April 8, 2008
Dear Eighth Grade Students and Parents,
As you know, the Science Fair is a major component of the Seventh and Eighth Grade science curricula. The School Science Fair will be on Tuesday, May 27, and it is now time for the students to begin thinking about topics, researching and designing their experiments. In order to break up this long-term project into more manageable segments for the students, several preliminary steps will be scheduled. The purpose of this letter is not only to inform you of the initial due dates, but also to provide general information regarding topics, formats, presentations, and grading. The students can choose their topics from the following areas: life, physical, and chemical science.
We are requiring a great deal of preparation in April, and all class time will be devoted to completing these projects.
Please note in the following pages that the final due date for each student's project is the day he/she is scheduled for his/her in-class presentation. The entire project must be completed by that date, and some students will be scheduled as early as Friday, April 25. The presentation schedule was determined randomly, and the students know their dates already.
This is an exciting opportunity for the students, and we know you are looking forward to seeing their work as much as we are. The Fair is open to the parents any time during the school day. Please, call if you have any questions. You can find a copy of this letter at:
http://www.gcschool.org/pages/program/science/gr8scifair.html
Thank you for your cooperation.
Tivadar Divéki
Preliminary Due Dates:
-The students must decide on the general topic of their project by Thursday, April 10.
- Students have a chance to order any material they might need for their project through the Science Department.
- The First Draft of the Introduction Section of the Research Paper is due on Monday, April 14.
(The First Draft contains the scientific research on the background of the topic, a statement of the hypothesis or a clear goal, a description of the experiment or building project the student is planning to carry out.)
- The First Draft of the Results and Conclusions Sections of the Research Paper is due one week before the student's presentation date.
(The Results and Conclusions Sections outline the data, observations, charts, graphs and written findings and next steps from the experiment.)
-The Final Draft of the Research Paper is due on the student's presentation date.
(The Final Draft contains all sections of the research paper. See guidelines section at the end of this letter.)
- The Second Draft of the Objective, Material and Procedure sections is due Friday, April 18.
- The Presentation Board is due on the student's presentation date.
- In-class presentations will begin on Friday, April 25, and will run until the Fair on Tuesday, May 27.
In-Class Presentations:
Each student is scheduled for approximately thirty minutes to present her/his project to the class. The entire project, including experiment results, research paper and the presentation board must be completed by the day of the presentation. To complete the presentations before the Fair, we must begin on Friday, April 25, and since some students will consequently have more time than others, we randomly drew dates to determine the schedule.
Please, make a note of your child's presentation day, since that is the final due date for the science fair project. Any work received after the assigned day will be subject to lateness penalties.
The presentation is critical to the science fair experience since the students must explain their work and answer questions about it; the fair itself is simply an exhibition of the projects. The students may work on improving their projects in the time between their in-class presentation and the actual Science Fair, May 27.
Use of Technology
Students are expected to use computer technology in both their research, writing, editing and especially in their oral presentation. The technology department is available to help the students to create their presentations using Powerpoint, HyperStudio and PageMill software. Students are encouraged to use slides, videoclips, photographs, images from the internet, as well as computer-generated charts and graphs to enhance their presentation.
Format of Research Paper:
-Title Page - Introduction - Objective - Materials - Procedure - Results - Conclusion - Bibliography
For more detailed information regarding the contents of each of the required sections, please see the last two pages of this letter.
A first draft must be completed by Monday, April 14. (The First Draft contains the scientific research on the background of the topic, a statement of the hypothesis or a clear goal, a description of the experiment or building project the student is planning to carry out.)
Presentation Board
In addition to the research paper, the students must construct a presentation board which will display the important aspects of their experiment, along with any diagrams, graphs, illustrations, etc. This can be constructed of poster board, but must stand upright on a table, and should be clearly labeled so that guests of the fair can understand the project. It should be a maximum size of 1meter by 1.5 meters. The student's name, grade, and project title must be clearly labeled.
