Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 154568
More Than One Way, Scientific Investigations
Students will compare and contrast two short articles to learn that scientific investigations are not always controlled experiments and that the
traditional scientific method is not always appropriate or most effective for understanding the natural world. Later in the lesson, students will choose
their own article and reflect on the scientific methods used in that scientific investigation.
Subject(s): Science
Grade Level(s): 6
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Keywords: Scientific Investigations, controlled experiments, systematic observations, , experiments, , scientific
methods, investigations,
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Physical Science 2016
ATTACHMENTS
Venn_Diagram.docx
Venn_Diagram_Key.docx
Scientific_Method_Chart.docx
Redi_Article.docx
Alvarez_Article.docx
Annotating_Text_Sample_Answer_Key.docx
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: Learning Cycle (5E Model)
Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Explain that an investigation is observing or studying the natural world, without interference or manipulation, and an experiment is an investigation that involves
variables (independent/manipulated and dependent/ outcome) and establishes cause-and-effect relationships (Schwartz, 2007).
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Science involves the use of observations. Observations consist of receiving knowledge of the outside world through our senses, or recording information using
scientific tools and instruments.
Not all scientific investigations strictly follow the steps of the traditional scientific method.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What is the difference between a controlled scientific experiment and other types of scientific investigations?
Engage: What object, event, or questions will the teacher use to trigger the students' curiosity and engage them in the concepts?
page 1 of 4 Attention getter/interest builder:
1. Ask: What do scientists do? Sample answers: gather evidence to understand how the natural world works.
2. Explain: When a scientist does research or watches animals in the wild, they are gathering information to answer questions; however, these activities are not
scientific experiments.
3. In order for something to be considered a scientific experiment, it must have the following:
One test variable (independent variable) - a factor that will be purposefully manipulated/changed
One or more dependent variables - a way of measuring the effect of the change in the test variable (independent variable)
Controlled variables - factors that a scientist wants to remain constant so they have no influence
The ability to be duplicated through repetition (repeated trials themselves) or replication by other scientists.
4. Often scientists use the steps of the traditional scientific method (show attached diagram, "Steps of the Traditional Scientific Method"), which describes the steps to
complete a scientific experiment.
5. Ask: Some scientists study things that occurred a long time ago, like dinosaurs. What are some hypotheses about why dinosaurs became extinct?
Sample answer: large volcano, meteor striking the Earth, climate change, etc.
6. Ask: What difficulties would a scientist trying to gather information about how dinosaurs became extinct have with using the steps of the scientific method?
Sample answer: They cannot control variables, they cannot purposefully manipulate a single variable, it occurred a long time ago before it could be studied.
How will this connect with or elicit student prior knowledge?
Students will begin to think about the role scientists play and the different methods they use to investigate scientific questions, whether they occurred long ago or are
occurring today.
Explore: What will the students do to explore the concepts and skills being developed through the lesson?
Instructions for setting up and helping students explore the phenomenon or materials:
1. Place students in groups of 2-3. Students will read the two attached articles: "Francesco Redi's Experiment: Do Maggots (Young Flies) Come From Rotting
Meat?" and "The Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction: What Killed the Dinosaurs?" Have students read each article two times.
2. While reading the text the second time, students will circle the question the scientist is trying to answer and underline and number the steps they took in their
investigations (see attached Annotating Text Sample Answer Key).
Instructions for helping students make and test predictions and hypotheses:
1. When students have finished reading and annotating their articles, have students complete the attached Venn diagram comparing the two types of investigations.
Instruct students not to focus on the different questions being asked but on the different processes for answering the questions.
2. Have students share their Venn diagrams with peers or the whole class. Students can make changes to the Venn diagram during discussion.
How will student's record, organize, and analyze their observations and ideas:
Students will record, organize, and analyze their ideas through the use of a Venn diagram.
How will you check for student understanding?
Teacher can use students' original Venn diagrams to check for understanding by comparing their responses to the attached and Sample Answer Key Venn
Diagram.
Explain: What will the students and teacher do so students have opportunities to clarify their ideas, reach a conclusion or
generalization, and communicate what they know to others?
Instructions for helping students communicate, justify, and refine their ideas:
1. Students will be prompted to answer the following questions included on the attached Comparing Scientific Investigation Methods document.
2. Ask: These articles describe two types of scientific investigations. What limitation did Walter Alvarez have in answering his question "What happened to the
dinosaurs?"
