Structures of Life
Investigation 4: Meet the Land Snail
Part 4
Choosing Your Own Investigation
Students look over a list of questions about animals and plants to decide which could be answered by research and which could be investigated directly. Each student or small group chooses a question to pursue as a project.
3. Lesson set up and Management
2.1.1 Ask questions about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.
2.1.2 Plan and conduct simple investigations, using appropriate tools, measures, and safety rules.
2.1.3 Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
2.1.5 Record and report observations, explanations and conclusions using oral and written expression.
Using student questions and ideas from projects they suggest throughout the module, students choose a project to research or investigate.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
1. Schedule enough time to complete this investigation. The kit could be gone soon.
2. Send home a note about the project to parents and ensure the materials will be available even if the kit is gone.
3. This could require a great deal of class time. Have a schedule to follow through once you begin the projects.
4. Consider having a science fair or a family night to show off the projects kids have investigated on their own.
5. You could get a list of ideas by using the "Q" portion of the KWLQ charts that were completed throughout all the investigations.
Student Management:
1. Keep all materials at the station at which the students are working. Let the students go to each workstation and explore.
2. Set rules and guidelines for observing the animals during non-science times.
3. Keep Moving! If you are constantly moving, it will keep everyone on task.
4. Have students check in with you at least every 3 days to ensure the students are actively working on a project.
1. You can lengthen or shorten the time on any lesson.
2. Use pages 2 & 3 to help guide further inquiry at the end of every part.
3. Give students time to discuss their observations with each other.
4. Keep word banks and content inquiry charts up so students can see and have more time to copy later, if needed. It's nice if you can keep them up all the time and just add to them as you go.
Writing Support:
1. Have students reflect on the day's lesson in their journal.
2. Start and finish each lesson with a KWLQ chart. ("What do I know?" "What do I want to know?", "What have I learned?" and "Are there any more questions to investigate?")
3. Have students write all word banks and inquiries in their journals.
4. Have students write a report describing their investigation, why they chose that one, the steps they took to solve their work, and anything else you feel is necessary for the class requirement.
Reading Support:
Check the Resources section of the teacher's guide for more reading suggestions, or the literature link on this site.