Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 154444
What are Scientific Laws?
During this two-day lesson, students will watch a video defining the definition of Scientific Law and identify various examples of scientific laws.
Students will participate in various activities, including being scientists around the world to develop sentences with an increasing number of words
(showing how scientists share ideas, tossing balls in the air to write a law, and then develop a presentation about a scientist and his law).
Subject(s): Science
Grade Level(s): 6
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, LCD
Projector
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Keywords: scientific laws
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Earth Systems 2016
ATTACHMENTS
Scientist_Presentation_Rubric.docx
Scientific_Law_Activities.docx
Exit_Slips.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will define scientific law as phenomenon of nature that is based on repeated experimentation.
Students will identify various examples of scientific laws.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students must know that scientists use a range of research methods, including experiments, explorations, and observations.
Students must know that science knowledge is durable, but not absolute or fixed.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What is a scientific law?
How do you know it is scientific?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
Day 1 - Lesson opener/attention getter:
1. Watch the TED-Ed video "What's the Difference between a Scientific Law and Theory?" You only need to show the first 2:13, as the rest of the video
discusses more about theory.
page 1 of 3 2. Begin a discussion by asking the students to share some characteristics of laws. Possible answers: laws are resistant to change, predict results of initial conditions,
predict what happens, can be revised when given new, unexpected information, etc.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
(Day 1) 15-20 minutes
1. Put students in groups of three. Assign each group a different country name (U.S., Italy, France, Switzerland, Egypt, China, Sweden, India, etc.). This reinforces the
fact that scientists all over the world share ideas in order to make advancements in the science field.
2. Part 1: Give each group a set of Word Cards and an instruction sheet (see attached Scientific Law Activities). Tell the students to complete each step when
given the directions to do so. Tell them to begin working on steps 1-4. Give them 2 minutes. Then, once all groups finish their sentence, tell them to continue with
steps 5-7. Give them 2 minutes. Continue in this manner for steps 8-10 for 2 minutes, and finally 11-13 for 2 minutes. Ask each group to share their final sentence
with the class. After all groups have shared, they must answer the remaining questions. You can tell them the original sentence was "During the early spring
season, a farmer planted seeds, all over his field, in straight rows, so he can eat fresh yellow corn with bright red sweet strawberries."
3. Part 2: Next, give each group a ball (rubber, ping-pong, tennis, golf, etc.) and an instruction sheet. Tell them to follow the steps on their instruction sheet and
answer the questions.
4. Afterward, have a brief discussion about the differences between the two activities. You may need to guide them to the fact that the first activity has the groups
coming up with different sentences or theories about what they think the words should say. The second activity demonstrates a law - under certain condition on
Earth, every time the ball goes up, the ball comes back down (Law of Universal Gravitation). Laws describe what happens every time under given conditions.
How will you check for understanding?
Walk around the room, checking for word and sentence accuracy, as well as making sure the students are filling out the questions correctly.
The teacher may choose to collect this packet covering the two activities and use it as a formative grade before moving on to the Independent Practice.
Common errors/misconceptions to anticipate and how to respond:
Scientific ideas are absolute and unchanging. This is not true because established ideas are subject to modification based on new evidence and perspectives. Ideas
may change rapidly as scientists may use more modern technology to test out possible explanations.
Scientific ideas cannot be trusted because they are tentative and subject to change. This is not true because even though ideas may change, many of the ideas are
supported by lines of evidence, are extremely reliable, and are unlikely to change.
Science proves ideas. This is not true because scientific principles can be overturned if new evidence warrants it. Science can accept or reject ideas based on the
evidence. It does not prove or disprove them.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
Day 2
1. Put students in 5 groups. Have each group read Neatorama's article titled "5 Scientific Laws and the Scientists Behind Them." Instruct the students to read
about each scientist. They will then have 30 minutes to develop a 2-4 minute creative presentation to teach the rest of the class about the information on their
assigned scientist. Suggest they design a poster, perform a skit, make a puppet, conduct the law, etc., to make their mini-lesson engaging. Provide each group with
a copy of the attached Scientist Presentation Rubric and review the criteria as you see fit depending on each class. This will help clarify and outline expectations
for the students. It will also simplify the grading process for you.
2. Then have the groups share their presentations with the class.
How will you check for student understanding?
Circulate around the room, listening to discussions of the Scientist Documents, checking the students' presentations for accuracy, asking about their scientist, and to
describe the law.
A summative grade should be assessed to the presentation using the attached rubric (if you choose to not use this Independent Practice as a summative grade, it
should at the very least be a means of formative assessment).
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Review the definition of a Scientific Law by asking students to volunteer a definition.
Additionally, ask for volunteers to restate/explain what they learned from another group. Make sure someone talks about each group. This will help any students
who may be unclear about a certain scientist and his law. This also provides you the opportunity to make any clarifications, as well as gauging whether the students
are getting everything they need to from the student presentations.
Summative Assessment
As a "Ticket Out the Door," give each student an attached Exit Slip and have them fill in the blanks. This gives you four clear fields to use in order to check for
understanding and assign a grade more easily.
Also, do not forget about the presentations and rubric. If you did not use this as a summative grade, it should at least be used as a formative assessment tool!
Formative Assessment
The student handouts (Guided Practice sheets, Activity 1 and 2) can serve as a means of formative assessment. Whether they are handed in and given a grade is
up to you.
Also, again, if the student presentation (Independent Practice) was not used as a summative tool, it should be included in this section.
Feedback to Students
Specific suggestions for providing Feedback to Students can be found in the Guided Practice and Independent Practice phases of the lesson where it says, "Common
errors/misconceptions to anticipate and how to respond."
Additionally, during the formative section of the teaching phase, discuss each scientist and their law. They will receive specific feedback during the activity, as well
at the end of class.
page 2 of 3 ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students work in small groups or partners to read the Science Law cards.
Students may work with a partner during the Guided Practice to assist with the words and sentences.
Post and read science materials/instructions aloud and check for understanding.
Extensions:
Have the students develop and conduct an experiment using the law they read about.
Have students research other scientific laws.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, LCD Projector
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Cassie Meyers
Name of Author/Source: Cassie Meyers
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Flagler
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
SC.6.N.3.3:
Description
Give several examples of scientific laws.
page 3 of 3