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Yesterday we looked at steps five & six of the science fair project.
In today’s post, we are going to look closer at step seven, in which the students create their project board, and step eight, where the students will present their project.
Step 7: Create a Board
The seventh step of the science fair project is to create a board. This phase is not patterned after any step of the scientific method, but rather it gives the students a chance to graphically communicate what they have learned from their project.
Their board will serve as the visual aid for their science fair presentation, so it’s important that it be eye-catching and attractive.
The keys to completing this step are:
- Plan out the board.
- Prepare the information for the board.
- Pull all of the information and design elements together and put them onto each panel in preparation for presenting their project.
Here are two samples of project boards to help you get an idea of what they can look like:
Once the students have their board ready to go, they can get ready for their presentation!
Step 8: Give a Presentation
The eighth step of the science fair project is to give a presentation. This phase is not patterned after any step of the scientific method, but instead gives the students a chance to communicate with an audience what they have learned from their project.
The students need to:
- Prepare their presentation.
- Practice their presentation.
- Share their presentation with a group of people.
It is also important to have the students present their projects to a group and answer related questions from them. This will reinforce what they have learned as well as help them to discern how to communicate what they know.
The best way to achieve this is to have the students participate in a Science Fair where their project will be judged, but if that’s not possible, don’t skip this step. The students can still present their project to their family or to a group of their peers.
If you are looking for a science fair that caters specifically to homeschoolers, check out the one CurrClick does every year around Earth Day.
Be sure to come back tomorrow for a special guest post from Marci at The Homeschool Scientist about Planning a Homeschool Science Fair!
Have you missed a step? Here’s the links to all of the posts in this series:
- Day 1: Step 1: Choose a Topic & Step 2: Do Some Research
- Day 2: Step 3: Formulate a Hypothesis & Step 4: Design an Experiment
- Day 3: Step 5: Perform the Experiment & Step 6: Analyze the Data
- Day 4: Step 7: Create a Board & Step 8: Give a Presentation
- Day 5: Planning a Homeschool Science Fair (Guest Post by Marci @ The Homeschool Scientist)
Do you want pages for your students as you guide them through their science fair project? Then check out our step by step guide: The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide!This book is designed to give you the tools you need to guide your students as they complete a science fair project. The first part of the book explains the keys to each step in greater detail than the above post, including a sample project where you will see each of the keys in action. The second half of the book contains sheets for you to use with your students as they proceed through their project.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Michelle, Your welcome ;)!
What scares me about the science fair is that it’s only 2 weeks away, and I don’t want to commit the time necessary to complete it! Plus, I always feel like we don’t break it down into steps well and slap it all together in an unorderly fashion. I am really hoping to win this giveaway! 🙂
Melissa R., Two weeks away would scare me too :)! The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide will help you break the process down into manageable steps, crossing my fingers for you.
I think the part that scares me is coming up with the idea and then following through with it all. I never like the science fair as a kid.
Danelle, Sorry to hear that you didn’t like the science fair as a kid, it can be quite intimidating. We wrote The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide to hopefully reduce the intimidation level of the assignment. As for ideas, there are several websites dedicated to science fair project ideas and Janice VanCleave has a whole series with ideas. If that fails, email me with the area of science your student is interested in and I’ll send you a few possible ideas :).
I think what scares me about a science fair is organizing the right amount of information. Its great to have the internet now as compared to when I was a kid but you can get overwhelmed with info. I am also not very creative with presentations. My daughter is the the same way. I also want my daughter to enjoy and take off on her own to create something that is hers with some guidance.
Diana, The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide includes questions to help you zero in on the information you need to include. I tend to be less on the creative side as well, that’s what I get for being more science and math inclined! You should have seen my science fair projects as a kid :), but nowdays I usually look at Google Images or Pinterest for creative inspiration.
I think my biggest fear about the science project has always been coming up with a good question, and then following through.
