Imagine School at Palmer Ranch

Imagine School at Palmer Ranch Science Fair 2010-2011

Why do the science fair? • According to the Florida Student Performance Standards for Science “Big Idea 1: The Practice of Science” is the only standard that is consistently required to address at EVERY grade level, K through 12. This Big Idea encompasses the teaching of the Scientific Method. • The Scientific Method is the one concept that binds all of the scientific disciplines together and can be applied to any subject. Problem solving and inquiry skills can be applied in virtually every aspect of our lives. • A science fair project allows you to participate in the scientific process, understand the scientific method, and develop skills in writing, oral presentation, creative thinking, and problem solving. • Exploration of a subject that is interesting stimulates curiosity. Curiosity invites inquiry. Inquiry creates solutions. • In the real world, scientists must document and present their efforts in order to receive the grant monies necessary to continue their research. • Science fair is fun!

The Scientific Method • Question/Purpose • Research • Hypothesis • Experimental Design • Experimentation/Data Collection • Data Analysis • Develop Conclusion • Communicate Results and Conclusions

Step 1: Ask a Question • Encourage dialogue with your child to explore topics of interest and then decide how you can do an experiment that deals with this topic. • Encourage your child to look at the world around them and investigate something they are genuinely interested in learning more about. • Think how this project might improve the world and its inhabitants. • Try looking through journals and magazines like Natural History, Popular Mechanics, National Geographic, Consumer Reports, or Science News. • Remember that this is your child’s project; discuss topics that they have interest in.

Will my idea work? • Two questions to ask to determine if a project can be approved: How/what will be tested? How/what will I measure to gather quantitative data? • You must be able to clearly define your subject and variable. • Usually questions made in the form of a wonderment statement will work for an experimental project. “I wonder what would happen if I subject A to B.” A represents the subject, and B represents the variable. Ex. I wonder what would happen if I subject marigolds to wind while they grow. • An experimental science fair project is NOT a book report, a demonstration, or simply building a model. • Once a student has chosen a question appropriate for investigation, the student should ask if he/she has the necessary time, money, equipment, organisms, habitat, computer, technical expertise, etc. to see the project through to its conclusion.

Step 2: Research • Once a Question/Purpose has been established, the student will begin research to learn everything relevant to formulating a well-supported hypothesis, and designing an experiment to test the hypothesis. • Parents…you are not helping your child if you do the research for them, but you do need to assist them. Monitor them while searching the internet. Read articles with them to help understand what may be difficult reading. Drive them to the library for good old-fashioned book research. The librarian is a great resource! • Keep in mind that research should be relevant to the project. • The handbook contains note-taking worksheets to aid in citing resources. It is much easier to make citation notes as research is being done than trying to go back afterwards. • Information must come from valid and reliable websites. Note: Websites such as Wikipedia are not allowed as they can be edited and may not have accurate information • The Florida Electronic Library is available to any Sarasota County Library card holder. This website provides online access to all resource articles the library has to offer. The site also provides information according to student grade level so students acquire information written at their level to help with understanding.

Research summary • A 5-paragraph essay is an appropriate format for the research summary. • Research may not be copied verbatim from a source; students must summarize information in their own words. • Don’t forget to take notes and document sources of information in preparation for your Bibliography.

Step 3: Formulate Hypothesis • Student uses the information collected through research to draw a logical conclusion as to the outcome of their experiment. • You CANNOT form a hypothesis until research is COMPLETE! • The hypothesis MUST be made BEFORE the experiment is conducted. • The experiment is a testing of the hypothesis. • Students need to understand that if the experiment results prove the hypothesis to be wrong, it is OK. Remember it is an educated guess based on research. The hypothesis must not be changed after the experiment is conducted.

Step 4: Experimental Design • The procedures list should be made before the materials list. • The procedures list is like a recipe and should tell step-by-step how the experiment will take place. It should be written as a list. Number each step and be very detailed. Don’t leave anything out. If someone wanted to repeat the experiment they should be able to do so by using your procedures list. Every step counts! • The materials list should be a list of EXACT amounts of ALL materials to be used in the project. (This includes data notebook and pencil) • METRIC UNITS only!

