2010 Sixth Grade Science Fair

Project Log

Blue Ridge Middle School

Student Name:________________________
Teacher:______________________________
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SUMMARY OF DUE DATES
Project Proposal Due: March 26, 2010
Project Due: April 28, 2010
Projects Judged: April 28-May 3, 2010
Spring Showcase to View Projects: May 4, 2010, 5:30-7:00 p.m., BRMS Multipurpose Room
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The Science Fair Project Log will be checked according to the dates on the Six-Week
Timetable by your teacher. This Log is required to be turned in with your science
project display. Keep it in a safe place! If you misplace it, print one from the BRMS
Science Fair Blog website.
The Blue Ridge Middle School Science Fair 2010 Six-Week
Timetable Worksheet
WARM UP- TOPIC, PROBLEM, AND RESEARCH TEACHER'S INITIALS
• Choose a topic or problem to investigate that Mar. 15-19
you're interested in
• Check resources online or in school or community library
• Read and research all the written material you can
find on the topic
• Contact experts in the field
• Write a summary of research
• Begin writing in Student Project Log/packet
• Write Bibliography in Student Project Log ___________

WEEK 1-HYPOTHESIS AND PROCEDURE Mar. 29-Apr. 2

• Write hypothesis in Student Project Log
• Gather all materials needed for experiment
• Plan a procedure to test hypothesis
• Record hypothesis, materials, and procedure in
Student Project Log/packet
• Purchase display board ___________

WEEKS 2&3-EXPERIMENT, OBSERVE AND RECORD Apr. 5-16

• Begin experiment
• Take photographs or drawings of your experiment
• Do not include pictures of yourself on the display
• Observe what happens and record in your Student
Science Fair Project Log/packet ___________

WEEK 4-RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Apr. 19-23

• Organize your recorded results in Student Science
• Fair Project Log/packet Apr. 19-23
• Design and assemble graphs or charts showing results for display
• Write conclusions and record in Student Science Fair Project
Log/packet
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WEEK 5-SCIENCE BOARD DISPLAY Apr. 26-28

• Draw a rough draft of display in Student Science Fair Project Log/packet
• Have a parent or teacher check your display drawing
• Begin work on display
• Complete lettering for the problem in the form of a question
• Lay out the project before attaching
• Check for spelling and grammar
• Compete and set up display board
• Make sure that your Science Fair Project Log/packet is complete ___________

WEEK 6- PROJECT DUE Apr. 28-May 3

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• Your project is due May 3

• Your project will be graded in your classroom May 4
• May 5th, the top 5 projects from each classroom will
be judged in the science lab
• May 6th is the Spring Showcase. All projects will
be on display ___________
What is your TOPIC?_____________________________________

State the PROBLEM in the form of a QUESTION.

(What do you want to find out?) This question will become your title.
Example: Will vitamins help plants grow?
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Research your TOPIC and write a short summary.

(What did you find out about your topic to help find what you think will be the
answer to your question? Write the information here as a summary.)
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(Use additional sheets if necessary)
Form a HYPOTHESIS
(What do you think the answer to your question might be?)
I think that
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Write the PROCEDURES

Write all of the specific amounts of materials you will need to use to conduct the
experiment.
Then, write the detailed steps you will follow for your experiment so that
someone else could conduct the experiment and get the same results.
MATERIALS
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Write the PROCEDURES

(Write detailed steps you will follow to test your experiment.)

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Conduct the EXPERIMENT

(You might want to take pictures or make drawings while you are conducting
your experiment and keep them in this packet, but remember, you cannot
include pictures of yourself on the display board.)
OBSERVE and Record
(Observe and record everything that happens during your experiment.)
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Show your RESULTS

(Show the results of your experiment by making practice drawings on this page
and the next in the form of charts or graphs.)
Chart
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Show your RESULTS

Graph
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Draw a CONCLUSION
Draw a conclusion from your results. The answer to your problem, or question,
will be your conclusion. Write your conclusion in the form of a statement.
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Add your BIBLIOGRAPHY

Use the website, Son of Citation machine as a guide for listing your resources
used in researching your topic.
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Examples of MLA Style

1. Book with one author or editor:

Bell, Stewart. The Martyr's Oath: The Apprenticeship of a Homegrown Terrorist.

Mississauga, ON: Wiley, 2005.

2. Book with two authors or editors:

Bohlman, Herbert M., and Mary Jane Dundas. The Legal, Ethical and International
Environment of Business. 5th ed. Cincinnati, OH: West, 2002.

3. Book with no author or editor stated:

Maclean's Canada's Century: An Illustrated History of the People and Events

That Shaped Our Identity. Toronto: Key, 1999.

4. Article in an encyclopedia with no author stated:

"Nazi Party." New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1997 ed.

5. Article in a magazine, journal, periodical, newsletter, or newspaper with no

author stated:

"100 Years of Dust and Glory." Popular Mechanics Sept. 2001: 70-75.

6. Article in a magazine, journal, periodical, newsletter, or newspaper with one or

more authors:

Dareini, Ali Akbar. "Iranian President Defends Country's Nuclear Ambitions." Buffalo
News 15 Jan. 2006: A6.
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7. Internet citation for an article from an online magazine, journal, periodical,

newsletter, or newspaper with no author stated:

"Taiwan: A Dragon Economy and the Abacus." BrookesNews.Com. 8 Dec. 2003.

