The Scientific
Method
Fourth Grade
What to Expect
O You will have 5 days of active instruction on
the scientific method.
O You will have 1 review day after we complete
instruction.
O You will take a quiz on what you have
learned. You will be creating study tools
along the way. Let’s get started!
Day One
In your groups, you will conduct an experiment.
Guess
O There is a legend that says that you cannot
fold a paper in half more than 7 times.
O Do you think it can be done? Discuss with
your group if you think you can fold a piece
of paper in half more than 7 times. Write
your guess down on a piece of paper. You
have 5 minutes to make your prediction.
Experiment
O In your table groups, you have three types of
paper: copy paper, construction paper, and
tissue paper. Work together to see if you can
fold each type of paper in half more than 7
times.
O You have 15 minutes. Remember…the paper
must be folded in HALF each time.
Results
O Raise your hand if you were able to fold the
construction paper in half more than 7
times.
O Raise your hand if you were able to fold the
copy paper in half more than 7 times.
O Raise your hand if you were able to fold the
tissue paper in half more than 7 times.
O Discuss the results with your group. Write
down why you think you had these results.
You have 15 minutes.
Steps
O What steps did you take to fold each paper?
Did you fold it hot dog style or hamburger
style first? Which paper type did you start
with?
O In your groups, write down your steps for
each type of paper. You have 20 minutes.
Research
O Watch this video to see the Myth Busters
fold a paper more than 7 times…
Myth Busters Paper Folding
Conclusion
O Why do you think you were
successful/unsuccessful?
O Discuss this question with your group and
write it down. You have 10 minutes.
Day Two
O What is the Scientific Method?
O The Scientific Method is a way to ask and
answer scientific questions by making
observations and doing experiments.
O The steps of the Scientific Method are:
1. Ask a question
2. Do background research
3. Construct a hypothesis
4. Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment
5. Analyze your data and draw a conclusion
6. Communicate your results
What is a fair test?
O It is important for your experiment to be a
“fair test”. A fair test occurs when you
change only one factor (variable) and all
other aspects of the experiment are the
same (constant).
O What was our variable in yesterday’s
activity? What were the constants? Turn and
Talk with your group. You have 5 minutes to
discuss.
Why?
O The Scientific Method is an ongoing process,
which usually begins with observations
about the natural world. As humans, we love
to ask questions about the world around us!
O Why do I need to learn about the Scientific
Method? Fourth graders are required to
participate in the Science Fair. We are
teaching you how to conduct your
experiment here at school so that you can
be prepared to complete it at home.
Key Words
O Purpose – state the problem
O Analysis – record the results of the experiment
O Hypothesis – predict the outcome of the
problem
O Conclusion – compare the hypothesis to the
results
O Research – find out about the topic
O Experiment – develop a procedure to test the
hypothesis
Activity
O You are going to create a fact flipper to help
you remember the key words you have
learned in this lesson.
O You will need: scissors, glue, and a pencil.
O The teacher will demonstrate how to
construct your fact flipper. Make sure you
pay attention!
Day Three
O Breaking it down!
The Question
O The Scientific Method starts with a question
(purpose). This might be based on an
observation you have made or a particular
topic that interests you. Think about what
you hope to discover during your
investigation. What question would you like
to answer? Your question needs to be about
something you can measure and will
typically start as what, when, where, how, or
why.
Background Research
O Talk to adults and use resources (e.g.,
books, internet) to perform background
research on your question. Gathering
information now will help you prepare for the
next step in the Scientific Method.
Hypothesis
O A hypothesis is an “educated guess”. Using
your background research and current
knowledge, make an educated guess that
answers your question. Your hypothesis
should be a simple statement that
expresses what you think will happen.
Experiment
O Create a step-by-step procedure (or process)
and conduct an experiment that tests your
hypothesis. The experiment should be a fair
test that changes only one variable at a time
while keeping everything else the same.
Repeat the experiment a number of times to
ensure your original results weren’t an
accident.
Data
O Collect data and record the progress of your
experiment. Document results with detailed
measurements, descriptions, and
observations in the form of notes, journal
entries, photos, charts, and graphs.
