Method to the Madness MAdele Carson, Ed.D. Bennett Russell Elementary Santa Rosa County Theres a UWF Science Ed-Venture Saturday, September 13, 2008

Background FCAT. Its always about FCAT. Bill Nye First year and cut scores. Second year and what we learned from the cut scores. Embedding the Scientific Method in every lesson/chapter/unit. Boston NSTA-Nova Eisenhower 5 th grade teacher Going beyond the book, doing what you know is right, and having kids love science.

The Scientific Method 1. State the Problem 2. Gather Information 3. Form a Hypothesis 4. Procedure 5. Record and Analyze Data 6. Draw a Conclusion

1.State the Problem The problem should be stated in the form of a question. How does__________affect_________? What is the effect of______on________? Which _____________ is _____________? If ____________then______________? How does/doWhich/is What isIf, then

2. Gather Information Researching a topic An educated hypothesis cannot be made without some basic knowledge about the topic. First round of research should give background information, vocabulary, word meaning, & explanations of how something works, etc.

3. Form a Hypothesis An Educated Guess A hypothesis is an educated guess about the results of your project. An educated guess can be made only after research has been done. I predict that ____________will occur when I_____________. My hypothesis is ______________ will ________ when _______________. If _______________ then ________________.

Variables All the factors that have an effect on your experiment. Independent variables are those that you change or test. Dependent variables are those that respond to the changed independent variable. Control/constant variables are those that you keep the same or constant. Independent-change Control-keep the same Dependent-response

4. Procedures Procedures are step-by-step instructions on completing an experiment. Another person should be able to read your procedures and duplicate your experiment exactly. It is important to have a lot of detail in your procedures.

Procedure, Part II-Materials A material list is a detailed list of everything that you need to complete an experiment. List everything (even the things you think might be unimportant) How many of each? Brands/kinds used? Items needed for measurement

5. Record and Analyze Data As you perform your experiment you will need to record your results. Your results are gathered by observation. You observe by: measuring, counting, and describing. Use a journal or a table/chart to record your observations. What are you observing to gather your results? What happened in your experiment?

6. Draw a Conclusion What have you learned? A conclusion can be an explanation of why something happened during the experiment. Your conclusion should include: Hypothesis Actual results Explanation of why results turned out the way they did Facts that can help you explain your results Practical application Future possible questions to investigate

Galileos Experiment In the late sixteenth century, it was generally believed that heavier objects would fall faster than lighter objects. Galileos hypothesis --two objects will fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. Legend has it that in 1590, Galileo planned out an experiment. He climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped several large objects to test his theory.

Leaning Tower of Pisa Experiment What happens when you drop objects from the tower?

Blowing Bubbles What is holding a bubble together? What are the basic ingredients in a bubble solution? Can adding other ingredients make the solution better for blowing bubbles?

Better Bubbles? Designing an experiment Steps of the scientific method Variables Chart for recording data Experiment/trials Conclusion

Is there such thing as a no-soap bubble?

Gliders Background100 th Anniversary Paper airplanes Designing a better glider Defining Betterlength of flight or time of flight Must use all three parts

BrainPop Tim and Moby Scientific Inquiry Does adding salt help water to boil faster? Go to and sign up for awww.brainpop.com free trial subscription. Cost is $195 a year for one teacher/one classroom.

Mini-Science Projects Simple experiments Science fair prep Classes/Small groups/individual SSS –not just the Scientific Method Thinking about science, writing about science, not hating science!