Pre-made presentation boards may be ordered through the science department for seven dollars.
Grading:
The students' third quarter grades in science will be based on the work done in class through March, plus the grade they receive for their Science Exam. Fourth quarter grades in science will be based on the science fair project only. (No extra credit work is accepted.)
The projects will be evaluated in four areas:
- Final Research Paper (20% of project grade): level of research, originality of topic, quality of writing
- Methods (30%): use of scientific method, analyses of data, writing of conclusion
- Format (20%): appearance of presentation board and visual aids
- Presentation (30%): preparedness, knowledge and understanding of project, creativity, use of technology, experimental demonstrations
Awards:
The Science Department will select the top three projects from each grade for special awards at the Awards Ceremony at the end of the school year.
Grace Church School Science Fair Guidelines
Research Paper: (Labeled sections)
- Title Page: Center and capitalize the project title. Name, grade, and school should be at the bottom of the sheet.
-Introduction: Contains research, background information on the topic. What must the reader know about the subject matter in order to understand the hypothesis?
- Objective: Contains the hypothesis, or goal of the experiment. It follows directly from the Introduction section, and should clearly and sufficiently express what the project seeks to discover or demonstrate.
- Materials: A listing of the important supplies used. What would someone else need if they wanted to replicate the experiment? Specific details are important in this section. If human subjects are used, as in psychology experiments, they should be described in detail here: ages, sex, numbers, etc.
- Procedure: A clear description of the experimental design. It should be comprehensive enough so that someone else could replicate the experiment and get roughly the same results.
- Results: All the data and observations are displayed here. It could be in chart or graph form, but it must be clear and comprehensive. What happened in the experiment?
- Conclusion: This is the interpretation of the results. Was the hypothesis proved or disproved? (Either scenario can be valuable.) The Results section simply shows what occurred. The Conclusion section goes further. Why were the results what they were? What can be drawn from the project? What might have been done differently? What further experiments might be conducted to learn more?
- Bibliography: Cite all sources referred to in the Introduction section. Where was the information found? Internet references must also be cited.
Presentation Board
The information about the project should be on a three-board display, so that it will stand upright on a table with a space in the foreground for any models or demonstrations. The title, student's name and class should all be visible in the center. The research paper can be attached to the board, or placed on the table in front of the display.
The purpose of the presentation board is to make the experiment accessible to spectators of the science fair. Diagrams, drawings, photographs, charts, tables, models, and written descriptions are all excellent supplements to the research paper. It should be large enough to contain the necessary information, but small enough to fit on a table and be readily transported. (They are usually about 1 meter high and 1.5 meters wide.)
Materials:
Students may ask to borrow glassware or lab equipment from the science department. They may order chemicals or other reasonable amounts of materials through the school, but are responsible for paying for these supplies. Ordering should be done before spring break to allow time for materials to arrive.
Students are responsible for making sure that all parts of their projects can be safely transported to and from school. The project equipment must be of adequate size to be stored safely in school.
Science Fair Help Websites
Science Hunt
http://www.sciencehunt.com
Directions about how to choose a topic, how to research it, how to create an effective display board, how to make sure you are using the scientific method. Information about contests to enter.
Science Fair Central (discover.com)
http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/
Written by Janice Van Cleave and others. "Soup to Nuts" about science fair organizing. Also includes info about how to create a display board.
Science Fairs Homepage
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/elem.html
Long list of science fair topics to browse
All Science Fair Projects:
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/
An NSTA recommended searchable list of topic ideas and related websites. 500 "intelligent" topic searches.
Experimental Science Fair Projects;
http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/SciProjIntro.html
Advice and recommendations for your procedure and experimental design. How to handles the ups and downs!
National Student Research Center
http://youth.net/nsrc/nsrc.html
Geared towards finding out about doing research out of school. Everything that students, teachers and parents need to know about doing K-12 student research and science fair project
Your Science Fair
http://www.yoursciencefair.org
A place for advice about how to stick to your science fair schedule.