investigation, we find that sugar and salt dissolve in water. It is also found that they dissolve faster and better in warm water. Sand and flour are insoluble. They don't dissolve even in warm water.

This investigation helps to remove the misconception that children have. They tend to think that solids dissolve the same in both cold and hot water. The matter is made of particles that are in constant motion. The two significant things that determine the speed at which solids dissolve in water are the temperature and size of particles. Smaller sugar particles dissolve faster than large sized sugar particles. Solids also dissolve more quickly in hot water than in cold water since the molecules in hot water move faster than those in cold water. It makes them bump into the solid faster, increasing the rate at which they both react with each other.

Another misconception eliminated is that solids dissolve at the same rate when stirred and not stirred. The experiment showed that stirring helps to increase the speed at which solids dissolve in water. When sugar was placed in water and not mixed it dissolves but takes a long time to disappear compared to when stirring is done. Stirring agitates the particles making them collide more rapidly, increasing the reaction between water and sugar particles.

Lesson plan two

In this lesson, the children will understand how solubility is affected by temperature agitation, pressure, type of solute, and particle size. They will learn why it is essential to understand the factors affecting solubility and how to predict changes brought by these factors. They will also learn more on the related misconceptions such as solubility cannot be changed, and solubility of liquids and gases is affected by temperature in the same way. The children will identify the rate at which a solute dissolve in a solvent.

The idea of solubility will be taught to children through a simple practical. Children will think of a sweet which they put in their mouth and enjoy the taste, but it does not last for long. It gets smaller and smaller and finally disappears. It occurs due to the solution of sugar and saliva you have been swallowing (Taylor, 2017). Saliva continuously dissolves the solid sweet. The children will then hold a competition to see who can hold a sweet the most prolonged period in their mouth. The winner will then explain how they managed to keep fresh for long in their mouth.

If the sweet is broken into smaller pieces, the child loses in the competition. Those who swirl it in the mouth will also have lost the game. Those who hold it at the tip of their tongue in the cooler air where there is little saliva hav...