Unit 1: Scientific Investigation-Asking Questions Standards: OKC 3 Process Standard 3: Experimental design - Understanding experimental designs requires that students recognize the components of a valid experiment. The student will accomplish these objectives to meet this process standard. 1. Ask questions about the world and design investigations that lead to scientific inquiry. Identify testable questions based on prior knowledge, background research, or observations. 2. Evaluate the design of a scientific investigation. NGSS (MS-ETS1-1) Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Define and design problems that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process or system and includes multiple criteria and constraints, including scientific knowledge that may limit possible solutions. Objectives: The learner will be able to design a problem by creating and evaluating testable questions. Essential Question: How do scientists create good testable questions? Materials: Paper, pencil, variety of supplies (paper clips, water, cup, toy car, dice, timer, ruler,etc.), and teacher timer tool. Grouping: partner pairs, small group, whole group, and individual Assessments: Formative-brain drain, timed/pair/share, mix n match, and exit ticket Differentiation: pair with peers, extra think time, and time for practice Timing: 1, 40-45 minute class period Note: If this is your classes first introduction to procedures, it would be a great day to discuss good questioning strategies. Let them know that there will be times you want them to give choral answers and there will be times you want to call on them. Work out signals with them so they know what kind of answer you are wanting from them. Choral answers will be short phrases or 1 word. When you call on them you are looking for thick answers. Discuss the differences between thick and thin answers. Let them know that after you give them a question, you will give them wait-time. Discuss the purpose of wait time and how that relates to getting thicker answers from them. Then let them know that you when you are looking for thick answers you will call on them and they are to keep their hands down. It is okay to discuss questioning strategies with them.
Engage: (8 minutes) Brain Drain- When I say science, what comes to mind? Individually, have students write down any and everything that comes to mind when they think of science. Next, have students create a group list of science terms and phrases. Call on each group to share their top three terms or phrases that make them think of science, making sure not to repeat any of the other groups answers. Write the terms or have students write the terms on the screen/board. Explore: (8 minutes) Validate all answers from the brain drain and either emphasize questioning words and phrases or add them to the list. Place a variety of supplies (see materials list above) on students desks. Tell students to individually come up with a testable question using these materials. Explain: (8 minutes) Timed/Pair/Share- Why is it important to ask testable questions in science? 1. Ask students a question 2. Give students time to think about their answer for 20 seconds 3. Partner 1 shares their answer for 20 seconds (while partner 1 is sharing, partner 2 is listening) 4. Partner 2 shares their answer for 20 seconds (while partner 2 is sharing, partner 1 is listening) 5. Ask for 3 students to share what their partner said Note: The share and think times may vary depending on the answer you are expecting. Teacher Talk: It is important in science to not just ask questions, but to ask good testable questions that warrant investigations to provide evidence to justify the research based claims we make. A testable question is a question that can be answered by observing, measuring, or experimenting. Elaborate: (10-12 minutes) Have students do a mix and match (at least 3 times): Look at your partners question and tell them why or why it is not a testable question. 1. Give instructions to students 2. Play music for students for 15 seconds (explain that they have to mix and cannot stalk their buddies) 3. Stop the music 4. Have them partner up with the person closest to them 5. Tell them which partner will go first (person with the shortest hair, person with the largest number of pets, etc.) 6. Person 1 share first for 20 seconds (while person 2 is listening)
7. Person 2 share second for 20 seconds (while person 1 is listening) 8. Have 3 people share what their partner said 9. Repeat steps 2-8 at least 2 more times **Sharing and thinking times will vary depending on the answers you are expecting. Evaluate: (5 minutes) Exit Ticket-Before students leave have them, on a sticky note or quarter sheet of paper (make sure they do not put their name on them), describe what a testable science question means to them with at least 1 good example from the mix n match.
