Scientific Method Teaching Resources
Teach the scientific method in your science classes this school year with printable worksheets, classroom science posters and more teacher-created resources made for Australian teachers.
Get students thinking like a scientist as they learn to form a hypothesis, manipulate variables and draw conclusions with curriculum-aligned resources that walk students through each step of the method.
New to teaching this section of the science curriculum, or just looking for some tips on engaging your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look at the different steps of the scientific method and ways to explain the concept to your students.
What Is the Scientific Method? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with a student-friendly way to explain the method and why we discuss it in science class.
The scientific method is a process that scientists all around the world use when they're conducting experiments and investigations. The method helps them to answer questions and solve problems.
But you don't have to be a scientist working on a major project to get the benefits of applying the method!
In science class, students might use the scientific method to explore the properties of different materials or to investigate the behaviour of living organisms. Kids can also apply the method in maths class, gathering data and analysing patterns or designing experiments to test hypotheses.
What Are the Steps of the Scientific Method?
So how does the scientific method work? It's broken down into a series of steps that make it easy to follow.
- Ask a Question — At the start, scientists or student scientists ask a question about a topic they are interested in. For example, they may ask if plants grow better with more or less water.
- Research — Next, you conduct research to learn more about your question. This could involve reading books, watching videos or even talking to experts in the field.
- Form a Hypothesis — This is a new vocabulary term for most students. A hypothesis is another word for an 'educated guess' that students make about what they think the answer to their question might be. They should use their research to inform this guess. In the example of the question of whether or not plants grow better with more or less after, a student may hypothesise that plants will grow better with more water.
- Test the Hypothesis — In the next step, students design and conduct an experiment to test their hypothesis. They will manipulate one or more variables and observe what happens. In this step, students should collect data and learn about 'control groups,' 'independent variables,' and 'dependent variables.'
- Analyse the Data — It's time to look at data that has been collected and organise it in a way that makes it possible to draw conclusions. At this point in the method, it might help to have your students make graphs or charts to help them analyse the data.
- Draw Conclusions — Based on their analysis, it's time for students to draw conclusions about whether their hypothesis was correct or not. In this step, students should be making 'inferences' and 'predictions.'
- Communicate Results — In the final step of the method, students share their findings with others, such as their classmates or you! This is also the step where students write 'conclusions.'
Who Created the Scientific Method?
Are you looking for some background information to engage your students on this core concept of science?
Introduce them to the mystery behind just who created the scientific method! There are a variety of famous men who have been credited with making this world-renowned process of investigation, from Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei to British philosopher Sir Francis Bacon. Others say an Arabic physicist named Ibn al-Haytham should get more credit for his role in giving us a way to systematically go about forming a hypothesis and testing it.
So what's the answer?
Why not challenge your students to do a little ... investigation?
