Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Evaporation

Evaporation describes the process of a liquid becoming a gas due to being heated. Liquids, gases, and solids can change their state due to the transfer of energy involved in a temperature change.

Suppose you’re teaching children about evaporation and how it works. In that case, we will explore this chemical process which refers to the heating of water molecules until they turn to vapor, to help you better understand and explain it. It all comes down to the amount of moisture, the temperature, and solar energy.

This state change can happen when the sun warms the surface of a body of water, and evaporation and condensation are natural processes in the Water Cycle. Humans heat water to create food and drinks and sometimes to purify water, as we have done for thousands of years.

When water gets so hot, it contains gas bubbles. This is called boiling or rapid vaporization rather than evaporation, whereas water becomes steam at a much slower rate when it is simmering. This is because the heat energy breaks the bonds between the water molecules.

Here are a few examples of everyday evaporation to help illustrate this process:

• Puddles outside disappearing
• Clothes drying on a line
• The water level going down in a cup
• Steam from a hot shower or bath
• Using a hairdryer
• Ironing clothes by heating moisture
• Floors and cars drying after cleaning
• Low rivers during hot weather
• Paint drying from a liquid
• Sweat evaporating from our bodies to cool us

This water hasn’t disappeared; it’s heated in the sun and is now floating in the air as vapor – which is much harder for us to see. However, when your breath looks misty in cold air, you can see this moisture because the vapor condenses as it loses heat energy.

Evaporation of a liquid continues until it reaches an equilibrium of evaporation and condensation or until the surrounding air is saturated with water vapor in an enclosed space.

Think about how the walls of a bathroom get wet from warm steam, which has evaporated, condensed on the cold wall, and will eventually evaporate back into the air as humidity. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air, and humans do it best when the air is at about 30 to 50% humidity.

You might refer to our page on condensation, which is the reverse of evaporation when water vapor cools and becomes liquid again. These are examples of changing states in chemistry, which is essential to learn for many other topics like studying the weather and cooking.Top of Form

Liquid to Gas – Changing States of Matter

Changes in the states of matter will also teach children about melting ice, why it snows, dissolving solids into liquids, where salt comes from, and more. You can discover so much about the world by studying the states of solids, drinks, and gases.

Evaporation and the Water Cycle

Evaporation is one of the four processes within the water cycle, alongside condensation, precipitation, and collection. On our planet, we have a constant amount of water that changes state depending on the conditions of the environment. In nature, water is constantly recycled between these states.

In this cycle, evaporation occurs when the sun heats water and causes the molecules to move faster and faster. Eventually, the water molecules move so quickly that they turn into gas. This gas is called water vapor. Once water vapor is formed, it spends about ten days floating around in the air and slowly but surely rises into the atmosphere.

Once the water vapor rises high enough, it begins to cool down. It then begins to condense and form larger water droplets. These larger and heavier water droplets then gather together to become clouds. Eventually, the clouds become so full of water that they release some forms of precipitation, such as rain or snow.

There are a variety of different places where water can evaporate from on the surface of the planet. Of course, much evaporation comes from the oceans, but water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and streams also contribute significantly towards the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The rest of the evaporated water comes from biological sources such as plants.

As stated above, the evaporation rate can vary depending on the conditions of the environment. Some of the main conditions that can affect this include:

• The humidity of the air
• The surface area of the liquid
• The temperature of the liquid
• The number of minerals dissolved in the liquid
• The flow rate of the air
• The pressure of the liquid

Practical uses for evaporation and the water cycle:

Evaporation and the water cycle are among Earth’s most important natural processes. Without them, we wouldn’t have rain, and Earth could quickly become uninhabitable.

But as well as this natural process, humans have found many other uses of evaporation and the water cycle.

For example, salt is made through the process of evaporation. Seawater naturally contains saline. When seawater is evaporated, the saline is too dense and heavy to travel upwards, so it remains on Earth, where it crystallizes to become salt.

Humans have manipulated this process for years by making relatively shallow ponds with large surface areas. The combination of the shallowness and the large surface area means that as much water in the pond is being heated up by the sun as possible, making evaporation faster.

As the water evaporates, it leaves behind salt, which is how table salt is made.

A fun and easy experiment you could try to test this is to fill a bowl with a bit of seawater and leave it out in the sun. Before too long, the water will have evaporated, and salt crystals will be left behind. This experiment is a great way to teach children about evaporation and the water cycle.

Teaching Ideas on Evaporation

You can help children’s understanding of this topic with images, slideshows, examples, and some hands-on activities.

Here are a few easy experiments you might like to run with your class or at home:

• Mark lines on a clear water container and checks the level over several days. Then, you can have a covered container for comparison.
• Hand up two matching wet clothes and a fan to blow air on one. Wind will speed up the drying process as water vapor is quickly carried away.
• Put some hand sanitizer on their hands and ask if their hands feel excellent from wet. Then get them to rub their hands until they dry. The alcohol gel has evaporated from their body heat, cooling (and cleaning) their hands in the process!
• Observe puddles on a rainy day, and check back to see if they get smaller after the rain has stopped. You can use cones to mark the edges.
• Boil water in a test tube or kettle so they can see the level going down as it turns to steam. Think about where the water ends up.

What is a force?

A force is simply a push or a pull in a particular direction. Forces result from an object’s interaction with another thing.

In physics, forces are illustrated by arrows. An arrow in that same direction will show the direction of the workforce.

