Early Science  /  Ramps  /  Hands-On  /  Activity

Play Dough Shapes and Ramps

 

Ramps
Hands-On

Children make play dough shapes and send them down ramps. Which shapes roll? Which shapes slide?

A student plays with red play-dough at a table. A student holds one piece of red play-dough, while rolling a ball of red play-dough down a cardboard ramp.

Make a shape out of play dough.

Send it down the ramp. Does it roll? Slide? Stay put?

 

Materials

  • Cardboard ramp for each pair of children
  • Blocks, to prop up steep ramps
  • Play dough (modeling clay)
 

Directions: Lesson 3

Learning Center
  1. Invite children to make shapes out of play dough and send the shapes down a steep ramp.
  2. If possible, join children in making shapes and exploring how they move down the ramp. Engage children in ramp discussions. Encourage them to describe each object’s shape and predict the way it will move down the ramp. Possible discussion ideas:
    • Notice the shape of the object. How do you think it will move down the ramp? Does it slide? Does it roll? Does it stay put?
    • Can you change the shape to make it move in a different way?
  3. Help children compare how play dough objects of different shapes move in different ways down the ramp. You might want to make a cylinder that is wider at one end than at the other and see if it rolls in a curved path.
Length of Play

5–15 min.

Group Size
In the Schedule
 
Vocabulary
  • describe
  • predict
  • ramp
  • roll
  • shape
  • slide
 
Learning Goals
Science
  • Observe and describe how the shape of an object affects how it moves (rolling, sliding, etc.).