Classroom Ideas

Formative Assessment #3 - Scientific Models

In the beginning of the school year, students are given the basic principles of science. This includes the scientific method, tools, lab safety, and MODELS. There are three types of models according to my Holt Science and Technology Book (soooo old) and this formative assessment helps to gather information that students have already learned in their prior grade levels without the assistance of their book. 

Try it out!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Formative-Assessment-Scientific-Models-830352

Organization Time!

Getting ready for the new school year means creating a binder, organizing my lessons, and getting my classroom ready for those wonderful students! This year, I created a calendar and binder set of chevron printables placed on teacherspayteachers.com. So far, I have created a chevron calendar, lesson planner, and inventory list. 

Here is an example of the chevron calendar:

The month of September can be downloaded for free on teacherspayteachers.com. Here is the link to download the free version:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Calendar-September-794395

 
The entire 12 month calendar can be purchased here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2013-2014-Chevron-School-Year-Calendar-796044

The Lesson Planner can be purchased here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Lesson-Planner-Page-796856

Finally, the inventory list, which is interactive, can be purchased here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Classroom-Inventory-List-814194

Formative Assessment - The Scientific Method

Students always come in each year with prior knowledge of the Scientific Method. The only problem is that they commonly forget how to apply these steps in an experimental form. Here is a FREE copy of the formative assessment I use to determine how much students know about creating an experiment based on the scientific method. There are two copies per page (to save paper of course!)

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Formative-Assessment-Applying-the-Scientific-Method-to-Experimental-Design-825614


It's a good idea to first have students reflect on their current knowledge of the scientific method. This can be brought about through a class discussion and possibly the class creation of the steps to the scientific method. 

Secondly, students can be given this formative assessment to determine their knowledge of applying their question (given to them) to the scientific method. This handout will show whether the student knows how to create a hypothesis and a solution to test their problem. Depending on the knowledge of the student(s), the teacher can proceed with explaining the experimental processes and continue through the steps of the scientific method.

If time permits, it would be a good idea for each group of students to actually do one of their created experiments so they can come up with their results!