Designing an Investigation: A Level Two Inquiry Activity
Technology incorporated: Digital Video Camera, LCD projector to project video clip for class, EcoLog XL sensors
This lesson was adapted from the EcoLog XL Experiment Book activity "My Family's Car is like a Greenhouse!"
Please excuse our amateur video production!
Its purpose was to give a dramatization each class
could see. We have science classes up to 34 students,
3 classes at a time, and this allowed all students to see
setup without having to move large numbers of kids outside.
Standard of Learning: 6.1
Objectives:Students will observe data from the car experiment and determine which “controls” are valid and which do not function as true controls.
Anticipatory Set:Remember Hot Dog Experiment: Science teacher will ask student to summarize the Solar Cooker experiment from earlier.
Instruction Delivery:Teacher will then note that there was no control in that experiment.
Guided Practice:Class discussion: possible controls for the Solar Cooker experiment (questions one & two on question sheet will be answered as a class).
Independent Practice:
Each student will complete the Question sheet, supplying a possible control for the car experiment.
Resources:EcoLab XL experiment book
Mrs. B., Mr. Tucker, and Mrs. Chapman will film setup ahead of time.
Mrs. Chapman will sync sensors and create question sheet, materials for presentation.
The National Science Education standards specifically cite that middle school children may have difficulty identifying and controlling variables (p.143). We definitely witnessed that here!
Proposed Controls included (number of responses in parentheses):
trunk (43), under the car (26), top of the tire (24), under hood (19), in the back seat (18), top of the car (9), inside rim (7), under the front of the car (6), under the tire (5), in the glove box (5), floor by pedals (4), in seat/.in front seat (4), outside (3), dashboard (2), ground (2), in the bumper (2), in the passenger seat (2), inside the tire (2), cover the car/blanket the windows (2), muffler (2), move car to the shade (1), cut the car on (1), use another thermometer (1), center of the car, under the roof (1), place in the shady side (1), behind tire (1), by the window (1), floor in the back (1), under the passenger seat (1), by tire (1), beside the car (1), put the windows down (1), car (1)
I wish we had taken this a steo further, and had students a copy of all proposed controls, then have them categorize each as a "good control" or "invalid control" in a t-chart.
Please add any ideas for teaching students how to choose a control that worked for you to this page!
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