Will it Roll?

Prop a piece of wood against a chair to make an inclined plane.

Collect two egg cartons and a variety of rolling objects (marble, ball, toy car, etc.) and non-rolling objects (paper clip, block, etc.) Label one of the egg cartons “rolling objects” and one of the egg cartons “non-rolling objects.” Let your children select one of the objects and predict whether or not it will roll down the slide. Then place it on the slide and watch it. Did they guess right? Have the children put the object in the appropriate egg carton.

After all of the objects have been tested, show your children the egg cartons. Which carton has the most? Which has the least? The cartons are a simple kind of graph.