Getting Started...

Getting started with the science fair project may seem overwhelming, but as a class we are going to take it in steps.  The most important part is to stay on top of it!  Last week, we began brainstorming different ideas and I asked the students to come up with two possible ideas that they were interested in.  This week, we are going to focus on morphing those ideas into projects that can be investigated to collect data an compare the impact of changes made to a setting.
Today, we are going to discuss that before you can create your question and hypothesis you have to know what your variables are.  Independent variable is what you change in the experiment.  Dependent variable is what you observe or measure.  Finally, your control variable is what stays the same to help you control your experiment.
You question and hypothesis needs to include your independent and dependent variable in some way.
Lastly, we are going to talk about appropriate ways to set up your procedures.  Procedures are the backbone of your science fair project.  They help to stabilize and give purpose.  Procedures need to be specific!!! Details, details, details.  Here are some things to think about:

1. Be specific with measurements or sizes.  If you are adding water to a cup, include exactly how much 20 mL for example
2. Each step should be a short complete sentence. (capital letters, periods)
3. Don't skip any step no matter how important you think it is.  You write a procedure so that someone else could complete your experiment without you being there to tell them or show them how to do it.
4. Finally, as an 8th grade science fair experiment, I require a diagram to be part of your procedure.  A diagram is a visual image that helps to give your audience and better understanding of what you are doing.  The diagram needs to be labeled.