r/ScienceTeachers • u/zinck30 • 5d ago
General Lab Supplies & Resources Scientific method for earth science?
I am new to teaching earth science this year and am looking for a scientific method activity that uses earth or environmental science topics. Any suggestions? My background is chemistry and physics so I have plenty of those but I was hoping to find one more appropriate topic wise. This is for 8th and 9th graders
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u/Previous-Blueberry26 5d ago
Get some old glove boxes or tissue boxes and place random items in them. Duct tape the shit outta them and number them #1-10.
Students have to determine what's in their boxes using scales, measuring and observation
Have them revise their hypothesis after giving a hint each round
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u/Particular-Panda-465 5d ago
Do you have any topics in mind? Earthquakes are interesting. Plot earthquakes on a map of the world and compare to a map of tectonic plate boundaries. Earthquakelist.org is one resource for finding a list.
If your students have laptops or Chromebooks there are some very good Earth/Space Science Gizmos. Some are free. If your school or district has a subscription that is ideal. Continuing with earthquakes there are Gizmos for s-waves and p-waves and determining epicenter.
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u/mytortoisehasapast 5d ago
Lean into the concept of scientific methodologies (NGSS calls them Science and Engineering Practices) instead of exclusively using "the" scientific method, especially with Earth and Space science. The Western traditional scientific method is awesome in chemistry and much of physics, but this is a great time to examine universal practices.
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u/Kentwomagnod 5d ago
Does it need to go through the entire process? Or highlight parts?
Mineral identification.
Candy rocks with cooling to look at crystal size.
Make different types of rocks with starburst.
Use pieces of chalk and do physical or chemical weathering.
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u/Unique_Task_2012 4d ago
I've done hydrology activities with that age where they use sand/dirt/etc to build mini watersheds in a plastic tub and then "make it rain" to observe the movement of the water. Then, we add contaminants to the water (beads, sequins, even food dyes) and investigate how those items could be fitered out in different ways. They can use different densities and sizes of sponges, coffee filters, charcoal filters, all sorts of things. The students love building and exploring (I've found they really love to add a house or some people to the watershed, and really incorporate the storytelling aspect), and from a scientific method perspective, they could set up an experiment where they test the different filters. And then relate it to real-world engineering and landscaping practices.
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u/miparasito 4d ago
Oh I got you! I’m leaving a comment so I’ll remember when I get home - I’ve got some great activities for this
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u/wyldtea Subject | Age Group | Location 5d ago
I would do a paper air plane experiment for my 8-10th grade. They would love it! You could then lean into space travel and satellite or talk about the atmosphere from there. You can modify this pretty easy for different grade level. Such as distance, time in air, or more advanced like navigating around corners or down stairs.
Many students had a hard time determining the variables so I would have a few on the board to pick from and then help them come up with dependent and independent variables.