Glades Middle School

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Glades Middle School

• Science Fair Parent Awareness Session

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Why Science Fair?

• Science Fair is the real application of
  scientific principles and techniques, not just
  reading about what someone else did in a book.
• Teachers, their schools and students deserve
  recognition for all their hard work and
  dedication to the promotion of science education
  in the community.

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Why Science Fair?

• Science Fair brings FCAT to life (Reading,
  Writing, Math and Science) as well as integrates
  State and National Science Standards!
• Student research promotes skills that are
  essential in the job force
• Teamwork Honesty Time Management
• Responsibility Discipline Ethics
• Organization Skills

Benchmarks and Standards SC.H.3.3.1
SC.H.3.3.3 SC.H.3.3.2
SC.H.2.4
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Benefits of the Science Fair
Up to 10,000 in awards for students
http//mathscience.dadeschools.net/scifair02
Up to 50,000 in scholarships to Florida Schools
and awards for students (www.fffs.ucf.edu)
Up to 2,000,000 in scholarships and
awards (www.sciserv.org)
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Intro to the Science Fair Project

• Middle School Level Experiments
• Requirements
• Components

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Middle School Projects

• When choosing a topic for a science fair project,
  remember that you need a Middle-school level
  project. Projects may be made up of several
  related experiments to answer one question.
• Avoid product comparisons, behavioral/social
  projects, overly simple tests, experiments that
  have been done a million times, or anything that
  you could see an elementary student doing.
• Refer to sarsef.org or sciencebuddies.org for a
  list of categories to help inspire you.
• Remember, you can also do engineering or bridge
  projects

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Approvals

• All science fair projects must get PRIOR approval
  from THEIR TEACHER!
• Some projects will need additional PERMISSION -
  if those projects are considered dangerous or
  require special supervision. (BACTERIA, MOLD,
  FUNGUS, and projects using HUMANS or ANIMALS
  ETC.)

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3 MAJOR Components of the Science Fair Projects

• Journal
• Science Fair (Reports) Write Up
• Science Fair Display Board

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Journal

• You are required to keep a hand-written journal
  of your entire project.
• This includes everything that you will later type
  up in your final write-up your background
  research and references, hypothesis development,
  variables, control, materials, procedure, data,
  etc.
• You should use your journal as a diary of your
  project - keep it as you go because you will be
  very sorry if youre trying to create it at the
  last minute!

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Science Fair Report (Write-Up)

• Researchable Question
• Summary of Research (2-3 pages with bibliography)
• Testable hypothesis
• Variables
• Control
• Materials

• Procedure
• Data Record
• Results
• Conclusion
• Further research
• Abstract

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Researchable Question

• Statement of your basic question in the correct
  format
• Brief explanation of why you are curious about
  this topic
• Elaboration of the applications of your question
  - what topics might be related to this question?
  What are the possible benefits to answering this
  question?

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Summary of Research

• You should have a 2 to 3 page (minimum) summary
  of background research on your topic, so
  obviously you should have more actual research
  information than this.
• This should be in properly written, paragraph
  form - not in outline form!
• You should include parenthetical references or
  footnotes to indicate which sources in your
  bibliography you used in your research and where.

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Testable Hypothesis

• Statement of your testable hypothesis, in correct
  form
• If independent variable, then dependant variable
  because _____clause.
• Testable means that you can actually design an
  experiment around your hypothesis.

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Variables

• List and description of your experimental
  variables
• Independent variable (The thing you change on
  purpose what you are testing)- you should have 1
• Dependant variable (The Results of that change to
  thing you measure)- you should have 1
• Constants (things you will keep the same
  throughout the experiment) - you should have many!

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Control

• A description of your control - an experimental
  setup (a treatment) where you do not change the
  independent variable.
• This serves as a standard for comparison. Did
  things change due to your treatments, or did they
  change due to random chance?
• Not all projects will have controls.

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Materials

• You need a specific list of all materials used in
  the experiment.
• Include quantities, brands, etc
• If you use equipment, include pictures or
  diagrams showing the piece.
• If you build anything, include pictures,
  sketches, and/or diagrams of what you built such
  that it could be reproduced.

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Procedure

• You need a detailed, step-by-step list of exactly
  what you did.
• Include building things, setting up equipment,
  etc
• Be very specific about what you did - quantities
  you added, the order in which you did things, how
  you analyzed the data, etc.
• Include repeated trials and the set-up of your
  control.
• Remember, the point of this is to provide clear
  instructions for anyone who wants to repeat your
  experiment.

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Data Record

• Data should be initially recorded in your journal
  and then transferred into Excel (or whatever
  program youve decided to use)
• Use graphs, data tables, charts, etc. to present
  your data in an organized and easily read format.
• You may also include drawings of changes in your
  experiment, photos, video, anecdotal
  descriptions, etc.
• You should have both qualitative and quantitative
  data.

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Results

• This is where you verbally recap the data record.
  
• You should express your data in prose instead of
  just numbers.
• Note trends and patterns instead of just writing
  out the numbers - make generalizations
• You should also mention error in this section

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Conclusion

• Your statement of whether your hypothesis was
  supported or not and WHY.
• Specifically state how you used your data to
  address your original hypothesis.
• If your data did not support your hypothesis, you
  can discuss how you might change your hypothesis
  or, if you think your original hypothesis is
  still correct, you can discuss what may have gone
  wrong in your experiment that resulted in your
  data (like error, poor experimental design, etc)

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Further Research

• You should write a paragraph or two about where
  your research could go from here
• How to re-test your hypothesis
• A new hypothesis that you might test after seeing
  your results and how you might test it
• If your hypothesis was supported, you can discuss
  what other research might be beneficial
  (extensions of your project, alternative
  applications, etc)

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Abstract

• This is a 250 word summary of your entire
  project.
• Think of it as your project at-a-glance.
• A special form will be given to you by your
  science teacher that you must put the abstract on.

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Bibliography

• You need a bibliography with AT LEAST 6 sources
  (3 must be from sources other than wikipedea or
  the internet)
• This can include sites where you got your
  background research on the topic, places you
  found information on materials, instructions for
  building parts of your apparatus, instructions
  for using and/or finding equipment, etc.

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Science Fair Display

• You must create a board to showcase your
  experiment.
• Your board should contain all the information in
  your write up, but in a more succinct (for
  instance, 2-3 paragraph summary of background
  instead of 2-3 pages) and visually appealing way.
• Focus on organization, professionalism, and
  clarity. Make it easy for your judges to follow
  what youve done. You can check the Science Fair
  Judging Sheets (available on gladesmiddle.dadescho
  ols.net/) to see exactly what your judges will be
  looking for in your display.
• Nothing should be hand-drawn or hand-written.

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Resources

• Gladesmiddle.dadeschools.net
• Sciencebuddies.org
• Science.dadeschools.net
• Every Thursday after school to 430 there will be
  a Science Fair Clinic to help your child.
• All projects are due NOVEMBER 26, 2007