Part A

Lesson 101: Scientific Method

Grade: 5
Description of learners and
learning environment

Fifth grade students

May have background knowledge of
what the scientific experiment is but do not
know the specific steps
First portion will take place in a
classroom where students will be sitting and
watching the short video clip.
Second destination will be in a science
lab and 4 children and their mentors will be
assigned to a lab table.

Intended learning Goals and

Lesson Content

Steps of the Scientific Method.

Our goal is for students to learn how to
conduct an experiment while following the
scientific method during a chemistry
experiment.

Instructional goals and

objectives

Given the procedures to an experiment,

a fifth grade student must write a hypothesis
and highlight all components of the if/then
model.
Fifth grade students must list and
explain the 6 steps of the scientific
experiment and get an 80% or above in order
to proceed to the next lesson.

Standards

Fifth Grade Nature of Science Standard: Students

gain scientific knowledge by observing the natural
and constructed world, performing and evaluating
investigations, and communicating their findings.
Make predictions and formulate testable

questions.
Test predictions with multiple trials.
Keep accurate records in a notebook
during investigations and communicate
findings to others using graphs, charts, maps
and models through oral and written reports.
Compare the results of an investigation
with the prediction.
Materials

1. Putty Experiment:
a. 2 containers (1 smaller than the
other, preferably a film canister)
b. Water
c. Food colouring
d. PVA glue (a type of white glue
also known as Elmer's glue)
e. Borax solution (ratio of about 1
Tbsp of borax to a cup of water)
2. Elephant Toothpaste
1) A clean 16 ounce plastic soda
bottle
2) 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen
peroxide liquid (20-volume is a 6%
solution, ask an adult to get this from a
beauty supply store or hair salon)
3) 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of
dry yeast
4) 3 Tablespoons of warm water
5) Liquid dish washing soap
6) Food coloring
7) Small cup
8) Safety goggles
3. Soda/Mentos Experiment:
1) Large bottle of Diet Coke
2) About half a pack of Mentos
3) Geyser tube (optional but
makes things much easier)
4. Procedural instructions handout for both putty and

elephant toothpaste experiment

Procedures

Begin the lesson in the homeroom. Ask

students, How do we go about answering
scientific questions? How do you think
scientists went about answering the question:
Is the Earth flat or round?
Allow 3 or 4 students to raise their
hands and give their opinions.
If a student answers with the Scientific
Method, or something related to the Scientific
Method, point this out to the class and praise
the student. Continue to introduce the
scientific method. These are all great ideas.
There is a specific way that scientists go
about answering scientific questions they
may have. This is called the Scientific
Method. It begins with a question. Any of you
could use the scientific method to answer a
scientific question you may have. To learn
more about the Scientific Method, we are
going to watch this short video that will
explain what it is and how it works. Make sure
to pay close attention, because we will be
asking you to become scientists for the day
and try out this method for yourselves!
Play the video using the
projector/computer in the homeroom
classroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qVVpdHePbow
After the video, allow time for questions
from any of the students to clear up
confusion.
Ask students to name the steps of the
scientific method. Call on one student at a
time to individually list one step, then
continue this process in order until the

students have named all the steps. Write the

steps out on the board as they tell you.
Move to the science lab where the guest
speaker will be. The guest speaker will be a
science teacher from a nearby Middle School,
as they know how to teach the basics to
younger children. Introduce the guest
speaker to the children and explain that
he/she will be showing them how to become
a good scientist.
Speaker explains the importance of the
scientific method. As scientists we must be
able to ask specific questions, make
predictions, follow procedures in an
experiment, and make conclusions. This will
help us better understand the world around
us. The Scientific Method helps us to
organize our thoughts so that scientists, like
you, can be confident in the answers you find.
To help you understand how the scientific
method works, we are going to look at two
experiments. Lets start with the first one.
Pass out the elephant toothpaste
handout, which is attached.
Speaker will tell kids that first they will
be reading the procedures of the experiment
in order to practice making a hypothesis.
Children follow along as speaker reads
the step by step instructions for the
experiment which is he/she explains is the
procedure part of the scientific method.
Speaker and mentors help kids make
hypothesis using the if/then model provided
on handout
Do the experiment as a class (Speaker
reads first step and the students, with the

help of their mentor, completes the step. Then

the speaker reads the next step and the
process continues until the experiment is
finished.
After experiment, have students write
out their observations, check the analysis
box, and make a conclusion. (have mentors
guide them)
Pass out the silly putty handout
Follow the same procedures as you did
with the elephant toothpaste procedure.
Have students wash their hands and put
goggles away.Once all is done, have students
hold onto their silly putty
Walk back to the classroom and have
children sit at desks again.
Have speaker ask students to volunteer
to give their hypothesis, observations, and
conclusion for both experiments.
Have speaker re-explain that the
students just followed the scientific
experiment. You made a guess as to what
would happen, followed procedures, and
made conclusions. Now that we have
practiced, lets see if you remember the steps
of the scientific experiment.
Assess the students
Assessment

