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Discussion for Science Word

What are yall doing to prepare for this event? Just studying general knowledge or not studying at all?

What is this event about? Just wondering...

I sort of remember Science Word from years ago when it was a national event. It sure looks like fun, but I never coached it so I can't really say.

I would guess it's a bit like Picture This from C division -- where you have to guess science terms. This is how I coached Picture This (and we took 1st in Region and 1st in State so I guess it was a success).

Sometimes when we practiced we used review terms (ones we've already tried before) and other times new terms. We'd do about 25 at a time, with some marathons introducing 100+ words. In the end, we did about 4,000 terms.

For a "new terms" practice session, I'd give them 25 or so and let them struggle through it. After the round, we'd evaluate what worked and what didn't and brainstorm on new ways to draw a term, minimizing time.

For a "review" practice session, we put all the previous terms in a big bucket and draw out 25 or so at a time and go through them, reviewing the ones we failed at. Actually, we put the successful ones back in the big bucket and the failed ones in the "cup of shame" that we practiced until we got them right!

We got our science terms from Picture This from (a) textbook glossaries (b) google searches on things like "science vocabulary" or "forestry vocabulary" and (c) team mates -- we asked each of them to give us a vocabulary list from their events. Often they already had these vocabulary lists so all they had to do is forward them to us. Don't forget things like the periodic table and the minerals on Moh's scale of hardness.

Lots of practice means less surprises at competition. BUT, even with lots of practice, knowing that there are way too many science terms out there than you could possibly prepare for, the kids need to come up with a strategy for knowing when to pass on a term. So, practice that too.

Good luck.

Our school simulated this event in our science class. Generally, a good idea is to try to reference ideas that your partner has connected with the term he/she is trying to guess.

Also, since nobody has posted this yet, here is the link to the rules: http://outreach.science.tamu.edu/tso/20 ... e_Word.pdf

hscmom wrote:I sort of remember Science Word from years ago when it was a national event. It sure looks like fun, but I never coached it so I can't really say.

I would guess it's a bit like Picture This from C division -- where you have to guess science terms. This is how I coached Picture This (and we took 1st in Region and 1st in State so I guess it was a success).

Sometimes when we practiced we used review terms (ones we've already tried before) and other times new terms. We'd do about 25 at a time, with some marathons introducing 100+ words. In the end, we did about 4,000 terms.

For a "new terms" practice session, I'd give them 25 or so and let them struggle through it. After the round, we'd evaluate what worked and what didn't and brainstorm on new ways to draw a term, minimizing time.

For a "review" practice session, we put all the previous terms in a big bucket and draw out 25 or so at a time and go through them, reviewing the ones we failed at. Actually, we put the successful ones back in the big bucket and the failed ones in the "cup of shame" that we practiced until we got them right!

We got our science terms from Picture This from (a) textbook glossaries (b) google searches on things like "science vocabulary" or "forestry vocabulary" and (c) team mates -- we asked each of them to give us a vocabulary list from their events. Often they already had these vocabulary lists so all they had to do is forward them to us. Don't forget things like the periodic table and the minerals on Moh's scale of hardness.

Lots of practice means less surprises at competition. BUT, even with lots of practice, knowing that there are way too many science terms out there than you could possibly prepare for, the kids need to come up with a strategy for knowing when to pass on a term. So, practice that too.

Good luck.

Thank you! This should help a lot!