This Hypothesis, Theory and Law notes activity will get your middle school students thinking critically about how scientific research moves from hypothesis, to theory and then on to a law as they learn about the nature of science and complete a research project to show their knowledge.

Depending on how you implement it, this lesson can span 1-2 days and engages students in thoughtful discussion about hypotheses, laws, and theories as they take notes to prepare for the compare and contrast activity. Students then take the information they have learned and complete an extension research activity where they pick a popular law or theory provided and describe the scientific research involved, evidence supporting the law or theory, and explain why it is classified as a law or theory. This activity solidifies their understanding of the difference between laws and theories.

This is a great introductory lesson into the nature of science and could be a great lead into a more detailed research project that looks at the history of the timeline of how each law and theory came to be. Take this lesson a step further by having students share their findings in small groups or as a class presentation.

WHAT'S INCLUDED in this 1-2 DAY LESSON:

To access a list of many of the materials needed for these units, CLICK HERE.

TEACHERS LOVE THIS, HERE'S WHY:

❤️Passion for Smiles says, "Awesome resource. Broke down the concepts extremely well. I enjoyed the "examples" immensely. Great connections."

❤️ Sarah M. says, "Notes were easy to follow and this resource made the students think more critically while applying scientific method. I would recommend. "

❤️ Amanda S. says, "I used this with my science lab class. The material was easily understood and I adapted it for my different level learners. My students were engaged with the material. "

This product is also found in our:

Scientific Method Unit Bundle which includes a 3-4 week long unit with animated PowerPoint, student handouts, labs, projects, and aligned EDITABLE test, and our Scientific Method Complete Bundle, which includes the above mentioned items, as well as the aligned Word Wall, Task Cards, and Interactive Notebook Activities.

Click this link to find out how this lesson fits with your NGSS, TEKS or GSE Science Classroom

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