To teach children how to make and use an Atmosphere Worksheet, the first step is to draw a four by eight-inch square on a piece of card stock. On the right-hand side of the card stock, draw a pencil line that starts at about one inch from the top of the card stock and ends at about six inches from the top.
Next, take your kids and make a decision as to how much they can spend. Pick the level of play that you feel comfortable with. This may be based on how long you have been playing the game, how many children you have or even how much you want to spend. Once you have decided on a starting point, then you can put together all the pieces of the Atmosphere Worksheet.
You will notice that each layer of the Atmosphere Worksheet answers a question. You will be working through these questions and answering them one by one. At the bottom, write “The answers are:”. This will help the child understand that once they have completed their answer, they can either stop on their own or you can ask them to continue to write down an answer if they need more help.
Next, put each piece of the stack on top of the other. Place the oxygen layer underneath the carbon layer. Put the carbon layer under the oxygen layer. Finally, put the methane layer beneath the sulfur layer.
With the help of the kids, trace the lines that you have drawn on the card stock onto the blank card stock. Once you have traced the lines, show them how to make each element of the stack. They can put each pair together like a picture, and you can write down their names.
Now, read the question to them one by one. For each question, answer with the corresponding number of the stack underneath the same question. In the case of a stack of eight, then answer the number of the stack of eight underneath the question “Which of the following is in the middle?”
When you have finished reading the question, write it down for each of the layers of the stack. You can also write the question on the back of the card stock. You can then put the card stock into a small wooden box or into an envelope and tape it up.
After this process, you will know which question each child has answered correctly. Take this information and give your children some time to think about the answers.