What are the different types of force?

There are two main types of forces: contact forces and non-contact forces.

Contact force

Contact forces result from two objects touching each other.

The following forces are contact forces:

• Frictional force: whenever objects rub against each other, they cause friction. Friction works against the movement of an object and acts in the opposite direction.
• Normal force: the force that supports the weight of an object on a surface. It’s the force that the ground or a surface pushes back up with. It helps us not to fall through the floor!
• Tension force: a pulling force exerted by a string or chain on an object.
• Applied force: a force used on an object by another object or person.
• Air resistance force: a type of frictional force that acts on an object as it moves through the air.
• Spring force: a force applied upon an object by a compressed or stretched spring attached to it.

Non-contact force

Non-contact forces are at play when an object can push or pull another thing without coming into contact with it.

The following forces are non-contact forces:

• Gravitational force: a force by which an object attracts another object towards itself. All things have a gravitational force, but it is most noticeable in large objects like the Earth or the Sun. For example, due to its gravitational force, the Earth pulls all things towards itself.
• Electrical force: a force exerted between two charged objects.
• Magnetic force: otherwise known as magnetism, this is a force that attracts or repels magnetic objects. For example, iron, nickel, and cobalt are magnetic metals, so they are attracted to magnets.

What are push forces?

When children first learn about forces in year one, they’ll learn about the push and pull forces. A push force is a force that pushes an object away from the source of the force.

There are lots of examples of push forces at work in day-to-day life. Pushing a door shut, pushing a trolley in a supermarket, or kicking a football are all great examples.

You might also want to look at swings to help your children understand push forces. For example, if a child is sitting on a swing and you push them, they are propelled away from you due to your effort. This is the result of a push force. Equally, if they’re swinging by themselves, when they kick at the ground, they have pushed away from the floor and into the air – another excellent example of a push force.

What are pull forces?

Pull forces are the opposite of push forces – they pull an object toward the source of the force. Examples include picking up a school bag, dragging a chair across the room, and tightening your shoelaces.

To help children understand pull forces, why not play a game of tug-of-war? This is a fun and simple exercise to help them know pull forces. By pulling on the rope, each team will be able to move it closer toward them. Whichever team can exert the larger pull force will win!

Thermometer

A thermometer is an instrument used to measure temperature. Please read about how different thermometers work and check out our brilliant thermometer resources!

What is a thermometer?

Find out all about what a thermometer is and how it works!

How a thermometer works for kids

A thermometer is an instrument used to measure temperature. You can measure the temperature of many different things with a thermometer, such as the temperature of a room to see how hot or cold it is, the temperature of a person to tell if they are sick, or the temperature of food to check if it is cooked.

The temperature is usually displayed in degrees Celsius, but it can also be Fahrenheit. This is because Celsius and Fahrenheit are two different scales for measuring temperature.

The main types of thermometers are new digital thermometers, including infrared and older mercury thermometers.

Mercury thermometers

Mercury thermometers look like sealed glass tubes with a liquid inside and numbers marked on the side to display the temperature. The liquid is called mercury, perfect for measuring temperatures because it changes from a solid to liquid very easily and is the only metal in liquid form at room temperature. In addition, mercury has a high boiling point, so it is suitable to measure higher temperatures.

How do mercury thermometers work?

1. When the tip of the mercury thermometer touches the material it is measuring; the material conducts heat energy to the mercury.
2. Then the mercury expands as it becomes liquid and rises the tube.
3. The place where the mercury stops on the scale is where you can take the temperature reading.

Handy! But these thermometers are being phased out because the mercury is toxic if the thermometer breaks.

Digital thermometers

Digital thermometers use an electronic computer chip to tell the temperature. The tip of a digital thermometer is sensitive to heat, so it can accurately measure the temperature and tell the computer chip what the measurement is.

Often used to take medical readings, digital thermometers are the most accurate way to test someone’s temperature to see if they are ill.

How do digital thermometers work?

1. When the temperature changes, the sensor inside a digital thermometer notices a difference in electronic reading from the resistor (part of an electric circuit that limits the flow of electricity).
2. This change in resistance is then converted into a change in temperature.
3. A number then gives a digital reading of the temperature on the screen.

This process takes about 30 seconds, which is faster than mercury thermometers, as they take 3 minutes to heat up and give you a reading!

Infrared thermometers

Infrared thermometers are digital thermometers that can measure temperatures from a distance. They can be used when the object you want to measure is very fragile or dangerous to be near. Infrared thermometers can measure temperatures between a few centimeters or many miles away.

How do infrared thermometers work?

1. Infrared thermometers detect radiation from objects caused by the molecules inside objects moving around. The higher the temperature, the faster the molecules move and the more infrared radiation they emit.
2. The radiation from the object is measured and turned into heat by an infrared thermometer.
3. The heat is then turned into electricity and sent to a detector, producing a number on display to indicate the object’s temperature.

These thermometers have been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic to detect if people have a high temperature from far away, so people don’t have to be too close together.

What are thermometers used for?

Thermometers are super helpful for lots of different things! For example, you may notice a thermometer on your classroom wall to check the room’s temperature or see one in the kitchen to help with cooking. People use thermometers to check if food, such as a roast, is cooked, if hot oil is ready for frying food, or if sugar is melted or burned. Thermometers also check people’s temperatures to see if they are sick with a fever.

What is human evolution?

