Educator Guide – Investi-gator
About Investi-gator
The Investi-gator is another member of the Natural Inquirer family. The Natural Inquirer, for middle school students, and the Investi-gator, for upper elementary students, present science the way scientists most often share their research with each other. That process is the written scientific paper. Each Investi-gator article presents research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. All the research in the Investi-gator is concerned with nature or with society’s relationship to nature.
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Meet the Scientist
An introduction to the scientist or scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
A short introduction to something about the scientific process that is related to the research being presented.
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Thinking About the Environment
A short introduction to something about the natural environment that is related to the research being presented.
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Introduction
The part of the written scientific paper that introduces the scientific problem or question the scientists wants to solve or answer.
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Method
The part of the written scientific paper that describes how the scientists collected and analyzed their data or information.
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Findings
The part of the written scientific paper that describes what the scientists discovered.
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Discussion
The part of the written scientific paper that summarizes the research and offers any new insights.
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Reflection Section
These are questions placed after the Introduction, Methods, Findings, and Discussion sections. The purpose of the questions is to help students think about what they have read.
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Glossary
Possible new terms you will find in the article. Glossary words are printed in bold in the article.
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FACTivity
This is an activity that you can do in your classroom.