Summary
Students learn about the scientific method while using the skills of predicting, experimenting, communicating, writing, and inferring.
Materials
Invitation to Learn
- What is a Scientist?
- Bolded words
Instructional Procedures
Experiment # 1 - Water Break Down
- Scientific Method
- Water Break Down
- Wax paper
- Eyedroppers
- Toothpicks
- Water
- Liquid dish soap
Experiment #2 - Go With the Flow
- Scientific Method
- Go With the Flow
- Water bottles
- Mineral oil
- Food coloring
- Water
Experiment #3 - On the Move
- Scientific Method
- On The Move
- Large container
- Small container
- Food coloring
- String
Experiment #4 - A Rainbow of Colors
Experiment #5 - Crazy Comics
Additional Resources
Books
What is a Scientist, by Barbara Lehn; ISBN 978- 0761312987
Let's Try It Out in the Water, by Seymour Simon and Nicole Fauteux; ISBN 0-439-40914-4
Splish, Splash, Science, by Rebecca Olien; ISBN 0-590-1595-2
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats; ISBN 0-670-86733-0
Background for Teachers
The Science process occurs naturally, spontaneously in our minds.
By logically breaking down the steps in our thinking, we can use
science process to find out how to answer our questions about how
the world works. The science process is not just useful in science, but
in any situation that requires critical thinking. The science process
skills include observing qualities, measuring quantities, sorting/
classifying, inferring, predicting, experimenting, and communicating.
The following lesson will teach the students how to use the scientific
method in conjunction with the science process skills. When the
students are asking questions and forming hypothesis they will
be using the skill of predicting. They will be experimenting and
communicating during the experimenting step. When they write and
draw observations, they are observing qualities, measuring quantities,
and sorting/classifying. When forming conclusions the students
are inferring. Finally, when the students share and discuss they are
communicating.
Intended Learning Outcomes
6. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.
Instructional Procedures
Invitation to Learn
- Ask the students who can be a scientist? Can only boys or girls
be a scientist?"
- Read the book "What is a Scientist" by Barbara Lehn and discuss
each of the pictures.
- Tell the students that you are going to make a class book similar
to the one you just read. With a partner, the students will
illustrate a picture that represents a page from the book.
- Pass out paper to each of the partnerships that have the bolded
words from each page of the book written at the top.
- When students have completed the task, have them share with
the class. After binding the book, have it available for the
students to read.
Instructional Procedures
- Tell the students that they are going to be Hydrologists
(scientists that study water).
- Explain to the students that, as you read in What is a Scientist?,
there is a process that all scientists use to gather information
and learn new things. This is called the Scientific Method.
First, they need to ask a question. Next, they need to form a
hypothesis (A hypothesis making a guess about what you think
will happen. It may or may not end up being correct). Then
they need to test their hypothesis by performing an experiment.
They will observe the experiment and write and draw what
they see. Last they will form a conclusion and then share and
discuss their results with others (A conclusion is when we come
to a final idea about what happened).
- Give the students their Scientific Method graphic organizer and
tell them that they will be using their journals through each
step of the process while conducting water experiments.
- Display the poster size Scientific Method graphic organizer.
Explain the format of the Scientific Method graphic organizer.
Each step of the process has an icon and words that explain
what to do and explain what they need to write or draw. The
students will use the boxes next to the icon to write or draw in
(the teacher will use the poster size Scientific Method graphic
organizer throughout the first experiment while the students
use theirs).
- Conduct the first experiment as a class to guide them through
the process (this can be done with any kind of science
experiment).
