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Science Projects were easier in elementary school. Back then, you could submit a model rocket, an egg sucked into a bottle, or a simple science report on electricity. It’s different in middle school. Middle School science teachers want creative ideas, specific elements, in depth research, and detailed logs of the whole science fair process.
Finding a middle school science project that meets all these criteria has always been a challenge for our family. Our teachers wanted an experiment based, investigative project for the science fair. There are five different types of science projects, but most of the books in the library had projects that were actually demonstrations or models. It’s very important that you read the directions from your teacher and/or the science fair, and make sure that the project your child chooses fits into the right category – especially in middle school.
Here are the five types of projects.
1. Investigative projects – Most science fairs require students to submit an investigative science project. This type of project has an experiment that tests an hypothesis. The experiment will follow the scientific method, and may require a control group. (If you’re unfamiliar with this vocabulary, check out the free resource below!)
An example of an investigative project would be “How does salt affect the boiling point of water?” This can easily be tested by our experiment which adds different amounts of salt to water and recording the temperature at which it boils.
If you see the words experiment, scientific method, control and/or variable on the project instructions, you’ll probably need an investigative project. As mentioned before, they’re not easy to find.
2. Demonstration projects – In this type of project a student demonstrate a scientific principle, and lots of time the teacher wants it presented in front of the class as an oral report. There is no true experiment performed, because there won’t be a control or different variables.
3. Research project – Basically this is a science report. Students research a topic, and write what they discovered. Any type of science topic can be used for a research project.
4. Models – For a model project, models are built to explain a scientific principle or structure.
5. Collections - In this type of project a collection of objects is displayed to give an overview of a topic. An example would be a rock collection or a display showing pictures of various animals in a specific family.
Every middle school science fair will have slightly different criteria for projects. As you search for a project, make sure it’s the type of project your school requires. If you need help, check out “The Non-Scientist Parent’s Guide to Science Fair Projects”, which has guides for all the different types of science projects – including the experiment based ones! There is a vocabulary list that gives simple definitions to those vocabulary words you learned in middle school, but promptly forgot.
Believe it or not, science projects are designed to help students learn about science. Figure out which type of project your school requires, and you’ll be one step closer to showing your child how much fun science can be!
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The Science curriculum is one of the most vital of subjects to understand as the realm of the Sciences intertwines with all the other core subjects necessary for a well-rounded and complete general education during the K-12 years. Nevertheless, fear not as there are simple, but detailed methods in place to help you select the best programs for your children and to enable them to apply the subjects of their Science curriculum to the many aspects of adult life after their home schooling is complete.
Before beginning to map out your children’s Science curriculum and its content, a few tasks need to be accomplished to ensure you find the best home school solutions for your child.
1. Determine your child’s grade placement – If previously in a public or private school, get the lesson plans, or at least subject areas, of their Science curriculum instruction before home schooling.
2. Determine who will be conducting the home school classes – If it is one parent or both, some other family member, or even a hired teacher. Since they are an integral part of home schooling and developing the Sciences curriculum, they need to be in the following steps in determining the curriculum or any other curriculum they may be teaching. If hiring an outside the family teacher, this will ensure they know your expectations of them.
3. Find the your state’s Board of Education (BOE) content guidelines for your child’s Science curriculum or one of the many home school websites that have full curriculums for your child’s grade level – Determine the content requirements for the coming year and the next three years of public education; example: if this is grade level 3, then also get the content guidelines for years 4 through 6. This information is necessary in developing the Science curriculum in the next step.
4. Compare at least three to five Science curriculum and home schooling sources for the course content requirements in Step 3. Find the sources that either somewhat overlap, refresh, or begin the next progression of the curriculum. This can be augmented by placement testing for the learning level. Placement tests are easily found through search engines and many are free to download. Some may contain tests for Bible studies, but the remainder of the tests helps determine your child’s knowledge level without reference to religious or secular factors. They also identify where your child is in relation to the BOE grade requirements before going to Step 5 in developing their Science curriculum program.
5. Evaluate the new Science curriculum progression for the next two to three school years, or four to six semesters, to make sure there is a smooth and logical progression in the content for the remaining years of their home school program. This process should be done each year to allow adjustments for new course content or revised curriculum requirements.
6. Select the best Science curriculum for your child’s home schooling program. Congratulations! You are now done with the easy part. Teaching the content and staying on schedule is the difficult, but most rewarding part.
Some reminders and tips:
· The steps recommended above are suggestions. However, they can be used for any home school curriculum.
· Parents need to evaluate their child, who is going to teach the courses and select the Science curriculum that best suits their child and their teacher in their home schooling program. · It is imperative to remember the diversity and wide scope the Sciences include – Life Science, Natural Science, Information Technology, Biology, Earth and Space Science and many others.
· Because of the diversity, it is good to see what will be required in the coming years so that the child is prepared for the natural progression and as they gain the knowledge necessary to approach the entire Science curriculum that will be necessary in fulfilling their general education requirements through home schooling.
There are numerous benefits of home schooling a child. Benefits include choosing an appropriate and proper home school curriculum, which includes math, science curriculum, history, and geography for your child. For more information about Home School and Curriculums, please do visit our site – http://www.homeschoolcurriculum.org/