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What is Science? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Discussion Prompts

• Ask students to define “science.” Then, look up the word in a dictionary. • Name some major branches of science. (biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth science) • What are some subdisciplines of these sciences? (e.g., botany and zoology within biology) • What are some ways the major branches of science relate to each other? (e.g., astronomy uses principles of physics; biology and earth sciences both explore the earth’s biomes and ecosystems; chemistry underlies all areas of science) • Introduce the Dewey Decimal Classification System 500s, projecting a chart and reviewing at least the tens groupings for major divisions. Explain how the system helps us find DISCUSSION PROMPTS information in libraries. • Ask for definitions of “scientific method” or “scientific inquiry.” Explain that while the basics of the scientific method (the objective, systematic “hypothesize and test” approach to gaining knowledge) are well known, there isn’t one authoritative set of steps that everyone accepts. • Talk about some formulations of scientific steps, like those in The Magic School Bus and The Science Fair Expedition and Think Like a Scientist in the Gym. • Choose or develop a set of steps for the class to use, and make up a mnemonic phrase to help remember it. • End by reading the poem “Scientific Method at the Bat,” from Jon Scieszka’s Science Verse. Dewey 500s Draw a line from the subject in the first column to the appropriate Dewey 500s tens Matching Game group in the second column.

The life cycle of a sunflower 500s

Volcanoes 520s

Science Encyclopedia 530s

Food chains on the arctic tundra 540s

Cannibal animals 550s

Newton's laws of motion 560s

Saturn's rings 570s

Matter as solids, liquids and gases 580s

Animals of the Mesozoic period 590s ANSWER KEY Dewey 500s Draw a line from the subject in the first column to the appropriate Dewey 500s tens Matching Game group in the second column.