Science projects grades will be based on:

1)   Presentation which means display boards have categories of the scientific method clearly displayed, pictures or illustrations are clear, colorful and informative, data presentation in a circle, bar or line graph is displayed, text is clearly written in paragraphs printed large enough or hand written clearly and legibly.

2)   Knowledge of the subject or experiment which means students can easily tell about what they did and have a thorough understanding of the project.

3)   A report that identifies the scientific steps taken and an analysis of the outcomes of their experiment.

4)   Working Model or end result of an experiment that can be shown.  Some examples might be plants that thrived under certain conditions, a model of a tornado, a technology device that can be manipulated, or a representation of different kinds of sea water.

If students decide they will be conducting an experiment, they must follow the scientific method which includes an observation, questions and forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis by experimenting, collecting data, recording data, evaluating the evidence and forming a conclusion.  If students are doing a research project they should show any systems, cycles, laws of motion, gravity or other laws that produced their research subject.  They should be able to demonstrate their knowledge by reproducing a model.

5^th Grade Science Experiments or Scientific Research Projects should be selected from the following topics that are part of their curriculum:  Cells, Cells to Organisms, Diversity of Organisms, Vascular Plants, Plant Transport Systems, Photosynthesis and Respiration, Human Body, Digestive System, Respiratory System, Circulatory System, Excretory system, Earth the Blue Planet, The water Cycle, Fresh Water Resources, California's Water Supply, Weather, Earth's Atmosphere, Air Currents and Wind, Oceans and Temperature, Severe Weather, Predicting the Weather, Solar System, The Sun, Structure of the Solar System, Gravity and Orbit, Case for Clean Water, Properties of Matter, Elements, Classifying Elements, Mixtures, Compounds, Chemical Reactions, Metals and Alloys, Salts and Plants as Pollution Control.

^6th Grade Science Experiments or Scientific Research Projects should be selected from the following topics that are part of their curriculum: Photosynthesis, Microscopic Organisms of Earth, Earth's Food Chains, Webs and Pyramids, Earth's Cycles for Live, Earth's land Biomes, Earth's Water  Eco systems, Ecosystems in California, Heat Flow, Waves, Fuels , Heat Transfer in solids and Fluids, Sun-Powered Speed, Lasers, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Solar Radiation, Power of Convection Currents, Tectonic Plates, Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, How Plate Tectonics Affects California, Atmospheric Pressure, Temperature and Weather, Weathering Erosion and Deposition, Rivers and Streams, Beaches and Wave Erosion, Changing Habitats, Sources of Energy, Renewable and nonrenewable resources, and uses of resources.