Over the last 500 years humans have gone from seeing a man in the moon to seeing a man on the moon. This phenomenal advance in collective learning has taken place thanks in large part to a group of strategies which have come to be referred to as The Scientific Method. If humankind has made so much progress by using the Scientific Method, then why not teach all our children to use it at an early age rather than waiting until high school or college to teach a few who are fast-tracked into science and technology careers. If we have made this much progress with a few humans using these strategies, then what will our collective learning curve look like if we are all trained to make science discoveries and/or to appreciate the discoveries of others?

Monday, March 3, 2008

Two Birds With One Stone: Exit Project/Exam Review

USE QUESTIONS FROM THE 8TH GRADE SCIENCE EXAM TO REVIEW STANDARDS FOR 8TH GRADE EXIT PROJECTS

SWBAT: Analyze an experiment in order to find its problem, hypothesis and variables

MATERIALS: p11 from 2007 8th grade exam
http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/sciei/gr8ilswr07.pdf

OPENING: Hand out p.11 of the 2007 8th grade exam. Have a students read the short paragraph describing the experiment:

“A student adds sugar to a cup of iced tea and a cup of hot tea. She notices that the time needed for the sugar to dissolve in each cup is different. She thinks this has something to do with the temperature of the tea. She wants to design an experiment to see if she is correct”

Model how to analyze the problem, hypothesis, and independent variable, dependent variable, and controlled variables.

GROUP WORK:

1. Groups write a short paragraph describing their own science project.
2. Groups exchange project descriptions.
3. Groups analyze each other’s projects to find problem, hypothesis and variables.
4. Groups return paragraphs and analysis to original group.

SHARE

Original group confirms or corrects the analysis

HW Work on Science Project due next Monday

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SWBAT analyze data in order to reach an experimental conclusion

MATERIALS: 8th grade science exam, May 2006 p. 16
http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/sciei/gr8scwr06.pdf


OPENING: Hand out p16 and 17 of the 2006 Science exam. Have students read the paragraph describing the experiment in question #48.

“ We are doing an experiment to determine if the size of soil particles affects the amount of water that flows through the soil. We poured 200 milliliters (mL) of water through four different types of soil. The equipment is shown below.”

“We got the following results. With gray soil, the average particle size was 0.5 mm and 40 mL of water flowed through. With brown soil, 60 mL of water flowed through. Brown soil has an average particle size of 1.5 mm. In our last trial we used black soil. It has an average particle size of 1.0 mm and 50 mL of water flowed through.”

Discuss with students how helpful the picture of the equipment is to the understanding of the experimental design. Ask how many of them have included drawings or pictures of their materials.

Elicit the independent and dependent variables. Model how to place these variables as headings at the top of the data table.

Remind students that the data from their science project should be organized into a data table like the one on p16.

GROUP WORK:

Groups organize the data from p.16 into a data table.

Groups identify the dependent variable.

Groups draw a conclusion based on the data in the table.

Groups construct a table that correctly organizes the data for their own science projects.

SHARE

Groups compare their conclusions for the experiment on pages 16 & 17
Groups share their data tables for their own science experiments.

HOMEWORK

Work on your science projects
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SWBAT use experimental data to make a graph, identify variables, and draw conclusions.

MATERIALS: p. 18 and 19 from the June, 2001 8th Grade Science Exam
http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/sciei/gr8ilstestju01.pdf

OPENING: Have students read the description of the experiment:

“Heat was applied at a constant rate to a solid substance under controlled conditions. The temperature of the substance was recorded every 3 minutes. These data are recorded in the table below.”

Draw students’ attention to the how the headings on the data table correspond to the labels o the x and y axis. Remind them that the data from their science projects should be organized into a table like the one on pl 18 and then graphed. Ask students to identify the independent and dependent variables.

GROUP WORK

1. Groups use data to make a graph.
2. Groups analyze the data and draw a conclusion.
3. Groups draw a graph that represents their own science experiment.

SHARE

Groups share their conclusions.
Groups share their graphs from their own experiments.

Homework: Work on Science Project. Due next Monday.
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SWBAT organize and analyze data from a science experiment, compare the data with the original hypothesis, draw conclusions from data, and identify sources of error.

MATERIALS; p. 14 and15 FROM June 2005 8th Grade Science exam
http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/sciei/ils605.pdf


OPENING:

Have students read the description of the experiment:

“Saltwater plants of the same species were grown in soil in separate containers with 1 liter of water. All of the plants were the same heigiht a the beginning of the experiment. Different amounts of salt were dissolved in each container as shown in the diagrams. All other conditions were held constant. Measurements for the final height of each plant are provided.”

Present the hypothesis of the students who performed the experiment.

If we place saltwater plants in different concentrations of salt water, then the plants grown in 10 grams of salt per liter will grow faster.

Draw students’ attention to how the data is presented in pictures. Discuss how the pictures help in the understanding of the design and results of the experiment. Encourage students to include pictures in their science projects.

Ask students to evaluate the hypothesis of the students who performed the experiment.

GROUP WORK

1. Graph the data (#49).
2. Compare your graph to others in the group.
3. Estimate data using interpolation (#50)
4. Compare your answers.
5. Draw conclusions based on the data.
6. Compare your answers in group.
7. Identify conditions to be held constant and sources of error.
8. Compare to other group members.
9. Discuss Science Projects with your group members in view of today’s lesson.

SHARE

Groups compare answers.
Groups discuss sources of error in this experiment and in their own.

HOMEWORK

Work on Science Project due next Monday
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SWBAT organize their portfolios and estimate their grades

OPENING

Review grading policy
Hand out portfolios and work to be organized

GROUP WORK

Students organize their portfolios and estimate their grades

SHARE

Discuss latest entries into portfolios
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