Sponsored Content NBC News Learn is a former division of NBC News ‐ distributing the journalism and storytelling of NBC News to students in the classroom, at home, and in the community. Science of Snow – Inquiry Guide (Grades 4 – 12) May 27, 2020 | 32 minutes, 38 seconds read This document is a companion piece to video titled Science of Snow and is intended as a resource for educators. Background and Planning Information About the Video Science of Snow discusses the formation of snow, its modification after accumulating on the ground, and how these affect conditions for winter sports. Featured are Sarah Konrad, a glaciologist at the University of Wyoming and a 2006 Olympian in the biathlon and cross-country skiing, and Cort Anastasio, a chemistry professor at the University of California-Davis. They describe the role of supercooled (below freezing, but not frozen) water droplets and tiny particles, such as dust or smoke, in snow formation. Also included is how organizers of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi have been concerned that snowfall may be less than ideal for the games, so they stored large amounts of snow from the previous winter season. 0:00 0:14 Series opening 0:15 0:35 Why snow conditions are important 0:36 1:04 Introduction to the science of snow 1:05 1:20 Introducing Konrad 1:21 1:43 Defining snow 1:44 2:16 Explaining the importance of a nucleating particle 2:17 2:43 Demonstrating the freezing process 2:44 2:59 Explaining dendrites 3:00 3:44 Introducing Anastasio, who continues explaining snowflake categories 3:45 4:15 Describing why snow conditions are important 4:16 4:28 Summary 4:29 4:41 Closing credits Language Support To aid those with limited English proficiency or others who need help focusing on the video, click the Transcript tab on the side of the video window, then copy and paste the text into a document for student reference. Next Generation Science Standards The following inquiry investigations might be part of a summative assessment for these performance expectations. See NGSS documents for additional related Common Core State Standards for ELA/Literacy and Mathematics. Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. Engineering Design MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking ito account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions. MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem (page 1) Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model to predict and/or describe phenomena. Common Core State Standards Connections: ELA/Literacy – RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content Facilitate SCIENCE Inquiry Encourage inquiry using a strategy modeled on the research-based science writing heuristic. Student work will vary in complexity and depth depending on grade level, prior knowledge, and creativity. Use the prompts liberally to encourage thought and discussion. Student Copy Masters begin on page 12. Explore Understanding Near the end of the video (3:45–4:15) the commentator states, “In Sochi, after two mild winters, organizers have made contingency plans that include storing about 588,000 cubic yards of snow under insulating blankets in nearby mountains. But experts worry that stored snow can't quite compete with freshly fallen powder.” Share the image (at 3:55) of the huge snow pile under its insulating blanket and have students discuss the impact storing snow in this manner might have on the snow in the pile. A conservative estimate for the weight of a cubic foot of snow is 20 pounds. Work through the calculation with your students to estimate how much the snow banked in Sochi might weigh. Ask students to think of everyday examples in which large numbers of small objects (modeling snowflakes) are packed together, with spaces in between. Use the following prompts to help students ponder the properties of many small objects crowded in a small space. I’ve shoveled wet snow, and it takes more effort than shoveling dry snow because.... When snow is in a huge pile.... The overall volume, including air spaces, can be found by.... The air spaces could be reduced by.... The actual volume taken up by snow (or other objects) could be found by.... The fraction of the volume taken up by the objects themselves could be found by.... Some factors controlling how closely objects in a space pack together are.... When snowflakes (or other objects) in a given space are compressed... The qualities of snow change as the snow cover ages by.... Show Science of Snow and encourage students to jot down notes while they watch. Continue the discussion of the properties of snow with prompts such as: When I watched the video, I thought about.... Some shapes of snowflakes are.... Factors affecting the shapes of snowflakes are.... After snow has fallen, some factors that can change its properties are.... The shapes of snowflakes in the snow pack gradually.... These new shapes affect skiing, snowboarding, etc., by.... Storing snow, in the manner that is being used at Sochi, might.... (page 2) Ask Beginning Questions Stimulate small-group discussions with the prompt: This video makes me think about these questions.... Then, ask groups to list questions they have about the shapes of snowflakes, the reasons for these shapes, and how and why the shapes change as the snow cover (snow on the ground) ages and is used for winter sports. Ask groups to choose one question and phrase it in such a way as to be researchable and/or testable. The following are some examples: Why are snowflake