I have a new post for the scaffolding of keeping lab notebooks. It’s actually not at all trivial to learn the skill of record-keeping.
Here’s a thing I set up for 5th graders, specifically to teach the skill of “observation.”
Earlier in the school year, we had done another module with pill bugs and sow bugs and I had set up questions that were more specific. The scaffolding includes a lot of “bravos” and exemplars, because kids truly do not believe that drawing things is part of science.
I really really loved having those white boards on stands when I set up labs, but you’ll see me use post-it notes stuck to the tables/desks too. I have a substitute teaching gig coming up with pre-readers and I’m thinking about how to scaffold some observation booklets for them. Let me know if you have any ideas. I think there are lots of iPad apps that let them take photos and things, which might work.