Are you looking for a demo or an inquiry project about enzymes? If so, consider Jello. Yes, what I’m proposing is a Jello inquiry project. First of all, Jello makes for a fun and cheap activity. And, the materials are easily accessible too. Furthermore, kids can relate to Jello. I mean, who hasn’t had a…
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We like science inquiry projects that are more hands-on. The ones where students need to build a physical prototype, test it, and refine it. Sure, there are those who like science inquiry projects resulting in a poster or PowerPoint presentation. But, I prefer the physical. And, in an age where students spend a bulk of…
Do you collect student reflections/sample work while they are working through a project? If not, you should. It helps track student progress (and process) during a project so there are no surprises at project’s end. Surprises, for example, like when the project doesn’t work. However, what exactly are you looking for in a project progress…
Inquiry projects seem to be all the rage at the moment. With more states and provinces revising their curricula and moving towards reinforcing science skills, inquiry has come to the forefront a bit more. Although I agree that inquiry is a good skill to develop in science, open inquiry – where students can deep dive…
CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) is an excellent structure for students to follow when organizing their thoughts, ideas, and arguments. But, some students may wonder if CER is really relevant to science. Or, like so many things they learn in school, whether people really use it outside of school. Perhaps, what students need is a CER…
How do you introduce CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to your students? Fact is, there are many ways, and they all depend on personal teaching styles. Some use class discussion questions to as a CER intro activity to help students develop and support some fun claims. Some use quirky science examples to illustrate CER in real,…
Are you looking for an activity for students to practice identifying independent and dependent variables? Most independent and dependent variables practice activities tend to provide a statement and have students identify the independent and dependent variables. A typical practice question goes like this: The problem with Typical Questions Typical practice questions are fine if you…
What’s one thing science students should be able to do in grade 8 and 9? I think they should be able to identify and differentiate between independent and dependent variables. However, many gr 8 and 9 science students struggle with this skill. Results from REAL Science Challenge contests show that over 40% of contest writers…
Are you constantly looking for interesting, fun, and relevant ways to practice graph analysis and other science skills? Typically, we have students graph lab data or analyze charts from the textbook or lab manual. Although these strategies are solid ways to practice graph analysis or production, both are missing the “fun factor.” Also, textbooks and…
Imagine looking at your watch but not knowing how to read the time. Or, looking at a newspaper headline but not understanding what it’s saying. Both are important skills to help you function in the everyday. Without either one, doing everyday work gets a little harder. Knowing how to read a graph in science class…
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Copyright Kent Lui, REAL Science Challenge 2017