10 Oct. 2005 <http://www.brookesnews.com/030812taiwan.html>.

DISPLAY your Project

On the next page is an example of a science fair project that is on a display board.
This might help you to organize how you wish to set your project up. On the page after the
example, make a drawing of your own science fair project display. Once your drawing is
complete, have an adult check it. Then lay out your entire project on your display board.

Then lay out your entire project on your display board. You will have time to create
the titles and the typed sections for your project, including a chart or graph, in the computer lab.
Do not glue anything until you are sure it's how you want it to look, and remember, you cannot
include pictures of yourself on the display board. The display should be eye-catching, organized
and neat. Printing lettering is suggested. Check for correct spelling. Once everything is set up
the way you want it, glue your science project to the display board.

Lastly, remember when you bring your science project to school, you need to also
include this completed Science Fair Project Log.
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Student Name:_____________________

Class:_____________________________

Project Title:________________________________________________

SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT-60 POINTS

Title/Problem (0-5) ___________

Research (0-5) ___________

Hypothesis (0-5) ___________

Materials (0-5) ___________

Procedures (0-5) ___________

Observations/Data (0-5) ___________

Graphs/Charts Used (0-5) ___________

Can explain project using scientific terms (0-5) ___________

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Conclusion (0-5) ___________

Science Fair Project Log (0-15) ___________

Subtotal ___________

CREATIVITY-20 POINTS

Problem/research:

Originality of Problem (0-5) ___________

Problem at Child’s Level (0-5) ___________

Creative Approach (0-5) ___________

Experiment:

Creative Experiment (0-5) ___________

Subtotal ___________

DISPLAY-20 POINTS

Organized/Easily Understood (0-5) ___________

Spelling/Grammar (0-5) ___________

Legible/Neatness (0-5) ___________

Presentation Appealing (0-5) ___________

Subtotal ___________

TOTAL POINTS ___________

Science Project Proposal Form

Name: __________________________
The question I plan to investigate in my experiment (please phrase as a question):
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Science Fair Project Checklist Circle one

1. Are you following the safety rules for a topic (no animals, not dangerous, Yes/No
no explosives)?
2. Is the topic interesting enough to read about, then work on for the next
couple of weeks? Yes/No
3. Can you find at least 3 sources of written information on the subject?
Yes/No
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4. Can you measure changes to the important variables using a number that
represents a quantity such as a count, percentage, length, width, weight, Yes/No
voltage, velocity, energy, time, etc.? Or just as good, are you measuring a
variable that is simply present or not present? For example,
• Lights ON in one trial, the lights OFF in another trial
• USE fertilizer in one trial, then DON'T USE fertilizer in another trial
5. Can you control your variables? Can you control other factors that might
influence your experiment so that they do not interfere? Yes/No
6. Is your experiment safe to perform?
Yes/No
7. Do you have all the materials and equipment you need for your science
fair project, or will you be able to obtain them quickly and at a very low cost? Yes/No
8. Do you have enough time to do your experiment more than once before
the science fair? Yes/No

I have discussed the project idea and the checklist with my parent(s) and I am willing to
commit to following through on this project.

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Student Signature/Date Signed

I have discussed the project idea and the checklist with my student and I believe he or
she can follow through with this project.
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Parent Signature/Date Signed

Dear Parents,

We are excited to announce the dates for our 2010 Science Fair and Spring Showcase at Blue
Ridge Middle School. Your child's teacher will provide your child with a packet to provide support
through out the process. Included in the packet is a six-week timetable worksheet that will
describe process and will list the dates that each portion of the project is due. It is important that
you and your child understand and follow the scientific method when he/she is creating the
science project.

Science fair projects follow the steps of the scientific method:

• Projects are to be worked on independently - not in pairs or in group

• Investigate and identify and interest or question you might have (I wonder what my
vitamins would do to that plant?) Please note that science projects that may cause
harm to an animal or are dangerous or explosive are not permissible.

• Select a topic based on your question (magnets, plants, color, rocks, density, etc).
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• State the problem in the form of a question (To be used later as your title: example: Will
vitamins help plants grow?)

• Research your topic and write a short summary. (Gather information to help answer the
topic question. Use encyclopedias, magazines, books, newspaper articles, videotapes, or
interview with professionals in the field. Then write a short summary of what you learned
from your research about your topic question in the Science Project Log.)

• Form a hypothesis-what you think the answer to your question might be (For example: I
think that if I give vitamin C to my plants, then it will help the plants grow taller).

• Write the procedures or detailed steps that you will follow in your experiment to test your
hypothesis. (Be sure to include all the materials that you use.)

• Conduct your experiment. (While doing your experiment, you might want to take photos
or make drawings to use later on your board. A picture of yourself cannot be posted on
the display board.)

• Observe what happens and record the information in the Science Project Log.

• Show results using a chart or graph (Make sure you report all your results honestly-both
good and bad. Scientists very often find that experiments do not always lead to the
expected results.)

• Draw a conclusion from your results. (Will vitamins help plants grow? The answer to this
will be your conclusion. (An example conclusion could be: In my test, the plants watered
with vitamin C did not grow faster which was my prediction.)

• Display your project on a science fair display board.

All of the steps of the scientific method are included in your Science Project Log that you will fill out
as you follow the Six Week Timetable. If you have any questions, you can ask your parents, your
teacher, or a science fair coordinator at school. We are here to help you.

Have fun!
The 6th Grade Teachers at BRMS