Step 5: Experimentation/Data Collection • Once the procedures for the experiment have been established and materials have been gathered, the experiment will be carried out. • Every experiment must have a control group and at least one variable group. • The constant variables are the things that are purposely kept the same for all samples in the experiment, in order to single out the variable being measured. Ex…Wind and Plant Growth: constant variables: same size pots, same amount of water, water at same time, exposure to same amount of sunlight, same amount and type of soil, measure each plant at same time. • The control is the way to compare results. Without the control there is no way to determine whether it was the independent variable that caused the change. Ex…Wind and Plant Growth: a control would be the plants not exposed to any wind.

Data Collection • Students should not only be recording quantitative (numeric) data, but they should also be recording qualitative (non-numeric) data. Metric Units only! • Students should look for as many different types of observations as possible to record. A good scientists will use as many of their senses as possible when making observations. • The more pieces of data collected, the easier it will be to draw conclusions. • Remember, you are looking for patterns in order to draw conclusions that support ,or do not support ,your original hypothesis . Patterns in data will be much easier to see with greater amounts of relevant data. If the data does not directly relate to the project ,then it will not be useful in drawing conclusions. • When completing projects that require observation over a period of time, such as the wind and plant project, it is best to collect at least two to three weeks worth of data to ensure that enough data has been collected to support a valid conclusion. • When conducting a scientific investigation, even a slight variation or change in data patterns could indicate a different outcome than predicted. The more data available for comparison, the more likely it will be that changes you observe in your subject can be concluded as resulting from the variable that you have imposed. • Another way to record data is to use a handheld voice recorder. You can then go back and put your observations down on paper later.

Data Notebook • When you do an experiment, you make observations. You may record changes in your subjects, make notes about possible influences in your experiment that you didn’t anticipate, or draw pictures of results along the way. • Scientists are constantly recording relevant observations. A DATA NOTEBOOK is required for all experiments, no matter how lengthy or short it may be. • A data notebook is a journal that may be set up to reflect observations by the week, day, hour, or minute, depending on the type of experiment. You could organize it by putting a day’s observation on each page. A student’s data notebook should also contain any other notes he/she may have made from the research, such as article summaries, important phone numbers or even possible contacts. • Entries should be neat, dated, and orderly. It should be a complete and accurate record of the student’s project from start to finish. It shows all the time and effort that went into the project. • Suggestions: ½ inch binder, composition book or journal, spiral notebook, or folder. • Refer to page 15 in the science fair manual for examples regarding the data notebook.

Metric: the Units of Science • The United States is one of only a few countries in the world that does NOT use metric units as the standard unit of measure, however our scientific community does. Because our doctors and scientists use the metric system, it is imperative that our children become proficient using the metric system. • It is much easier to measure in metric units from the beginning than to try to convert English Standard Units to metric units using a mathematic equation at a later date. Children, especially young ones, have a hard time understanding the conversions but can grasp the hands-on concept of measuring with metric tools during the process of the experiment.

Data Analysis • Once the experiment has been completed, data collected must be analyzed in order to draw solid conclusions. • All data MUST be graphed in order to provide a way to display the results visually. Graphs help to see patterns that initiate our results more quickly than the data in its table format. • A computer spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, should be used to complete graphing. Student may have access to school computers to complete their graphs. • The two types of graphs that are used most often are line graphs and bar graphs. Line graphs show change over time. Bar graphs compare two things. • The Science Fair Handbook provides information about online programs that will assist in making graphs.

Written report guidelines • The entire report should be typed (12-14 font), double-spaced, and placed in a 3-ring binder or folder with a clear plastic front, as it is a formal presentation of the science research project. • Students are to use the rubric provided to keep track of their progress. • The components are listed in the order they should appear in the written report. The rubric for the written report is on page 7 of the handbook. • The report MUST be assembled in order according to the guidelines outlined on pages 16-19 in the handbook.

