8th Grade Science Fair Project Calendar 2015-16
Date
Activities and Learning Goals
Students need
to complete
Week of 10/5
-Introduce Science Fair Projects
-Review Log Books
-Students come up with a question
-Research Topic
-Review information from websites that will
eventually go into a bibliography
-Complete Research
-Review MLA format for online resources (MLA
Bibliography Format Handout)
-Proposal
-Research Plan
Worksheet
-Bibliography
Worksheet
Week of 10/12
Week of 10/19
10/26
Research Due
Week of 10/26
-Construct a purpose and hypothesis
-Design an experiment; materials list and procedures
Week of 11/2
Begin Experiment
(Set Up Experiment/ Take photos/ draw diagrams)
Continue Experiment
(Collect Data/Take photos/ draw diagrams)
Continue Experiment
(Collect Data/ Take photos/ draw diagrams)
Continue Experiment
(Collect Data/ Take photos/ draw diagrams)
Week of 11/9
Week of 11/16
Week of 11/23
11/30
Log Book Due
Week of 11/30
Week of 12/7
Analyze Data and Write Conclusions
Write Up Experiment
12/11
12/18
Rough Draft Due
Final Draft Due
-Write 300 word
summary of
research
-Write Bibliography
Write Purpose,
Hypothesis,
Materials, and
Procedures in Log
Record Data in Log
Record Data in Log
Record Data in Log
Record Data in Log
Record Data in Log
Type Rough Draft of
Write-Up
8th Grade Science Fair Project Due Dates and Grading Rubrics
Research Grade: Due 10/26/15
Includes: Proposal, Research Plan Worksheet, Bibliography Worksheets with Research on Back,
Summary of Research (300 words or less), and Bibliography
*Lessons and handouts will be provided in class to help with this process.
*Summary of Research and Bibliography should be uploaded to your Science Fair Wiki site.
Rubric:
Element
Proposal
Research Plan
Worksheet
Bibliography
Worksheets
Summary of
Research
Bibliography
Description
Worksheet Completed and signed by parent
Worksheet Completed
Possible Points
10
10
Bibliography information completed and relevant research from the
website listed on the back. A minimum of 5 are required for full credit. (4
points each)
A one or two paragraph summary of the research was written in 300
words or less. Writing should be concise and should remain on topic of
the investigation at all times.
All websites used need to be properly cited using MLA format for online
resources. A minimum of 5 resources should be used.
20
40
20
TOTAL = 100 points
Log Book Grade: Due 11/30/15
Includes: All ideas relating to the construction of the purpose, hypothesis, materials list,
procedures, data collection (observations, images, diagrams, data tables), analysis of data
(charts & graphs), and conclusion.
*The log book may be simply white lined paper stapled together or a composition book may be
purchased.
*Images and photos must be secured in log book with tape or glue stick.
Rubric:
Element
Steps of the
Scientific Method
Log Date Entries
Images/Photos
Data
Description
All steps are clearly identified (i.e. Purpose, Hypothesis, Materials,
Procedure, etc.)
All log entries or data collected are dated with Month-Day- Year.
Process is clearly documented through images and/or photos
Multiple data entries were collected throughout experimentation process.
Possible Points
10
10
20
30
TOTAL = 70 points
Rough Draft Write-Up: Due 12/11/15
Includes: All parts of the scientific method (Purpose, hypothesis, materials, procedure, etc.)
written in a formal document.
* The Rough Draft needs to be uploaded to your Science Fair Wikiproject Site.
Rubric: Checking for completion of each element only.
Element
Purpose
Variables
Hypothesis
Materials
Procedure
Data Collection
Analysis of Data
Conclusion
Description
Possible
Points
5
One sentence describing the reason for doing the experiment.
Identify independent, dependent, controlled/constant variables
One sentence predicting the outcome of the experiment.
A list of materials needed for the experiment.
A list of procedures needed to perform the experiment.
Data organized into data tables.
Graphs and/or charts used to help analyze the data. Written
summary of graph.
A paragraph describing the outcome of the experiment and any
conclusions drawn. Use RERUN.
5
5
5
5
5
10
10
TOTAL = 50 points
Final Draft Write-Up: Due 12/18/15
Includes: All steps of the scientific method written in a formal document.
* The Final Draft needs to be uploaded to your Science Fair Wikiproject Site.
Rubric: Assessing scientific content contained in each element.
Element
Purpose
Variables
Hypothesis
Materials
Procedure
Data Collection
Analysis of Data
Conclusion
Description
One sentence describing the reason for doing the experiment.
Identify independent, dependent, controlled/constant variables
One sentence predicting the outcome of the experiment.
A list of materials needed for the experiment.
A list of procedures needed to perform the experiment.
A log of all data collected during the experiment with dates of
entry.
Graphs and/or charts used to help analyze the data. Written
summary of graph.
A paragraph describing the outcome of the experiment and any
conclusions drawn. Use RERUN.
Possible
Points
5
5
5
5
5
25
20
30
TOTAL = 100 points