First Day Activities for Middle School Science

The lesson traditionally taught the first day of school in middle school science includes "steps of the scientific method." These steps are usually divided into 1) question, 2) hypothesis, 3) test, 4) analysis and 5) reporting. Several activities can meet the requirements for teaching the steps of the scientific method. Since the activity you do will depend on the field of science you are teaching, there are several options below.

Things You'll Need

• Posters Density labs Rube Goldberg machines

Instructions

1. Post the steps of the scientific method, no matter which lab you do that day. If desired, have the students make several posters. This kind of personal investment in the classroom creates more value for the students. As the students do other activities, these posters are their reference. Make sure that every lab has at least a few questions to remind them of these steps. Do the same thing for safety procedures and rules. Have the students present their posters and explain them. Add your state standards to the student posters on the wall as required by law.

2. Have the students do a density lab and relate it back to the posters. Density labs are typically required as part of the curriculum but are also useful for teaching the scientific method. This allows you to knock out two activities by combining them. Density labs are done by students taking the weight and volume measurements of an item to get a number that includes units of mass over a given volume. This is repeated several times. If the surface of the object is irregular or difficult to measure, you can teach the students about displacement in this lab as well (or save it for the next lab). You may want to include a "measurements" section to the lab, so they can practice using SI units.

3. If a density lab sounds too ambitious for a first day activity, have the students view a brief clip online of "Pythagora Switch," which demonstrates Rube Goldberg machines. Give them a variety of materials and encourage them to use their creativity to create their own machines. By leaving the instructions open on a project like this, you get to see the students interact in a non-stress situation, so you can compare it to later activities where the requirements are more exacting. The best thing to do is to have students choose their items from a pile one at a time, and then randomly assign them to a group, and allow them to work on their project. Allow the students to bring in anything that they scavenge (and don' t want back) at the end of class for several (2 to 3) days before the project is due. Relate this back to the scientific method.

4. Have students come up with problems in the world today (brainstorm on the board). You might want to show a video about a plight that causes problems in poor countries. Have the students solve the problem with constraints (like budget, time, materials, etc.) that people could use to solve the real-world problem. Have the students present their solution and post it online to see what comments follow. Make sure that your rubric is clear before having the students do this type of work.

5. Add closure to the activity that you have chosen with a mini-quiz at the end of class. This can be used to assess what they have learned and to identify students who are already struggling with the material. Ask them an open-ended, probing question about their thoughts regarding the lesson. Give them 5 points for their answer as incentive. This has the added benefit of giving you student feedback. If the activity needs improvement, the students can tell you what they would like to see change.

Tips & Warnings

• This article assumes that teachers are NCLB highly qualified, which means they have a basic working knowledge of science and scientific terms.