The truth is: Valid research demands more than beakers and Bunsen burners— much more. So give kids the lowdown on how real scientists work. This engaging book shows you how to develop students' creative and critical thinking skills to make qualitative and quantitative observations, compare testable research questions and hypotheses, design an experiment, collect and analyze data, and present results and conclusions orally and in writing. In addition to handy reproducible pages, the book is packed with special features: an unusually large section on quantitative analysis and data interpretation, plenty of background for teachers inexperienced with statistics and data analysis, and a mix of both formative and summative assessment strategies.