The Tongue Twister Experiments by Don Densmore

This tongue twister is the beginning of a science experiment in disguise. It can form the basis of a scientific Statement of the Problem, for example. “What do we want to find out?” Author Don Densmore points out tongue twisters are great, fun ways to introduce students to the concept of science. Teachers could use the tongue twister above to initiate discussion on topics like the following: Have global weather patterns changed over the past 100 years and if so how much have the patterns changed. Is there evidence that weather changes have been a part of earth for thousands of years? Is the Earth becoming hotter because of greenhouse gases or is it a natural climate change in the earth’s cycle? Is there a way to reverse or slow global warming or should we merely prepare for anticipated weather changes. Are global warming and global dimming connected?

Teacher and Author, Don Densmore knows that the Scientific Method is the building block for scientific inquiry, and that students must understand the steps in the process to help them in further understanding the sciences. He knows the traditional classroom can be changed into a learning environment of collaboration and student-directed learning, where the outcome is the ability to employ the senses to experience and grasp concepts of how the world and our universe function on a daily basis.

In The Tongue Twister Experiments, he walks teachers through the steps of an ever-more complex “Experiment Matrix,” using various tongue twisters to come up with, progressively, an Observation, a Question, a Statement of the Problem, a Hypothesis, a Test of the Problem, Procedures or a Method or Process, and a Conclusion. It’s a lot of fun and will get teachers and K–12 students twisting their tongues, diving deep into discussion and, most of all, involving themselves in inquiry, while using all five senses to learn about science.