An example of Novak et al.

s (2009) framework applied to the Sound Science explanation

Driving Question: What causes sound?
CLAIM: Sound is caused by vibrations.

The CLAIM is an answer to the driving question. If a student wanted to

address another aspect of the phenomenon (e.g., pitch), it would be
best to write a separate claim-evidence-reasoning to keep things clear.

EVIDENCE: I heard a humming sound while the ruler bounced up and down over
the edge of the table. I felt it make a breeze in the air while it was bouncing.
When we plucked the rubber band, I could see it move up and down quickly and
hear it make a humming sound. I could also feel the rubber band moving on my
fingers. I heard the tuning fork ring when we hit it with the mallet. When we
put the tuning fork into the water while it was ringing, it made the water ripple
because the tuning fork was actually moving. The harder we hit the tuning fork,
the bigger the ripples were and the louder the sound was. Similar things
happened with the other objects, too. I could hear the bubbles make a sound
when I felt them hit the side of the cup. I could see the guitar string jump up and
down when I heard it make a sound.
REASONING: I could see and feel all the objects moving back and forth quickly, or
vibrating, at the same time that I heard them make a sound. When I stopped
the objects from moving, the sound stopped too. Therefore, I think the
vibrations caused the sound.

The EVIDENCE is a
description of the data the
student collected or
observations s/he made
during the investigation.

The REASONING describes

the thought process that
takes the student from the
evidence to the claim. It
connects the evidence to
the claim.

NOTE: Its somewhat tricky to think at a 4th-grade level when you have higher-grade-level knowledge
(e.g., of pitch, molecules, sound waves, energy), but think about what you can conclude from the
observations at hand. The stations were purposefully set up to provide evidence of vibrations;
different experiences would have to be set up to get students to understand the other concepts (its
close to effectively teaching pitch, but there would have to be more focus on that, specifically),
and most of the other concepts would be taught at higher grades.