Observations
O Describe the observations you made during
your experiment. Include information that
could have affected your results such as
errors, environmental factors, and
unexpected surprises.
Conclusions
O Analyze the data you collected and
summarize your results in written form. Use
your analysis to answer your original
question, do the results of your experiment
support or oppose your hypothesis?
Communication
O Present your findings in an appropriate form,
whether it’s a final report for a scientific
journal, a poster for school, or a display
board for a science fair competition.
Activity
O We are going to do an experiment!
O Question: “Will this ball bounce higher on
the tile floor or the carpet floor?”
O Turn and Talk to a neighbor in your group.
What do you think the answer to the
question is?
O In your groups, develop a hypothesis. You
have five minutes to create a one-sentence
prediction.
Activity
O We are going to conduct a very brief
experiment to test our hypothesis and find
an answer to our question!
O Each group needs one note-taker.
O I am going to bounce the ball three times on
each surface. The note-takers will write
down what they observe.
O We will record our results on the board.
Constants vs. Variables
O Remember, we need to conduct a “fair test”.
O Constants – keep everything the same; also
commonly referred to as the control
O What are some constants we can keep in
our experiment?
O Variable – pick ONE thing to change
O What can our variable be in our experiment?
Conclusion
O Look at the results of our experiment. Did
the results match your team’s hypothesis?
O Turn and Talk in your groups to compare the
results to the hypothesis. You have 5
minutes.
Day Four
O Today, we are going to dig a little deeper!
O Let’s watch a video to help us remember the
steps of the Scientific Method!
O The Scientific Method Rap
Key Vocabulary
O Model – smaller objects built to represent larger
O
O
O
O
objects
Procedure – a series of steps in an experiment
Observation – the use of your senses to obtain
data from your environment
Predict – to forecast or generalize about future
events
Reaction – a response to a treatment, solution,
or stimulus
Activity
O You will create another fact flipper with your
new vocabulary.
O You will need scissors, glue, a pencil, and
you may want coloring supplies for the
illustrations.
O This time, you will need to match the
vocabulary word by gluing it under the
correct definition flap.
O You may use the previous slide to assist you.
Day Five
O Review The Scientific Method Rap (see slide
27)
O Review the steps of the Scientific Method
Turn and Talk Time
O Turn and Talk to a partner in your group and discuss the
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
following questions. Write your answers on one piece of paper.
Your answers do NOT have to be in complete sentences this
time!
What do we call the steps used during an experiment?
What is the vocabulary word used to describe an educated
guess?
What is the part of an experiment that is not being tested
and is used for comparison (stays the same, another word
for constant)?
What helps scientists make a hypothesis or collect data
during an experiment?
What is the first step of the scientific method?
What is the summary of an experiment and its results?
What is the information collected during an experiment?
Turn and Talk Answers
1. Processes OR Procedure
2. Hypothesis
3. Control
4. Observations
5. Problem
6. Conclusion
7. Data
Activity
O Complete The Scientific Method Crossword
Puzzle. This will be for a classwork grade.
You will need to complete this
independently.
Day Six
O Let’s make sure we really understand!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
O If the statement is true, please hold your
thumb up. If the statement is false, please
hold your thumb down. Are you ready?
1. You must state the problem before
developing a procedure.
Answer: Thumbs Up!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
2. Measurement does not help scientists to
compare objects.
Answer: Thumbs Down! How else can
they tell if a plant grew faster in a certain type
of soil?
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
3. Your sense of smell helps you associate
odors with objects.
Answer: Thumbs Up!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
4. Scientists use current observations to
predict future events.
Answer: Thumbs Up! If it’s raining
today, it’s likely that it’ll rain again some time
in the future!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
5. Research is the fourth step in the scientific
method.
Answer: Thumbs Down! Research is the
second step in the scientific method!
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Last one!
6. The scientific experiment may also be called
the hypothesis.
Answer: Thumbs Down! The scientific
experiment may also be called the procedure.
Assessment Time
O Tomorrow, we will play a game to review
what you’ve learned about the Scientific
Method.
O The day after our review day, we will take a
quiz on what you’ve learned. Use your fact
flippers to help you study for the quiz!