I. Title Page • Students need to have a title that reflects their science project • Your title is NOT the Question or Purpose. • Type the project title and center it. • Do not type name or any other information on this paper. • Students should include graphics, clip art, or pictures on the title page.

ii. Abstract • The abstract can only be done when your experiment is complete. • It gives a summary of the project in a brief, but thorough, paragraph form. • This is a one page, 250-word maximum summary of the entire project that includes the components below. • Place a copy of the abstract on the display board and in the written report binder. • Abstract components: 1. purpose-why student is doing experiment 2. problem-what the student is trying to find out 3. hypothesis-what the student thinks outcome might be 4. procedures-a brief summary of how the experiment was performed 5. results-a brief description of important results that led to the student’s conclusion 6. conclusions-a brief summary of why the experiment had those results and if the hypothesis was correct or not 7. applications-a brief summary of how you think the results can be used by others and what you would do differently in future experiments on this topic.

III. Table of contents • A list of where to find specific information in the student’s written report. • Include page numbers (placed behind the Abstract summary). See page 2 of the handbook as an example.

IV. Experimental design • Make this the title page for this section which includes: your purpose, problem, research (background information) hypothesis, subjects, variables, materials, and procedure, your charts and graphs and any summary you want to put in written form including conclusion, application, recommendation and interview summaries (if applicable) • Each of the following items is on a separate page with its title. • Purpose • Problem • Research summary • Hypothesis • Subjects • Variables • Controls • Materials • Procedures • Tables, charts, pictures, graphs, diagrams • Results • Conclusion • Application • Recommendations • Interview summaries

V. Acknowledgements • The student gives credit to anyone who has helped them during the project • It is not a list of names, but a short paragraph stating the names of people who helped the student, and how they helped

VI. Bibliography • Properly formatted list of all sources and reference materials the student has used • See itemized list of proper formats • Pages 20-22 in the handbook provides citation format and note-taking worksheets

Visual Display Board • Project Display Board must be standard size. • After all the research, experimentation, time and effort spent on the preparation of the science fair project, the student’s presentation should show off his/her hard work • Be creative. Boards are judged on: Creativity, Scientific Thought, Thoroughness, and Neatness. • All items must be typed and placed in the correct location and correct order. Page 23 provides an example of item placement and a checklist of items to be placed on the board. • These display boards can be purchased in local school and office supply stores. Boards must be free-standing and sturdy.

Tips • Display should be creative, but not busy. • Create a catchy title for your project that will make people want to stop and read your board. • Display should be attractive and unique. You want yours to standout from the rest. • All spelling and grammar should be checked and checked again before items are placed on board. • I suggest the use of rubber cement as opposed to Elmer’s glue. • Use photographs of the experimental process, but do NOT use photographs with faces. • Have fun making it!

Oral Presentation • Upon completion of the project, each child will have to present their project to the class and, if they qualify, to the judges. • Describe the project’s purpose, problem, and hypothesis. • Clearly explain the procedure. • Point out pictures, diagrams, or other objects on display. • Describe the results. • Discuss the conclusion. Was the hypothesis right or wrong? • Communicate any interesting observations that may have been made. • Discuss recommendations the student might have to continue his/her project. • Discuss any application or practical uses to humankind. • Include a very brief discussion on the background material. • Be sure to know and understand all terms associated with the written report.

Due Dates • Tentative timelines are available through your child’s individual teacher • Keep in mind that the timeline developed by the teacher is meant to be benchmarks for progress. • Each project has a different set of variables, so potentially each project, and therefore each child will end up with their own timeline. For example, a child that is growing plants will need several weeks for data collection, whereas a child that is melting ice in different areas will only need an afternoon. • Communicate with your child’s teacher as to the timeline for your child.

As a parent, how do you help? • Initiate dialogue with your child that fosters their natural curiosity of the world around them, and encourage projects that stem from that curiosity. • Let your child choose their project. • Discuss the project with your child. • Help them manage their due dates. • Take your child to the library. • Help them navigate the internet and recognize valid sources of information, but do it WITH them not FOR them. • Help your child with difficult reading. • Help them get the supplies they need. • Encourage them to come to the teacher for help when needed. • Let your child do the work. • Have them practice their presentation in front of you. • REMEMBER: One of the goals of parenting is to teach your children to be independent, self-sufficient human beings. The more you enable your child to work independently now, the more successful they will be on their own later.

Imagine School at Palmer Ranch