shapes based on hexagons? What factors determine the shape of snowflakes? What fraction of the volume of accumulated snow is actually ice, as opposed to trapped air? How could we model the ratio of air/ice in snow using other types of materials that consist of particles with trapped air? How might we design an experiment to find the fraction of snow that is ice? How might we design an experiment to find the solid fraction of another packed material? In our experiments, how will we measure the volume of trapped air? How does the overall density of a packed substance compare to the actual densities of its particles? Design Investigations Choose one of the following options based on your students’ knowledge, creativity, and ability level and your available materials. Actual materials needed would vary greatly based on these factors as well. Possible Materials Allow time for students to examine and manipulate the materials that are available. Doing so often aids students in refining their questions or prompts new ones that should be recorded for future investigation. In this inquiry, students might be provided with a large quantity of small, similarly shaped objects (shaved ice, uncooked rice or noodles, cooked rice or noodles, cooked popcorn, breakfast cereals, toy jacks, nuts or screws, foam packing pellets, etc.), along with a cylindrical or other straight vertical-sided container, and graduated cylinders or other means of measuring volume. Safety Considerations Augment your own safety procedures with NSTA’s Safety Portal at http://www.nsta.org/portals/safety.aspx. Open Choice Approach(Copy Master page 12) Groups might come together to agree on one question for which they will explore the answer, or each group might explore something different. Some ideas include modeling how to determine the fraction by volume that is taken up by solids (versus trapped air) in snow, observing how the density of a given amount of snow changes over time, or modeling how shape changes when outside forces act on a snowflake. Give students free rein in determining how they will explore their chosen question. To help students envision how to find the volume of air trapped in a liter of snow, use prompts such as the following: The actual volume of the particles is less than the total bulk volume because.... We will determine the bulk volume by.... We will determine the volume of trapped air by.... The kinds of evidence we need in order to support our claim include.... Students should brainstorm to form a plan they would have to follow in order to answer the question, which might include researching background information. Work with students to develop safe procedures that control variables and enable them to make accurate measurements. Insist that they get your approval on their procedures before they start any investigation. Encourage students with prompts such as the following: Information we need to understand before we can start our investigation is.... The variables we will test are.... The variables we will control are.... The steps we will follow are.... We will record and organize our data using.... To conduct our investigation safely, we will.... To explore the relationships among shape of small objects, bulk volume of these objects, and actual volume not including spaces in between, students might place the aggregate objects in a container that allows determination of their bulk volume. They might then pour measured amounts of water in to fill the spaces, and then calculate the fraction of the volume that is actually solid. Groups might try more than one material, or different groups might do different ones and then compare results, followed by hypothesizing about reasons for differences. Students might model the effect of forces on falling and fallen snow by mimicking actions such as wind or pressure on cereal, popcorn, or foam pellets. They could observe how the materials change and suggest how those changes impact the qualities of the materials (snow). (page 3) Focused Approach(Copy Master pages 13–14) Exploring the density of snow could be a simple matter depending on where you live and what season it is. If you can look out your classroom window and see snow you might have your students explore this issue firsthand through what could be a winter-long activity as presented at: http://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/opinion/977/snow-depth-and-density-what-s-foot-snow Give students that do not have access to snow some leeway in determining how they will explore the question of how the amount of moisture in snow affects its density, but insist that they get your approval on their procedures before they start any investigation. Ask students questions such as the following to spark their thinking: What kinds of evidence can you collect that will be appropriate for supporting your claim(s)? What is volume? How do the properties of the snow change as it volume changes? How could volume be used to identify if a given snow cover is suitable for a Winter Olympic event? What else, besides the material itself, might get included in a volume measurement? How might we find the fraction of the bulk volume that actually consists of the solid? What factors or actions might cause the bulk volume of a sample to change? Are there any properties of the material that depend on how tightly it is packed? Students might model snow cover using cooked and uncooked rice of the same kind or other materials in a dry and wet form. Guide students with prompts such as: We think _____ can be used to model snow because.... We might be able to change the bulk volume of our sample by.... We estimate that the fraction of the volume occupied by the solid part will be about.... The way we choose to measure the volume is.... We choose this method because.... Another method we could use to determine volume is.... Students could use unmarked cylinders to take two, equal-sized samples of the dry and wet material modeling the snow. Then, students could calculate the volume of the cylinder (pr2h). Younger students might use the app found at: http://www.mathopenref.com/cylindervolume.html. Students could also place each sample in an appropriately labeled self-sealing bag and weigh it. Use prompts such as: Collecting snow samples.... Snow samples have different mass because.... The differences between the snow samples are explained by.... If the samples had been real snow, then.... Our samples model the fresh and stored snow at Sochi by.... Students calculate the density of each of the samples and could write their findings on the respective self-sealing bag (density = mass/volume). Help students understand this problem, using these or similar prompts: The way we choose to determine the density is.... We choose this method because.... The unit of density we are using is.... (g/cm3) Another method we could use to determine density is.... The implications of less/more dense snow is.... Snow could be made more dense by.... If my investigation were done with real snow, we might see.... If I were a skier I’d rather ski on _____ because.... The age of the snow cover.... Students might now compare their results to those of classmates who might have completed this activity in a different way. Groups might discuss with one another or with the class as a whole reasons for observed/measured differences and their implications for snow. (page 4) Adapt for High School Students High school students with geometry and chemistry in their backgrounds might explore theoretical models for how snow is compacted. They might predict how being compressed will change snow and then conduct research on the ways in which snow is changed based on the depth to which it is deposited. Particular attention should be given to ways in which the quality of the snow changes. They might come across phrases such as “random close packing” or “body centered cubic.” The might also extend to their investigations to how glaciers form and how the properties of glacial ice contrast with a mountain snow cover that melts away each year. Make a Claim Backed by Evidence As students carry out their investigations, ensure they record their observations. As needed, suggest ways they might organize their data using tables or graphs. Students should analyze their data and then make one or more claims based on the evidence their data shows. Encourage students with this prompt: As evidenced by... I claim... because.... An example claim regarding the density of dry and wet snow might be: As evidenced by our measurements showing wet snow is more is more dense than dry snow, I claim that the stored snow in Sochi is less desirable for skiing because it is has more water in it and would cause the surface to be more icy. Present and Compare Findings Encourage students to prepare presentations that outline their inquiry investigations so they can compare results with others. Students might do a Gallery Walk through the presentations and write peer reviews, as would be done on published science and engineering findings. Students might also make comparisons with material they find on the Internet, the information presented in the video, or an expert they chose to interview. Remind students to credit their original sources in their comparisons. Elicit comparisons from students with prompts such as the following: My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those that I found on the Internet in that.... Students might make comparisons like the following: My ideas are similar to those of the experts and athletes in the video because my model showed that dry and wet snow have very different properties. Reflect on Learning Students should reflect on their understanding, thinking about how their ideas have changed or what they know now that they didn’t before. Encourage reflection, using prompts such as the following: I claim my ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson because of this evidence... My ideas changed in the following ways... I wish I had been able to spend more time on.... Another investigation I would like to try is.... Inquiry Assessment See the rubric included in the student Copy Masters on page 18. (page 5) Facilitate ENGINEERING DESIGN Inquiry Encourage inquiry using a strategy modeled on the research-based science writing heuristic. Student work will vary in complexity and depth depending on grade level, prior knowledge, and creativity. Use the prompts liberally to encourage thought and discussion. Student Copy Masters begin on page 15. Explore Understanding Guide a discussion to find out what students know about ways that people keep things cold. Use the following or similar prompts to start students talking. Reasons to keep items cold include.... Some ways that people keep items cold include.... Storage containers that might keep items cold a long time include.... Before refrigeration, people kept foods cold by.... The temperature range at which things are kept cold is.... Show Science of Snow and encourage students to take notes while they watch. Continue the discussion of cold