Think like a Scientist
Materials:
Nature Journal, writing utensil of choice, a forest or wooded trail with a variety of tree types.
Activity:
Is there something you have been wondering about? Look through past Nature Journal entries to find questions your kids have asked about nature then turn to the “Think like a scientist” page and create an experiment together to test your idea. If you don’t have past entries, then find something that you can question and observe easily and follow the steps to learn more about thinking like a scientist.
Younger:
Young children will need to be worked with more closely on this lesson. Walkthrough the steps together one by one.
Older:
Challenge older children to find their own questions and hypothesis, create their own experiments and record their own data.
Take it Further:
Do a mini-lesson on the scientific method (you can use this video as a resource) and read biographies of your favorite scientists. Talk about how we can use what we’ve learned from nature study this year to become a better scientist. A bonus FREE worksheet for older kids is below (just click on the image to download it). Color each rectangle different color as you review or execute the steps of the scientific method.
FREE Color along with the scientific method worksheet by Hatching Curiosity
Modeling going through the scientific method and taking down younger children’s narrations will prepare them for working through it when they are older. It also helps older children to make cross-domain connections.
Some scientists to research could be:
Mary Anning- Paleontologist
Marie Curie- Chemist
Micheal Faraday- Physics/Mathematician
Albert Einstien- Physics/Mathematician
Mae Jemison- Engineer/Astronaut
Mary Kingsley- Botanist
Issac Newton- Physics/Mathematician
Galileo- Astronomer
Charles Darwin- Biology
And MANY MANY others.
Make Your own Nature Journal:
On your page write/answer the following sections: Your question that you will be investigating, what you guess you will observe, what you actually observed, whether you were right or wrong, and what you learned.