Books & Resources

NSTA WebNews Digest

Science Scope : Tried and True
Write It, Do It
3/31/2006 - Erin Peters
Effective writing is a keystone in the process of
developing scientific knowledge. Scientists must be able
to successfully communicate their findings so colleagues
can confirm the authenticity of their claims through the
replication of experiments. The activity, Write It, Do It,
utilizes peer review to illustrate the need for clarity in
scientific writing. In this activity, students write directions to build an
original object from LEGO blocks, use another students writing to build a
second object from LEGO blocks, and review another students written
work for clarity and accuracy.

News Categories
Top Stories
Science News
Education News
Legislative News
NSTA Reports

Science Topics
--Select Topic--

Tumblr
Twitter
Facebook

Education Topics
--Select Topic--

Email
Print
Gmail

Preparation
Teachers will need to get enough clear sandwich bags for all students in the class and matching
sets of LEGO blocks for each pair of students. I purchased a $10, 500-piece LEGO starter set
(Imagine and Build Bucket) for $10 at a local toy store that provided enough blocks for my class
of 28 students. The bags should contain several colors of LEGO blocks. If the bags only have red
blocks, there is not much challenge to writing the directions. You can use any combinations of blocks as long as
they are varied in size, shape, and color (maximum two alike, or the assignment will be too simple), and there
are identical blocks in each pair of bags. To stock the bags, I lay out the blocks so they are grouped together by
matching color and size and chose one from each group. Once I have two bags that are identical,
I put one bag with the blocks inside the other bag with blocks. This saves time so that I dont have
to match the bags in between each class. I also ask the students to check that the blocks are the
same before the activity begins. It takes me about 15 minutes to create matching sets of blocks
for each student and seal them in bags. I use 252 blocks to make my 28 sets (14 pairs of bags). Once the bags
are stocked, the only other material needed is blank paper for instructions.
Building
To begin the activity, students choose a partner and decide who will be Investigator A and who will be
Investigator B. By the end of the activity, each investigator will have performed all of the objectives, so the only
difference between the tasks is who writes first. Student pairs receive two bags of nine LEGO blocks, each
having identical pieces with regard to shape, color, and size. Investigator B takes one of the bags and leaves the
room to wait in the hallway for his or her partner to finish the task. Using file folders or science fair boards as
barriers would be a good way to keep the partners from seeing each others work during the creation without
sending kids into the hallway. I usually give a paper-and-pencil activity to the investigators who are waiting.
Because this is in the beginning of the year, I ask students to create a concept map (webbing) of their
background knowledge of the topics in physical science, but any type of similar task will work.
Investigator A builds any three-dimensional object from the nine LEGO blocks in the bag. I ask students to build
a three-dimensional object because stacking the blocks leads to simple directions, and the object should be
slightly challenging to replicate. As Investigator A builds the object, he or she writes directions on how to do it.
The directions may include diagrams, but the core of the directions should be text. (See Figure 1 for an
example). Students generally take 1015 minutes to write the directions, five minutes to build from someone
elses directions, and five minutes for discussiona total of about 4050 minutes for the whole activity. When
Investigator A is finished building and writing, Investigator B can get involved. Investigator A should carefully
hide his or her object from Investigator B. It is important for Investigator A to keep the object intact for two
reasons: to keep an original for comparison, and so that Investigator A does not reassemble an object that does
not correspond to the directions. At this point, Investigator A hides the original object and begins working on the
paper-and-pencil activity where he or she can not see Investigator B working. Investigator B, meanwhile, should
be reading Investigator As directions. Investigator B then attempts to use the directions to build an object
matching the original one. Investigator A and Investigator B are not allowed to speak (or signal) to each other
during this process.
Figure 1. Example object with directions.

Favorites
More... (292)
Settings...
AddThis

Privacy

Example object (shown in photos above)

Sample student directions (without corrections)
1. Big = 8 bumpy things on top, Small = 4 bumpy things on top, 1 big black
block = only 1 on bottom
2. Connect the big white by 4 of the bumps like stairs
3. Connect big blue on top using 2 bumps
4. Connect big red on top of white so that blue and red make an L and only 2
white bumps are showing
5. Put small blue on top of red lined up with big blue only 4 red bumps show
6. Put small yellow on big blue
7. Put big yellow across small blue and small yellow2 bumps from small
yellow and 2 bumps from big yellow show
When Investigator B is finished rebuilding the object, she or he goes to retrieve Investigator A. The Investigators
should show each other their objects and look to see if there are any differences. Some of the more interesting
differences occur because of missing instructions regarding left and right orientations, and the mirror images of
each other. Most students will naturally launch into discussions about the clear parts of the directions and the
unclear parts, but sometimes I need to prompt them to discuss the details of the construction. I ask them to
make notes about what was unclear in the directions in a different color pen.
When the discussions are over, the team should repeat the process, this time with Investigator B building an
object first and Investigator A following the instructions. It is important for students to switch places because they
should experience both receiving and writing directions. Effective communication requires skills in both giving
and receiving directions. Scientists need to be adept at both writing findings and reviewing other scientists
findings. When both students have edited directions, they take them home for homework and write a short
reflection about their experience and their partners edits.
Class discussion
Once students have experienced writing and using the directions, I ask some questions so that the students can
reflect on their experience and connect the experience to the nature of science. First I ask students about their
perceptions of the purpose of the activity. When students reply with vague statements about communicating in
science, I ask them to make their responses more specific. I make this activity relevant by reminding students
that when they take a test for me, it often has short-answer questions. If I am at home grading their tests, I
cannot ask them what they meant by a written answer, so I have to use what they write to determine if they know
the answer. I hold up two objects that dont match and explain that they could be thinking one thing (I hold up
one object), but their writing says another thing (I hold up the nonmatching object). Students start to realize that
even if they know the answer, they must also be able to clearly explain what they know.
I also ask students if they saw a pattern in the way they communicated to their partner. For example, one
students directions may have forgotten to mention size, or another student could have forgotten to mention how
to orient the blocks to the left and the right. This discussion prompts students to think about the detail that is
required in scientific writing. Characteristics, such as big, need to be more specific in scientific writing because
they are a matter of personal perception. Descriptions in science are empirical and have standards of
comparison. I explain to my students that they must practice in order to be good communicators, and through
practice they can learn to think like scientists.
Before students exit my class on Write It, Do It day, I ask them to write one statement about how this activity
contributed to their ability to communicate. Overall, students recognize that when writing descriptions, the writing
must be as specific as possible. Some of the students comment on the need to recognize that their partner may
not think in the same way, and they must take their partners perspective into account. Many students comment
that if the process is not described well, other people could not do the process in the same way. For
assessment, students turn in their edited directions with their reflection on (1) the writing of directions, (2) the
comments from the partner and (3) the directions provided by their partner. Completing the Write It, Do It
activity helps my students recognize several goals in scientific writing: use detail, use empirical descriptions, and
write so that the process can be replicated.
Erin Peters (erin_peters@apsva.us) is a lead science teacher at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington,
Virginia and a doctoral student in science education and research methods at George Mason University.