Franklin’s Junior Scientists try teaching the little kids

Franklin Elementary School fifth- and sixth-graders took a turn being the teacher for a morning, showing younger kids what makes a solid different from a liquid.

“Because it’s hard,” explained 7-year-old Nally Nguyen. Her bracelet she quickly identified as a solid. But a sweater, hmmm, “Liquid?”

The two sixth-graders teaching the lesson at her table had explained liquids could change shape. But then, so can a sweater. Several first-graders had a way to go before the light bulb went on, a teachable moment for the older kids in making science make sense.

The novice instructors are from Franklin’s Junior Scientist program, which brings Mark Twain Junior High eighth-graders to campus as science mentors for Franklin fifth- and sixth-graders. For Friday’s Science Ambassadors’ Science Lab, Franklin’s budding scientists paid it forward, giving a lesson to kindergartners and first-graders.

“They’re learning responsibility,” said sixth-grade teacher Elizabeth Soto, who had her students take home the lesson sheet and go over the steps the night before. Even so, coping with squirmy young ones tested their skills.

“They don’t listen!” complained sixth-grader Jennifer Sanchez.

Soto, grinning, said she could relate – and hopes her class makes the connection. “I told them, ‘How do you think I feel?’ ” she said, rolling her eyes.

A few rooms over, first-grader Anahi Felix soaked up the science like a sponge. She took only a beat to peg a sweater as a solid, then passed the stumper. Rain is liquid, but snow is a solid, she said after thinking it over.

Anahi was watching seat partner Hector Flores Morales drag drops of water with a toothpick. The object was to show how a liquid (water) and a solid (a green marble) moved differently around a sketched maze laid under wax paper.

A few desks over, Abril Juarez said she liked playing with the marble the most and having the big kids as teachers. “They helped us do new things,” she said with a shy smile.

It was pushing the water around, watching little drops meet and become a big drop, that fascinated most of the youngsters. Some lab instructors caught on and went with the flow, while others stood by, just watching. Learning came in all sizes that morning.

“I think they’re learning how to be leaders and also learning how to be role models. That’s something that a lot of kids need as they go to high school,” said sixth-grade teacher Rocio Garcia.

First-grade teacher Anna Setzekorn said her class benefited from the interaction, a partnership even her Spanish-speakers could join because many of the older kids were bilingual.

“It’s getting them excited about science and cooperation – something to work for, because the big kids get to do this,” Setzekorn said.

The Science Ambassadors program is a collaboration between Franklin Elementary and the National Ag Science Center, with instructors Kathe Poteet and Michele Laverty.

This story was originally published April 26, 2015 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Franklin’s Junior Scientists try teaching the little kids."