Class 8 Science is often viewed as a challenging subject. Never heard before concepts like force and pressure can overwhelm even the brightest of minds. With the right strategy and approach, you can easily understand every concept in your science subject. Science is an interesting and fun subject. Here are some tips that will help you not only gain control over science but also develop a certain likeness for it.
Develop a scientific temperament
Science is a subject of answers. It gazes at nature and derives an answer for why it is the way it is. For you to know the answer, you need to ask the question first. This is what is meant by developing a scientific temperament. To properly understand the subject and make it fun for yourself, don’t accept things the way they are. Ask, ask and ask! Why are metals malleable? Why is a flame blue? Once you find your answers, you will most definitely fall in love with the subject.
Perform experiments
NCERT science class 8 book contains a variety of experiments for illustration of concepts. Many of which can also be performed at home. Like for Chapter 2 Microorganisms: Friends And Foe, you can perform the experiment of converting plant waste into compost. Here, you’ll be able to visualize the stages of composting plus it can also be used as manure for houseplants.
You should perform even more such experiments at home to understand concepts even better. Visualizing results will help you grasp the concept better which will make the whole process even more fun.
Notes
Notes make up your creative space and you can evolve it into something enjoyable by maximizing your creativity. Use multi-colored highlighters, pens to highlight important definitions. Use sticky notes to write down formulae. Use fancy stationery. You can draw animal and plant cells as cartoons talking about their structure and function. If you’re extra tech-savvy you can use Evernote, Google Docs, MS Word, etc to take notes.
Mapping out concepts
Almost every concept in science is connected to the other. Identifying these connections can be very fun. You get to act as an investigator looking for footprints. Start with a question like, How are force and friction related? Then map it out. Put all the things that come to mind when you think about force and try to join its strings with friction. Another question can be, How different is sexual reproduction from asexual reproduction? This question can then lead to differences between plant and animal cells, their structure, and their function. You can use many online tools such as concept board, google jam board, Canva to map out your mind and make connections.
Tabulating
One of the best ways to learn is to identify contrasting features. There are a lot of concepts such as natural vs synthetic, metals vs nonmetals, plant cell vs animal cell, etc whose properties can be tabulated to compare and contrast. Tabulating gives you a brief overview of the entire concept without consuming much time. You can design your tables with different colors and drawings to make them even more interesting. Making tables is even more helpful as they are also part of the exam curriculum.
Use music
Often we face this issue when we finally decide to start studying but somehow cannot focus at all. Music has been shown to increase focus and attention by volume. So get your headphones and put on some music. Classical music, jazz, pop, rock are some of the genres of music that can help you in focusing. Listening to the music not only helps you attain focus and also makes the whole process even more enjoyable. Avoid music with lyrics as your mind can zone out because of it.
Take breaks
You might think working for long hours equals completing more chapters. That is surprisingly wrong. Studies have shown people who take adequate breaks are able to complete more chapters or tasks in less time. You can even take breaks from chapters, it isn’t necessary to learn everything in one go. For example, you have been studying Chapter 16 Light for an hour now and it’s getting boring, switch it up. Start something fresh. Start a lighter chapter like Chapter 7 Conservation of Plants and Animals and then get back to Light again. You will notice that it is easier to focus and grasp concepts this time around.
Flashcards
Flashcards are two-sided cards with a prompt on one side and information about the prompt on the other. One side of the flashcard can be, for example, Pole Star, and the other can be that Pole star is located using Ursa Major, similarly for Sirius. Like these, you can make your own flashcards for different topics. Even the work of making flashcards is learning. Flashcards help you build your memory and can be a very effective self-testing approach.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics are fun techniques used to abbreviate long complex concepts into smaller sentences that can be easily memorized. One example of a mnemonic device is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles” this is a mnemonic for planets of the solar system according to distance from the sun ( Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). Other similar mnemonic or memory devices can be made by you to remember complex concepts which are harder to memorize, easily.
Take quizzes and puzzles
The NCERT Class 8 Science textbook is filled with crosswords. Solve them. Look for online quizzes and more such as crosswords, puzzles, word searches. These help you learn and interact with science in a fun way.
Observe and Learn
The end goal of learning is being able to apply theoretical knowledge in real life. Especially in science, nature is all around us. Observe and identify every material and fiber which is natural and synthetic and feel the difference for yourself. Observe flames and combustion and learn. Look at metals rust and non-metals. Look up at the night sky and discover constellations for yourself. This is what you are learning science for.
The more you like learning the subject, the higher are your chances of scoring better at it.
And using these foolproof methods diligently, science will most definitely become your most loved subject and your highest scoring one.