Evolution is the scientific study of changes in the characteristics of a group of organisms throughout successive generations. For example, in studying human evolution, scientists have theorized that modern human beings evolved from human-like species and other non-human primates that came before us but have now become extinct.

The theory of human evolution is centered around natural selection, accredited to the famous naturalist Charles Darwin. Natural selection is the process by which an organism’s genetic makeup changes over time to allow it to become better suited to survive in its environment. Darwin was a pioneer in the field of human evolution. One of the key takeaways from Darwin’s theories is that all living organisms on Earth share a common ancestor. Moreover, Darwin suggested that apes are the last common relatives of human beings today.

The genetic evidence was collected surrounding Darwin’s claims about the links between apes and the timeline of human evolution. This, in time, has allowed scientists to work out the exact level of similarity between the genetics of apes and humans, which sits around 94%.

Introduction to human evolution

The transition from apes to humans began with the ability to walk on two legs. This is called bipedalism. One of the earliest ancestors of human beings, whom we will explore more deeply later on in this wiki, was the Sahelanthropus tchadensis. The Sahelanthropus tchadensis began to transition into two-legged walking around 6 million years ago. Homo sapiens, the species that all humans currently belong to, did not come about for approximately 5 million years after this transition occurred. During this significant gap in the timeline of human evolution, many different species lived, evolved, and died. These species gradually changed over time, becoming more developed, more intelligent, and, overall, better suited to live in the world.

From what scientists have gathered, Homo sapiens is believed to have originated on the continent of Africa. Studies suggest that different groups of our human ancestors were scattered across Africa, all living separately from one another until the changing climate forced them to intermingle.

The timeline of human evolution

So, now we know what human evolution is, we can get into the details of the timeline of human development. It all began a long time ago, 55 million years ago, to be exact…

55 million years ago

The first-ever primitive primates begin to evolve.

8 to 6 million years ago

The first-ever gorillas evolve. After this, the different chimp and human lineages begin to separate.

5.8 million years ago

Bipedalism is introduced, as the oldest-known human ancestor is believed to have begun walking on two legs. This ancestor is the species, Orrorin tugenensis.

5.5 million years ago

The primate, Ardipithecus, has common traits with chimpanzees and gorillas. This species lives in forest areas.

4 million years ago

A species of primates known as Australopithecines pop up. These primates have similar-sized brains to chimpanzees but walk bipedally on two hind legs. The Australopithecines are the first human ancestors to have lived in Savannah.

3.2 million years ago

A group of skeleton fossils discovered in East Africa in 1974 shows a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis living in Hadar, Ethiopia. This specimen has since been given the nickname Lucy.

2.7 million years ago

The primate species Paranthropus lived in woods and grasslands at this time. These primates had massive jaws that they would use for eating roots and tough vegetation. Around 1.2 million years ago, this species became extinct.

2.5 million years ago

The species, Homo habilis, appears. This species shares many features with apes but has a less protruding face. During this time, hominids also began to use stone tools frequently, which they would make by splitting pebbles. Certain hominids also began to develop very meat-heavy diets at this point in the timeline of human evolution. This increase in meat consumption, and the consequent boost in energy that followed, allowed hominids to develop larger brains.

2 million years ago

Evidence of the primate Homo ergaster has been found in Africa dating back to this time. This primate had an increased brain volume than earlier species.

1.8 to 1.5million years ago

The species, Homo erectus, is found in Asia. These primates are the first examples we have of hunter-gatherers. They were also the first to migrate in large numbers outside of Africa. This species’s brain size is still bigger, at a volume of around 1000 cm3.

1.6 million years ago

This stage in history is believed to have marked the first use of fire, based on evidence found in Kenya. Also, more complex stone tools were being created and used then. These tools remained the most popular technology for early humans until around 100,000 years ago.

600,000 years ago

At this time, the species, Homo Heidelbergensis, lives in Africa and Europe. This primate species had a similar brain capacity to what we have today.

500,000 years ago

The earliest evidence of purpose-built shelters can be traced back to this time. The shelters were wooden huts that were found near Chichibu in Japan.

400,000 years ago

Early humans start using spears in their hunting.

325,000 years ago

The earliest evidence of human footprints can be traced back to 325,000 years ago. These footprints are believed to have been left by three people clambering down the slopes of a volcano in Italy.

280,000 years ago

The first complex stone blades and grinding stones are created.

230,000 years ago

It is at this point that Neanderthals begin to appear. They are found across Europe, all the way from Britain to Iran. They eventually became extinct when modern humans took over around 28,000 years ago.

195,000 years ago

This is the first time modern human beings as we know them, i.e., Homo sapiens, appear. Homo sapiens migrate across Asia and Europe. The earliest evidence of the remains of Homo sapiens date back to this period. The remains were two human skulls that were found in Ethiopia. At this time, the average brain capacity for Homo sapiens was 1350 cm3.

170,000 years ago

The direct ancestor of all modern human beings alive today is believed to have been living in Africa at this time. Scientists have called this ancestor Mitochondrial Eve.

150,000 years ago

Human beings develop the ability to speak. Evidence has shown that Homo sapiens developed a complex system of speech and symbolism at this time.

140,000 years ago

The first evidence of long-distance trade can be traced to 140,000 years ago.

50,000 years ago

It is at this point in the timeline of human evolution that human culture starts to develop at a much faster rate. Some cultural changes involved introducing ritually burying the dead, making clothes from animal skin, and creating more strategic, effective hunting techniques.

