Description
In this lesson, students will be using origami frogs to learn about the components of the Scientific Method.
Objectives
Following the lesson, students will be able to
Cognitive -
- Define the term hypothesis
- List the parts of scientific method
- Write a hypothesis statement, given a scientific question
- Write a procedure for a given hypothesis statement
Affective -
- Offer opinions on what to write for question or hypothesis statements
- Communicate with teacher effectively
Pyschomotor -
- Draw a data table
- Fold each of three different sized frogs
- Measure the distance each frog hops accurately
Duration
5-7 class periods, approximately 46 minutes in length
Materials / Web Resources
Computer with PowerPoint and SMART Notebook Software, SMART Board, projector, Internet access, class sets of 3 different sized squares of paper, rulers
Procedure
On Day 1 of the lesson, the students will be working with the teacher using the PowerPoint for Day 151. The students and the teacher will be working to create the Question, Hypothesis, Materials, and Variables section of a lab form. The students may want to investigate the size of the paper, the thickness of the paper, or the method of folding. Also on this day, the students will be starting to make their first frog.
On Day 2 of the lesson, students will be working with the teacher using the PowerPoint for Day 152. During this lesson, the students and the teacher will be working to create the Procedure and Data Table necessary for the lab. The students most likely will need four columns on the Data Table, one for each of 3 frogs and one for the number of trials (>5). Also on this day, the students will be finishing their first frog and making frog number 2.
On Day 3 of the lesson, the students will be working with the teacher using the PowerPoint for Day 153. The students will be looking at possible sources of error and how the folding of the frog factors into the lab. The students will be also making their last frog. It is possible that the students may move on to Day 4 activities if time permits.
On Day 4, the students will be working with the teacher using the PowerPoint for Day 154 to finish the lab with the Conclusion. Using the questions, the students will perform the lab and then answer the questions based on what they observe and measure.
On Day 5, the teacher will be using the Assessment Tool provided to assess student learning.
Assessment
Students will be assessed using the following assessment tool:
Scientific Method Assessment Tool
Support Materials
Click on the links below to see the supporting PowerPoint presentations:
Day 151Day 152Day 153Day 154
SMART Board
The preceding content was done with the use of a SMART Board and projector. In the absence of a SMART Board, you may make copies of articles and the instruction sheets for folding the frogs. Also, you may use an overhead to do the "fill in" section in the PowerPoint presentations.
