MrsWeasley Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I hate science demonstrations! We pretty much never get the intended result. Today we talked about the weak ionic bond in bleach and tried a demonstration with bleach and food coloring. Despite ample bleach, the color never left the water. All my demonstrations are like that. This really discourages me in my science teaching. Anyone else have this problem? Any advice on how to make this go better? Or a secular curriculum with no science demonstrations, hahaha? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Stop doing demos! :P They're interesting and get kids thinking, but they're a pain to do (and I'm I a science teacher!). We do them, but infrequently. YouTube someone else's successful demo and let the kids watch. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Ugh! I feel your pain. I taught science for 11years and had my share of demos fail. Generally, I used it as a teaching moment to figure out what factors could have contributed to the failure. Sometimes you just shrug your shoulders and salvage it as best you can. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 That is why I steer clear of demonstrations and stick to experiments. Experiments don't lie, so whatever results you end up with are "right" even if they are unexpected. Also, the process of designing and setting up an experiment is the heart of science, so there is a lot of value in the process even if the product is dubious. Wendy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I also feel you pain. I try to minimize fails by running through an experiment once or sometimes twice, so I can get a good feel for it. If not, there's always someone on youtube who has done the same demo, but successfully. Youtube is a lifesaver. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I had a fail this week, too. I mixed yeast, soap, and peroxide and it was supposed to foam up. NOTHING happened. So we had a lesson about the expiration dates on yeast and peroxide instead. Oh well! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I tried to teach Dd to use a Petersen's guide book to ID some trees in our yard. The enormous tree in the front yard wasn't in the book...at all. Not one of the descriptions in the book matched this tree. It is a Live Oak. I guess I'm glad that guide was just a library book and not one I bought! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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