Meanwhile we have finished our first set of experiments with Cokes and Mentos. We are having a blast--pun totally intended!
I have the write-up of what we have done so far on the Elementary Materials page in the Science section so students can use it as a sample. I am paying kids LOTS of Kragen cash for getting their science fair projects done now instead of later. If they finish any of the following parts by Monday, they get $20 PER PART:
- question, research, and hypothesis
- materials and equipment list plus the procedure
- the experimental data (which means they have to have performed the experiment)
- graph(s)--I am teaching them how to do graphs on Excel (you can help them do that at home too)
- analysis of results
- conclusion
How can you help? After they finish a section, have them read it aloud. Help them hear any areas that might need revising for clarity. Once they have all their ideas fleshed out, you are allowed to edit. Encouraged to edit. Begged to edit. (They should be asking you to edit by this point!)