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Teaching the
Scientific Method:
Have your students apply the six steps of the scientific method
to
different questions. Example questions:
- Do crickets
prefer light or dark?
- Will ice
sink in water?
- Which will a nail
rust faster in? Salt water or tap water?
- Do earthworms prefer their soil moist or dry?
Use simple questions which your students will be able to solve with your help. This is just preparation for the real thing - the Science Fair project, where they get to use this tool, the scientific method, to solve their own questions.
Once your students have found some
questions, have them form hypotheses. A hypothesis for the
first example question would be "I think crickets prefer light to
dark". If you make the hypothesis the opposite of what you
expect, you will be more objective when collecting the results of
your method.
Figure out a method to prove your
hypothesis. In the example above, the class might tape a
cardbord wall with a doorhole for the cricket into the center of a
small box. A piece of cardboard can be taped over one side of
the box to create a dark 'room' for the cricket. Some mosquito
netting can keep the cricket inside the box. Have the
class place the box directly under a strong light for some
hours. Your students should observe the result and write it
down. Repeat the experiment with several crickets in the box
at once. Have the students write down that result.
After two or three experiments, your
students can look at the results and form a conclusion. The
conclusion should answer the question.
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