SCIENCE FAIR FOR GRADES K-1
The purpose for including kindergarten and first grade in a science fair is threefold:
1) To foster an excitement about science and learning
2) To give parents an opportunity to work with their child
3) To let the child experience encouragement and success in learning
How to get started?
Find a topic in which your child is interested. Maybe your child has shown interest and already has some familiarity and knowledge about a certain topic.
Or, think of something they have learned in school this year:
In Life Science we have studied trees, plant parts, and seeds.
In Physical Science we have studied matter, force, solids, liquids, and gases.
In Earth Science we have studied the sky, sun, moon, stars, weather and seasons.
Another place for ideas is your public library, and look for science activities especially for the primary grade level. The internet is also an excellent source of information. Two sites I found on a google search are: All-science-fair-projects.com and Easy-Science-Fair-Projects.net.
How to organize your plan?
You want to use the Scientific Approach in completing your project. Remember, these are your child’s ideas. With kindergarten you may help write down what they say. Every child is at a different level of literacy, and you know your child best. But I would like to have every kindergartner write some of the things by him/herself. With first grade, they should write, but you are there to help edit and proofread. This is a guided activity at this level.
1. What I Wonder (Pose your topic in the form of a Question)
2. What I Think (This will be your Hypothesis or educated guess)
3. What I Did (This is your Procedure)
a. describe the materials you need
b. describe what you do step by step
4. What Happened (These are your Results)
5. What I Learned (This is your Conclusion)
Parents of kindergarten children may choose to use these sentence starters in place of the above:
My science fair project is about ______.
I wanted to find out ______.
I guessed ______.
I tested it by ______.
My guess was ______.
So I learned ______.
Please note: Children don’t like to be wrong. But the hypothesis may be different from the conclusion. Never let the child change the hypothesis following the procedure. In fact, having an educated guess, but discovering a different result, shows that the young scientist has done a fantastic job of learning and being a good scientist!
Science Report
Children of this age level may also choose a subject matter in which he/she is interested.
For example: horses, rocks, leaves, arrowheads, cars, pet care etc.
In this case a child must do a simple report and make a display or model of the topic.
Here your outline will be a little different from the scientific method as described above.
My topic is ______.
This is what I know ______.
This step can be quite extensive as the child displays his knowledge on the topic.
This is what I would like to find out______.
This can also be in the form a specific question.
This is what I learned ______.
This step also should be very clear and thorough, because it shows that you learned something.
EVERY PROJECT MUST HAVE:
A title page
A tri-fold science board (this can be found at Wal-Mart)
Pictures from a camera or neat colorful drawings to display your steps and information
The report or scientific study, as shown above, neatly presented
Here are some examples of topics for young children:
How does water get from the ground to the leaves of a plant?
Where do leaves get their colors?
Do seeds need light to grow?
How does a plant spread its seeds?
Do plants need light to grow?
Can I grow a plant without soil?
Do different types of apples have the same number of seeds?
Can liquid really pass through walls?
Which material can absorb the most water?
Can you blow up a balloon with a banana?
Do worms prefer light or darkness?
What do flies eat?
Which travels faster, a worm or a snail?
On what kind of surface does a snail move faster?
How do plants know to grow upright?
Can you make a grape float on water?
Can you float an egg?
Can you make a liquid float?
Can you make water float in the air?
How can you figure out if something is acidy?
How can you clean a penny?
How do you balance a see saw?
How do you keep a balloon from breaking?
Why do boats float?
What shape of boat floats the best?
Which color is hotter, black or white?
Is there color in a white light?
How can you tell how fast the wind is blowing?
Is there a time of day that is the windiest?
Which gets warm faster: land or water?
What does an erupting volcano look like?
Does air take up space?
Does warm water freeze faster than cool water?
How can you use the sun to tell time?
Why do we see only part of the moon?
What soap cleans the best?
Do ants like cheese or sugar better?
Does a bath take less water than a shower?
SAMPLE TITLE PAGE
TITLE
WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT: A REPORT OR AN EXPERIMENT
STUDENT’S NAME
GRADE LEVEL
DATE OF SCIENCE FAIR