11 Experiments That Failed

11 Experiments That Failed

 

By Jenny Offill

Schwartz and Wade, 2011

 

Grades: 2, 3, 4

 

Summary: The very ambitious main character creates and executes 11 different experiments ranging from living on ketchup and snow to using perfume to water seeds. The results are never quite what she expected and sometimes don't answer the questions, but are always humorous. She is careful to document her question, hypothesis, process and results for each (failed) experiment.

Jump: Students will find the main character's antics engaging, and her process quite thorough. After reading through the book, the steps of the scientific process could be identified. Then, students could be asked to create and execute their own experiment (with parent and/or teacher approval). These experiments could be documented in the same way as the book and displayed as experiments that failed - or didn't!