Independent, Dependent & Controlled Variables Lesson

Product description

From the author

This fun science lesson is a great introduction for a science fair unit or a beginning of the year scientific method unit when you need to teach your students how to carry out a true experiment.

It teaches students about independent, dependent and controlled variables using humour and real-life situations.

The first page has fill-in-the blank notes about a pretend experiment I completed that had some mistakes in the design. Students should stay engaged and focused throughout the lesson component as they have to fill in the blanks. They should start to think about why controlling variables matters, and they learn the relevant vocabulary.

The second page gives students a chance to start brainstorming some basic experimental design ideas on their own or in pairs. They are given three situations and need to think of independent variables they could alter, what dependent variable that would affect, and all of the other variables they would need to carefully control. At the end, there is a quick review to reinforce the relevant vocabulary.

Grades to Use With: This lesson can easily work in a variety of grades in the middle years, from grades 4-8 and possibly beyond!

Standards connection: this worksheet supports the planning and variable-identification portion of the following standard; students do not carry out a test within the download.

NGSS3-5-ETS1-3

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

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In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Students define independent, dependent, and controlled variables in a scientific experiment.
Students identify a flaw in an experimental design where more than one variable was changed at once.
Students design controlled variables for novel experimental scenarios, such as basketball shooting or building a soap box derby car.

Teaching tips

Ask students to say what they will change and measure before listing what should stay the same.

Skills covered

Variable identification — students identify the independent, dependent, and controlled variables in a flawed tomato-plant watering experiment.
Experimental design critique — students explain why changing two variables (location and watering liquid) at once invalidates the plant experiment's conclusion.
Applied variable design — students propose an independent variable, a dependent variable, and at least three controlled variables for basketball shooting, studying for a test, and building a soap box derby car.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

What was the actual flaw in the tomato-plant experiment described on the worksheet?

Two things were changed at once — the plant's location and the watering liquid — so it's impossible to tell which change caused the difference in growth.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

Independent variable
Dependent variable
Controlled variables
Experimental design

Topics

Experimental variables Scientific method Independent variable Dependent variable Controlled variables

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Categories this resource belongs to

Scientific Method Experiments 4th Grade Science Experiments 7th Grade Science Experiments Science Experiments for Kids 6th Grade Science Experiments 8th Grade Science Experiments

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