Edit Article

The scientific method is an important part of the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) – a new and internationally benchmarked set of standards for science education. In case you were wondering, the scientific method is a series of steps used by scientists to determine whether a hypothesis is true or not. It can also be used to solve everyday problems in any topic or area.

Ad

Steps

  1. Simplify and Explain the Scientific Method for Kids Step 1
    1
    Use black box activities. These activities offer challenges similar to those faced by real scientists, to clarify the scientific method for kids. Scientists, past and present, have often had to find answers to real world problems, and these are exactly the kind of puzzling phenomena that children have to figure out with black box activities. These activities encourage kids to observe, infer and come up with theories (known as hypotheses in scientific language) to explain these phenomena. They are then required to find ways of testing their theories and coming to a conclusion.
    Ad
  2. Simplify and Explain the Scientific Method for Kids Step 2
    2
    Use inquiry-based instruction. The scientific method for kids often begins with black box activities but it does not end there. Students take a further step into the scientific method by conducting individual or group investigations into different phenomena. This helps them to link the steps of the scientific method with the strategies used to analyze the puzzle. It also gives them an opportunity of reflecting on their own observations and thus internalizing the principles of the scientific method.
  3. Simplify and Explain the Scientific Method for Kids Step 3
    3
    Read about real scientists. The next stage simplifies and explains the scientific method for kids is to encourage them to read about real scientists – past and present – and their work. This will help them to arrive at a deeper understanding of science and learn to see it as a creative and dynamic social endeavor. When kids read articles about how real scientists work – their failures as well as their successes – they learn how to think critically and have crucial black box experiences.
  4. Simplify and Explain the Scientific Method for Kids Step 4
    4
    Communicate what is learned. The steps of the scientific method provide a necessary template to communicate the conclusions as well as the logic behind them. This communication is one of the most important in the process but is often ignored in many models. Learning to describe the conclusions and the processes used to reach them help students to better understand the world around them. Whether you are teaching one child or several, the scientific method for kids is incomplete without the knowledge of how to communicate results.
    Ad

Video

Article Info

Categories: Science for Kids

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 723 times.

Did this article help you?
Yes No

Become
an Author!

Write an Article