Science teachers, the month of April brings so many fun holidays that can easily integrate into your science curriculum. April Fool’s Day, Spring, Earth Day, and Arbor Day, to name a few. So, are you looking for ways to integrate April holidays into your science curriculum? Look no further; I have some great ideas for you!
April Science Activities
Following NGSS can be fun and incorporate the holidays! The following science experiments will include the following holidays:
- April Fool’s Day
- Arbor Day
- Easter
- Earth Day
Even better, the activities that you can use to celebrate these holidays will cover the following science topics:
- Optical illusions
- Chemical reactions
- Plant defenses
- Human impact on the environment (ocean pollution)
- The impact plastics have on our oceans
- Wildlife adaptations and survival skills in response to the amount of pollution
- Devise a plan to eliminate plastics in our oceans
- Problem-solving and engineering
April Fool's Day
April Fool’s Day is a silly holiday that can make everyone smile. Often the harmless pranks inspire laughs among everyone.
While the pranks I pull do not relate to NGSS, exposing students to optical illusions does!
I like teaching students about optical illusions because they connect so well to the theme of April Fool’s Day, but students can learn the science behind it. In addition, many students, and adults, find optical illusions fascinating as they can spark discussions about different perceptions and tricks the human eye and brain can play on us.
Therefore, you may want to incorporate this lesson into your spring science activity by showing students different optical illusions.
Easter Activities
Often Easter falls in April, and eggs always remind me of Easter. Celebrate this holiday in your classroom by using different experiments with eggs.
There are many egg-speriments that you can do with your students. Here are some of my favorites:
- Bouncing Eggs: This activity has students remove an eggshell with vinegar. It will be removed after a few days, and the students can bounce it!
- Hard-Boiled Egg Test: Are you teaching about simple machines? This activity will have students note the difference between dropping a hard-boiled egg from a height instead of rolling it down a ramp starting at the same height.
- Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Demonstrate Newton’s First Law of Motion by spinning a raw egg and a hard-boiled egg. Students will note the differences to see that a hard-boiled egg can spin longer because of the solid insides. This is an entertaining demonstration!
- STEM: Another fun idea is to have students build a wall that will safely hold an egg, despite having a force hit it.
To sum up, there are so many ways to use eggs in your classroom. I especially love using these ideas because you do not need to bring Easter into your classroom if you teach in a public school, but you can easily do so if your building allows for it.
Earth Day
Studying how humans impact the environment and pollution are two topics that integrate well into your spring science activities.
Plastics continue to be a global problem despite efforts to reduce our dependency on them.
Teaching students the harmful effects of plastic bags on the environment is imperative. Students will learn about single-use plastic bags, read through a fact sheet, and devise solutions to reduce our dependence on plastic bags.
Another form of pollution is water pollution. Our oceans are inundated with all forms of plastic, not just plastic bags. Did you know that there is an island near Hawaii called Midway Island? This island is filled with plastics that come from all over the world. Students will:
- Learn of the effect plastics have on our oceans
- Learn how wildlife tries to adapt and survive despite the amount of pollution
- Brainstorm ideas to reduce water pollution
- Devise a plan to eliminate plastics in our oceans
Arbor Day
Arbor Day is the perfect time to teach students about plant defense systems. Of course, everyone knows that trees and plants are essential, but this April science activity will teach students how plants are designed to defend themselves.
After learning how plants are designed to defend themselves, make plants the superstar by having students research one plant to illustrate and summarize its defense system.
This activity is an excellent tie-in to Arbor Day to round out your spring science activities.
Ready-made Spring Science Activities
Students will learn about:
- The history of April Fool’s Day and Earth Day
- Optical illusions
- Chemical reactions
- Plant defenses
- Human impact on the environment (ocean pollution)
- Learn of the effect plastics have on our oceans
- Learn how wildlife tries to survive despite the amount of pollution
- Brainstorm ideas to reduce the amount of pollution
- Devise a plan to eliminate plastics in our oceans
- Problem solving and engineering
- Famous scientist, George Washington Carver
April Science Activities include:
- Teacher tips and instructions
- ALL ACTIVITIES HAVE A DIGITAL COMPANION
- April Fool’s Day history – reading with comprehension questions
- Optical illusions – learn how they trick the mind based on your perception of what you are viewing
- Two egg hands-on activities or demonstrations to tie in Easter or spring activities
- Bouncing eggs – using vinegar to erode the eggshell and watch it bounce
- Building a wall that will safely hold an egg despite a force hitting it ( Humpty Dumpty activity )
- Teacher presentation to walk you through the discussion points of the ocean pollution lesson.
- Video link embedded in the presentation
- Student worksheets to follow along with teacher presentation
- NGSS aligned Earth Day project – Includes student worksheets to walk them through the expectations and to brainstorm to form a solution for the problem
- Arbor Day history reading with comprehension questions
- Plant defense systems – science text with assessment questions
- Plant defense system NGSS aligned project
- Reading article on famous scientist, George Washington Carver
- Answer key
Wondering if it's right for you?
Remember, science friend, these April science activities are designed to save you prep time while increasing student engagement. Your students will love the different activities and thoroughly enjoy science class!
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