Read on to find out more about how to use different question types for Science, examples of sites you can embed into your formatives, and inspiring examples of formatives you can clone!
Using different question types for Science
Here are some of our favorite question types to use in Science classes!
🌟 Drawing
Students can draw, type, underline, and even upload images in a Drawing question. Teachers can likewise draw, type, and upload images to the background! Here are some of our favorite uses for Science:
Ask students to draw models; circuits, molecules, etc.
Upload a blank graph for students to graph experiment results.
Upload graphic organizers for students to complete, such as a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast plant and animal cells or mixtures and solutions.
Upload or draw or type a solution to a model or problem that contains a deliberate mistake. Ask students to circle the mistake and/or annotate by typing.
Upload an image of a model you would like students to label; plant cells, the ocean floor, the solar system, and more.
Tip: If your Drawing question has a final answer, you can add Show Your Work to a Short Answer or Numeric question. That way, Formative can auto-grade your students' final answers (make sure you set an answer key!), but you can also see your students' work - the best of both worlds!
🌟 Resequence (Silver/Gold feature)
You can use the Resequence question type to ask students to put steps in order for the Scientific Method, water cycle, life cycles, and more!
🌟 Categorize (Silver/Gold feature)
Use the Categorize question type to have students sort terms by category or vocabulary terms with definitions!
🌟 Math keyboard - add to any question type!
You can choose any question type, and add a Math equation to it by clicking on the "+" icon within the question:
Simply click on the equation that appears to open the editor and start editing the equation!
Tip for Silver/Gold users: If you want your students to use the same numeric keyboard to type in their answers, use the "Numeric" question type.
📌 Useful science sites that you can embed into your formatives
You can embed websites anywhere in a formative as a content item. Silver/Gold users can embed them within a specific question. Check out our Embed article for instructions.
Great Science sites that embed into formatives include:
🌟 Gizmos
🌟 PhET
You can add Safe YouTube and Khan Academy YouTube videos as content items. Silver/Gold users can embed directly within specific questions by adding them as a video.
The Smithsonian Learning Lab also provides many learning activities and videos that can be added as a video to any question type.
📌 Great examples of Science formatives
Check out these awesome formatives, created by other Science educators! Click on the title to clone them to your dashboard, and you can edit and assign them to your classes!
🌟 States of Matter Formative (6th-8th grades): students will demonstrate knowledge of the states of matter through a variety of question types.
🌟 Biological Macromolecules Lab (9th-12th grades): this biology lab formative is a great example of using Formative to guide learning. *Can be modified or personalized for a lab to align with your curriculum.
🌟 Reading a Weather Map (4th-6th grades): this formative uses a pdf to allow students to read a weather map and demonstrate knowledge of weather fronts.
🌟 Generic lab template (6th-12th grades): this is a template formative that you can edit to use for any lab!
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