What objects roll down a ramp and
what objects do not?
The preschoolers created ramps with different angles by changing the height of the raised end. They made predictions and tested the ramps to see which design made the balls go faster and further. As they became familiar with these new concepts, the children began to wonder about sending other objects down the ramps. We gathered items from around the classroom to compare how they made it down the ramp.
Why didn't it roll down the ramp?
“Because it’s not a circle”
“Because it’s too small and can’t roll”
Why did it roll down the ramp?
“It has wheels that are a circle that it rides on”
They quickly noticed the difference between how the objects got down the ramp when we used a wooden person block
“He slides like us. He doesn’t go around and around”
Using what they learned about adjusting the height of the ramp, the preschoolers tested to see how far they could get the cars to go.
They decided that adding the numbers
would be a good way to determine how far it went.
“I got it all the way to ten by
making the ramp higher”
-Zachary
While discussing ramps some of the children noticed that it was harder to get up the ramp than it was to go down. This started a new conversation about force and motion. We talked about pushing and pulling and gravity. The preschoolers learned that gravity pulls people and objects back down to the earth.
We used our these ideas to create art using
gravity, pushing, and pulling.
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“When you put one side up, the ball rolls down and when
you put the other side it rolls down”
-Henry
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“You use the force to push it away!”
-Gavin
Ramps are a natural part of play in our classroom now. The children are experimenting with different materials and structures. They are building, testing, and re-building following the engineering design process. This allows them to problem solve, work together, and share ideas.
