Fourth Grade Science Fair

Transcription

1 Dear Parents and Students, Fourth Grade Science Fair The fourth grade teachers are proud to announce our annual Science Fair! ALL fourth graders will take part in this very special project and event. Students may choose to do a project from the following topics: Weather Magnets and Electricity Matter Plants Earth and Space The project must be experimental (no models or demonstrations please). Please do not choose an experiment that involves animals, human specimens, or body parts or fluids. Students will research their topic and should be prepared to share this with the class. Some research materials will be available in the classroom, but a trip to the library may be necessary. ALL TOPICS MUST BE APPROVED BY THE CLASSROOM TEACHER/PANEL BEFORE BEGINNING THE PROJECT. The topic (Experiment Approval Form) due date is on or before Friday, April 1th. Once approved students may not change their experiment without a new approval. This is a project that the students will work on at home. However, we will be going over project skills in the classroom. Class time will not be provided to work on projects. Please remember that this is the child s project, and parental involvement should be limited to supervision. The work should be done by the child. The research report, rough draft, thinking map or plan or note cards, and bibliography will be due on Monday, May nd. The project and -sided display unit due date is Monday, May 16th. We will be holding the Science Fair on Thursday, May 19 th in the cafeteria. We are inviting you to come and view all of the great science fair projects on display in the cafeteria that morning (9:00-:00 AM) before the beginning of the school-wide lunch schedule. All science projects need to consist of three elements: A Display Unit and Exhibit Materials, a Written Report, and an Oral Presentation. Attached you will find a Science Fair Checklist detailing these three elements and what should be completed for a successful project. This project will be worth the equivalent of two test grades in Science. The report will be graded as a writing test grade. The project will be graded using the attached Scoring Rubric (see page ). **Please complete the Experiment Approval Form completely so that the Science Fair panel of teachers can decide on approval. A parent and student signature is required. Your child should be able to explain what he or she wants to do for an experiment. Thank you, The Fourth Grade Team 1

2 Science Fair Checklist: 1. Display Unit: (due May 16 th ) Your Project will be placed on a three-sided display unit, which will form the background for the project (as pictured below). It should be made of sturdy materials so your graphs, charts, photographs, or printed information can be easily shown. Display boards can be found at Office Depot, Michaels, Office Max, or Wal- Mart. If you bring any loose materials the day of the fair to demonstrate your experiment, please provide a container for it. (No glass is permitted) The display unit should contain the following information: Title Title of project (please put your name/teacher s name on the back of the board) Purpose Why did you choose this project? EX The purpose of my project is to see which brand of bubble gum retains the most flavor after ten minutes of chewing. Hypothesis (Prediction) An educated guess about the result of your experiment. EX I will prove which brand of bubble gum retains the most flavor after minutes. I think it will be Bubbles Galore because it seems to be the largest. Materials- The things you need to complete the project. Procedure List the steps you took to complete your project. EX 1) I bought four different brands of bubble gum: Bubbles Galore, Lots of Bubbles, Bubbles & Bubbles, and Bubble-O-Rama. ) On the first day, I chewed a piece of Results The actual data (information) you collected from the experiment. This is where you would show the tables and/or graphs. Here is a great graphing website for childrenhttp://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx Conclusion Use your experiment results--why did your project turn out the way it did? What did you learn about the topic? EX My hypothesis was correct. Bubbles Galore gum did retain the most flavor after ten minutes of chewing. or My hypothesis was not correct. Lots of Bubbles retained the most flavor after ten minutes of chewing. Visual Aids (photos, plants, etc.) Please try not to include pictures of the student on the board. Lettering Examples and Explanation Hypothesis Title Results Materials Procedure Purpose Graphs Conclusion Example of a possible board display

3 . Written Report (due May nd ) This report should contain background research about your chosen topic of study. Your teacher will help you chose a topic if needed. Report information may not be copied from books or internet resources. This is considered plagiarism. Reports that contain copied information will receive a zero and the student will be required to do it over again. Writing must be in the student s own words. *Please note that the report is not about how you performed the experiment or the results. The report should contain the following information: Title Page (title, name and date) Research notes, an outline, thinking map, or plan for writing the research report should go behind the bibliography. This should be done prior to writing the report and used as a tool for writing. An edited and revised rough draft of your report (not to be typed) should also go behind the bibliography. The report should be in your own words, copying from books and the Internet is not allowed. Final Draft-1 or more page report about the topic (i.e. The Origin of Bubblegum) This report is not about the experiment, but about research and information that you learned about your topic. Please use your notes to help you write and edit/revise your rough draft. The final copy should be rewritten neatly or typed. Bibliography (Be sure to list all printed ( or more), materials, including books and computer articles, you used to help you research the report. Please include at least two book sources, not all Internet sources.) See example bibliography below. 1. Book resource- Author s Last name, First name. Title of the book used for the report. City of publication, publisher, Copyright Year. Example: Smith, John. Trip Across the Ocean. Orlando: Star Publishing Co., Internet Resource- Title of the Internet article. Date page was created or updated. (date you found the research). Example: Fun Science. /16/90. (/0/0). Encyclopedia Resource- Title of selection. Name of Encyclopedia, Date. Example: Magnets. World Book Encyclopedia Oral Presentation (Presentations begin May 16 th ) A great presentation will include information found about your topic in your written report, how it relates to the experiment and a summary of your experiment. You are actually showing and telling your classmates what you learned, what steps you took to complete your experiment, and the conclusions you reached. Use any materials to demonstrate to the class what actually happened. You may not read from your report because the presentation is about your experiment.

4 Please bring this rubric to use for grading on the assigned due date. Name Project Topic_ Display--0 points Neatness Title Purpose Hypothesis Procedure/Materials Results/Graphs Conclusion Report-- Points Notes or Plan Edited Rough Draft Bibliography Final Report Possible Points 1 Points Earned Focus/Organization Support Conventions Presentation Points Voice/Tone Eye Contact/ Posture Knowledge/Explanation of Topic Project is due at 8:1 AM Display/Experiment Grade /0 Report Grade / Display/Experiment Grade /70 Presentation Grade /

5 Experiment Approval Form Due on or before April 1th Student Name Parent Signature Experiment Category Plants Weather Matter Circle One Earth and Space Magnets Electricity Question for Experiment (What do you want to know?): Hypothesis for Experiment (Make a prediction) : Write a brief summary of what the experiment is about: (What will you do? Be specific do not just say Weather ) What is your one variable? (The one change that you will observe or measure.) (i.e. Kinds of gum) What will your report be about?(reports are topics related to the experiment not about the experiment) What safety problems might occur? How will you stay safe? *Keep this form in a safe place. Please see the HCES website or your child s Progress Book for the entire Science Fair packet. Packets will be sent home after Spring Break. We wanted to give your child an opportunity to think about their Science Fair Experiment before the Spring Break. The project must be experimental (no models or demonstrations please). Please do not choose an experiment that involves animals, human specimens, or body parts/fluids. ALL TOPICS MUST BE APPROVED BY THE CLASSROOM TEACHER/PANEL BEFORE BEGINNING THE PROJECT.