• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Feels Like Home™ logo

  • Shop
    • Christianity Downloads
    • Family Downloads
    • Food & Cooking Downloads
    • Hobbies & Crafts Downloads
    • Learning Downloads
  • Blog
  • Family
    • Parenting
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Kids activities
      • Kids Crafts
      • Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers
      • Christmas Crafts for Kids
      • Christmas Crafts for Tweens & Teens
    • Learning
      • Reading & Writing
      • STEM
  • Faith
    • Bible Study
    • Encouragement
  • Recipes
    • Comfort Food
    • Eating after Bariatric Surgery
    • Gluten-Free
    • Recipes for Foodie Kids
    • Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals
  • Health
    • Mental Health
      • Hobbies & Crafts
      • Self-Care
    • Physical Health
      • Bariatric Surgery
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • SHOP
  • RECIPES
  • FAMILY
  • FAITH
  • HEALTH
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    See More:   Elementary Aged Kids Learning STEM Teens & Tweens

    Last Modified: May 23, 2022 by Tara Ziegmont 4 Comments

    Teaching the Scientific Method & a Free Printable

    11FacebookMessenger1.9kPinterestTwitterWhatsAppEmail
    1.9k
    SHARES

    Earlier in July, I posted a terrific article (if I do say so myself) on the science behind slime and all the cool lessons and activities you could do to teach real science concepts like viscosity and non-Newtonian fluids. Buried in that post was this printable, and I was afraid it might get lost in the sliminess.

    So, below is the section from that post explaining what the scientific method is and how it can guide any experiment you do or answer (almost) any question you and your kids have about a sciencey subject.

    I love the scientific method, and when I was a high school science teacher, I used a paper airplane lab to teach the steps.

    The Scientific Method

    The scientific method is the backbone of all science. It's the general set of steps that all scientists and researchers follow in order to learn new stuff about the world, although it is fluid and flexible and sometimes done in a different order. But essentially, here's what happens:

    1. Observe a situation.
    2. Identify a problem or question. What do you want to learn or answer?
    3. Research the problem or question, possible causes and factors that could affect it. What do you already know or can you learn from others' work?
    4. Write a hypothesis or educated guess based on the information you have. What do you predict will happen?
    5. Create an experiment to test the hypothesis. Use this opportunity to talk about variables and trials (explained below).
    6. Observe and analyze the results. What happened?
    7. Draw conclusions. What did you learn? Was your hypothesis proved or disproved?
    8. Report your results.

    Then you start over, tweaking your hypothesis given the new information that you have. You might repeat this process four or five times or even more depending on your experiment and variables.

    I created this free scientific method printable that you can grab and fill out with your kids.

    A scientific method worksheetPin

    Hint: a great way to write the question in the beginning is to follow this format:

    What effect will ___________ have on___________?

    Variables

    Variables are things that change during an experiment. Part of designing an effective experiment is identifying and manipulating the variables. Independent variables are variables that you can control, such as the amount of glue or the amount of water. Dependent variables are variables that change as the independent variables change, such as the stickiness of the slime you create. Finally, controlled variables (or "controls") are the variables that never change, such as the combination of ingredients used (you would change the amounts of the ingredients, but each batch of slime would use the same list of ingredients.).

    In a well-designed and simple experiment, you would only have one independent variable. You might want to test the effect of water on the slime, so you try several different recipes using different amounts of water, but you don't vary the amount of glue or borax at all. Or perhaps you want to test the effect of borax on the slime, so you do several different recipes, each with a different amount of borax, while keeping the amount of glue and the amount of water constant.

    Trials

    A trial is one run of an experiment. In some experiments, only one trial can be performed, but to get the best results, you often will do at least three trials with identical situations. For example, in the paper airplane lab below, you would get results if you flew each airplane one time. However, if you threw each airplane three times and took the average of the three results, you would have a much more reliable picture of the airplane's true behavior.

    In the slime example, it doesn't make much sense to make each recipe three times. That would be a waste of your materials as, presumably, if you use the same recipe each time, the results will be the same.

    Check out more cool STEM activities in the STEM index!

    11FacebookMessenger1.9kPinterestTwitterWhatsAppEmail
    1.9k
    SHARES

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Sara says

      June 19, 2019 at 7:28 pm

      Thank you so much for the free printable. I'm printing this blog post as well for my own reference while teaching the scientific method to my second-grader.

      Reply
    2. P. Officer says

      August 31, 2022 at 6:34 am

      Thanks for the template

      Reply
    3. Lisa Gonzalez says

      February 27, 2023 at 12:07 am

      This was just what I needed for my Intermediate level Science class. Thank you!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Tara.

    Harrisburg PA mom blogger Tara Ziegmont
    I'm passionate about helping women to care for themselves and their families by offering a combination of easy & delicious recipes, family fun ideas, and Christian inspiration. If you're tired of feeling so weary and uninspired, you're in good company.

    If you don’t like cooking or don’t think you can cook, you're in the right place. Feels Like Home is all about simple recipes, and I promise you, ANYONE can make them! No one will ever question your cooking ability again.

    I'm so glad you're here!

    Read more about me...

    Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram LinkedIn email me subscribe

    Recent posts:

    Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats with blue cheese crumbles, diced celery, and homemade ranch dressing

    Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

    homemade Cracker Jacks copycat caramel corn with peanuts

    Homemade Cracker Jacks - Copycat Caramel Corn with Peanuts Recipe

    a close up of the best pear crisp recipe

    The Very Best Pear Crisp Recipe

    the best keto salad dressing - creamy lemon dressing

    The Best Keto Salad Dressing - Creamy Lemon Dressing

    AS SEEN ON

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Popular Recipes


    OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE


    WORLD'S BEST CHILI WITH BACON


    COULDN'T BE EASIER CHERRY PIE


    BLT SALAD WITH LEMON MAYO DRESSING


    CHEESEBURGER SOUP FROM TASTE OF HOME

    Food with an Instant Pot in the background

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    As seen on

    a list of the websites where Tara Ziegmont has been featured

    Contact Tara


    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy.

    Copyright © 2022 Feels Like Home Blog

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Do not sell my personal information.
    SettingsAccept
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT