writing a hypothesis worksheet elementary

The Scientific Method Lesson Plan: Developing Hypotheses

Submitted by: charlie conway.

This is a lesson plan designed to be incorporated into a elementary or middle school general science class. Using BrainPOP and its resources, students will be introduced (or further exposed) to the steps necessary to undertake scientific experimentation leading (perhaps) to a Science Fair project. The Scientific Method is a core structure in learning about scientific inquiry, and although there are many variations of this set of procedures, they all usually have similar components. This lesson should take 45-60 minutes, with opportunities for extending the lesson further.

Students will:

• Students will use BrainPOP features to build their understandings of the Scientific Method.
• Students will learn how to identify and write effective hypotheses.
• Students will use game play to write an appropriate hypothesis for an experiment.
• Students will identify and utilize the tools necessary to design a scientific investigation.
• Laptops/Computers
• Interactive White Board
• Pencil/Paper
• Class set of photocopies of the Scientific Method Flow Chart
• BrainPOP accounts (optional)

Vocabulary:

Preparation:.

These procedures may be modified according to the needs/resources of each teacher & class. For example, you may decide to do the quiz with pencil/paper, or do the quiz as a class.

Lesson Procedure:

• Ask the students how scientists answer questions and solve problems. Take a few minutes to explore students' prior knowledge with a short discussion.
• Tell the class that you're going to watch a BrainPOP movie about answering a scientific question about plant growth.
• Show the BrainPOP movie on the Scientific Method two times. The first time, students should just watch and listen. The second time they should take notes. Pause the movie at critical STOP points.
• Students should log on to their individual student accounts and take the Scientific Method Quiz to give the teacher some immediate feedback. (This can also be done as a pre-assessment, or at the very end of the lesson). NOTE: If you choose to, you can give a pencil/paper quiz also; students who work best with electronic media can be given accommodations). If you don't have access to individual student logins via MyBrainPOP (a school subscription), students can take the Review Quiz or paper quiz instead.
• Discuss the main points from the movie: a. Write the definition of the scientific method: the procedure scientists use to help explain why things happen. b. Make a list on the board of the steps mentioned as part of the scientific method: problem, fact finding, observation, inference, hypothesis, experiment, conclusions. c. Tell students that there are various versions of the scientific method that they may see, but they are all basically the same.
• Hand out the Scientific Method Flow Chart . Introduce the "If...then...because..." format for writing hypotheses. Give the students 10 minutes to complete the sheet with their group. They may use their notes from the movie to help them, and/or work collaboratively with other students.
• Discuss some of the student responses in class. Focus on the hypotheses, and explain that a good hypothesis is a testable explanation of the problem. For example, a good hypothesis to the third problem would be, "If I move farther away from the microwave oven, then the cell phone signal will improve because I am further away from the source of interference." Show how this is a TESTABLE hypothesis that can lead to a scientific experiment.
• Introduce the students to the Pavlov’s Dog game in GameUP. Allow time for the kids to explore the game without telling them why they are playing it.
• After 10-15 minutes, have the students take a break from playing, and have a short discussion about the game. Ask if anyone was able to complete the task successfully, and have them share how they got the "diploma." If time allows, show the students how to complete the task so that they all understand that the dog has been conditioned to respond to a stimulus (noise before food has been introduced).
• Have the students write a hypothesis that Pavlov may have written before he started his experiment. Students can either do this with pencil/paper, or the teacher may create a BrainPOP quiz and have students submit their hypothesis electronically. This may be used as a part of the assessment.
• Choose some sample responses from the students, highlighting the hypotheses that are TESTABLE, and not just guesses or predictions.

If this lesson is an introduction to allowing students to plan and carry out their own experiments, then all that follows is naturally an extension to the lesson.

Other, shorter extensions are easy to develop as well.

Extension Activities:

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Scientific Method Worksheets: Free and For All Ages!

Need some scientific method worksheets for your kids?

Wouldn’t hurt if they were free and easy to print?

I got you, Homeschool Mama!

At the bottom of this post you will find 7 Scientific Method Worksheets in a free printable pack! And they can be used for early elementary students to about 7th grade.

They will easily slide into any lesson plan as you teach the scientific method steps!

The 7 Steps Of The Scientific Method

There seem to be several variations out there, but let’s pause and nail down the basics of the scientific method. 

Here is a quick review if you need a brush-up:

1. Make An Observation

The first step is to look at the world around you. What do you notice? What interests you? What are you curious about?

Things outside? In the kitchen?

What do you not understand or have questions about? What would you like to know more about?

Example : My mom waters her flowers every day, but she doesn’t water the grass. But the grass and flowers look to be equally healthy. 

2. Ask A Question

Work with your young scientists to develop a question from their observations.

Example : Do flowers really need to be watered more than the rain that waters the grass? Is my mom just wasting her time?

****Some science curriculum will teach that you should have a step of research at this point in the scientific method. Feel free to do that with older kids to look up background information and enrich your experiment. Younger kids may feel that this step stifles their curiosity or slows down their science learning energy. 

3. Come Up With A Hypothesis (Prediction)

Help your student to make a hypothesis (kids usually love saying this word!) about what they think is the answer to their question. 

Depending on the age of the child, tell them it is an educated guess or a prediction.

Example : I predict that the flowers will do just fine without extra water from my mom.

4. Test The Prediction (Do An Experiment!)

Obviously, this is the fun part of science. 

Kids get to put the books and pencils aside and start building their own science experiments! 

Your students will likely need help with their experimental design. Definitely dig in and help them figure out the best way to test their hypothesis.

For older kids, you might introduce the concepts of independent variables and control group vs. experimental group.

Example : I stop watering the flowers for 1 month while keeping a daily photographic record of the flowers and grass’ health/appearance.

I also keep a data table to monitor rainfall and temperature.

As a control group, I water only one flower regularly as my mother did. 

5. Analyze Results

Now that the experiment is over, it’s time to sit down and do some data analysis.

Which is fancy science talk for looking closely at the results of your experiment. Are there any patterns or trends in your data collection? 

Did anything unexpected happen? What did the experiment show you?

Example : All my flowers are turning brown, but the grass looks about the same. The charts and pictures during the experiment show me that it only took 3 days to start noticing wilting in the flowers. The flowers perked up after a rain, but they would start to wilt again a few days later.  My control flower (that I watered regularly) looks as health as it did on day 1.

6. Compare Results To Your Hypothesis

Look at the results of your experiment and compare them to your prediction.

Was your hypothesis correct or incorrect?

Example : My hypothesis was incorrect. The flowers did not thrive on the same amount of water that the grass gets. 

7. Make a Conclusion

At the end of the experiment, you must write out what you can conclude from your experiment. Older kids should be encouraged to follow up with further questions they have from the results of the experiment.

Example : I conclude that the grass in my yard does not need as much water as the flowers.

As a question for further study, I would like to know if this is only true of the type of flowers in my garden. Would other flowers respond the same way? Why do wild flowers seem so healthy without any human help?

7 Free Scientific Method Worksheets!

Now that we’ve brushed up on our knowledge of the scientific method, let’s dive into these worksheets!

This worksheet is actually a colorful poster displaying all the steps of the scientific method for your students!

I recommend printing it on cardstock or laminating it.

It’s the perfect thing to have displayed in your homeschool or science classes.

This is a follow-up student worksheet that matches the above poster.

The boxes help your student hit all of the most important steps as they work through their own experiments – without being too overwhelming.

I love this science worksheet for simple experiments with first grade and 2nd grade students.

Writing out or drawing every detail as they go along, may seem overwhelming.

This style of worksheet is a fun way of bringing the scientific method down to their level!

This worksheet option goes a step further.

It allows young students to walk through the steps of the scientific method by drawing pictures or writing small phrases.

This can be a great way to make science more approachable!

This worksheet is more appropriate for 3rd grade and up. 

The steps are still slightly abbreviated, but the child is expected to write out sentences. 

This worksheet is perfect for a more detailed and thorough approach.

The student has space for thinking through and writing out their experiment steps. 

Science teachers can get a quick overview of how the student is doing.

This last worksheet is clearly for the older student, such as 5th grade and up.

Writing out full sentences and recording their work is more appropriate at this age. 

The worksheet still provides the structure of showing each of the steps.

****This sheet does have a space for hypothesis and prediction. I left that for the older students because some lessons do teach them as separate things. The hypothesis is the answer to your question, and the prediction is what you think will happen in the experiment. Using my flower/grass experiment from earlier, let me give you an example. Hypothesis : Flowers do not need more water than grass. Prediction : The flowers and grass will look healthy after 1 month of only rainwater.

Click Here To Download Your Scientific Method Worksheet Packet!

You might be wondering why there wasn’t a “typical” worksheet in this post.

Such as a cut and paste, crossword, or match with an answer key. 

The reason is that hands-on activities are the best way to teach the scientific method – not worksheets. Kids will learn science and *remember* it more when they get to DO it.

And as you know, that’s actually true of most things.

I hope these worksheets bless your students and you enjoy exploring the world around you!

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Writing a Hypothesis Worksheet & Answers

Subject: Primary science

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

29 October 2022

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*** Worksheet + Answers Set, made for teachers to just print & go!***

This worksheet focuses on writing hypotheses for scientific reports.

It can be used as a lesson supplement or set for homework for students to complete as the steps and examples of writing a hypothesis are included.

Check out my other scientific report writing skills worksheets in my TES store!!!

*This activity was structured using teaching programs, ensuring its alignment to the Australian NSW NESA syllabus and learning outcomes. Such outcomes include SC4-8WS and SC4-9WS from the Stage 4 Science Syllabus.

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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

Writing a Science Report Skills Bundle

**Science Report Skills Worksheet Bundle + Answers Set!** Clear the confusion and misconceptions around writing scientific reports for students! The lessons include a teacher-guided component and an activity for students to practice their skills along with a sample answer set for teachers to print, teach and go! This bundle includes worksheets on writing- 1. Aim 2. Hypothesis 3. Materials & Risk Assessment 4. Variables 5. Method 6. Choosing the right graph 7. Assessing reliability, accuracy & validity 8. Bibliography For more awesome worksheets, check out the other items on my TES store! *This activity was structured using teaching programs, ensuring its alignment to the Australian NSW NESA syllabus and learning outcomes. Such outcomes include SC4-8WS and SC4-9WS from the Stage 4 Science Syllabus.

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5.2 - writing hypotheses.

The first step in conducting a hypothesis test is to write the hypothesis statements that are going to be tested. For each test you will have a null hypothesis (\(H_0\)) and an alternative hypothesis (\(H_a\)).

When writing hypotheses there are three things that we need to know: (1) the parameter that we are testing (2) the direction of the test (non-directional, right-tailed or left-tailed), and (3) the value of the hypothesized parameter.

• At this point we can write hypotheses for a single mean (\(\mu\)), paired means(\(\mu_d\)), a single proportion (\(p\)), the difference between two independent means (\(\mu_1-\mu_2\)), the difference between two proportions (\(p_1-p_2\)), a simple linear regression slope (\(\beta\)), and a correlation (\(\rho\)). 
• The research question will give us the information necessary to determine if the test is two-tailed (e.g., "different from," "not equal to"), right-tailed (e.g., "greater than," "more than"), or left-tailed (e.g., "less than," "fewer than").
• The research question will also give us the hypothesized parameter value. This is the number that goes in the hypothesis statements (i.e., \(\mu_0\) and \(p_0\)). For the difference between two groups, regression, and correlation, this value is typically 0.

Hypotheses are always written in terms of population parameters (e.g., \(p\) and \(\mu\)).  The tables below display all of the possible hypotheses for the parameters that we have learned thus far. Note that the null hypothesis always includes the equality (i.e., =).

SciGen Teacher Dashboard

Exploring a Hypothesis

Reaction Times in Sports

Constructing a Hypothesis

Writing a Procedure

Reaction Ruler

Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

Students learn the essential elements of a scientific hypothesis and learn to identify whether or not a statement contains these essential elements. Additionally, students learn to write a detailed procedure for a science experiment.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Students understand the essential components of a hypothesis.

Teacher Tune-up

• What is a hypothesis and why is it so tricky to teach?

Teaching Notes

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

Introducing the concept of hypothesis (10 minutes)

Working with examples as a class (20 minutes)

Working with examples individually or in groups (20 minutes)

Paraphrase :

When we construct a scientific hypothesis, we include:

• a view that states what we think is true and
• a reason or cause that we can test with a measurement.

Both examples include two statements from the script of the scene about reaction times in baseball.

The first is Malik’s hypothesis that “Boys are better at hitting fastballs than girls because boys have faster reaction times.” This statement has both elements.

It’s important that students recognize that regardless of our feelings or experiences, a statement that contains the essential elements is indeed a scientific hypothesis.

The second model includes Stephanie’s statement that “They lost because everybody has a bad day now and then.” While this statement has a view that Stephanie believes is true, the reason or cause cannot be tested with a measurement. Some students may insist that this can be tested with a measurement. If they do, encourage them to think about how they would measure having a bad day “now and then.” While Stephanie’s statement may be true, it cannot be a scientific hypothesis because it lacks the second element.

There are other correct ways to frame a hypothesis, such as using an if/then statement.

See here for an explanation of this alternate structure as well as an introduction to the terms dependent and independent variable.

Students identify whether or not a statement can be considered a hypothesis.

Check off whether or not the statement contains the components of a hypothesis.

Students write a brief explanation of their thinking for each statement.

Sample responses :

• George’s statement is a hypothesis because it includes both of the essential parts. First, he states his view that he believes fish are dying because of the pollution from the factory. The cause can be tested with a measurement because someone could measure the amount of pollution found in the stream.
• Christina’s statement contains the essential elements of a hypothesis because she can measure the amount of hours that students study and see if those who study more get higher grades. Because her statement includes a view that she thinks is true and a reason that can be tested with a measurement, Christina’s statement is a hypothesis.
• Tashia’s statement is not a hypothesis because it does not contain a cause or reason that can be measured.

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Developing a Hypothesis Worksheets

Science categories, free weekly worksheets, worksheets by email, how to develop a hypothesis from observations.

A hypothesis is one part of what is called the scientific method. Good experiments or study is based on the scientific method. It helps give order and structures to experiment and ensure that interference from scientists or outside influences does not skew the results. It is important to understand the concepts of the scientific method before holding an experiment. The hypothesis starts by asking the correct questions. For example, if you have observed that the grass is greener when it rains the second time a week, you may ask what sort of grass it is? If the grass across the street responds to rain the same way? Or What elevation it is at? Any of these questions can become the backbone of the experiments you will perform.

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