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Sabtu, 01 Juni 2013

Inquiry-Based Science Activities

Inquiry-Based Science Activities

Inquiry-based science activities allow pupils to engage in experimentation similar to that of real scientists. Through these activities, teachers can encourage their students to expand their critical thinking skills and use their logic to derive answers to scientific quandaries. Because inquiry-based activities so closely approximate actual scientific experimentation, they are effective in preparing students to take higher-level science courses or to enter the field of science.

Float or Sink

    Engage your students in a float-or-sink inquiry-based activity by leading them into a discussion of the concept of density. Gather an assortment of objects made of different materials and several large buckets. Divide your students into groups and give each group a bucket full of water to use in their experimenting. Instruct each group to select several objects from the assortment you have gathered and then take the objects to their bucket and decide, as a group, whether they think each object will float or sink. Have the children record their guesses on notebook paper, then drop the objects, one at a time, into the water. Instruct students to record whether their guesses were accurate and hypothesize why each object floated or sank. Finally, explain the concept of density so that the class can understand why the objects behaved the way they did.

Color and Heat

    Set up a color and heat experiment to determine what impact color has on heat attraction. Select one type of fabric and buy it in several colors; using the same fabric ensures that different fabrics won't muddy the results. Ask the students to hypothesize which color would absorb the most heat when set in the sun. Record their opinions and discuss their reasoning. Then wrap a thermometer in each piece of fabric and set the fabric bundles in a window. After several hours, check the thermometers to see which colors drew the most heat and record the answers.

Plant Diet

    Engage students in a Plant Diet inquiry-based activity to determine what plants like to eat. Purchase one small plant of the same type for each student. Label the plants with the students' names and place them in a sunny window. Have each student pick a "diet" to feed his plant. One student may choose to feed his plant soda, while another picks orange juice and yet another water mixed with plant food. Store each students' plant food in a jug marked with his name and feed the plant a serving of this food daily. Monitor the plants and determine which diet they seem to prefer.

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