Review of The Magic School Bus and How it Can Be Used to Support a Theme on the Human Body

Recently, I reviewed the web-based program for the Magic School Bus p(ublished by Scholastic, Inc.; copyright 2011)and I found this program to be highly entertaining and both eye-catching and ear-catching. The site even provides video clips on the various topics for the children to preview with information on where to find full episodes. The program is free to use and provides ideas for classroom activities, whole science kits for purchase, and even “pop” quizzes to test the children on their knowledge of the various topics. This is largely a science-based program but the subtopics run the full gamut of everything from adventures in space to kitchen science. Other topics covered include earth science, life science, physics, archaeology, much more. The intended age range is from three years to 10 years and would work wonderfully in a kindergarten classroom. Specifically, this site would come in handy for supporting a theme on the human body. A significant theme used in science for kindergarteners is that of the five senses. This site provides fun activities for the kindergarteners to perform to increase their knowledge base of how the senses work. A fun game on this site is called “Gets an Earful” where the student listens to a sound and has to match it the object that typically makes the sound. This is an easy way to demonstrate the function of hearing and what we would be missing without our sense of hearing. The activities and experiments typically call for small groups to carry out the directions and exploration which is a fun way for young students to learn the art of cooperation and teamwork.  Students can take a quiz regarding their knowledge of the human body either before, during, or after the unit and this will give some of the students a true feeling of success. However, for students who need hands-on activity to learn the material the experiments provided are a true gateway to learning. This website is not necessarily all that interactive so the true purpose or function for the classroom will be the activities and ideas provided. For the group work projects provided I would want to have a loosely structured classroom environment where the students are free to check out the groups’ projects and discuss with each other their findings.

  The fact that this program really isn’t that interactive is the huge drawback for a group of kindergarteners. I feel that the video clips will hold their attention for only a short while but hopefully they will serve to pique the students’ interest in further exploration of the human body. The main advantage of this program is that includes characters from T.V. and books that many of my students will already be familiar with. It can be extremely helpful for students to hear the same, valid, factual information from beloved, trusted characters that they hear in the classroom because sometimes my word just isn’t enough.