Nature of Science Middle School Activities To Try

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:00:08 +0000

Nature of science middle school activities can be hard to find. These are usually the go-to topics to teach at the beginning of the school year because that content will be sprinkled into the labs that your students perform throughout the school year. Also, if you’re in a state that has standardized testing for science, you know this is a heavily tested topic.

Some teachers choose to teach the nature of science throughout the school year instead of focusing an entire unit but I choose to do a little of both. I feel like it needs to be taught in isolation for a bit so that students can truly understand it without focusing on other content from other units during labs, etc. While you’re planning your beginning of the year lessons, give these nature of science middle school activities a try.

Simple Labs

You want students to go through the motions with these labs. You want them to focus on the step by step processes of formulating a hypothesis, creating a procedure, collecting data, analyzing that data and writing a conclusion. Keeping the lab itself simple will allow students to do just that.

One of my favorite labs for this is the ball bounce lab. Students measure the rebound height of a tennis ball, golf ball and bouncy ball to see which has the best rebound height when dropped from the top of a yard stick. It’s quick, easy and students get the idea pretty quickly. Students write their own hypothesis about which ball they think will have the highest rebound, perform the experiment with each, conduct multiple trials, collect data, analyze it and create a conclusion.

I have also used a simple alka-seltzer lab to practice the scientific method. Students will use the scientific method to determine how quickly an effervescent/Alka-Seltzer will dissolve in white vinegar, salt water and tap water. You can find that lab here or on TPT.

Review Identifying Variables

All students can benefit from this one. Understanding the difference between an independent variable and dependent variable can be very confusing for students. I have found that practice makes perfect with this one. By presenting students with many different examples and identifying the variables in various experiments has proven to be effective. After a few examples, they will see the pattern.

You can also explain that the independent variable is the “cause” and the dependent variable is the “effect.” My students really like when I break it down for them that way.

Have Students Design Their Own Experiment

This is a little bit more advanced and requires you to give more autonomy to your students, but students will rise up to the challenge! Dedicate a space in your room where you can lay out some materials that students can have access to (safe ones, of course). Tell students to grab a few materials and design their own experiment from start to finish.

Coming up with a question, generating a hypothesis, identifying variables, writing out a procedure, collecting/analyzing data and finally coming up with a conclusion. The whole process – all on their own or with a partner! I simply give them a document that looks like the one below and let them try. As I walk around the room, I can talk to students and help them through the process as needed.

Research Famous Experiments

Give students an opportunity to research famous experiments or inventions that led to scientific discoveries that we know of today. Allow students to see that not all science occurs inside a laboratory with lab coats and goggles. Major advancements and theories such as the lightbulb, plate tectonics, cell theory, the microscope, the geocentric/heliocentric models of the solar system, Newton’s Laws, etc. can be very interesting for students!

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How to Grade Middle School Science Warm Up Activities

Michelle Rudolph — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:32:08 +0000

Warm ups are a super underrated classroom management tool. They keep students engaged from the moment they walk in, they allow you time to handle housekeeping tasks, and it’s a built-in daily review. Plus, science warm up activities can provide you with a lot of great insight into what students know, but the idea of grading them every day can be tedious. To keep things simple, I’m sharing three ways to grade warm ups without the stress.

Grading Science Warm Up Activities

#1 Don’t Grade Them Daily

Although students complete science warm ups daily, I do not grade them daily. I do, however, give it a quick once-over each day while students are working.

If you plan to collect students’ warm ups every day and grade them word for word, you will never dig yourself out of the grading hole! Instead, save this type of effort for projects and student work that has more value and weight on a student’s grade.

#2 Implement Quick Checks

As I mentioned, instead of picking up students’ warm ups, I do a quick check while they are working. I give students about five minutes before I start checking. On the bottom of my warm up activities, I include a space where I can sign off or stamp the page to show that the student completed the work for the day. I do this in just a few minutes by walking around the room.

As long as they’ve made a true, honest effort to answer the question, I give students credit. I’m not looking for correct answers, just effort beyond a blank page or “I don’t know”. Asking students to try, even if they aren’t sure of the answer, gives you insight into their thought process. You can quickly offer support as you walk around to students who need it.

These quick checks keep students accountable and lets me reward students for their effort. Also, to avoid any issues, I make sure to change the color of my pen or my stamp each day. That way, students can’t forge my signature to get credit.

#3 Look Back at the Week

At the end of the week, I go through and grade the science warm up activities. I have a simple process to make it easy and painless. Plus, the hard work was already done during the quick checks.

When grading the warm up activities, I count how many signatures or stamps each student received and give them a grade based on that. For example, if you checked every day for a week, each day would be 20 points. If they completed four out of five days, they get an 80 in the grade book.

Science warm up activities are one of my favorite tools to utilize to transition into the class period and review content with students. With this simple grading strategy, my students can still benefit from the practice, and I avoid the grading overwhelm.

Read more about how I use warm ups in my middle school science classroom here!

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