Why can you balance on a bicycle? Why does an ant have wings? How can a turkey fly? Why will a water pipe burst if it gets too cold? What questions do you have?

Science begins with questions. Questions and observations. When we observe something, we look at it closely. We think about it. We examine it. Go ahead and try it for yourself. Find something to pick up. Turn it over in your hand. Shine a light on it. Feel it with your hand. Listen to it. Smell it. You are observing this object.

To observe objects, you use your senses. Senses are really useful. There are five senses; hearing, smelling, feeling, touching and tasting. You use your senses to find out more about the world around you. Senses help us determine if something can hurt us or help us. Senses can help us determine an object’s function and purpose.

Objects have different parts. Those parts (or components) are responsible for making the object. Understanding the components of an object will help us understand the object’s structure and function. Structure and how it relates to function is a major theme in science.

Our study of science will focus on understanding the world around us. We will ask questions, make observations, develop possible explanations, test those explanations, analyze the results of our test and refine our explanations. Let’s begin!

This blog is the reading portion to the lesson plan, “Introduction to Science.” For a free copy of this lesson plan and others, click here.