The lesson develops pupils’ ability to look up information on the Internet, identify problems, create mind models, discuss, communicate with peers, propose hypotheses, distinguish alternatives.
By carrying out activities and work with worksheets pupils understand the substance of scientific research. The activities are designed in such a way that pupils work in groups, discuss, reason and propose solutions to the problems. Problems are stated either by a teacher or by pupils themselves. Thus mainly managed and restricted research is used in the activities.
In activity 2 Plastic Properties, for example, problems are stated by a teacher while the experiment which will enable to solve the problem is proposed either by the teacher or pupils. Pupils should determine combustibility of plastic, its thermal and electrical conductivity, reaction with acids, alkalis or with solutions of salts. Pupils write the results into tables by which way they improve the following skills necessary for research – data collecting and recording, data processing, carrying out experiments, stating hypotheses. In groups, pupils discuss conditions for conductivity of plastic, compare the conditions with conductivity of other substances.
While working on the activity Decomposing of plastic and different materials in soil, pupils acquire the basis of scientific research by reading books and information sources on the time of decomposition of organic substances, metals and plastic in soil, they explain prognoses, compare results, etc.
Activity 5 gives space to communication, reasoning and stating explanations. Pupils tackle tasks focused on properties of plastic, its recycling, processing, separation of waste. A project-based method is used in this activity.