Making Models
As students develop beyond their natural play with models, they should begin to modify them and discuss their limitations. What happens if wheels are taken off, or weight is added, if different materials are used, or if the model gets wet? Is that what would happen to the real things? Students also can begin to compare their objects, drawings, and constructions to the things they portray or resemble (real houses, airplanes, etc.). Students can begin to formulate their own models to explain things they cannot observe directly. By testing their models and changing them as more information is acquired, they begin to understand how science works.