Experiment # 1 Water Break Down
Question: How does water break apart?
a) Have the students write this question on their Scientific
Method graphic organizer next to the question mark icon.
b) Have the students discuss with a partner how they think
this happens. Have them record their hypothesis next to
the light bulb icon.
c) Give each child a square of waxed paper, an eyedropper,
a toothpick and a small cup of water. Have the students
drip several drops of water on the waxed paper. Use the
toothpick and poke the drops of water.
d) Have the students record what happened by writing or
drawing what they did next to the beaker icon.
e) Give the students a drop of liquid soap. Have them dip their
toothpick into the soap and poke their water drops.
f) Use pictures or words to record their observation next to the
glasses and clipboard icon.
g) Have the students come to their own conclusions and record
it next to the person thinking icon.
h) Have the students get in groups to share and discuss what
they observed and the conclusion they came to.
i)Write any additional information next to the people talking
icon.
- Explain to the students that they will be able to practice the
Scientific Method by performing additional experiments. They
will be working in groups and will use their graphic organizer
the same way you just did as a class.
At each water station, post the question that needs to be
answered by performing the experiment.
Divide the students into groups, explain the experiments and
conduct the experiments.
Experiment #2 - Go With the Flow
Question: What will happen if I mix oil and water?
- Fill 4-6 empty water bottles 1⁄4 with mineral oil.
- Add three drops of food coloring.
- Fill the rest of the bottles with water.
- Spin the bottles slowly, quickly and then shake them.
- Record information on graphic organizers
- Discuss and share as a group.
Experiment #3 - On the Move
Question: Why is my soup hotter at the top of my bowl when I
take it out of the microwave?
- Fill a large, clear, plastic container with cold water.
- Fill a smaller clear, plastic container with hot water.
- Add two drops of food coloring to the hot water.
- Tie a string to the neck of the smaller container and lower
the smaller container of hot water into the large container.
- Watch as the hot water is dispersed into the cold water.
- Record information on graphic organizer.
- Discuss and share as a group.
Experiment #4 - A Rainbow of Colors
Question: Can water make colors change?
- Give each student a coffee filter, water dropper, and a black
watercolor marking pen.
- Have the students make a black dot in the middle of the
coffee filter.
- Using the water dropper, drip one drop of water on the
black dot.
- Record information on graphic organizers.
- Discuss and share as a group.
Experiment #5 - Crazy Comics
Question: Can water make pictures move?
- Give each child a clear glass of water.
- Put a comic strip behind the glass of water.
- Make observation
- Put the comic strip under the glass of water.
- Make observation.
- Record information on graphic organizers.
- Discuss and share as a group.
Extensions
Curriculum Extensions/Adaptations/
Integration
- Using coffee filters, give the students a variety of watercolor
markers and have them create designs on the coffee filters.
Have them drop water on the colors. Create an art project with
the coffee filters.
- Have the questions pre-typed onto the Scientific Method graphic
organizer.
- Compile all the Scientific Method graphic organizers into a
science journal.
- Allow students to draw pictures instead of writing on the
Scientific Method graphic organizer.
Family Connections
- Give the students a copy of the Scientific Method graphic
organizer. Have them conduct one of the experiments at home
with their family and show them how to use the organizer.
- Invite parents to come to school and help with the experiments.
Assessment Plan
- Use the Scientific Method graphic organizers for assessment.
- Have the students play concentration, matching the science
process steps phrases and icons.
- Observe the students as they are completing the experiments.
- Create interview questions to see is they students can
demonstrate or verbalize doing each step of the science process.
Bibliography
Research Basis
Bricker, P. (November 2002). Reinvigorating science journals, Science and Children. 24-29.
In this article the author was invited to participate in a grant
project focused on integrating science and literacy. Several grades were
observed during the project, and the author found that it is important
to use literacy when teaching the scientific process and that journaling
plays an important role.
Livingston, C. (November/December 2005). Journals of discovery, Science and Children. 52-
55.
While using Discovery Journals is her classroom, the author found
that student learning is enhanced and the amount of knowledge that
is retained over time is increased. By using integrated Discovery
Journals, the author was able to see valuable insights into her teaching,
reflect how engaged students were in learning a particular topic, and
determine how successful or unsuccessful she was in portraying a
particular science concept.