**Lesson Plan: Simple Investigations**
**Grade:** Year 3
**Subject:** Science
**Duration:** 60 minutes
**Topic:** Simple Investigations
**Objectives:**
1. Students will understand the concept of scientific investigations.
2. Students will learn the basic steps of conducting a simple investigation.
3. Students will conduct a simple investigation using common classroom materials.
4. Students will communicate their investigation results with peers.
**Materials:**
- Chart paper/whiteboard
- Markers
- Magnifying glasses
- Measuring cups
- Rulers
- Plastic cups
- Water
- Seeds (beans work well)
- Soil
- Journals or notebooks
- Pencils
**Lesson Outline:**
**Introduction (10 minutes):**
1. **Greeting and Warm-Up:**
- Begin with a friendly greeting and a brief discussion about science.
- Ask students what they think scientists do and what an investigation is.
2. **Introduction to the Topic:**
- Explain that today’s lesson will be about conducting simple scientific investigations.
- Discuss what a scientific investigation involves: asking questions, making predictions, conducting experiments, observing, and drawing conclusions.
**Teaching/Input (15 minutes):**
1. **Steps of a Simple Investigation:**
- **Ask a Question:** What do we want to find out?
- **Make a Prediction:** What do we think will happen?
- **Conduct the Experiment:** Test our prediction.
- **Observe and Record Data:** What do we see happening?
- **Draw a Conclusion:** What did we learn?
2. **Examples and Discussion:**
- Provide a simple example (e.g., What happens to a plant if it is not watered?).
- Discuss potential predictions with the class.
- Use the chart paper/whiteboard to write down the steps and example.
**Activity (25 minutes):**
1. **Preparation:**
- Divide students into small groups.
- Hand out materials to each group.
2. **Conducting the Investigation:**
- Each group will plant a bean seed in a cup with soil.
- One group will water their plant daily, and another group will not water their plant.
- Ask each group to make predictions about how their plant will grow over a week.
- Have students observe, measure, and record their plant's growth daily for a week in their journals.
**Discussion and Sharing (10 minutes):**
1. **Group Presentations:**
- After a week, have each group share their observations and conclusions with the class.
2. **Class Discussion:**
- Discuss the differences in plant growth between the watered and non-watered plants.
- Relate observations to predictions and draw conclusions together.
- Emphasize the importance of investigating and learning from the results.
**Conclusion and Wrap-Up (5 minutes):**
1. **Review Key Points:**
- Summarize the steps of a simple investigation.
- Reinforce the idea that making predictions and exploring outcomes is a part of being a scientist.
2. **Closing Activity:**
- Ask students to think of another question they would like to investigate on their own.
- Encourage them to discuss their ideas with their parents and potentially conduct an investigation at home.
**Assessment:**
- Participation in the group activity.
- Accuracy and detail in journal entries.
- Group presentations on findings and conclusions.
- Understanding displayed during class discussions.
**Homework:**
- Ask students to choose an everyday question they are curious about and think about how they might investigate it at home. They can write a short description of their question, prediction, and how they would test their prediction in their journals.