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I am a new 8th grade science teacher in Indiana and am struggling to come up with some experiments to help my students better understand the scientific method. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

An experiment I like that doesn't cost much uses paper airplanes as the subject. I have the students make an airplane following the same set of instructions. They carefully measure the distance of their flight. They then choose from one of three modifications. Add weight through paperclips. Wing modification (folding or cutting flaps). Tip modification, (narrowing the tip, or blunting the tip by folding it back toward the body). They have to predict how it will effect the plane, record their methods, and launch the modified planes. They measure the new distance and record the data. Then they can compare the data from each team, and evaluate it to determine which modifications have the best result for the design of the plane. I give the kids a paper that lists the steps of the scientific method with sentence frames prompting them to record the experiment. I predict ...... I changed my design by............ I do this with paper rockets too. My husband built a PVC launcher that uses a bicycle pump. You can find them online for about $100, but the paper plane works as well for the experience of the nature of science. Hope this helps, Good Luck!