Enigmas is one of the projects assigned to fourth-grade students in Texas as part of the Texas Performance Standards Project. Students are given the task of hypothesizing about an enigma, or an unsolved mystery. The student uses the scientific process for the experimentation and to draw up conclusions about a hypothesis. The student must research the enigma, perform the experiments, record data from the experiment and write up a report about the project. The purpose is improving math, science and English skills through the science project.
The innovation celebration project is the second Texas Performance Standards Project for science, though it is a combination of science and social studies in the project. The students study the need for innovation in societies. Students start by researching about famous innovators, such as scientists, philosophers and inventors. During the process, a student must make his own invention and then use the scientific method to determine if it meets the need it was designed to meet.
Go with the flow is a fourth-grade scientific experiment for assessment where the students are given several items, such as batteries, wires, flashlight bulbs, classroom items such as rulers and paper clips and bulb holders. The teacher starts with a background on electricity and then assigns the students to use the items and find three different ways to light the bulb. The students then use the scientific process to light up the bulb three times. Upon finishing the task, students draw up conclusions, write about the project from the start to the finish and then present the information with the class. The fourth-grade students should work in either pairs or small groups.
Students working on an experiment about sound and sound waves can fill up plastic eggs with various items such as rice, dried beans or small candies like M & Ms. They then put number labels to keep track of the items and have another student try to guess which item is in the eggs by the sound. After the initial guess, the first student shows the list of items and then has the second student guess again. The experiment determines if the student changes her mind about the items in the eggs. The first student, before giving the eggs the second time, should form a hypothesis and follow the scientific process by recording the results. Upon completing the task, students research sound and the way sound waves work before writing up a report for the teacher to assess.