storage methods using the following or similar prompts: When I watched the video, I thought about.... The experts in the video explained that.... Properties of snow include.... Properties that change over time include.... In Sochi, snow from last year was stored because.... Olympic organizers stored snow from last year by.... Snow properties that athletes like include.... Snow properties that may change in stored snow include.... Identify Problems Stimulate small-group discussion with the prompt: This video makes me think about these problems.... Then have small groups list questions they have about: What is the best way to store snow over time? Ask groups to choose one question and phrase it in such a way as to reflect an engineering problem that is researchable and/or testable. Remind students that engineering problems usually have multiple solutions. Some examples are: How might optimum snow properties be maintained during competitions? What is the best way to store snow over time? How might artificial snow with the desirable properties be produced when natural snow is not available? Design Investigations Choose one of the following options based on your students’ knowledge, creativity, and ability level and your available materials. Actual materials needed would vary greatly based on these factors as well. Possible Materials Allow time for students to examine and manipulate the materials you have available. Doing so often aids students in refining their questions or prompts new ones that should be recorded for future investigations. In this inquiry, students might construct their own cold-storage units for maintaining snow over time. Materials they might use include foam, paper, plastic, metal, and glass cups of different sizes, thermometers, and newspaper, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, cotton fabric, wool fabric, and polyester fabric for insulation. You will also need shaved or crushed ice to simulate snow unless you can get actual snow from outside the school. (page 6) Safety Considerations To augment your own safety procedures, see NSTA’s Safety Portal at http://www.nsta.org/portals/safety.aspx. Open Choice Approach(Copy Master page 15) Groups might come together to agree on one problem for which they will design a solution, or each group might explore different problems, such as holding a competition to see who can build a storage unit that will keep snow the longest. Give students free rein in determining how they will engineer their solutions, but insist that they get approval before building and testing. To help students envision their investigations, use prompts such as the following: The problem we are solving is.... The materials we could use are.... We are designing a solution that will.... Acceptable evidence for our solution would include.... Lead whole-class or small-group discussions to establish the criteria and constraints within which solutions will be designed. Remind students that criteria are factors by which they can judge the success of their effort and that constraints are limitations to the effort and are often related to materials and time. We think we can solve the problem by.... Our criteria for success are... and we will determine them by.... Constraints that might limit the range of potential solutions are.... Students should brainstorm to form a plan they would have to follow in order to solve the problem, which might include researching background information. Work with students to develop safe procedures that enable them to collect data. For example, students might build clear containers that model popular clear insulated tumblers and determine if the container’s shape impacts the melting time of a given amount of snow at room temperature. Encourage students with prompts such as the following: Information we need to understand before we can start our investigation is.... We will construct our storage system by.... We will test our process by.... We will record and organize our data using.... To conduct our investigation safely, we will.... After communicating information to the class about their solution and reflecting on their own solution as well as those of other groups, allow the class or small groups to go through a redesign process to improve their solutions. Focused Approach(Copy Master pages 16–17) The following exemplifies one way students might establish a set of criteria and constraints for a snow storage system and that offers a solution to the problem What is the ideal way to store snow over time? Give students leeway in determining exactly how they will build their systems, but insist that they get your approval on their procedures before they start any investigation. (page 7) Allow time for groups to examine all of the materials available to them. Guide whole-class or small-group discussions to identify the problem they are solving and then to identify criteria and constraints within which their solution will be developed. Remind students that criteria are factors by which they can judge the success of their effort and that constraints are limitations to the effort and are often related to materials and time. Use prompts such as the following to focus their thoughts: The problem we are solving is.... The materials we could use are.... We are designing a solution that will.... The science concepts that we will need to use in creating our design include.... We think we can solve the problem by.... Our criteria for success are.... Constraints that might limit the range of potential solutions