33,000 years ago

The earliest evidence of cave art can be traced to 33,000 years ago. Homo erectus became utterly extinct in Asia and was replaced by modern humans.

18,000 years ago

A species of tiny, archaic humans known as Homo Floresiensis live on the Indonesian island of Flores. These early humans are just over a meter tall and have similarly sized brains to chimpanzees. These humans, unlike chimpanzees, however, did have advanced stone tools.

12,000 years ago

Modern humans make it to the Americas.

10,000 years ago

Agriculture began to develop and quickly became a widespread practice. The rise in agriculture also links to the establishment of the first villages. It is also possible that dogs were first domesticated and kept as pets during this period.

5,500 years ago

The Stone Age comes to an end, and the Bronze Age begins. With the beginning of a new age, humans started to work in copper and tin instead of the stone tools they had used in previous years.

5,000 years ago

This period brings the earliest known example of writing.

4,000 to 3,500 years ago

The Ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia develop the world’s first-ever civilization.

Critical stages in the timeline of human evolution

There are seven essential stages of the history of human development. They are as follows:

1. Dryopithecus: Thought to be the ancestors of both humans and apes.
2. Ramapithecus: Lived primarily in open grasslands. They are officially classed as hominids.
3. Australopithecus: Lived on the ground, using stones as weapons, and walked bipedally.
4. Homo Erectus: Viewed as the species that linked humans and apes.
5. Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis: As the Homo Erectus developed into Homo sapiens, two subspecies of Homo sapiens came into existence. One of these species was Homo sapien, Neanderthal.
6. Homo Sapiens Sapiens: The other subspecies of Homo sapiens was Homo sapiens sapiens.
7. Homo sapiens: This is the species of all human beings living today.

What is an abstract noun?

An abstract noun names a quality or an idea that cannot be physically quantified with the senses. Instead, it symbolizes an abstract concept, such as a feeling, a quality, or an idea. In other words, abstract nouns are intangible concepts.

Examples of abstract nouns:

When helping children get to grips with abstract nouns, the key is to show them plenty of examples. This will show that plenty of abstract nouns are words they already know. It will also allow kids to draw parallels between different models, which will help them identify abstract nouns in the future.

Here are a couple of examples of abstract nouns that you and your kids might know already:

• Freedom;
• Danger;
• Charity;
• Justice;
• Generosity;
• Hope;
• Love.

We have an idea of what these words mean but cannot physically experience them with the five senses.

Identifying abstract nouns:

If you’re faced with a word and want to identify whether or not it’s an abstract noun, there are plenty of questions to ask yourself.

Is this a noun?

Firstly, you can check if the word is a noun. This means that it is a thing. Check if you can put a determiner in front of it – a word such as a/an, the, or these.

For example, the word dog is a noun, as you can say a dog, the dog, or these dogs. However, an adjective such as lovely won’t make sense with just a determiner in front of it – you can’t have a phase that looks like a lovely, the lovely, or these lovely.

Can I experience this noun with the five senses?

Once you’ve identified your noun, you can check whether it is abstract. As we know, you can’t experience an abstract noun with the five senses – you can’t see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it.

So taking our dog’s example, we know it’s not an abstract noun as we can see, smell, touch, and hear it.

But let’s look at another word, such as freedom. In this case, we can’t see, smell, hear, taste, or touch liberty. We can feel it in our hearts and minds and experience it – but not with our five tangible senses.

Abstract vs. concrete nouns:

The opposite of an abstract noun is called a concrete noun. This refers to any noun that is not abstract – in other words, we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it.

These can be experienced and include categories such as people, animals, materials, and foodstuffs.

Some examples of concrete nouns include:

• Dog;
• Chair;
• Moon;
• Table;
• Water;
• Book.

Is air an abstract noun?

While some nouns fit into their category of noun nicely, some are a little trickier to classify. For example, certain things include air, ghosts, or wind.

You might think that we can’t see these things – so they must be abstract nouns, right? While these are less obviously identified, they are still concrete. So the answer is no – air is not an abstract noun. We can feel it on our skin, and we experience the effect of it by breathing. The gases that make up the air have physical properties.

What is a Tornado?

A tornado is a giant tube of air that spins violently, extending from the thunderstorm to the ground. The wind inside the tornado spins incredibly fast and is encapsulated in a massive circle of wind, which creates its tube-like shape.

Tornadoes are extremely dangerous and pretty much destroy everything they touch. They are particularly dangerous for people in cars or mobile homes, as they can be lifted right off the ground and thrown into nearby buildings, trees, etc.

While tornadoes can happen anywhere, nearly three-quarters of the world’s tornadoes occur in the United States. Therefore, the middle section of the USA is known as ‘Tornado Alley’ because of the number of tornadoes that have happened there.

Tornadoes typically have wind speeds of less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) wide, and tend to travel a few miles before disappearing completely. However, some intense tornadoes have been known to have wind speeds up to 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). The severity of tornadoes is measured using the Enhanced Fujita scale, from EF0 to EF5. EF0 is for tornados that cause minor damage, and EF5 is for the ones that cause the most damage.

Several weather phenomena are similar to tornadoes and are often mistaken for them. They include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, steam devil, and downbursts.

Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity

SCALE	WIND SPEED	POSSIBLE DAMAGE	Enhanced Fujita Scale
F0	40-72 mph	Minimal damage: Branches may be broken off trees; minor roof damage to houses	EFO 65-85 mph
F1	73-112 mph	Moderate damage: Trees may be snapped in half; mobile home could be pushed off their foundations; roofs could be damaged	EF1 86-110 mph
F2	113-157 mph	Considerable damage: Mobile homes could be demolished; trees may be completely uprooted; even well-built homes may be unroofed	EF2 111-135 mph
F3	158-206 mph	Severe damage: Trains may be overturned; cars may be lifted clean off the ground; well-built homes could have their outside walls blown away	EF3 136-165 mph
F4	207-260 mph	Devastating damage: Houses may be leveled, leaving behind piles of debris; cars may be thrown 200 meters or more in the air	EF4 166-200 mph
F5	261-318 mph	Extreme damage: Well-built homes could be completely blown away, and missiles the size of cars could be thrown around	EF5 over 200 mph

Characteristics of Tornado

Tornadoes have a very distinctive look and have been depicted, most famously, in the film, The Wizard of Oz. The water droplets in the air make the spinning winds of a tornado visible. The visible tube of air is called a funnel cloud. A funnel cloud can be shaped like a cone, pillar, or tube. It can also range from only a few feet to hundreds of feet wide.

Once a tornado touches the ground, it travels around 28 miles (45 kilometers) per hour.

Here are some fun tornado facts for kids:

• The winds inside a tornado typically turn counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Tornadoes usually move from west to east.
• Generally speaking, tornadoes only last for two or three minutes.
• Strong tornadoes, however, can last for 15 minutes or longer.

How Does a Tornado Form?

Most tornadoes are the product of thunderstorms. They require a combination of warm, moist air and cold, dry air to form. When these two air masses collide, they create an unstable atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft, the upward moving air within a thunderstorm, tilts the horizontal rotating air, making it vertical. At this point, an area of rotation around 2-6 miles wide extends through most of the storm. Within this area, of course, the most intense and violent tornadoes form.

Tornado Facts for Kids

Tornadoes are fascinating, complex weather phenomena whose unpredictable nature makes it difficult for even the best scientists to understand fully. Enjoy these tornado facts for kids, which give an insight into this fantastic form of extreme weather:

1. Tornadoes reach from the ground to a cloud above.
2. Tornadoes are sometimes called twisters.
3. Some tornadoes are invisible, but their high wind speeds and fast rotation often form a visible funnel of condensed water.
4. Most tornadoes are only able to travel a few miles before dying out.
5. Intense tornadoes can sometimes travel over 100 miles (161kilometres).
6. In 1925, what is known as the Tristate Tornado traveled through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in the United States. It left behind a destruction path over 219 (352 kilometers) long.
7. The Tristate Tornado was the deadliest in US history. It killed 695 people.
8. In the USA, there is an average of around 1200 tornadoes yearly, more than any other country in the world.
9. Most of these 1200 tornadoes occur in ‘Tornado Alley.’
10. There has been a tornado in every state in the United States.
11. The states in the USA that are most frequently hit by tornadoes are Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Florida.
12. The deadliest tornado recorded in 1989 was in Bangladesh and killed around 1300 people.
13. Tornadoes that happen over water are often known as waterspouts.
14. Weather radars detect tornadoes and warn people that they are coming.
15. The safest place to be during a tornado is underground. This is why people often go into basements.
16. During a tornado, it is essential to avoid windows as the glass will likely shatter.
17. Scientists don’t fully understand how tornadoes are formed.

 

Originating in Ancient Greece in 776 BC and revived in the 19th century, the Olympic Games are the world’s most significant sporting competition. From Greek gods to world records and some of the most critical moments in history, Olympics history is genuinely fascinating, and you can learn all about it with the help of this Teaching Wiki.

The History of The Olympic Games

The earliest evidence of the Olympic Games taking place is in the form of written records from nearly 3,000 years ago.

Olympics History – Ancient Greece

How Did the Olympic Games Begin?

Legend has it that Heracles, son of Zeus, founded the Olympic Games, eventually becoming the most famous sporting festival in Ancient Greece. So, the Games were initially held every four years during the religious festival that honored the Greek god Zeus. This is where the Games get their name, as they were held in the sanctuary of Zeus, located in Olympia, Greece. The first officially recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 BC in Olympia.

Early sporting events included:

• Athletics
• Combat sports
• Horse and chariot racing

The names for the races were: the diaulos, the dolichos, and the pentathlon.

Who could compete in the Olympic Games? Only freeborn Greek men could compete; women were not allowed to compete. These men represented the different city-states of Ancient Greece

Why Did The Ancient Olympics End?

The decline of the Olympics in the Roman Empire

After the Roman Empire conquered Greece, the Olympic Games began to decline in importance. In 393 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned all “pagan” festivals and events, ending the Olympic Games. Theodosius II, his successor, then called for the destruction of all Greek temples.

Revival of the Olympics – 1,500 Years Later

As with the revival of interest in the Ancient World and it’s philosophers, architecture, art, and much more, it was in the 19th century that the Olympic Games were revived.

Who Invented The Olympic Games?

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who dedicated himself to promoting physical education, became interested in reviving the Games after visiting an ancient Olympic site in Greece. Many also spurred this interest during the Greek War of Independence in 1821. In 1892, Coubertin proposed his ideas, arguing for the Olympic Games as a leading international sporting competition. This was approved, and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) was founded.

