Books of Dr. Jorge López

Physical Science for Pre-K, K and 1st grades: (With Dollar Store materials!) This book is a set of lecture notes that will help educators lead pre-kinder, kinder and first grade students to observe physical phenomena in an appropriate and pedagogical environment. The objective of the activities is to have the children learn to observe and interact with simple phenomena that will help them become familiar with physical science concepts such as light, states of matter, electricity, magnetism, sound, and chemistry. The book provides clear and brief explanations of scientific phenomena for the educators, and step-by-step instructions on how to lead a group of kids to observe and interact with the physical phenomena.

The book goes well beyond the "Wow!" effect emphasizing the physical concepts being taught. For instance, in observing light and sound phenomena, the focus is on learning how are light and sound produced, transported, reflected and absorbed. In discussing the states of matter, games are introduced to provide kids with hands-on feelings of the gaseous, liquid and solid states. Topics such as neutral, positive and negative charges, as well as electric attraction and repulsion are presented through simple experiments the kids can do by themselves. The magnetism of soil, cereal and of the whole Earth are discovered by the children playing with magnets and constructing their own compass. Likewise, chemistry is introduced by having the young investigators create their own mixtures, solutions, and even zip bag popping chemical reactions!

Each section contains brief descriptions of the objectives, physical concepts, materials used and duration of the activity, followed by detailed descriptions of the activities, reinforcement, evaluation, and possible extensions as well as homework. And best of all, all of the activities use nothing but simple materials available at any Dollar Store! 

"Science in El Paso del Norte" is available as ebook, paperback and hardcover here.