are.... Acceptable evidence that would support our claims of success for our design include.... Encourage students to think about containers used to keep things cold and how that technology might be adapted using the available materials. Students might limit themselves to using all clear containers so melting can be observed directly or they might devise a way to introduce one small hole of a standard size in the bottom of the container to judge the last container to start dripping or the container that drips the least over an established time as the optimum method to store snow over time. Students could also decide on a set time to open the containers and make comparisons of the liquid to solid ratios. Yet another way to determine success would be to include thermometers in the setups and the last one to show a rise in temperature above 0°C would be the optimum cold-storage unit for maintaining snow over time. Also, if the containers were to be opened at the same time, students could measure from the top of the container down to the surface of the material used as snow, because as snow melts it takes up less volume (if container size has been controlled). After communicating information to the class about their solution and reflecting on their own solution as well as those of other groups, allow the class or small groups to go through a redesign process to improve their solutions. Make a Claim Backed by Evidence As students carry out their investigations, ensure they record their observations and measurements. Students should analyze their observations in order to state one or more claims. Encourage students with this prompt: As evidenced by... I claim... because.... or I claim our design (was/was not) successful because.... An example claim might be: We claim our design was not successful because water began to drip from our container within 4 minutes whereas Jazmin’s group’s container did not start dripping for 15 minutes. Ten milliliters of water dripped from our container in the same time that just two milliliters dripped from Jazmin’s group’s container. Present and Compare Findings (page 8) Encourage students to prepare presentations that outline their inquiry investigations so they can compare results with others. Students might do a Gallery Walk through the presentations and write peer reviews, as would be done on published science and engineering findings. Students might also make comparisons with material they find on the Internet, the information presented in the video, or an expert they chose to interview. Remind students to credit their original sources in their comparisons. Elicit comparisons from students with prompts such as: My findings are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) those that I found on the Internet in that.... Students might make comparisons like the following: My results were different from the claims made by the clear insulated tumbler company that I found on the Internet that stated that ice would be maintained for 20 minutes. Even though my container looked like that, my snow started melting much faster. Perhaps it was because their ice was solid and mine was shaved. Reflect and Redesign Students should reflect on their understanding, thinking about how their ideas have changed or what they know now that they didn’t before. They should also evaluate their own designs in light of others’ presentations and propose changes that will optimize their designs. Encourage reflection, using prompts such as the following: My ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson because evidence showed that.... My design would be more effective if I _____ because I learned that.... My ideas changed in the following ways.... When thinking about the claims made by the experts, I am confused about.... One part of the investigation I am most proud of is.... Inquiry Assessment See the rubric included in the student Copy Masters on page 18. (page 9) COPY MASTER: Open Choice SCIENCE Inquiry Guide for Students Science of Snow Use this guide to investigate a question about the packing of snow or other materials. Write your report in your science notebook. Ask Beginning Questions My class discussion and the video encouraged me to think about these questions.... Design Investigations Choose one question. Brainstorm with your teammates to come up with ways in which you might be able to answer the question. Look up information as needed. Add safety precautions. Use the prompts below to help focus your thinking. The variable we will test is.... The variables we will control are.... The steps we will follow are.... We will record and organize our data using.... To conduct the investigation safely, we will.... Record Data and Observations Record your observations. Organize your data in tables or graphs as appropriate. Make a Claim Backed by Evidence Analyze your data and then make one or more claims based on the evidence your data shows. Make sure that the claim goes beyond summarizing the relationship between the variables. My Evidence My Claim My Reason Present and Compare Findings Listen to presentations of other groups and create a peer review as scientists do for one another. You might also compare your findings with those of experts in the video or that you have access to, or material on the Internet. How do your findings compare? Be sure to give credit to others when you use their findings in your comparisons. My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those that I found on the Internet in that.... Reflect on Learning