• Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

The Write Stuff Teaching

Helping Teachers Inspire Learners

Scientist for a Day

Hi Friends,

I don’t know about you but I LOVE teaching Science!  I don’t know what’s more fun: teaching science or watching kids as they explore and learn through Science.  For me, it’s both!

                (Credits: Hello Fonts, Mr. Magician frames)

I just wish I had more time to teach more Science. There is so much curriculum to cover in a year!  A few years ago, I decided that I would create a Scientist for a Day for my second graders.  This way, I could get more Science learning in throughout the year and kids could have more hands on experience.  A big plus to this, is that students actually present their experiments so this is also excellent for students to practice their public speaking.

First, I taught the students about the Scientific Process.   I carried on my usual lessons as part of the curriculum such as Properties of Matter or Animal Lifecycles.  That way students could see the Scientific Process in action before they take on making their own presentations.

I could not believe how excited they were to do their own experiments!!  Here’s the deal.  I don’t send home “make work” projects for kids.  Parents want to be part of their child’s education but they don’t want endless hours of prep.  (Who does?)  My Scientist for a Day is as easy way for parents to have fun helping their children choose a science experiment, practice it and then come to school and present it for their peers.  Parents read the letter I have included on the details and sign the form and return it to the teacher with their experiment idea. Students can get experiment ideas from books or the internet.  I let parents know if the idea was already chosen because it defeats the purpose of the hypothesis if a student has seen it before!  Students sign up for a topic and a date and viola!

On the day BEFORE the experiment, students bring in the filled in experiment sheet (top half) for me to copy for classmates.  When the experiment is shared aloud by the student they tell the class:

1. The experiment name.
2. Materials used
3. Procedure
4. Possible predictions

Classmates then predict (hypothesize) what will happen. It is so much FUN! watching and listening to the kids predict.

Then the student performs the experiment and the rest of the class writes what happened and draws a picture. The scientist often gets questions and everyone wants to try it too!

There is a teacher assessment that I fill out and send home with the students that day. Parents love to know how their child did that day.  There is also a peer assessment if you would like to do peer assessment.

I love how I can cover my own Science curriculum and then let the students do more and more Science!  Oral language is a big part of our curriculum so the students are definitely practicing that too!

If you are interested in my NO PREP Science, you can check it out here:

« Beginning a Writing Program: Before and After
Creating a Writing Schedule: Writing Sundays #1 »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Grab A Button

Grab A Button

Favorite Resources

Search

Categories

Latest on Instagram

Load More...Follow on Instagram

Latest on Facebook

The Write Stuff Teaching

8 hours ago

The Write Stuff Teaching

Me. ... See MoreSee Less

Video

View on Facebook
·Share

The Write Stuff Teaching

14 hours ago

The Write Stuff Teaching

Truth! 🤷‍♀️ ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
·Share

The Write Stuff Teaching shared Clever Classroom's post.

17 hours ago

The Write Stuff Teaching

Kindergarten is a time for exploration and learning through purposeful play. ... See MoreSee Less

Clever Classroom

Oh dear.
View on Facebook
·Share

The Write Stuff Teaching added 2 new photos.

19 hours ago

The Write Stuff Teaching

St. Patrick’s Day and Easter are just around the corner. Check out this fun bundle of meaningful and active writing activities.
bit.ly/2thWwOr
... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
·Share

The Write Stuff Teaching

21 hours ago

The Write Stuff Teaching

🤣🤣 ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
·Share

View on Facebook

Latest on Pinterest

  • The Importance of Nu
  • Best Picture Books t
  • Teaching Kids to Wri
  • Year long Poetry res
  • The Invisible Boy sh
  • Excited to share thi
  • 52 open-ended STEM p
  • Arty Crafty Kids | B
  • Winter motivation fo
Follow Me on Pinterest

subscribe via email