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Science experiments for high school students?

Elementary School Science Experiments

  • I teach a group of 4-6th grade ESL upper intermediate level students in Korea. Once a month, we do a science lesson. I have approximately 40 minutes. I'm looking for tried and true experiments I can do within that time restriction. These have to be something that has a testable hypothesis, not just a demonstration. This is a new thing in the elementary program at our school. I've been doing science with the pre-K/K students all year. But that is more demonstration/worksheet/minibook based. As an example, the first science lesson I did the best food for yeast. We had three baggies with water and yeast. One had sugar added and one had salt added. The third had nothing added. The students had to form a hypothesis and then write their results and conclusions. I have Googled and I will continue to do so. I'm thinking along the lines of affect of exercise/relaxation on heart rate. Or maybe acid/base or starch indicators. Seasoned elementary school (or middle/high school) teachers please help this ESL teacher be a good science teacher.

  • Answer:

    Let the kids run an experiment testing for the existence of ESP. You could use homemade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zener_cards, or just a deck of regular playing cards, or whatever method is handy. The students write their hypotheses: ESP exists, or it doesn't. Then one kid guesses cards while another keeps score; then they switch sides. Then, look at the scores and ask: are any of these significantly better than we'd expect by pure chance? (Make sure that each trial consists of enough guesses to get a large enough sample.) Be prepared for the outcome that one or two of the students *do* score significantly better than chance. The proper answer there, of course, is: "That's an interesting result; can we repeat it?"

kathrynm at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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Could you break it into 2 20 minute sessions on different days? Since you already introduced microbiology with the yeast, swabbing a couple of agar plates might be fun--what's got more bacteria on it, our shoes or hands? The door handle or the pencil box? Etc. Lemon/pickle batteries are fun and if you get a voltmeter you can compare hooking them up in parallel vs. in series. Something a little more engineering--everyone gets a set number of gumdrops and toothpicks (or comparable local equivalents) and has to build a weight-bearing structure, or try to make the longest cantilever. Drawing out a design beforehand can be a reasonable hypothesis-forming step. Looking for starches with iodine solution. I think I either did those as a kid of about that age or have since done them with kids, and they're all fun.

tchemgrrl

I have friends who work with the outreach center here at Cornell Center of Materials Research. They provide lesson plans designed by http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/modules/ and also by http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/modules/retmodules.html.

bread-eater

Gah. I should note my undergrad degree was a double major in psychology and combined sciences (bio/chem/physics/math) but undergrad was *mumble* years ago and doesn't directly help me with the education aspect. I'm comfortable reading scientific literature and distilling it down to the students' reading level.

kathrynm

Maybe try getting hold of a copy of a book like http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580625576/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ (maybe get family or friends to mail you a copy.) A lot of books like this are designed with experiments that only require normal household items.

gudrun

Could you get your hands on some litmus paper? I remember testing acids and bases being pretty cool around that age. You could also have them 'dissect' flowers, fruits, veg and that sort of thing for a biology lesson.

Caravantea

I remember when the Mythbusters did Diet Coke and Mentos, they theorized about what different things in the Mentos and/or the Diet Coke might be causing the big spray, and tested different combinations. Wikipedia says: "A 2006 episode of the television show MythBusters concluded that the caffeine, potassium benzoate, aspartame, and CO2 gas contained in the Diet Coke, in combination with the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos, all contribute to the jet effect." You could test Diet Coke, caffeine-free Diet Coke, regular Coke (no aspartame), let the soda get flat so it has no CO2 gas ... have them hypothesize about which will make the biggest jet and why. Fun AND messy. I imagine you can get the Coke products in Korea, and maybe have Mentos mailed to you by family from the US? (After that, chase poprocks with soda and see if your stomachs actually explode. :) )

Eyebrows McGee

I forgot about the diet coke/mentos thing. It'll have to wait until spring. It's COLD in Daejeon right now :( I've ordered that book plus a similar one. Hopefully those will give me some ideas as well. Sadly, I can't break the unit across weeks. We have a set curriculum (writing/cooking/debate/science) for each Monday of each month. Thanks everyone!!!

kathrynm

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