Curious Minds (and Chocolate Bars) at Work in Third Grade!

The third graders are  learning to use the scientific method to gain knowledge about things they are curious about. One question that came up in class was which type of chocolate melts the fastest, dark, white, or milk chocolate, and why? We discussed how information gained from research helps us form a hypothesis. The students placed the different bars of chocolate outside, and used timers to compare the melting times. They tried their best to control extraneous variables. Then, they collected and analyzed their data by creating a bar graph. After drawing conclusions, they came up with new questions  which reinforced the concept that the scientific method is a cyclical process.