1. STEM Fair Parent Night Ms. Wine and Mrs. Nowlin Wednesday, September 16, 2015

2. Why is STEM Fair important? Helps students prepare for MSA in 5 th grade Allows students to explore science areas of interest Teaches students essential skills for planning and completing long-term projects Integrates science, math, technology, reading, and oral language

3. Components of a STEM Fair Project Question Hypothesis/Prediction Materials Variables Procedures Data Collection Tool Results (with written explanation) Conclusion Research Paper (4 th and 5 th grades)

4. Question Must be a testable experiment – no models or demonstrations! Must be safe – no testing animals or people No comparing product brands The question asked must produce measurable results using some sort of tool (ruler, scale, tape measure, etc) EXAMPLE: Which color of light affects plant growth the most?” (measuring tool – centimeters)

5. “I predict ______ because …” **Hypotheses must be based on background knowledge or research!**

6. Materials Be sure to list all materials used - no matter how insignificant they may seem – and the amount used. Remember to use metric units. Ex: 50 mL water, 2 meters of string, 3 bowls Variables Controlled Variable – the parts of the experiment that are kept the same Independent Variable – what is changed on purpose (size, temperature, weight) Dependent Variable – what we hope will change during the investigation

7. Examples of Variables “Which color of light affects plant growth the most?” Controlled Variables: size and type of the plants type of soil wattage of bulbs used amount of water given temperature of the room Independent Variable: color of the light bulb Dependent Variable: height of the plants

8. Procedures *The goal for procedures is for someone to follow the experiment exactly as you meant for it to be conducted. *The procedures should be written in complete sentences and organized in numbered steps. Each step should be very detailed! *The first step should always be “gather your materials.” *Make sure to when writing your steps that your unit measurements are in metric. For example, it is NOT 1 cup you would write 250 ml *Include exact amounts and times! *You must repeat the activity a minimum of three times.

9.  The measurement and data collection tools are used to measure and record the results. Examples of measurement tools are stop watches, kitchen scales, rulers, and tape measures. Measurements must be recorded in metric and include an average of each trial.  “Eyeballing” the results will not produce an accurate or reliable measurement, and therefore would make creating a chart and/or graph very difficult.

10. Results: Data Collection Tool Results should be gathered from multiple trials – usually between 3 and 5 – and recorded in a chart, table, or journal All measurements should be in METRIC units only - centimeters, meters, grams, milligrams, liters, milliliters, degrees CELCIUS Great Conversion Website http://www.metric-conversions.org / Be sure to calculate an average for each trial PHOTOS, if applicable – do not bring actual artifacts

11. Effect of Weight on Speed of Pendulum (Time recorded in minutes and seconds) WeightTrial 1Trial 2Trial 3Average 1 weight 2 weight 3 weight

12. Results: Graph and Written A graph should accompany your chart to show your results – bar graphs and line graphs are commonly used. Graphs should be neat, large, and easy-to-read. Most teachers have graph paper available, if needed. This website is kid- friendly and can be used to make computer- generated graphs: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/defau lt.aspx http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/defau lt.aspx **IMPORTANT: Many students forget to write a brief explanation of their results. This should be a short paragraph and is simply a summary of the findings. This is not to be confused with the conclusion.

13. Conclusion The conclusion addresses the accuracy of the prediction and provides a clear answer to the question based on the investigation’s results. This is also where any mistakes, problems, or errors can be stated. Any changes or improvements that could be made to the project can also be stated here, along with how the knowledge gained from the experiment applies to the “real world.”

14. Research Paper 4 th and 5 th grades ONLY Research papers should include : Title page (name, project title, school, grade, and teacher) Acknowledgements (personal thank you to all who helped) Background research related to your topic Sources/Bibliography citing websites and books used The research paper does not have to be longer than a page, but should have all of the required parts.

15. Questions? Please take a look at the sample projects. Thank you for coming! E-mail: dawn.wine@pgcps.org dawn.nowlin@pgcps.org