Classroom Spotlight: Lab Reports!

 

We are excited to share what our 2nd graders have been up to lately in the Writer’s Workshop pinwheel group - they've been working on Lab Reports! Lab Reports are a combination of non-fiction writing integrated with learning about scientific writing and procedures.

 

Students started by asking a question about how things work in the world. In this case, they wondered, would a toy car go down a ramp farther on carpet or tile?

 

Then students made predictions and created a hypothesis with a reasoning. The pinwheel groups agreed that the toy car would go further on tile because the tile is smoother than carpet and has less friction.

 

Next came the fun part - testing out their hypothesis! They used a toy car, a ramp and measuring tapes to see how far the cars would go on both carpet and tile. They had a blast doing it, and took turns sending the car down the ramp and then recording their results.

 

Afterwards, they analyzed their data to see if their hypothesis was correct or incorrect. After looking at the different lengths between the tile and the carpet tests, students discovered that their hypothesis was correct!! In the students’ words, “The toy car went further on tile, because there was less friction.”

 

The Lab Reports unit has been both a great writing and learning experience, and we are looking forward to continuing to write, write, write!