Lesson Q3 L1 – From Wonder to Researchable Question

Lesson Overview

Quarter 3 · Unit 3: Student-Designed Investigations · Week 1 · Grades 9–12 · Lesson length: 45 minutes

Essential Question: What makes a question researchable, and how do we sharpen our own?

Lesson Focus: “Why are plants green?” vs. “What is the effect of coffee grounds on radish dry mass?” Which can we test in six weeks?

Why It Matters: In Quarter 3, pairs design their own investigations. A focused, testable question is the foundation; vague questions lead to experiments that cannot answer anything.

Source: Adapted from SSS materials — SSS book Lesson Plan 2 (sentence stem and criteria) and 2024 SSS scope and sequence notes (Q3 research).

Standards & Learning Targets

Standards Alignment

NGSS Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems. Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect.

ISTE Standards for Students: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor (1.3a: plan and employ effective research strategies).

Student Learning Targets

Learning Targets — students will be able to

• Distinguish researchable questions from non-researchable ones.

• Revise a broad wonder into a testable question with one independent and one dependent variable.

• Select a question that is feasible, safe, and meaningful.

Key Vocabulary

researchable question · testable · feasible · wonder · operational definition

Materials & Teacher Prep

Materials Needed

• Wonder wall (sticky notes)
• Question sort cards (12 questions)
• Sentence stem poster: “What is the effect of ___ on ___ of ___?”
• Student Workbook page 3.1

Teacher Prep Checklist

• Prepare question sort cards (half researchable, half not).
• Post Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 data as inspiration.

Lesson Flow & Timing

Phase 1 · Engage — The Hook

Teacher Talk

PCM: Curiosity. “This quarter you are the principal investigators. You choose the question. But some questions are like fog — you can’t grab them. How do we turn a wonder into something we can test?” Introduce wonder briefly now so the discussion stays precise; the formal definition comes in Explain.

Ask Students

“What did you wonder about in Quarters 1 and 2?” “Which wonders could be answered by an experiment?” “What would you measure?”

PCM Differentiation

Thinker Students: “Rewrite ‘Does music help plants?’ so it names a specific IV, DV, and organism.”

Harmonizer Students: “Which question could help someone you know — a gardener, a farmer, your family?”

Phase 2 · Explore — Kagan Cooperative Activity

Cooperative Structure

Kagan structure: Showdown. Showdown fits because each student classifies each question card privately before the team reveals and discusses, so everyone practices the criteria. (See the Teaching Reference for the structure’s steps.) Before teams start, introduce the term testable (Names an IV you can change and a DV you can measure) so students can use it accurately; Explain gives the formal definition.

Step-by-Step

• Step 1 — Sort alone (5 min): Each student classifies 6 cards as researchable or not, writing a reason.

• Step 2 — Showdown (7 min): Teams reveal and discuss disagreements, using the criteria.

• Step 3 — Fix (6 min): Teams rewrite two non-researchable cards into testable questions.

Teacher Moves During Explore

• Ask, “Could you measure that? With what tool?”

• Push for one independent variable.

• Flag questions that take longer than six weeks.

Phase 3 · Explain — Direct Instruction

Mini-lesson — Researchable Question Criteria. Teacher move: Summarize with the sort, then list testable, feasible, safe and ethical, and operational definition on the board as the question criteria for notebooks.

• Testable: Names an IV you can change and a DV you can measure.

• Feasible: Possible with our time (about six weeks), space, budget, and tools.

• Safe and ethical: No harm to people, animals, or the environment.

• Operational definition: Exactly how a variable is measured (“growth” = dry mass in grams of the five tallest plants).

Key Message: A researchable question names one change, one measurement, and is possible to answer with our resources.

Check for Understanding — Ask Students

“What makes a question testable?” “Give an operational definition for “plant growth.”” “Why must the question be feasible?”

Phase 4 · Elaborate — Student Product & Differentiation

Student Product

Pairs write three candidate questions using the stem and rank them by feasibility and interest.

Differentiation (Grades 9–12)

Scaffolded support: Use the sentence stem and a variable menu (soil amendment, light, water type, spacing, mulch).

Grades 9–12: Write an operational definition for each variable and identify a possible confounding variable for each question.

Phase 5 · Evaluate — Closure, Exit Ticket & Assessment

Exit Ticket

1. Write your best question using the stem.

1. What is your operational definition for the DV?

1. Why is it feasible?

Answer Key / Look-Fors: A question with one IV and one measurable DV, a precise operational definition, and a feasibility reason.

Expanding Circles

How does this connect to… Self — What do you wonder about most? • Classroom — Which questions overlap in our class? • School — What could our investigations teach the school garden? • Community — Which local gardener question could we answer? • World — What global agriculture questions are still open?

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment (evidence for sorting students: the three ranked candidate questions and the exit-ticket operational definition)

• Meets (3): Question is testable, feasible, and operationally defined.

• Approaching (2): Question is testable but vague in measurement.

• Not Yet (1): Question not testable — conference with the pair.

Extend & Looking Ahead

• Extension: Search a youth science journal (e.g., Journal of Emerging Investigators) for plant questions.

• Looking Ahead: Lesson 3.2 meets scientists who asked researchable questions to solve real farming problems.