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[5th Grade Elementary School] Independent Research Themes & Crafts | A Collection of Ideas That Lead to Learning
Elementary school students, have you decided what to do for your independent research project this year?
Since you can choose any theme for independent research—experiments, crafts, observations—it can be hard to decide what to do each year.
So in this article, we’ve gathered a variety of independent research ideas to help you not only search for ideas but also expand on any interests you come up with.
Because this is aimed at fifth graders, we’re introducing topics that lead to deeper learning.
Feel free to use this as a reference and keep making new discoveries!
[5th Grade Elementary School] Independent Research Topics & Crafts | A Collection of Ideas That Lead to Learning (1–10)
Skeleton Egg
This is an experiment where you can enjoy watching an egg turn transparent by soaking it in vinegar.
Rinse an egg with water, place it in a glass, pour in enough vinegar to cover the egg, and cover the top with a paper towel—that’s all you need to do.
Leave it for about two days, and the egg will gradually become transparent.
The change happens because the acidic vinegar dissolves the calcium in the eggshell.
The fizzing bubbles are caused by carbon dioxide being released, and the egg becomes larger because water molecules enter through tiny pores in the membrane.
Be careful not to eat the egg made in this experiment.
It’s a perfect topic for an independent research project that you can document with photos, illustrations, and writing.
Self-made game in Scratch
Scratch is a game creation tool that makes it easy to give children opportunities to learn programming.
It’s free to use and runs in the browser—why not make game development your independent research project theme? Choose a game stage from a wide variety of backgrounds and give the stage a name by changing the costume name.
After creating three costumes for the stage, use a new message to set up character selection.
Prepare a character from “Choose a Sprite” and rename it.
By duplicating and modifying the code you create, you can experience programming.
With intuitive drag-and-drop operations, it’s a tool that helps you learn how to use a computer and how to make games.
Solo Camping Experience
Here is an idea for an independent study project with the theme of solo camping, where children can have the valuable experience of spending time alone surrounded by nature.
By handling preparations, travel, and meals by themselves, children can enjoy an extraordinary experience and a sense of accomplishment.
In practice, they won’t actually stay completely alone—parents or guardians should watch from a distance or participate as the person filming the experience.
Travel to the campsite by bicycle or train, and upon arrival, set up a one-person tent.
Once you’ve lit a prepared fire pit using dry branches and charcoal, you can cook rice with solid fuel and heat up retort pouch foods.
At night, sleep in a sleeping bag and welcome the morning, completing a one-night, two-day overnight program.
Making Colorful Flowers
Make Colorful Flowers: a fun experiment to learn what happens when you place flowers in inks of different colors.
Through experiments that make use of flowers’ natural features, you can deepen your knowledge while having fun.
Fill test tubes or plastic cups with printer ink or water mixed with food coloring.
Then simply place white flowers—such as roses, gerberas, or baby’s breath—into the solutions and leave them for 1 to 24 hours.
You can also split a stem in two to create a two-tone flower.
This experiment shows that plants draw water up through vessels called xylem, which carry the pigments.
Plankton Observation
Observing plankton is an independent research topic that lets you explore familiar nature in depth.
Peering into the world of tiny organisms through a microscope stimulates children’s curiosity and can spark a deeper interest in biology.
Scoop water from a pond or river into a container, place a drop of the collected water onto a slide with a dropper, and observe it under a microscope.
Record the shapes and movements of the plankton with illustrations or notes, and then look up their names and characteristics in field guides or on the internet to deepen interest in living things.
This is one of the recommended independent research themes for fifth-grade elementary students who conduct science experiments in class.
paper lampshade
A paper lampshade that brightly illuminates a room is an item whose warm atmosphere and rounded form bring a sense of comfort.
Brush a glue mixture thinned with water onto a balloon, then apply layers of shoji paper.
Leave an opening where the light will go, and decorate with thin confetti paper used for paper showers or paper flowers.
Hang it with clothespins and let it dry for 1–2 days.
Pop the balloon with a toothpick or similar tool, place the light inside, and the lampshade is complete.
You can choose materials in your favorite colors, and kids will enjoy the process of sticking on the paper, making it a fun, original project.
Making solid fuel
A solid fuel made by compacting combustible materials to make it easy to carry and handle.
Here we introduce a method for making fuel at home that you can also buy at hardware stores or online.
Put 15 grams of soap shaved with a knife into a cup, then pour in 150 grams of denatured alcohol (fuel alcohol).
To completely dissolve the solids, warm it in a hot-water bath at a temperature that does not bring the methanol to a boil.
While it is still warm, pour it into a can to set; once solidified, the fuel is ready.
Methanol is highly toxic, so be careful not to ingest it.
The solidification speed varies depending on the size and shape of the can, so it’s also a great idea to make various solid fuels as a science project.