Amanda, Follow through is always a tough one, but being organized and having the big picture in mind can help with that! The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide will provide you with a big picture view of the project as well as give you organizational tools to use along the way :).
what scares me is the possible criticsm of a project
Collette, I am not a fan a criticism either, I don’t think anyone enjoys it. The point of judging is to give tips and suggestions, that way it’s a learning process, not an attack :). Don’t let it hold you back though, as the science fair project really is a beneficial tool for studying science. You can always have your students present to a “safe” group for the first time.
PS-I’ll be one of the judges at the CurrClick Science Fair this year, so you may want to sign up for that :).
What scares me is everything lol! I am NOT an organized person so “projects” make me cringe 🙂
Thanks for the tips & info, it makes me feel less anxious!
Cyndi, You made me smile :). The science fair project can be so intimidating, especially to parents who are not inclined towards science. Our goal in writing this series and The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide was to make the assignment doable for anyone. Glad to hear that your anxiety has been reduced a bit!
This will be the first year I attempt a science fair project, so the timing of the new book is just perfect – thanks!
Angela, Thanks for your kind words and hope your first attempt is very successful!
My biggest concern about doing a science-fair project is helping my children find topics they have enough interest in to keep their attention and commitment for the full project. I see the great presentation boards here and wonder whether my children would ever create that kind of board. Maybe they would — we’ve never tried this type of thing. They’d have to care about their topic, though. It’s time to commit to a major project, so I need this ebook to show me step-by-step how to get it done.
TC, I agree a good topic choice will help your student stay engaged for the duration of the project, in fact we say the very same thing in the book! The children in the picture were 12 and 14 at the time they did those projects, plus that wasn’t their first board. Your kids need to create their own personal expression of their project, which is what will make it great!
Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to our science fair this year. What am I afraid of? That we won’t pick the right topic. 🙂
DV, Your welcome! There seems to be a theme about picking the right topic ;). The key is to pick something that your student is interested in, that way they enjoy the process and learn quite a bit from it. Your goal is to have a successful learning experience, winning a prize is just a bonus!
I have two special-needs kids, and what scares me most about science fair projects is different for each. For my youngest, I worry about his challenges with expression and communication. He LOVES science, especially experiments, but dreads writing and explaining what he’s learned. With my oldest, my fear is that she won’t be able to focus enough to choose and follow-through with just one topic. She will likely begin several and the challenge will be in guiding her to complete one.
Melissa Z, You do have a challenge on your hands! Your youngest may benefit from recording his presentation, that way he can present in snippets and have multiple chances to get it right. Plus, there’s nothing that says you can’t have your students dictate the information to you as you type it up. The sheets in The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide will help you keep your oldest on task and help your youngest communicate his findings properly.
I’m enjoying the tutorial from Logic Stage ESA to guide these 3Gs to the “Know and Show” / Project Fair at our March support group meeting. 2 of my kids chose report style presentations. We’d done that before as a group and it went well. My 3rd chose a J VanCleave experiment and his work is still sitting around waiting for some “urgency” to complete. These steps for Science fair prep are VERY helpful, almost on the IEW checklist type of helpful. Thanks Paige
Dee, If you like what you see in our logic stage programs, you’ll love The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide. It takes the couple of pages from the logic stage guides and expands them into 62 pages full of helpful hints, specific directions, a sample project and sheets to use with the student :).
This looks great and so helpful for those of us moms who are not so scientifically inclined! 😉 Thanks for also doing the giveaway!
Jennifer, Thank you! That’s what we hope if will be and your welcome for the giveaway!
What a great e-book!
Beth, Thank you!
I’ve never participated in a science fair, either as a student or as a homeschool mom (but that’s going to change in a few months!) So, I guess I’d say the part that scares me is the presentation of the project.
Leslie, Just think of the presentation as a chance to show off what you have done. If you use The Science Fair Project: A Step by Step Guide with your students, by the time they get to actually giving their presentation, they’ll be so comfortable with the material that it will seem simple!