How I, Ceanlia Vermeulen present to you how to be an inovative facilitator

1. Work Schedule: Science Expo 2008
GRADE 7V
My work schedule is a term long programme that shows how teaching, learning and assessment will be sequences and paced in grade 7.
How to Develop a Science Expo Project
Grade Main Integratio Content / Main learning activities Types of assessment
7 Learning n with Context included
TERM: Outcomes other
2 and learning
Assessment areas
Standards
INTRO LA:- NS: LA: EMS: Introduction Introduction to lesson series: Step-by-Step Procedure:
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 – 4 to Science Ask:
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Project 1. Why Do a Science Expo Project??? --- Doing a Before introducing an important
LA: LO: science expo project will give you a chance to use the new concept, subject, or topic
LO: 3 – 5 skills of investigation and experimentation. You will be in the course syllabus, consider
able to choose a question of interest and then decide the what the students may already
LA: SS: best way to investigate in order to find a possible solution know about it. Recognizing that
LO: 1 - 3 to your question. their knowledge may be partial,
fragmentary, simplistic, or even
2. What is the Scientific Method??? --- The scientific incorrect, try to find at lease
method is a series of steps which you will follow in order one point that most students
to find a solution to your question. These steps will help are likely to know, and use that
you organize your work and make it possible for others to point to lead into others, less
copy your procedures. familiar points.
Step 1:
Ask learners to define the role of the science report in a
science expo project. Begin a discussion about why it's
important for science expo participants to not only create
an informative and attractive presentation, but also to

2. detail their information, ideas, and research in a science
report.
Step 2:
Go to the Writing with Scientists site.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/sciencewriting/
Read aloud the first page to introduce the students to Dr.
Susan Perkins, a microbiologist at the American Museum
of Natural History in New York City and the site host.
Explain that students will follow the same steps
professional scientists take when preparing a report for
publication.
Step 3:
Students will now hear Dr. Perkins story. Either as a class
or in small groups, click the orange quot;startquot; button and then
click the quot;playquot; button in the Scientist at Work section
located on the right panel of each of the six steps on the
site. Students can read along as they listen.
Step 4:
Ask students to share what they found interesting or
informative about Dr. Perkins' story.
Explain to students that along with their written science
report, oral presentation is another important way they will
express themselves and their ideas at the science expo.
For this project, they will be the presenters, much in the
same way they will present their science expo projects.
DEMO LA:- NS: LA: EMS: What is a Prior to holding a science expo, observe Dr. Govender’s Minute Paper, stops class two
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 & 3 Science demonstrations and projects. or three minutes early and asks
LO:2 AS: 1:1-2 Expo? During this activity, Dr. Govender emphasize’s different students to respond briefly to
LO:3 AS: 1:1-1 LA: LO: Why have a aspects of the processes and skills of science and quot;What was the most important
LO: 3 – 5 Science integrate grade-appropriate vocabulary. thing you learned during this
Expo? class?quot; and quot;What important
LA: SS: After Dr. Govender’s demonstrations, the learners are all question remains

3. LO: 1 - 3 excited to start with their expo experiments. unanswered?quot;
What we need to do…
All expo’s start with a team and a timeline. Once you
have your team in place, with the expo date work
backwards.
Project types include experiment, innovation or study.
Project Divisions may include: life science, physical
science, earth and space science, computer science,
engineering and so on.
Step: 1 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 1: Question Matrix: “GAME” Prepare two or three open-
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 & 3 Select a ended questions, a handful of
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Topic Area The first step in selecting a topic for your science expo short-answer questions, or ten
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO: project is to decide on a topic that interests you. to twenty multiple-choice
LO: 3 – 5 questions that will probe the
Use Vocabulary Builder Software students' existing knowledge of
LA: SS: [© 2007 Insynch Solutions] that concept, subject, or topic.
LO: 1 - 3 for word flashing to help learners formulate questions These questions need to be
about an issue or topic that engages them. carefully phrased, since a
Flash a question and use it to design his/her question. vocabulary that may not be
They can then ask other learners to answer them. familiar to the students can
obscure your assessment of
Is Your Topic Acceptable? how well they know the facts or
concepts.
Use the checklist to see if your topic is a good one for a
science project.
Go to the Writing with Scientists site.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/sciencewriting/
Groups should have access to the Writing with Scientists
site. If this is not possible, print out one set of steps 1-5
for each learner’s use. Use step 1 w/s with learners.
For those learners with little/or no resources, I’ll help them
after-school and weekend. The following is available.