Resources/References

Given an example experiment and its

procedures, students will be assessed by
creating a hypothesis and highlighting all the
components of the if/then model.
Students will also be assessed by listing
and explaining the 6 steps of the scientific
method.
putty instructions:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/crazyp
utty.html
elephant toothpaste:
https://sciencebob.com/fantastic-foamy-fountain
soda/mentos:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/dietco
kementos.html
standards:
http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/standard
s/science/2010-Science-Grade05.pdf

Part B
When we started brainstorming about our project, we wanted to do something unique
and interesting that the kids would really enjoy. We considered doing something with horticulture
and take the kids to the greenhouses, but instead decided to focus our lesson around chemical
reactions and the scientific method. We thought that demonstrating some cool experiments
would get the kids interested in the lesson and would be something they would share with their
parents. We used Google to find kid friendly science websites to find the procedures for these
experiments.
The experiments that are conducted in our lesson plan are inspired by our personal
experience. The experiments used in the lesson are experiments we have personally conducted
as children or even young adults. We remembered doing these experiments for a reason;
because they are engaging, enjoyable, and impactful. This is why we were inspired to include
these chemical reactions in our lessons, because we feel that if we remembered them then
other children would be likely to remember and enjoy them as well.

References list
Science Bob. (n.d.) Fantastic foam fountain. Retrieved from
https://sciencebob.com/fantastic-foamy-fountain/
Science Experiments for Kids. (2015, February 6). Crazy putty. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/crazyputty.html
Science Experiments for Kids. (2015, February 6). Diet Coke and Mentos eruption. Retrived
from http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/dietcokementos.html

Part D
Ejiwale, J. A. (2012). Facilitating teaching and learning across STEM fields. Journal of STEM
Education: Innovations and Research, 13(3), 87-95.
This article is addresses the need for a paradigm shift in the way teachers teach STEM.
Teachers are no longer dictators in the classroom but instead become facilitators. More
importantly, the article goes on to focus on how teachers can be effective facilitators of this new
kind of educational experience. It suggests that teachers realize that their methodology matters
and the correct answer is less important than how they got the answer. It also suggest lessons
be tied to the real world, teachers think on their feet and use teachable moments and finally
that students are engaged in their learning experiences. A large part of our lesson is designed
around these concepts. For example, in developing if/then statements, we want to students to
create their own, and as long as they have all the parts and its a reasonable prediction, what
they actual predict matters less than the process of writing the statement themselves.
Morrison, J., Bartlett, R. V. (2009). STEM as a Curriculum. Education Week, 28(23), 28-31.
This interesting and informative article suggests that teachers already know how to teach
STEM, but theres a far better way to integrate it into the classroom than teaching the individual
subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math. Certainly, cross-curricular teaching is
difficult, but this article goes on to point out that thats exactly what vocational education tracks
and career clusters are doing. It claims that this is the best way to teach STEM by citing several
examples, including that students in career clusters in Maryland outperformed their peers not in
career clusters in Algebra 2 and completion of science credits. Although our students are not
quite old enough to fit into a vocational education track yet, we hope to mimic this effect by
taking them to chemistry labs in Wetherill to do our experiments.
Benefits:
1. Creating the objectives first gave us a vision for what our lesson/procedures
would look like. It gave us a foundation for success.
2. Looking at fifth grade standards gave us a basis to the start of the lesson plan.
This gave us an outlook.
3. Using the fifth grade standards allowed us to set a goal for what we wanted our
lesson to cover and what we wanted students to learn overall.
Challenges:
1. Making the procedures match up with the objectives was challenging at points.
We had to make sure we were veering away from what we want our students to learn
from the lesson.
2. Having young students perform a chemical experiment in a lab is challenging,
because we want the children to have responsibility of doing the experiment, but we
want them to remain safe in the process. Because of this, developing the procedures

was a challenge because we had to decide how much responsibility to give to the
students, and what responsibilities we were going to give to the mentors.
3. Locating fifth grade science standards that could be used for an engaging lesson
was initially challenging. The scientific method does not seem like an interesting topic,
but we have managed to create a lesson that involves fun and excitement while also
effectively teaching the scientific method, covering the fifth grade standard.