Fifth Grade Science Fair Due Dates:

February25th- Topic and Problem

March11th- Research Report (Final copy with a title page, written report in students own words, and bibliography)

March15th- Rough Draft of Backboard (Title, Question/Problem, Hypothesis, Materials, and Procedures.)

April5th– Final Backboard due

The above dates are when each section of the report is due. The teacher will keep the research report and return it to the student for display during Science Fair.

This is a major project. Any student needing a packet replaced will automatically lose 50 honor points. Assignments not turned in on the due date will also lose 20 honor points each day late.

I have read the Science Fair packet and have reviewed the due dates with my child. I understand that each fifth grade student will be completing an individual project at home.

Parent Signature ______

Student Name ______

**** Five projects from each homeroom will be selected to compete in the school Science Fair during Open House.

Science Fair Rubric for 5th grade

Topic – 10points

Written Report – 100 points

Rough Draft of Back Board – 25 points

Log Book – 25 points

BackBoard – 100 points

Total – 260 points

***Neatness along with correct grammar is important. Both will be taken into account during grading. Points may be lost if messy!

Part I- Topic/Problem

  1. Students will select a problem that is interesting to them. Each student will come to class with 3possible topics and a research question for each. The teacher will conference with each student and help the individual determine his/her final topic.
  2. The problem a student selects must be one that can be solved in 3 to 4 weeks and be expressed in a “yes-no” format.

Websites for ideas -These are a few sites , but there are many more on the web.

Part II- Research Report

  1. Students will conduct “Background Research” on the concept of the problem, and not the problem itself.
  2. For example- If your question is – “Will a plant stem grow taller using water, Coke, or Milk? The research would be about the nutritional value of each liquid and how a plant transports food/liquid.
  3. The report must contain research from at least three different sources. The internet can be used as two sources- students will need to go to the library for other references. The final report must be a minimum of 2 pages of background research written by the student. Students MUST put the information in their own words. Plagiarism will automatically result in a 0 for this portion of the grade.
  4. Remember to include a title page, the written research, and a bibliography. (The correct format for the bibliography is attached.)

Part III- Rough Draft of Backboard

Title This can be in the form of a question or a catchy title for your experiment

Problem/Question What do you want to learn? What are you testing?

Hypothesis This is your educated guess, based on your research, to the answer of your question. A good hypothesis will usually take this form, “If I do this …., then this will happen….because…” (If I water the plant with three different liquids, then the plant watered with Sprite will grow the most because it has the least amount of sugar.)

Materials Describe the sizes and quantities of each item needed. Example – 2 cups offlour not some flour.

Procedures Write down your plan and steps. Each step should be written in detail so someone else could repeat it just the way you did.

Sample of Rough Draft Backboard

Part IV- Log Book, Analysis, Conclusion

  1. Remember to record all your Science Fair experimentation and observations in your log book.
  2. Conduct your experiment. This is the test of your hypotheses. You need to repeat your experimentfive times to see if your results change at all. Take careful measurement each time and record them in your log book.
  3. Take pictures while conducting the experiment. You need pictures for your display board.
  4. Collect your data. These results are “What Happened” Your data must include numbers which can be graphed. After repeating the experiment 5 times, average your results.
  5. Analysis- This is where you take all of your data and put it into words. In one paragraph describe the results of all the data you collected during your experiment.
  6. Conclusion – This is whether or not your hypothesis is confirmed. Now that your experiment is complete, you can compare your results with your hypothesis. Your hypothesis will either be accepted (you predicted the correct outcome) or rejected (your prediction was not correct). It is important to remember that the experiment is not a failure if your hypothesis is rejected!

Within the conclusion, the student willwrite at least one paragraph summarizing the results of the experiment being sure to include:

  • what caused the experiment to react as it did
  • what could be done differently next time
  • ideas for further research

Part V- FinalBackboard

  1. Making your display board is an important part of the Science Fair. This is how you visually present your experiment to others. The project should be presented in a clear, easy to understand format. See the picture below for the correct format. This board must be free standing and not a flat poster board.

Fifth Grade Science

Fair Packet

2011