How To Run A Scientist Of The Week Program
Are you interested in introducing a scientist of the week program into your schedule? It’s low prep, interactive and engaging for your students. We barely have enough time to fit in the whole science curriculum, so let this program take over some of the physics and chemistry for you!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Each week a student is chosen to be the scientist of the week (scientifique de la semaine) and is assigned an experiment. They will do an in-class presentation the following week.
I generally start this in January so that I have enough weeks to fit everyone in (22 students). Most weeks there is only one presentation, but in June I usually do two presentations per week, since we’re wrapping things up with other units and I have more space to “fill”. If you want to stick to one per week, just find your end date and count backwards with how many students you have, making sure you don’t count holiday weeks.
TO SEND HOME 1 WEEK BEFORE DUE DATE:
Family letter that explains the project and what’s expected
Experiment sheet
* I decide which experiment each student will do. Some are easier, some are harder/have more steps, some have more materials…so I think about the student and their family situation and choose one that would fit them best. If it’s a very involved experiment and their parents aren’t home as much to help, I will give them one that doesn’t require so much preparation. If I know the parents are home and involved, I will give them one that requires gathering more materials or one where they may need some help.
Lab report (scientist copy)
AT HOME:
Read the family letter outlining the project and your experiment sheet.
Gather materials and practice the experiment. Use the scientist lab report to prepare for the poster.
Make a poster outlining the experiment (materials, steps, hypothesis...)
AT SCHOOL:
On the day of the presentation, the student brings poster and necessary supplies.
Student does an oral presentation and demonstrates the experiment to classmates.
During the presentation, students in the audience receive a lab report to complete.
After the presentation, use the evaluation sheet.
POSTERS
Students are free to design the poster however they’d like as long as they touch on all parts (materials, prediction, observation and conclusion).
Want it all done for you? My Scientist of the week/Scientifique de la semaine package has everything you need to run your program. Simply copy the prepared parent letter (or write your own), attach an experiment and send it home. You’ll have a fun science experiment every week!
Note: The French version is for French Immersion classes where the parents speak English. This is not meant for French speaking parents as the experiments are all written in English.
