| ren, being curious by nature, are always fascinated by | | | | •observation |
| Science. In order to keep kids interested, there are | | | | •hypothesis |
| several scientific methods you can expose them with. | | | | •comparison |
| Children wonder about lots of things. They are naturally | | | | •classification |
| curious. In one of the programs at the Savannah River | | | | •prediction |
| Ecology Laboratory, they see the various levels of | | | | •dependent variable |
| children’s curiosity. Generally, kids want to know | | | | •independent variable |
| the answer on some questions like: | | | | •inference |
| -How big is a polar bear? | | | | •data |
| -How deep is the ocean? | | | | Content Related |
| -If whale and shark will engage in fighting, which will | | | | •asteroid |
| win? | | | | •astronomer |
| Although these questions have been answered many | | | | •astrobiologist |
| years ago, we also want to do better and teach kids | | | | •atmosphere |
| to answer these questions themselves. We can do | | | | •fossil |
| this through the wonders of Science. | | | | •infiltration |
| Science must not be complicated, especially for | | | | •landforms |
| children in the elementary level. In certain activities, we | | | | •gas |
| need to emphasize that science is a process. It is fairly | | | | •meteorite |
| straightforward. We can even define Science | | | | •nanobacteria |
| according to Richard Feynman, “a special | | | | •particle size |
| method of discovering things as very tough but really | | | | •percolation |
| simple”. | | | | •soil moisture |
| In fact, there are variations in the so called | | | | •soil profile |
| “Scientific Method”. Scientists do things | | | | •soil texture |
| in different ways. This includes: | | | | •soil types |
| -emphasize experimental tests | | | | •solar systems |
| -observe | | | | ACTIVITY OUTLINE: |
| -studies complex mathematical models | | | | -The first 50 minutes of the workshop consists of the |
| Although they differ in some aspects, they still follow | | | | following: |
| the fundamental steps in the scientific process. Those | | | | •Slides |
| integral steps are: | | | | •Demonstrations about object classification |
| •observing, wondering | | | | •A discussion on the search of life on Mars, |
| •hypothesizing or predicting | | | | which will be conducted using fossil evidence of |
| •experimenting | | | | Martian meteorites. |
| •analyzing | | | | •Students will work in groups of four to |
| •concluding | | | | examine soil components like: |
| All the activities used in teaching students how to do | | | | -sands |
| science follows the components of the Scientific | | | | -clay |
| Method. This would be: | | | | -pebbles |
| •observation of nature | | | | -organic matter |
| •Wondering Why? | | | | •Each student will examine three vials of soil |
| •Forming hypotheses in an “If” | | | | particles. |
| format | | | | •They will use their senses in order to record |
| •Collecting data that includes defining | | | | data on certain particles. |
| dependent vs. independent variables. By using | | | | -size |
| appropriate experimental controls and repeated trials. | | | | -texture |
| •Analyzing data | | | | -smell |
| •Deriving to conclusions | | | | -color |
| •Asking the next questions | | | | •The group will combine their samples and |
| Using the scientific method in a variety of activities will | | | | decide how they will classify this soil. This will be based |
| help teachers and students find it enjoyable. It is also a | | | | on various soil characteristics. |
| useful method to learn about nature and how things | | | | Ex. Students will be assigned occupations like: |
| work. | | | | -farmer |
| Here are suggested workshops that use | | | | -builder |
| “comparing and classifying”. Students will | | | | -artist |
| work in groups of four for this type of ands-on | | | | They will then decide on how to categorize the soils. |
| experiment. It focuses on: | | | | This is in accordance with which properties would be |
| -planets | | | | most important to people, especially those with |
| -atmospheres | | | | different occupations. |
| -soils and | | | | Thus, as you go along, children will realize what it |
| -classifications of objects | | | | means to do science. Kids will realize that doing |
| TERMINOLOGY | | | | science is to learn its methods. |
| Process related | | | | |