4. Activities and Procedures:
Related URL's:
To begin their research for the science fair we will spend
1 - 1 hour session examining what procedures should be
taken to create a successful project. These sites go over
the fundamentals on how to work through experiments
and how to set up a science fair project. There are also
links to other sites to get more information.
Getting started -
http://atlas.ksc.nasa.gov/education/general/scifair.html
http://www.ipl.org/youth/projectguide/
During this session examine the following sites to get
ideas for your project. Read and take notes as you may
take a number of ideas to actually come up with what you
want to do.
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/teachers/mathproject.html
http://www.csee.usf.edu/~rundus/madpages/scifair.html
http://www.halcyon.com/sciclub/cgi-
pvt/scifair/guestbook.html
http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio
/ideas.html
http://idea.startribune.com/idea/cgi-bin/link?cNum=23
http://www.smm.org/sln/tf/nav/tfatoz.html
During this session you will have a chance to start
researching your subject. You will need information about
your topic for your background information.
http://nyelabs.kcts.org/openNyeLabs.html
http://www.mts.net/~jgreenco/student.html
http://www.askanexpert.com/
http://www.ajkids.com/
http://www.gowrie.k12.ia.us/highsch/latta/lattapag.shtml#s
cience
http://www.banyantree.org/cgi-
bin/listApps.pl?Science&Resource
Once you have gathered all of your background
information you will take the requirements given to you by

5. your English teacher and science teacher and type your
report. You will be given at least 3 - 1 hours sessions to
type your report, make your graphs, and do any other
work you need for your display/project.
Step: 2 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 2: After you find the general subject you want to research for Jot down a quick response to
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 & 3 Identifying your science expo project, you have to narrow down your one question: quot;What was the
LA: LO: the Problem topic to a specific question or problem. muddiest point in ........?quot;
LO: 3 – 5 Go to the library, or do other research to find a more
LA: SS: specific area.
LO: 1 - 3
Step: 3 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 3: Your background information should include the following Write your open-ended
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Collect kinds of information: questions on the chalkboard,
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 LA: LO: Background or hand out short
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 – 5 Information a. History - Has any work already been done on your questionnaires. Direct student
LA: SS: topic, and what was learned? to answer open-ended
LO: 1 - 3 questions succinctly, in two or
b. Significance - How is your topic important to us, or three sentences if possible.
how does it make an important contribution to the world Make a point of announcing
around us? that these Background
Knowledge Probes are not
c. Facts - What facts are known about the topic and tests or quizzes and will not be
related terms? Define all terms and concepts included in graded. Encourage students to
your project. How are the topics/variables related? give thoughtful answers that
will help you make effective
instructional decisions.
d. Method - What are ways that this topic can be
investigated?
If there’s time: visit:
http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~suchii/holmes_1.html
Step: 4 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 4: Hypothesis: What do you think will happen?
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 – 3 Developing a A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Hypothesis work.
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO: Your hypothesis should be something that you can
LO: 3 – 5 actually test, what's called a testable hypothesis. In other
words, you need to be able to measure both quot;what you

