ECUSD 7 Learning Fair

What to Do….

All displays need to be on a tri-fold “science fair” type board.  The boards (any size) can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Michael’s, Office Max, or Office Depot.

 

All projects need to follow the KWL format.

K=What I Know, W=What I want to know, L=What I Learned

 

FOR LEARNING FAIR, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SIMPLY RESEARCH A TOPIC YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT,  OR YOU CAN DO AN EXPERIMENT-TYPE PROJECT!

What I KNOW

*This information will be on the LEFT side of the display board.

1. Choose a topic that interests you. Find a good Learning Fair project idea that is interesting to you. It needs to be something exciting, something that you want to do!  Include all of the information you know about this topic.  This might be in written form, pictures, graphs, etc.  Any writing or labeling will vary depending on the age of the child.  For example, a kindergartner may complete one or two sentences and/or label pictures or drawings.  Older children would be expected to do more writing.

 

What I WANT to know

*This information will be on the RIGHT side of the display board.

2.  Ask questions.  For this section, you should write about what you want to know about the topic.  This section should also include where you got your information.  You can use resource books, school text books, Internet sites, magazines, etc.  Use materials that are not too hard for you to read and understand.  More challenging materials can be paraphrased by parents.

For example: If your topic is boats you might ask or research…
 

What types of boats are there?
Where are boats found?
Why do boats float?

These questions are just to get you started. They lead to the next step...

NUMBERS 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 ONLY APPLY IF YOU ARE DOING AN EXPERIMENT-TYPE PROJECT!

3.  Develop an important question. This question will be what your project is all about. Your whole project should have this idea in it.  You should come up with an important question that you will find the answer to.

For example: If your topic is boats your question might be…

What shape of a boat floats best?

 

4.  Guess the answer to the question. This is called the hypothesis. Don't let this word scare you. It only means what you GUESSED! You should write it down next to your question. Don't change it! Even if during the experiment you think it's wrong, don't change it!

5.  List the supplies you need to test the question you have chosen. You will want to write this list.

For example: If your topic is boats, your list might look like this…

1. aluminum foil to make different shaped boats

2. ruler

3. scissors

4. tub, sink, or pan of water

5. tape

6. camera

7. cardboard for display (three sided)

8. glue

9. paper

10. computer (optional)

6.  Gather the items on your list. If you think the project is too hard, this is where to stop and find another.

 

What I LEARNED

*This information will be on the MIDDLE section of your board.

7.  Try to get an answer to your question.  Make sure you follow the Safety Rules and have someone older help you with anything that may be dangerous.  Take pictures as you might want to include them on your board.

8.  Write the results or what you learned!

9.  Write or type the report.  Your report might include three or more sentences. If you need help, use some of these sentence starters.

My Learning Fair project is about________

I wanted to find out _________.

I guessed___________________.

I tested it by______________.

So I learned_______________.

I GUESSED AND I TESTED ARE ONLY TO BE USED

IF YOU DID AN EXPERIMENT!

 

10.  Make the display. On the tri-fold board, you will need the following information:

 

                                                As stated above…..

 

When looking at the board, the LEFT side should include the information YOU ALREADY KNOW about the topic……..

• Include all of the information you know about this topic.  This might be in written form, pictures, graphs, etc.  Any writing or labeling will vary depending on the age of the child.

When looking at the board, the RIGHT side should include the information YOU WANT TO KNOW…….

• For this section, you should write about what you want to know about the topic. You should include…..

  • an important question you want to answer

  • your hypothesis (Your guess for the important question you want answered….ONLY IF YOU DID AN EXPERIMENT).

  • This section should also include where you got your information.  This could be found in textbooks, magazines, resource books, etc.

When looking at the board, the MIDDLE section should include the information YOU LEARNED.

• This section will include the answer to your question.  It might also include pictures, graphs, and/or any results related to the question.  You should include a report.  If you need help, REMEMBER to use some of these sentence starters listed above in number 9.

• You should make labels for each section on your board.  For example, the….

  • Left side labels might include: What I Know

  • Middle section labels might include: What I Learned

    • If you did an experiment-type project, you can include Hypothesis, Testing, and Results labels

  • Right side labels might include: What I Want to Know, My Question, Resources

 

 

Practice different layouts on your display board.  Find a layout that you like. Neatly attach the title, labels, pages, and photos to the learning fair display board. If you have samples to set on the table in front of your display, prepare them also.  Be sure to include the Safety Rules and Regulations sheet (attached).  You also need to make sure your name and your teacher’s name are on the back of your display board.

 

Have fun participating in the ECUSD 7 Learning Fair!

 

An online version of this form can be found at http://amacia9.wix.com/ecusd7-learning-fair