Sample answer: He was trying to find the answer to a question that happened a long time ago, while Redi was answering a question that was currently taking
place.
3. Ask: What is a benefit of each type of investigation?
Sample answer: Redi's experiment was a controlled experiment so a single variable could be manipulated and everything else controlled. The experiment can be
reproduced exactly the same to verify results. Alvarez's investigation can be used to study things that occurred too far in the past, are too large to study, or natural
events that would be overly influenced if brought into a laboratory setting (i.e., animal behavior).
4. Ask: What is the limitation of each type of investigation method?
Sample answer: Redi's experiment can only look at a possible cause and effect relationship that is currently happening. Alvarez's investigation cannot control all
outside variables and cannot directly observe the events taking place.
5. Have students brainstorm and present their findings to the class. Encourage quality conversations focusing on the different types of scientific investigations and how
each is important for answering questions in the different fields of study.
What key talking points should the teacher share about the lesson topic or phenomenon?
Explain that an systematic observation is observing or studying the natural world, with minimal interference or manipulation, and an experiment is an investigation that
involves identifying and working with variables (independent/manipulated and dependent/outcome) to discover possible cause-and-effect relationships.
How will you check for student understanding?
Student responses on the worksheet should be checked to monitor student understanding based on the sample answers provided above.
Common errors/misconceptions to anticipate and how to respond:
Many students believe that scientific investigations must follow the steps of the traditional scientific method in exactly the same order. Explain that Walter Alvarez's
investigation is widely accepted in the scientific community but does not include the use of independent/manipulated and dependent/outcome variables.
page 2 of 4 Elaborate: What will the students do to apply their conceptual understanding and skills to solve a problem, make a decision,
perform a task, or make sense of new knowledge?
Describe a new problem/setting to which the students will apply the new concepts/skills so they can deepen their understanding:
Have students investigate the methods used by current or past scientists. Have them compare the processes used by these scientists to Redi and Alvarez, explaining
the type of investigation method used, and both the benefits and limitations of those methods. Students can present these findings orally or in a research paper.
Students may choose from the following articles:
ASTROLab du parc national du Mont­Mégantic: The White Light Spectrum
University of Houston: Galileo's Experiment
Wonder Whizkids: Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment
HistoryBits: Charles Darwin - Theory of Evolution
How will you check for student understanding?
Teacher will monitor understanding by evaluating the final product of student investigation of current or past scientific processes (oral presentation or research paper).
Common errors/misconceptions to anticipate and how to respond:
The scientific method and popular portrayals of science emphasize experiments. This can cause many students to think that science cannot be done without an
experiment. In fact, there are many ways to test almost any scientific idea; experimentation is only one approach. Some ideas are best tested by setting up a
controlled experiment in a lab, some by making detailed observations of the natural world, some by compiling the research made by other studies, and some with a
combination of strategies.
Summative Assessment
How will you give students a chance to evaluate their own learning?
Students can evaluate their understanding during the class discussion after individual Venn diagrams are made during the follow-up discussion.
How will the students show the teacher that they met the learning objectives?
Student essays on the characteristics of each type of investigation and the benefits and limitations of each should be used to show the teacher if learning objectives
are met.
Formative Assessment
Specific suggestions for conducting Formative Assessment can be found in the Explore, Explain, and Elaborate phases of the lesson where it says, "How will you check
for student understanding?"
Feedback to Students
Specific suggestions for providing Feedback to Students can be found in the Explore, Explain, and Elaborate phases of the lesson where it says, "Common
errors/misconceptions to anticipate and how to respond."
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
For struggling readers, read the article first as a whole group or in pairs.
Teachers can use the attached Venn Diagram Key to have students match key points onto the blank Venn diagram. For kinesthetic learners, the statements can
be cut out and students can manually arrange them into larger versions of the Venn diagram.
Extensions:
In a follow-up project, students can be challenged to pick an investigable question, to decide whether a controlled experiment or systematic observation would be the
most appropriate method, and then to carry out and share the results of the investigation.
Suggested Technology: Microsoft Office
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Name of Author/Source: Anonymously Submitted
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
Description
page 3 of 4 Explain the difference between an experiment and other types of scientific investigation, and explain the relative
benefits and limitations of each.
SC.6.N.1.3:
Remarks/Examples:
Explain that an investigation is observing or studying the natural world, without interference or manipulation, and an
experiment is an investigation that involves variables (independent/manipulated and dependent/ outcome) and
establishes cause-and-effect relationships (Schwartz, 2007).
page 4 of 4