6. LA: SS: doquot; and quot;what will happen.quot;
LO: 1 - 3
Visit:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_hypothesis.shtml
Open:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_hypothesis.shtml?gclid=CMq-
6aufupQCFQtsugodYj-gSw
Printout w/s:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_variables_hypothesis_worksheet.pdf
Hypotheses worksheet:
Write own hypotheses using the example [w/s or memory-
stick for home use].
When you write your own hypothesis you can leave out
the part in the above examples that is in brackets [ ].
Step: 5 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 5: Discuss points a-e with examples. Group Discussion
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 1 & 3 Creating
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 LA: LO: your a. An explanation of all project variables
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 – 5 Experimental b. A description of all groups
Design c. The size of the sample groups.
LA: SS: d. At least one repetition
LO: 1 - 3 e. The step-by-step procedure.
Step: 6 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 6: Write the procedure as you do the steps of a lab. Working as quickly as you can,
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Writing a Be very specific; don't assume that the reader knows how answer the questions quot;Who
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 LA: LO: Step-by-step much, how many, or how long. Read your procedure to Did/Does What to Whom,
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 – 5 Procedure someone who doesn't know what you are doing. Ask When, Where, How and Why?quot;
them if they know enough to quot;doquot; the experiment. Use in relation to that topic.
LA: SS: their questions to revise your procedure.
LO: 1 - 3 Write the experimental procedure like a step-by-step
recipe for your science experiment. A good procedure is

7. so detailed and complete that it lets someone else
duplicate your experiment exactly!
w/s:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-
projects/project_experimental_procedure.shtml
Step: 7 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 7: This should be a complete list of all materials including List
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Developing details and amounts.
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 LA: LO: the Materials Do page: 3
LO: 3 – 5 List BOOKLET: “STEP BY STEP TO THE SCIENCE FAIR:
THE JOURNAL”
LA: SS:
LO: 1 - 3
Step: 8 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 8: To see if your procedure works and if you will get the kind Teach it to someone else
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Collecting of data you need, do a short run of your experiment.
LO:2 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO: Preliminary Show the data to the teacher, and make any revisions in
LO: 3 - 5 Data your procedure required.
Step: 9 LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 9: This is the heart and real fun of your project: doing what Record = Journal
LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Collecting you've been planning for so long. There is a tendency to
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 LA: LO: your Data hurry or to forget to record everything that happens, even
LO: 3 – 5 data from tests that seem to not work. So many projects
are ruined because data is lost or good records are not
LA: SS: kept. To judges, your records and data are the most
LO: 1 - 3 impressive part of your project.
Step: LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 10: The key to starting to interpret or analyze your data is a Data Table
10 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 LA: Making a good Data Table.
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 EMS: Data Table
LO: 3
LA: LO:
LO: 3 - 5
Step: LA:- NS: STEP 11: When organizing data into tables and graphs, always be Data
11 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 Analyzing sure to label columns/axes correctly and include units of
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 your Data measurement.
Step: LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 12: In this section you will discuss what your data shows; it Peer: Discussion
12 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Writing the is not the conclusion. Things you will need to discuss
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Discussion include:
LA: LO: Section

8. LO: 3 – 5
- Does your data show a relationship or reveal some
LA: SS: pattern?
LO: 1 - 3
- Is there a significant difference between your 2 groups?
- What possible sources of error are there?
Step: LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 13: In this section you will discuss what your project is Peer: Discussion
13 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Writing the proving.
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Conclusion
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO:
LO: 3 – 5
LA: SS:
LO: 1 - 3
Step: LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 14: The abstract is the summary of your entire project. Random checking
14 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Writing an
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 Abstract
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO:
LO: 3 – 5
LA: SS:
LO: 1 - 3
Step: LA:- NS: LA: EMS: STEP 15: See: BOOKLET: “STEP BY STEP TO THE SCIENCE Individual skill demonstration &
15 LO:1 AS: 1:1-3 LO: 3 Creating FAIR: THE JOURNAL” explanations
LO:2 AS: 1:1-4 your Display
LO:3 AS: 1:1-3 LA: LO:
LO: 3 – 5
LA: SS:
LO: 1 - 3