In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. The Games brought together 14 nations and 280 participants, competing in 43 sporting events. Sporting events included:

• Track and field
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Wrestling
• Gymnastics
• Cycling
• Weightlifting
• Shooting
• Fencing

The Olympic Games continued, held in a different host city and country every four years during the summer. However, 1924 is commonly believed to be the year in which the Games became the leading sporting event they are today, with 44 nations and 3,000 athletes competing.

Where Were The First Olympic Games Held?

After their revival, the first modern Olympic Games were held in its historic birthplace, Greece. The 1896 Olympic Games were held in the capital city of Athens.

Who Designed the Olympic Symbol?

In 1913, Pierre de Coubertin, the inventor of the modern-day Olympics, designed the Olympic symbol – the Olympic rings.

What Do The Five Olympic Rings Represent?

The five interlocking rings colored blue, red, black, green, and yellow on a white background represent the five continents united by the Olympics. Each color represents the colors present in every nation’s flag.

What Are The Official Olympic Sports?

There are 35 official Olympic sports. The Summer Olympic Games now consist of 28 sports and 38 disciplines. The Winter Olympics consists of 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

Summer Olympic Sports

Archery	Artistic Swimming	Athletics
Badminton	Baseball	Basketball
Basketball 3×3	Beach Volleyball	Boxing
Breaking	Canoe Slalom	Canoe Sprint
Cycling BMX	Cycling Mountain Bike	Cycling Road
Cycling Track	Diving	Equestrian/Dressage
Equestrian Eventing	Equestrian Jumping	Fencing
Football	Golf	Gymnastics Artistic
Gymnastics Rhythmic	Handball	Hockey
Judo	Karate	Marathon Swimming
Modern Pentathlon	Rowing	Rugby
Sailing	Shooting	Skateboarding
Sport Climbing	Surfing	Swimming
Table Tennis	Taekwondo	Tennis
Trampoline	Triathlon	Volleyball
Water Polo	Weightlifting	Wrestling Freestyle
Wrestling Greco-Roman

How Many Olympic Games Have There Been?

Since their revival in 1896,  28 Summer Olympic Games have been held in 23 cities.

List of Olympic Games (1896 -)

• Athens – 1896
• Paris – 1900
• St. Louis – 1904
• London – 1908
• Stockholm – 1912
• Antwerp – 1920
• Paris – 1924
• Amsterdam – 1928
• Los Angeles – 1932
• Berlin – 1936
• London – 1948
• Helsinki – 1952
• Melbourne – 1956
• Rome – 1960
• Tokyo – 1964
• Mexico City – 1968
• Munich – 1972
• Montreal – 1976
• Moscow – 1984
• Seoul – 1988
• Barcelona – 1992
• Atlanta – 1996
• Sydney – 2000
• Athens – 2004
• Beijing – 2008
• London – 2012
• Rio de Janeiro – 2016
• Tokyo – 2020
• Los Angeles – 2028

Winter Olympic Games

A significant moment in the history of the Olympics was the first Winter Games held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The Winter Games were born out of a desire to feature more snow and ice sports that couldn’t be held during the summer and, therefore, couldn’t feature in the Olympic Games. The Winter Olympics are held every four years, two years after the Olympic Games.

Here’s a list of sporting events that are included in the Winter Olympics:

• Alpine skiing
• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Cross country skiing
• Curling
• Figure skating
• Freestyle skiing
• Ice hockey
• Luge
• Nordic combined
• Short track
• Skeleton
• Ski jumping
• Snowboard
• Speed skating

Paralympic Games

Another important event in Olympics history originating in 1948, the Paralympics, was born by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, promoting the rehabilitation of injured soldiers after World War II.

Guttmann held a sporting event between hospitals that coincided with the 1948 London Olympics. Then, in 1960, 400 athletes went to Rome to compete in what was known as the “Parallel Olympics”; this was the first Paralympics. This continued, and since 1988, the host city for the Olympic Games has also hosted the Paralympics.

Essential Events in Olympics History

Being the world’s leading sporting event, bringing together nations and competitors from around the world, and being televised since 1948, the Olympics has been host to some of the most significant sporting achievements. Along with this, the Olympics has seen critical political events taking place:

• 1900 – Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Hélène de Pourtalès, from Switzerland, became the first woman to compete and the first female Olympic champion.
• 1916 – The Olympic Games are canceled due to World War I. This is the first time the Olympic Games have been canceled.
• 1936 – Nazi Germany hosts the Olympics. Many chose to boycott the Games due to the racist policies of the Nazi party and the fact the Nazi party saw the Olympics as an opportunity to fuel their Aryan racial supremacy beliefs. This was the year African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals. Jesse Owens’s victory has been one of the most significant moments in Olympics history.
• 1940, 1944 – The Olympic Games are canceled due to World War II.
• 1948 – Germany and Japan are banned from competing in the first Olympic Games, held in London, post World War II.
• 1968 – U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed the Black Power salute to protest their country’s treatment of Black citizens during the award ceremony. This year also saw protests in the host city of Mexico City; students opposed the use of government funding for the Games.Top of Form
• 1980 – The U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games with the Cold War ongoing.
• 1996 – The 100th Olympic Games are held in Atlanta. During the opening ceremony, Olympic gold medallist Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic flame.
• 2008 – During the Beijing Olympic Games, American swimmer Michael Phelps, and his teammates break the world record in the relay event. In addition, Phelps won the most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games – eight gold medals.
• 2020 – The Tokyo Olympics are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the third time in history that the Olympics have been canceled.

