Elements marked with (*) are required for grades 4 and up, and recommended for grades K-3:

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Title: Be creative; try to think of a catchy one.

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* Abstract: A one-page report of 250 words or less. The abstract summarizes the: purpose of the project (including the hypothesis); methods and procedures used; data, results and conclusions

 

Purpose: A description of the idea that you are testing with your experiment or study.

 

Hypothesis: What was your educated guess about the results of your project?

 

Materials List: Identify what you needed to conduct the experiment or study sources used.

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Procedures: The steps that you used in your project.

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Data: Use pictures, tables, graphs, charts, etc. Choose what is best for your data.

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Results: Use words to describe what you observed during your project. Your discussion sections should, “tell the story about your project.”

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Conclusion: Now that you’ve gotten your results, do they back up your hypothesis?

If the results do support your hypothesis, explain how. Now that you have completed the project, does it give you ideas for another project to learn more about this subject?

If the results do not support your hypothesis do you think it’s because there was a flaw in your procedures? Great that you figured that out!! What you would do differently the next time. If there wasn’t a flaw in your procedures, what are your thoughts on why the data is different from what you expected?

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* References: What sources of information did you use to learn about your topic and come up with your hypothesis? These can be books, articles, websites, and people.

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* Project Notebook (Required for 4th-12th: Should contain everything about your project from the first few rejected ideas, to the reading you did, the hypotheses you rejected, the ones you kept, your data, results, conclusions, and all the mess and confusion you had along the way. Don’t forget to include your successes too!

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Appearance: Neat and well-organized, so anyone can understand your experiment from beginning to end. Make it look interesting, but don’t overwhelm it with decorations.