Science Experiment: Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables

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:

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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A total of 5 page in PDF Format:

Title Page

2-page Worksheet

2-page Sample Answer Key