Unit 1.2-Scientific Investigation-Hypothesis Standards: OKC 3 Process Standard 3: Experimental design - Understanding experimental designs requires that students recognize the components of a valid experiment. The student will accomplish these objectives to meet this process standard. 4. Identify a testable hypothesis for an experiment. NGSS (MS-ETS1-1) Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Define and design problems that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process or system and includes multiple criteria and constraints, including scientific knowledge that may limit possible solutions. Objectives: The learner will be able to create testable hypotheses. The learner will be able to critique peer created hypotheses. Materials: Paper, pencil, statement strips of paper, M&Ms, water, Styrofoam plates/bowls/cups, paper towels, mini-lab investigation report, and teacher timer tool. Grouping: partner pairs, small group, whole group, and individual Assessments: Formative- timed/pair/share, statement strips sort, timed/partners pair together/share, all-write round robin, all class survey Differentiation: pair with peers, extra think time, and time for practice Timing: 2, 40-45 minute class period Engage: (8 minutes) Hand out exit tickets from the day before. Have students create a testable answer from the question. Tell them to describe why it is a testable answer. Timed/Pair/Share: Share your testable answer with your shoulder partner and describe why it is testable. Make sure to tell them which partner shares first. Explore: (10 minutes) Give students packets with a variety of statements cut up into strips (see below). Have students work with their face partner to sort the statements. Do not tell them how they are sorting them. Just simply tell them you want them to organize them into two groups. If they ask you what two
groups, simply reply with I want you to figure that out. If there is a group that cannot begin to sort, get them started by sorting a couple out for them. Pick up strips of paper. Do not go over the answers with them yet. Explain: (8 minutes) Students will now partner pair up with the other partners in their group. Group 1 will share with group 2 how they sorted their statements and why. Then group 2 will share with group 1 how they sorted their statements and why. Call on 3 groups from around the room to share how and why their partner group sorted their statements. Finally, explain to students, in order for an answer or hypothesis to be testable you must be able to make observations, measurements, and experiment it by explaining the relationship that exists between the variables. Elaborate: (10 minutes) Give students 1 M & M, a Styrofoam plate/bowl/cup, paper towel, and timer. As a small group, tell students to create a testable question and testable hypothesis for an experiment involving these supplies. Students should carry out their experiment to see if their hypothesis IS testable: can be measured, observed, and experimented. Individually, students should record their results and explain what made their hypothesis testable in the box provided (see Mini Lab Report below). Have students turn this into the teacher. (5-8 minutes) Classtime reflection: Do a 3-2-1 Reflection (3 things you learned in class today, 2 aha moments, and 1 question you still have). Do this on a sticky note or small piece of paper to turn into the teacher. Have 3 students share before the end of class.
Day 2: Introduction: Bell Ringer Pass out mini lab reports from the day before. Evaluate-Part I: (12-16 minutes) Students will pass their papers in an All-Write, Round Robin. 1. Have students pass their papers 1 person, counterclockwise around the table. 2. Once you have your neighbor s paper, read why they said the hypothesis was testable. Make comments below. Either you will agree or disagree and explain why you agree or disagree. 3. After 2 minutes, pass the papers 1 more person counterclockwise around the table and repeat step 2. 4. After 2 more minutes, pass the papers 1 more person counterclockwise around the table and repeat step 2. 5. Finally, pass the papers 1 more time counterclockwise. Each student should now have their original paper. 6. Students should read comments from their peers, edit, revise, and rewrite their answer to the question ( Record results and explain what made their hypothesis testable ) (6-10 minutes) 7. Turn in the final copy for teacher review. Evaluate-Part II: (10 minutes) Pass statement strips back out to student pairs. Have students separate out the strips into 2 groups again. When time is up pick 1 group that got them correct to share with the class why they sorted them the way they did. Ask students if they agree or disagree. Do a quick all class survey -ask every single person if they agree or disagree. Do not give confirmation of answer-only respond with a thank you for participating, good job on sharing your answer with us, or just a simple thank you. After your survey, you should have a good read on which students get it and which ones don t. If it is majority of the class then the teacher should re-teach. If it is just one or two students, then there can be some prescriptive individual re-teach during a tutorial time or they can be pulled for a prescriptive station while others work deeper. Take notes as students answer (a quick mark by their name to remind you of their level of understanding). **Compare the writing from Evaluate-Part I to what you heard in Evaluate-Part II. **Post good student writing examples. Reflection: Have a student read the objective for the day. All other students should respond with thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Have the student reading the objective count the total number of thumbs up and calculate the percentage of students that feel they have mastered the objective for the day.
(# of students with thumbs up/total number of students) * 100= % Complete a team building activity and a class building activity. ***During this time, pull individual students for prescriptive re-teach*** (Time: The rest of class) Class building activities Chief: send 1 student in the hall for a moment, the class decides on a leader, the student in the hall returns and stands in the middle of the circle. The leader starts a motion, i.e. clapping their hands, and the rest of the group follows the action. When the leader changes the action the rest of the class changes their actions too. The person in the middle has to determine who the chief is. That person is then selected to go in the hall or the teacher could pick someone else to go in the hall and it continues.) Classmate Bingo-see below Team building activities: Come up with team colors and create a team logo Design a team handshake
Hypothesis Statement Strips Sorting Activity If the length of a vibrating string is increased, the sound will become louder. Decreasing the temperature will decrease the speed at which plants grow. The earth s crust contains 90 elements. If clouds act as insulators, then the earth should get colder when there are fewer clouds. Leaves manufacture food, stems transfer food, and roots store the food in plants. Increasing the temperature of the environment will increase the temperature of a cold-blooded animal. The rusty nail in the board is four inches long.
The lighter the balloon, the higher it will climb. Plants grow toward light. A tomato is 96% water. The larger the surface area, the faster the evaporation. Solids will dissolve faster in liquids at higher temperatures. The more water in a peach, the firmer it will be. The deeper one scuba-dives, the greater the water pressure. Algae are living organisms.
Mini-Lab Investigation Report Testable Question: Testable Hypothesis: (HINT: If..., Then, Because ) Materials: Procedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Results: Conclusion (Explain what makes your hypothesis testable.):