This week, 5th graders began to learn about writing a scientific explanation. We discussed and took notes on the three main components of a scientific explanation: claim, evidence, and reasoning. Once students had a strong understanding of what those terms meant and how they fit into their writing, they practiced by writing a short and quick explanation based on an image of a food web. The question they were asked to answer was as follows: “Which organism can be classified as an omnivore.” Students created a claim to answer the question and then used evidence from the food web that proved their claim was correct. In their reasoning each student used what they knew about omnivores to explain how their evidence supported their claim.

This was a quick 30 minute activity to get the kids in that “scientific explanation” mindset. Moving forward, we will be diving deeper into this writing.

The kids posted their short explanations on their blog. Be sure to check them out! They sound great!

Happy Thursday!