10 Things You Can do With Soap - Center for Inspired Teaching

The following activity is part of a series we’re creating to support students, teachers, and caregivers, during this unprecedented time. Read more about the project here. If you try this activity with your student(s), we’d love to see what you do. Share your journey via the #Inspired2Learn hashtag on your preferred social platform.

Created by: Jenna Fournel
Discipline: Science, Writing
Age level: Elementary and Middle
Time: depends on how far you want to take each activity
Materials: a variety of soap products and basic household materials

We’re all using soap to wash our hands more than usual, what else can you do with that slippery bubbly substance? Below are some ideas to get you and your students started. You can build each idea out into an extensive lesson, if you want. But you can also offer your students these options and let them engage in their own Learning Through Play, then ask them to report back about what they’ve learned. Note: If soap is a limited resource in your home right now, then modify accordingly – i.e. see how many bubbles you can create with one drop of soap; observe the viscosity of soap (by turning the bottle upside down and watching the soap move inside); etc.

Figure out how to turn a solid bar of soap into liquid soap.
Fill a bowl with soapy water and try using different utensils to see what makes the bubbles biggest (i.e. a fork, an egg beater, chopsticks, your hands, a spoon, etc.). Try to figure out why the thing that works the best, works.
Make a big pile of bubbles in a bowl and then test different substances to make them pop (i.e. vinegar, milk, oil, more soap, etc.). Try to figure out why the thing that works the best, works.
Sprinkle pepper into a bowl of water, then put a dot of soap in the middle and see what happens. Can you figure out why that happens? Does the same thing happen with other substances you sprinkle on the water?
Test different water/liquid soap ratios to figure out what makes the biggest bubbles. Can you add other things to your mixtures to make the bubbles stronger, more colorful, scented, what else?
Create packaging for a brand new kind of soap of your own invention.
See what happens if you put soap in the microwave. Does it change the soap’s properties? Don’t put it in for too long!
Test every kind of soap you can find in your home to see which creates the best lather.
Find a floor in your home that could use some washing and test out different soaps on different sections of the floor to see which does the best job of getting it clean.
Cover a sponge or cloth in oil, then test different soaps to see which gets it most clean. Environmentalists have had to test different soaps to figure out which works best to clean animals affected by oil spills. Look online to see what they found that works.

Inspired Teaching Connection

Each of these activities engages students in purpose (there is a clear objective to the task), persistence (they have to puzzle through their ideas to see what works), and action (they are all hands-on). Putting the students at the center of the learning rather than telling them what will work builds interest and taps into their intellects, and engages them in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle. The bonus? Super clean hands.

See our instructional model here.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.