10 Facts About Olympics History

• The symbol for the modern Olympic Games is five interlocking rings. These represent the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.
• The 2012 Olympic Games were the first in which all participating countries sent female athletes.
• Olympic gold medals are mostly made of silver.
• Two thousand twenty marks the first year the Olympics have been canceled since World War II.
• Some of the most prosperous countries in the Olympic Games include the U.S., China, the U.K., and Russia.
• The Olympic flame is always lit. Several months before the Olympic Games begin, the Olympic flame is an important symbol of the Olympics and is lit throughout the ceremony. The Olympic flame symbolizes the continuity between ancient and modern Olympic Games, lit in Olympia, Greece, and burning for the duration of the games.
• The 2012 Olympic Games allowed women to compete in every sport.
• The longest Olympic record has been held for over 50 years. Bob Beamon won the long jump in 1968 in the Mexico Olympics. His jump measured 8.90 meters, and he still hasn’t been beaten.
• During the ancient Olympic Games, an Olive wreath was the prize for the winning athlete. This is still an important symbol in the Olympic Games.
• British long-distance runner, Sir Mo Farah, is the most successful British track athlete in Olympics history. He holds gold medals for the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races.

The five oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, Arctic, and Indian. These are large bodies of water that separate the seven continents of Earth. Each ocean has unique properties and, therefore, extraordinary marine life.Top of Form

Let’s break down the five oceans in more detail:

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world. It is located between the continents of Asia and Australia to the west and the Americas to the east. It covers about 32% of the Earth’s surface and accounts for around 46% of its water surface.

The Pacific Ocean is home to the Mariana Trench in the north-west. This is the deepest point on Earth and reaches 35,853 feet.

It is sadly also home to the great Pacific garbage patch. This area of plastic waste is three times the size of France!

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean in the world and covers around 20% of the Earth’s surface. It sits between the Americas and Europe, and Africa. Similarly to the Pacific, the Atlantic is split into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic.

The Atlantic Ocean has many places where fish are abundant and is very popular for fishing. The Atlantic is teeming with popular fish such as cod, haddock, plaice, and sole. Some animals, such as the Atlantic ghost crab and the grey Atlantic seal, are unique to the Atlantic.

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third-largest ocean in the world and accounts for roughly 20% of the world’s water surface. Asia surrounds it to the north, Australia to the east, Antarctica to the south, and Africa to the west.

The west of the Indian Ocean is home to the world’s largest phytoplankton concentration. This brings an abundance of marine life to the ocean to feed. The Indian Ocean is one of the most popular fishing spots for tune and shrimp.

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, surrounds the Antarctic continent. It is the fourth-largest ocean out of the five oceans.

The ocean is home to various animals, including fish, birds, and mammals. Penguins, seals, orcas, and albatrosses are some of the varied animal life.

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest, shallowest, and coldest of the five oceans. Eurasia and North America surround the Arctic Ocean. The ocean is mainly covered with sea ice throughout the year and almost entirely in the winter.

Many animals are unique to the Arctic Ocean, such as polar bears, beluga, and bowhead whales.

What’s the difference between oceans and seas?

Generally, oceans are much larger than seas. Seas are also enclosed mainly by land or where the land and ocean meet. Some notable seas you may have heard of include the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Dead Sea. You may have heard of the term ‘the seven seas.’ This is an old term used for popular trade routes and bodies of water. There are no actual ‘seven seas.’

To make things even more confusing, the term ‘seven seas’ can refer to the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific, North Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. However, these are still classed as oceans!

A report is a concise piece of writing that uses facts and evidence to look at issues, situations, events, or findings. Reports are informative texts that analyze different topics with a specific purpose and audience.

Reports are a form of non-fiction and aim to be as objective as possible, focusing on facts. This differentiates them from other forms of non-fiction, such as essays, that are heavily opinionated (though they may use statistics and factual information to persuade).

How to Structure a Report

Reports are usually structured using subheadings, numbered sections, and subsections. In addition, critical information can be listed using bullet points, including features such as statistics, graphs, or quotes as evidence to support its analysis.

Reports also tend to follow a structure that progresses through the following sections:

• Introduction. State what the report is investigating and its aims and objectives. Also, identify your hypothesis (a theory you’re trying to prove).
• Methodology. Write about how you approached the investigation, collected data, and analyzed it. For example, if you got your data through a survey, you conducted, write about how many people you surveyed, where you found them, how they communicated with you and what you did with the information. You could have gone about this in more than one way, in which case you can use subtitles to break down the different methods you used.
• Results. What were your findings? This isn’t the part where you interpret or analyze what you found; you share the results of your investigation. Continuing with the above example, what did the survey participants say?
• Discussion. This is where you interpret the results. What insights do you have into the information you collected? Did it support the hypothesis that you wrote earlier?
• Summary. Without introducing any new information, summarise your findings and what you learned from the investigation. You can also include recommendations here that relate to your results.

This is commonly referred to as the IMRAD report structure (Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion) and is the standard way to approach report writing. However, if unsure, check the required format with your teacher, professor, mentor, manager, etc.

What language should you use when writing a report?

Clear, objective language. Report writing should not include emotive words and should focus primarily on being transparent, accurate, and concise. This is because the goal of a report is to communicate the facts, as opposed to convincing readers to think or feel a certain way. Aim to use Standard English and a straightforward vocabulary.

