LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Bouncing bubbles

Students will listen to Bubbles Bubbles by Mercer Mayer and a bubble poem before exploring the joys of bubble blowing. Students will observe bubbles, discuss their observations and create illustrations and stories to share.

A lesson plan for grade K English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science

By Karen Rice

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Learning outcomes

Students will learn that:

  • bubbles are pockets of air that is surrounded by a thin liquid skin.
  • bubbles can only be made with objects that have holes in them.
  • bubbles will always be round.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

4 days

Materials/resources

  • Bubbles Bubbles by Mercer Mayer (Troll Associates 1973)
  • outside area
  • individual bubble bottles with wands
  • chart paper or board to write down student findings about the shapes and forms of their bubbles
  • drawing paper with crayons
  • pencils and writing paper
  • “My Bubble” song From Your Friends at “The Mailbox” April Pre-school—Kindergarten, page 35
  • “Bubble Fun” poem The Mailbox April/May 2001 page 45 (first half)
  • one bubble wand pointer
  • chart or sentence strips in a pocket chart of poem
  • a variety of objects that could serve as a bubble wand
  • container full of bubble solution
  • prediction sheet or chart
  • pre-made wax paper eight inch circles for each student
  • a rainbow of watercolor markers
  • paper towel to wipe off excess ink

Technology resources

Students will create a bubble picture and story using Kid Pix.

Teacher will use the internet for background information (see On the web section in the sidebar).

Activities

Day 1

  1. Read Bubble Bubble by Mercer Mayer. Students will discuss what is needed to blow bubbles, e.g. liquid, air, something with a hole in it.
  2. Outside, teacher will pass out individual bubble bottles with wands to each child. Students are free to explore what kind of bubbles they can blow.
  3. Students will discuss the shape of the bubbles, what was in the bubble, what the bubble is made of and why it burst.
  4. Students will draw and write about their bubble shapes.
  5. Class will review drawings and stories.
  6. To reinforce the concept of bubbles students will learn “My Bubble” (sung to the tune of “My Bonnie”) can be found in—From Your Friends at “The Mailbox” April, Preschool—Kindergarten, p. 35.

Day 2

  1. Introduce “Bubble Fun” poem on chart paper or individual sentence strips in a pocket chart.
  2. Students will read “Bubble Fun” poem.
  3. With a bubble wand pointer students will locate and mark using different colors or shapes: the big letter ‘B’ (Bubbles, Big, Billions), any double letters (Bubbles, bobbing, billions, bubbles), rhyming words (by/sky, see/me), and sight words (up, into, the, to, see, of, by, me). Poem will be available for students to revisit later.
  4. Students will use Kid Pix to create a bubble picture and story.

Day 3

  1. Students will predict whether bubbles can be made with different objects, using a sad face if no and a smile face if yes.
  2. Students will be asked to bring in something that would serve as a bubble wand from around the house (cookie cutters, empty sunglass frames, wagon wheel pasta, whisks, plastic bangle bracelets, mason lids, soda rings, etc).
  3. Students will predict if a bubble can be blown with the different objects then record yes/no with a happy/sad face.
  4. Outside, objects will be dipped into the bubble solution and blown through.
  5. Students will check their predictions.
  6. Students will draw and write about their bubble experience.

Day 4

  1. Each student will blow a bubble and then move to see the sunlight passing through it.
  2. Ask: “What do you see? Why? How many different colors can you see?”
  3. In class, on a prepared wax paper bubble, using a rainbow of watercolor markers, decorate the bubble with colors that they observed. Wipe the beaded marker drops from the surface so that the colors look solid. Do both sides.

Assessment

Day 1

Students will discuss the shape of the bubbles, what is inside of the bubble, what the bubble looks like and what makes bubbles pop.

Day 2

Students show understanding that there is air in the bubble. The thin skin around the bubble can easily break. Students will show understanding of rhyming words, sight words, and letters.

Day 3

Students will understand only objects with holes will make a bubble.

Day 4

Students will observe and reproduce the rainbow colors they observed onto the wax paper bubble.

Supplemental information

This is a science follow up lesson using the Wright Group Book The Swimming Pool by Michell, Porter, and Cousin.

In this story the children are learning the basics of beginning swimming. Blowing bubbles being a basic swimming skill, this makes using air from their lungs understandable. Therefore, bubbles being full of air was an easy concept to understand.

See samples of student work.

Related websites

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Kindergarten

  • Goal 1: The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies to read and write.
    • Objective 1.02: Develop phonemic awareness and knowledge of alphabetic principle:
      • demonstrate understanding that spoken language is a sequence of identifiable speech sounds.
      • demonstrate understanding that the sequence of letters in the written word represents the sequence of sounds in the spoken word.
      • demonstrate understanding of the sounds of letters and understanding that words begin and end alike (onsets and rimes).
  • Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.07: Demonstrate understanding of literary language; e.g., "once upon a time" and other vocabulary specific to a genre.
  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.01: Use new vocabulary in own speech and writing.
    • Objective 4.06: Write and/or participate in writing behaviors by using authors' models of language.

Mathematics (2004)

Kindergarten

  • Goal 3: Geometry - The learner will explore the concepts of geometry.
    • Objective 3.01: Identify, build, draw, and name triangles, rectangles, and circles; identify, build, and name spheres and cubes.

Science (2005)

Kindergarten

  • Goal 3: The learner will make observations and build an understanding of the properties of common objects.
    • Objective 3.01: Observe and describe the properties of different kinds of objects (clay, wood, cloth, paper, other) and how they are used.
    • Objective 3.02: Develop and use a vocabulary associated with the properties of materials:
      • Color.
      • Size.
      • Shape.
      • Texture.