Think about your results. How do they fit with what you already knew? How do they change what you thought you knew about the topic? My ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson because of this evidence.... My ideas changed in the following ways.... One idea/concept I am still working to understand involves.... (page 10) COPY MASTER: Focused SCIENCE Inquiry Guide for Students Science of Snow Use this guide to investigate a question about how moisture affects the density of snow. Write your report in your science notebook. Ask Beginning Questions How can we determine what affect the amount of moisture in snow has on its qualities? Design Investigations Brainstorm with your teammates to come up with ways in which you might be able to answer the question. Decide on one idea and write a procedure that will allow you to safely explore the question. Use the prompts below to help focus your thinking. The variable we will test is.... The responding variable will be.... The variables we will control, or keep the same, are.... The materials we will use are.... The steps we will follow include.... We will repeat our test _____times to make sure.... To conduct our investigation safely, we need to.... Record Data and Observations Organize your observations and data in tables or graphs as appropriate, such as the example below. Volume of Wet and Dry Snow Models State of Material Volume (cm3) Density (g/cm3) Dry Wet Ideas for Analyzing Data Were you able to observe a difference in density? Why or why not? If so, by how much? Did you notice that density was related to the type of material you examined? Why or why not? If so, what generalizations can you make about the materials you examined? In the activity, you changed the density of the materials you examined by adding moisture. In Sochi the density of the stored snow was increased because of the depth of the snow that was piled above it. How do you think these two things might be related and what effect does the more dense snow have for skiers? What sources of error might remain in this experiment, other than those for which we carefully controlled? How might you address these issues in a follow-up experiment? (page 11) Make a Claim Backed by Evidence Analyze your data and then make one or more claims based on the evidence your data shows. Make sure that the claim goes beyond summarizing the relationship between the variables. My Evidence My Claim My Reason Present and Compare Findings Listen to presentations of other groups and create a peer review as scientists do for one another. You might also compare your findings with those of experts in the video or that you have access to, or material on the Internet. How do your findings compare? Be sure to give credit to others when you use their findings in your comparisons. My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that.... My ideas are similar to (or different from) those that I found on the Internet in that.... Reflect on Learning Think about what you found out. How does it fit with what you already knew? How does it change what you thought you knew? I claim that my ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson because evidence that shows.... My ideas changed in the following ways.... One concept I still do not understand involves.... One part of the investigation I am most proud of is.... Something that surprised me the most was.... A challenge that I (we) had to overcome was.... (page 12) COPY MASTER: Open Choice ENGINEERING DESIGN Inquiry Guide for Students Science of Snow Use this as a guide to design a snow-storage system. Record all of your notes and observations in your science notebook. Identify Problems Our class discussion and the video make me think about problems such as.... Design Investigations Choose your materials and brainstorm with your teammates to discuss how you will make and test your composite. Take notes on your discussions. Use these prompts to help you: The materials we will use include.... Our criteria for success are.... Acceptable evidence for our solution would include.... The constraints within which we will work are.... We will record and organize our data using.... To conduct our investigation safely, we will... Test Your Model Record and organize your data and observations from your tests using tables and/or graphs. Make a Claim Backed by Evidence Analyze your results and make one or more claims based on the evidence your data shows. Make sure that the claim goes beyond summarizing the relationship between the variables. My Evidence My Claim My Reason Present and Compare Findings Listen to presentations of other groups and create a peer review as scientists do for one another. You might also compare your findings with those of experts in the video or that you have access to, or material on the Internet. How do your findings compare? Be sure to give credit to others when you use their findings in your comparisons. My findings are similar to (or different from) the experts in the video in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) my classmates in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) what I found on the Internet in that.... Reflect and Redesign Think about what you learned. How does it change your thinking? Your design? I claim that my ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson in that.... My design would be more effective if I _____ because I learned that.... When thinking about the claims made by the expert, I am confused about.... One part of the investigation