Scieeeeeeeeeence!

So, today I taught Science to a bunch of 4th graders. The concept was properties of water, specifically how it reacts on different surfaces: foil, wax paper, regular paper, and paper towels. They used an eye-dropper to put drops of water on the different surfaces and made observations. I also made some observations of my own...While walking around, I noticed there are primarily 4 different types of mini-scientists. 


Illustrated below are the four types, followed by a description of each.

1. The Freethinker- This student is probably the best actual scientist. He quickly moves on from the assignment to new territories. "What would water do on my skin? What would it do on my desk? On my shirt? On the pencil sharpener?" He is not afraid to take the scientific principals being taught to a whole. nother. level. Let's just hope he's also not afraid to clean up all his messes.


2. The Terrorist- This student is interested in science only to promote warfare and/or political take overs. Water dropper you say? "NAY! I say it is a weapon of mass destruction!! Watch out cute girl I secretly have a crush on but won't admit because I'm too embarrassed!!! Watch out, annoying kid's face! I'm going to take over the classroom with my new H20 WMD."


3. The Mess-Initiator- If putting one drop of water on wax paper is fun, then putting TEN MILLION drops would be SUPER FUN! This person, caught up in the moment, fails to realize they have created the world's biggest mess. Water drips off of books, the carpet is stained, and every single testing surface is covered in water."I bet it would be awesome to make a small swimming pool with my foil and fill it up as much as I can with water. "


4. The Listener- Paying attention to my instructions beforehand, this student actually listened. He tests the materials according to the assignment specifications, and actually makes scientific observations. He takes down meticulous notes and carefully conducts his experiments. "Yay! I actually learned the different absorbencies of the materials!"


Every class has these different student types...all working in unison to make my day a lot more interesting. :)