What's my hypothesis?
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=427
A lesson plan for Grades 6–8 Science
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 6–8
- Subjects
- science (biology and life science), thinking skills (higher order thinking, information literacy, research skills)
- Provider
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Legal
This catalog record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. This license applies to the content of this page only and does not apply to the referenced website.
In this lesson students learn to demonstrate how descriptive epidemiological clues can be used to make educated guesses as to what might be the cause of a disease. This is the third of six lessons in a module entitled, “Why do some people get sick while others remain healthy?” This lesson will help students understand that hypotheses are valuable, even if they turn out not to be true, if they lead to fruitful investigations. The lesson also will help students understand that different explanations can be given for the same evidence, though it is not always possible to tell which one is correct. After students discuss epidemiology, they examine several scenarios which might cause diseases and then evaluate their hypotheses. Science NetLinks provides several student handouts, links to activity tools, and detailed instructions for completing the lesson. This lesson also contains links to other similar activities.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Science (2005)
Grade 6
- Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
- Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
- Objective 1.02: Develop appropriate experimental procedures for:
- Given questions.
- Student generated questions.
- Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
- Explain observations.
- Make inferences and predictions.
- Develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
- Objective 1.06: Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations:
- Measurement.
- Analysis of data.
- Graphing.
- Prediction models.
- Objective 1.07: Prepare models and/or computer simulations to:
- Test hypotheses.
- Evaluate how data fit.
- Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
- Communicate findings.
- Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
- Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
- Research.
- Gather and analyze data
- Visualize data.
- Disseminate findings to others.
- Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
- Scientific text.
- Articles.
- Events in the popular press.
Grade 7
- Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
- Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
- Objective 1.02: Develop appropriate experimental procedures for:
- Given questions.
- Student generated questions.
- Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
- Explain observations.
- Make inferences and predictions.
- Develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
- Objective 1.06: Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations:
- Measurement.
- Analysis of data.
- Graphing.
- Prediction models.
- Objective 1.07: Prepare models and/or computer simulations to:
- Test hypotheses.
- Evaluate how data fit.
- Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
- Communicate findings.
- Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
- Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
- Research.
- Gather and analyze data.
- Visualize data.
- Disseminate findings to others.
- Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
- Scientific text.
- Articles.
- Events in the popular press.
Grade 8
- Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
- Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
- Objective 1.02: Develop appropriate experimental procedures for:
- Given questions.
- Student generated questions.
- Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
- explain observations.
- make inferences and predictions.
- develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
- Objective 1.06: Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present quantitative data resulting from scientific investigations:
- Measurement.
- Analysis of data.
- Graphing.
- Prediction models.
- Objective 1.07: Prepare models and/or computer simulations to:
- Test hypotheses.
- Evaluate how data fit.
- Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
- Communicate findings.
- Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
- Describe strengths and weaknesses of claims, arguments, and/or data.
- Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
- Research.
- Gather and analyze data.
- Visualize data.
- Disseminate findings to others.
- Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
- Scientific text.
- Articles.
- Events in the popular press.
- Goal 7: The learner will conduct investigations, use models, simulations, and appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of microbiology.
- Objective 7.03: Analyze data to determine trends or patterns to determine how an infectious disease may spread including:
- Carriers.
- Vectors.
- Conditions conducive to disease.
- Calculate reproductive potential of bacteria.
- Objective 7.03: Analyze data to determine trends or patterns to determine how an infectious disease may spread including:
