Lesson+Two-+Choosing+a+Topic

We had the students pick an experiment.

** Lesson Plan 2: Step 1 – Choosing a Topic ** Dates: April 5th, 7th, and 19th, 2011

**Purpose:** Students will choose an experiment; write out the problem, the background research, their hypothesis, and their supplies in one hour.

**KUSD Standard:** B-2: nature of scientific process and knowledge Standard C: science inquiry—students will investigate questions using scientific methods and tools, revise their personal understanding to accommodate knowledge, and communicate those understandings to others. C-2: Make connections to prior knowledge. C-3: Gather background knowledge related to the questions being investigated. C-5: Safely use appropriate senses, equipment and tools to make observations and gather data. C-7: Summarizing, synthesizing, inferring, and building explanations

**Context:** Students will begin to apply the scientific method with their own experiments. We have broken the process down into three steps: 1) Problem, background research, hypothesis, and supplies, 2) procedure and experiment, 3) results and conclusion. During this lesson, the students will complete step one.

** Planning Ahead: ** **Materials:** -Lab notebooks (6 pieces loose leaf paper stapled together) -Packet of 30 different simple experiments

**Motivation:** Student will begin to work on their own experiments in groups of two or three. At the end of the process, the students will be hosting a Science Expo where their experiments will be displayed for their friends, family, and other classes.

**Development:** Students will first review what the scientific method is and the six different steps: problem, background research, hypothesis, experiment (supplies and procedure), results, and conclusion. The 7th and 8th graders will then complete an experiment (crushing a can). Students will pick out five experiments that they find interesting. Then we will place the students in groups of two or three based on their interest. Once they are assigned an experiment, the group will write out their problem, background research, their hypothesis, and the supplies they will need.

**Expectations:** Students will complete the first step of the process in their lab notebooks. All member of their group must have the information written down in their own notebooks. The student’s hypothesis must be testable and the supplies listed must cover everything they think they will need to test their hypothesis.

**Assessment:** Students will not receive a grade for this lesson. We will be only looking at the completion of the first four steps of the scientific method. If they do not complete the steps, they must complete them as homework before the next lesson.

**Adaptations:** Each group will have a different experiment so the support will be based on what experiment they have chosen. Students in grades 4th and 5th will also receive more attention than the groups in 6th grade since this is the first time they are seeing the scientific method.