Scientific Method - 19 July 2014

Fourth Grade Science: The Scientific Method

Introduction: Students will learn and explore all of the key parts of the Scientific
Method including the question, hypothesis, materials, procedure, results, and
conclusion. After they learn the key parts, they will have the opportunity to choose 1
of 2 experiment choices to use and practice the Scientific Method on.


Prior Knowledge: Students must know how to use safety precautions during
experiments in the classroom, how to navigate certain technological resources such as
YouTube, Mindmap, Educanon (video quiz throughout video), and Quibblo, and will have
to know how photosynthesis in plants works (for the experiment).


Objective: To have students learn the Scientific Method and then to have them test
out the entire process by conducting one of the two experiment choices. In addition,
another objective is to have students understand the importance that light has in
photosynthesis (seen during the experiment).



Materials:
First Part of Class: Smart Board, technological resources such as YouTube,
Mindmap, Educanon (video quiz throughout video) Quibblo, and iPads for each student
to use.
Second Part of Class: Materials for the experiment = brown paper bags,
plastic cups, dirt, plant seeds, natural sunlight, water, sharpie, and Scientific Method
worksheet.


Time: Total time for class = 1 hour, 15 min
Exploring the Scientific Method = First 45 minutes
Putting the Scientific Method into action in experiment = Last 30 minutes


Process:
First part of Class:
1. Students will watch a short video lecture created by the teacher (me)
covering all of the basics about the Scientific Method. This will take 10 minutes.
2. Students will take out their iPads to do some learning on their own. They will
watch a podcast about how to write a good scientific question with the link below:


Scientific Method - 19 July 2014


http://www.schooltube.com/video/f52dc16d06d58ede92d5/writing-scientific-
questions
****During the podcast, students will be answering a couple of questions
throughout the video due to the quiz I made on Educanon. This will help keep their
attention span throughout the video, as well as keeping them engaged. (10 min)

3. Following the podcast, students will then each create their own Mindmaps
using the Mindmap application. They may choose if they want to make a Mindmap over
the whole Scientific Method process, or over just one part of the Scientific Method.
Guidelines will be laid out for them to follow, but the rest is open to free range. (15
minutes)

4. Students will take a short quiz on Quibblo to review everything that they
learned about the Scientific Method. (10 minutes)


Second Part of Class:
1. Students will get to choose 1 of 2 experiments to practice the Scientific
Method on. This allows kinesthetic learners to understand concepts better if they are
not auditory or visual learners. (auditory and visual learning took place in the first half
of class)

*EXPERIMENT ONE = Growing a plant in the light
*EXPERIMENT TWO = Growing a plant in the dark

***Students will pair up with a partner assigned to them. Students who struggle
in the class will be placed with students who have a better understanding of the
Scientific Method and of photosynthesis.

NOTE: Due to the length of time that it takes to grow the plant, the experiment will
not be completed in one day. Students will continue to fill out the Scientific Method
worksheet that goes along with the experiment as they go in accordance to how
fast/slow the plant grows.



Standards:

SC.04.1 Students will plan and produce investigations that lead to
the development of explanations. State Standards (5.1.1 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h)

SC.04.2 Students will analyze and describe how scientists go about their work.

Scientific Method - 19 July 2014

State Standards (5.1.2 a, b, c)

Assessment:
Assessment occurs twice throughout the first part of class. The first
assessment occurs during the video with the quiz that was created with Educanon, and
the second assessment takes place before the experiment using Quibblo.

The students are also assessed on their understanding of the Scientific Method
and the process of Photosynthesis throughout the experiment in class. This allows
them to put into action what they learned in class.

Extension:
Students are expected to fill out the first portion of their Scientific Method
worksheet that includes the Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedure for
homework outside of class.
In addition, students will from time to time check up on their plants. Once the
plants are fully grown, students will complete the Results and Conclusion portion of
their worksheet in class.