I am most proud of is... (page 13) COPY MASTER: Focused ENGINEERING DESIGN Inquiry Guide for Students Science of Snow Use this guide to establish a set of criteria and constraints for a snow-storage system and then construct and test one. Record your notes and observations in your science notebook. Identify Problems What is the optimal way to store snow over time? Design Investigations Discuss with your group what properties you want the ice in your ice rink to have. Then discuss how you will build your model ice rink. Use these prompts to help you. The science concepts that we will need to use in creating our design include.... We think we can solve the problem by.... Our criteria for success are.... Constraints that might limit the range of potential solutions are.... Acceptable evidence that would support our claims of success for our design include... The problem we are solving is.... The materials we could use are.... Recycled materials we might obtain to use are... We are designing a solution that will.... Test Your Model Record and organize your observations and data in tables such as the one below. Time Water Collected Time Temperature Temperature Time Water Collected Time (page 14) Ideas for Analyzing Data How does the water collected or the change in temperature over time reflect the success of your snow storage system? How will the temperature of the snow and the melt water tell you when all of your snow has melted? How did the kind of snow you were using impact your results? Make a Claim Backed by Evidence Analyze your data and then make one or more claims based on the evidence your data shows. Make sure that the claim goes beyond summarizing the relationship between the variables. My Evidence My Claim My Reason Present and Compare Findings Listen to presentations of other groups and create a peer review as scientists do for one another. You might also compare your findings with those of experts in the video or that you have access to, or material on the Internet. How do your findings compare? Be sure to give credit to others when you use their findings in your comparisons. My findings are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that.... My findings are similar to (or different from) information I found on the Internet in that.... Reflect and Redesign Think about what you learned. How does it change your thinking? Your design? I claim that my ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson in that.... My design would be more effective if I _____ because I learned that.... When thinking about the claims made by the expert, I am confused about.... One part of the investigation I am most proud of is.... COPY MASTER: Assessment Rubric for Inquiry Investigations Criteria 1 point 2 points 3 points Initial question or problem Question or problem had had a yes/no answer or too simple of a solution, was off topic, or otherwise was not researchable or testable. Question or problem was researchable or testable but too broad or not answerable by the chosen investigation. Question or problem was clearly stated, was researchable or testable, and showed direct relationship to investigation. Investigation design The design of the investigation did not support a response to the initial question or provide a solution to the problem. While the design supported the initial question or problem, the procedure used to collect data (e.g., number of trials, or control of variables) was not sufficient. Variables were clearly identified and controlled as needed with steps and trials that resulted in data that could be used to answer the question or solve the problem. Variables (if applicable) Either the dependent or independent variable was not identified. While the dependent and independent variables were identified, no controls were present. Variables identified and controlled in a way that resulting data can be analyzed and compared. Safety procedures Basic laboratory safety procedures were followed, but practices specific to the activity were not identified. Some, but not all, of the safety equipment was used and only some safe practices needed for this investigation were followed. Appropriate safety equipment used and safe practices adhered to. Observations and data Observations were not made or recorded, and data are unreasonable in nature, not recorded, or do not reflect what actually took place during the investigation. Observations were made, but were not very detailed, or data appear invalid or were not recorded appropriately. Detailed observations were made and properly recorded and data are plausible and recorded appropriately. Claim No claim was made or the claim had no relationship to the evidence used to support it. Claim was marginally related to evidence from investigation. Claim was backed by investigative or research evidence. Findings comparison Comparison of findings was limited to a description of the initial question or problem. Comparison of findings was not supported by the data collected. Comparison of findings included both methodology and data collected by at least one other entity. Reflection Student reflection was limited to a description of the procedure used. Student reflections were not related to the initial question or problem. Student reflections described at least one impact on thinking. Lesson plans produced by the National Science Teachers Association. Video produced by NBC News Learn in collaboration with the National Science Foundation. tags in this article Athlete Fan NBC News Learn Science of the Winter Olympics