In this component, students spend time investigating. Investigating is the process of collecting evidence. Students are provided with an overview, procedure, and an area to respond to a writing prompt with the findings of their investigations.

The first page of the Investigate tab contains the overview and purpose of the experiment, along with icons for appropriate safety tips and inquiry investigation materials. The second page contains the procedure for the experiment. Students are provided with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct the experiment and, when applicable, directions to print worksheets for recording data. The third page includes important considerations that relate directly to the experiment the student conducted. Students are asked to think about a question and write their answers in the text box. Students can review teacher comments when the blue comment indicator displays in the upper right of the Investigate tab.

To add text to the text box:

1. From the Investigate tab, position your cursor in the text box and write your response.
2. Use the formatting toolbar to change the font style and to add formatting.
3. When you are finished writing, click SUBMIT to send your work to the teacher to review. If you are unable to finish, click FINISH LATER. (Note: When you return to the Investigate component to continue working, the response tab you last worked on will display.)
4. After finishing your work, a blue teacher comment indicator will appear on the Investigate tab when teacher comments are available.
5. When you return to the Investigate tab to review and reply to teacher comments, you create a new response tab by clicking in the text box. When prompted, you can choose to copy your existing work into a new response or to start a blank response.

To print worksheets for an experiment:

1. Click the link in the first step on Page 2 of the Investigate tab.
2. After clicking the link, a PDF file will display. Click Print to use the worksheets offline.