1. Science and Writing Writing Lab Reports Objective: To bridge the gap between elementary and middle school expectations, and incorporate a different genre of writing into the content areas.

2. 7 th Graders and Lab Reports StrengthsWeaknesses Making observations Data collection Designing bar graphs Forming a hypothesis Making predictions Understanding the difference between variables Writing procedures Measuring using a ruler Designing line graphs Writing conclusions based on fair testing practices Self-Questioning

3. Writing Lab Reports Evaporation Experiment  Variables  Dependent: the measured variable “We are going to measure the rate of evaporation on cup A & cup B.”  Independent: the one variable being tested (air currents, liquid density, types of liquid, amount of surface area)  Controlled: constants (amount of liquid, location, height, temperature, size, light)

4. Designing Procedures Using a How-To Model  Transition words  Simple but complete sentences  Key points  Tips/Shortcuts  Freedom to design within the curriculum

5. Exemplars of How-To Make a Complete Circuit  How-To: Advanced How-To: Advanced  How-To: Proficient How-To: Proficient  How-To: Basic How-To: Basic  How-To: Below Basic How-To: Below Basic

6. Graphing Site  Create your own graph- kid friendly! Create your own graph- kid friendly!

7. Concluding Lab Reports  Summary of Data  Fair Testing  Reflection of variables  Honest reporting versus “being right”  Conclusion  Summation of outcome and fair testing  Self-Questioning  Nagging Questions  Wondering  Future experiments

8. Photo Story Lab Conclusion  Students can summarize the results of a lab while presenting their graphs.

9. Adapting Lab Reports for Primary and Intermediate Students Primary Suggestions:  Introduce lab report language  Expose students to portions of the format  Encourage discussion about fair testing Intermediate Suggestions:  Produce one full lab report per unit

10. Kid Friendly Lab Report Outline Sample Lab Report Format