Inference

Inference means arriving at a conclusion using reasoning or evidence, which makes them more than just assumptions. Making inferences is a valuable skill for children, as it will help them pick apart texts and uncover meanings, themes, and character motivations.

What does inference mean?

Inference can be thought of as any step in logic that allows someone to reach a conclusion based on evidence or reasoning

In any situation where something is uncertain, and there are bits of evidence or clues, we’re likely to make inferences. For example, when we make inferences while reading, we use the author’s evidence to draw our logical conclusions.

A writer doesn’t always state specific facts about a character or situation. Instead, we can use the information given to us to figure certain things out for ourselves.

Synonyms of the term inference include:

• Conclusion
• Deduction
• Consequence

What are the forms of inference?

Before we learn more about inference and discover the difference between imply and infer, we must understand that we can make two kinds of speculation: inductive and deductive.

Let’s break these two types down:

• Inductive inference begins with making observations or carefully reading a piece of text. By reading and analyzing, you can notice patterns and start to form your own opinion or conclusion. A vital part of this inference is using evidence to prove the conclusion or inference drawn. Then, you can combine the evidence, patterns, and observations to create your hypothesis.
• Deductive inference works oppositely – you begin with an idea or theory. Then, you test the idea by collecting observations to address it. Once enough observations and evidence have been collected, the original concept will either be proved or disproved.

The two forms of inference work in opposite ways. An easy way to remember the difference is that inductive inference creates an inference at the end, whereas deductive inference begins with one. Making inductive inferences is more open-ended and leaves more room for exploration – it’s about developing an idea rather than proving or disproving one!

In school, children will be taught inductive inference. First, they’ll be taught to read and observe, then use evidence to conclude from what they’ve read.

What are some examples of inference?

Before we compare imply and infer, let’s strengthen our knowledge with a few examples of inference. This will help us to see how we make inferences in our everyday speech and writing:

1) Everyday speech:

Using clues, you can use inference to find out about a person’s actions or intentions. We use deduction a lot in everyday life – not just in reading. Here are a few inference examples to show you how we might make an inference in our everyday speech:

• ‘She’s making herself a snack, so she must be hungry.’
• ‘He’s taken his coat, so it must be cold outside.’
• ‘They’re an animal lover, so I bet they love cats too.’

These inferences are based on something seen, and there’s evidence to back them up.

2) Inference in reading:

We can also make inferences when we’re reading a text, whether a story or a poem. Authors rely on us to make inferences to get their meaning across in a more subtle (and usually more creative) way.

The author gives us clues about what’s happening; we, the reader, are left to figure it out for ourselves. If it was all spelled out for us and there was nothing left to infer, there wouldn’t be much room for imagination!

Not all inferences are ‘correct,’ though. Sometimes we can jump to conclusions without much evidence to support them. This is particularly common in mystery and detective stories, where the writer might use red herrings to trick the reader into a false conclusion.

Let’s break down how we can infer something from a piece of text:

• Feeling excited, he packed his swimming trunks, sunglasses, and sun cream into the suitcase and was good to go.

From this example, we can infer that the character is getting ready to go on holiday. The swimming trunks, sunglasses, and sun cream are all items we’d associate with a holiday, so it’s a logical inference. However, he’s also ‘feeling excited,’ which means he is about to leave for the holiday and not packing up to leave.

However, we can’t blindly trust what the author tells us! Sometimes, they throw in red herrings, which causes us to infer the wrong thing.

3) Other uses of inference

The term inference is also used in science or maths about data.

For example, suppose scientific research shows that a particular age group is more susceptible to heart problems. In that case, scientists may infer that this age group isn’t getting enough exercise or is leading less healthy lifestyles.

Inferences in science and maths need to be backed up with evidence and data – they should be much more accurate than if we’re inferring a character’s actions in a book.

What is the difference between imply and infer?

Now that we’ve learned a bit about inference and seen it in action let’s look at the difference between imply and infer. These words are somewhat related but have different meanings, so it’s important not to get them muddled up!

Infer, as we know, means to make an inference.

Imply, however, means to suggest something without explicitly saying it.

But while we can now see that imply and infer have opposite meanings, they are still related. Both imply and imagine things that we use a lot in communication.

For example, a writer might imply that something is the case without explicitly stating it. This means it’s up to us, the reader, to use our best judgment and infer what the writer means. We’re also likely to imply and infer in regular, everyday speech. When someone subtly implies something rather than outright stating it, some reading between the lines and inference might be needed to understand what’s being said.

When we infer something, we call it an inference. However, implying something is called an implication.

Why are inferences meaningful?Top of Form

We’ve learned about inferences and the difference between imply and infer, but why do inferences matter?

Inferences help us decipher and reach conclusions to find meaning based on what someone says or writes. Without speculation, we would treat what we hear or read in a very literal sense. Inferring is to read between the lines and make assumptions based on more minor details.

Drawing inferences is also essential for understanding the world around us. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to understand much at all. Even with evidence and proof of something, we still need to be able to make inferences from that evidence to understand its meaning.

Imagine a world without inferences: What does that mean if you saw snow falling outside? It’s snowing, yes, but what else? From the snow, we infer that it’s cold because it needs to be below 0 °C for ice to form. If we didn’t make that inference beforehand, we’d have to go outside and feel the freezing air first.

Inferences and being able to imply and infer are also essential skills for children as they progress through their English education. Making inferences will help them unpack more complex texts and make crucial judgments about their meaning.