Here are some of the best questions for an elementary school student survey about science activities, plus smart tips on designing them. With Specific, you can generate surveys in seconds and capture meaningful feedback with ease.
Best open-ended questions for elementary school student survey about science activities
Open-ended questions let students express thoughts in their own words, revealing rich details and unfiltered insights. Use these when you want to spark conversation or dig beneath the surface. Just keep in mind: young respondents may skip open-ended items more often—one Pew study found that open-ended survey questions can result in a nonresponse rate averaging 18%, with some as high as 50% for specific questions [2]. That’s why it pays to balance open and closed formats.
What is your favorite science experiment or activity you have done this year?
Can you describe something new you learned during a science activity?
How do you feel when you try a new science experiment?
What do you find most exciting about doing science in school?
Is there anything you wish you could try in your science class?
Can you think of a science topic you want to learn more about?
Tell us about a science activity you shared with your family or friends.
What helps you understand science activities better?
Is there anything that makes science hard for you?
What would make science activities more fun for you?
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for elementary school student survey about science activities
Single-select multiple-choice questions are essential when quantifying responses, tracking trends, or simply starting a conversation. They’re especially accessible for young students, offering structure and reducing the risk of skipped answers. According to NAEP, student response rates in well-designed elementary school surveys are strong: 85% for 4th graders and 82% for 8th graders [1]. That’s solid engagement, especially if questions are easy to answer and relevant.
Here are some well-tested examples for your science activities survey:
Question: Which science activity do you enjoy the most?
Hands-on experiments
Watching science videos
Reading science books
Outdoor science projects
Other
Question: How often do you look forward to science class?
Every time
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Question: Which topic interests you most in science?
Plants and animals
Space and planets
Experiments with water
Building things (engineering)
Other
When to follow up with “why?” Asking “why?” as a follow-up works best when you notice an unusual or surprising answer, or want to understand the reason behind a choice. For example, if a student selects “Never” for looking forward to science class, following up with, “Could you share what makes you feel that way?” can give you actionable insights.
When and why to add the “Other” choice? It’s important to include "Other" so students can share options you didn’t anticipate. Follow-up questions such as “Can you tell us more about your answer?” often uncover unexpected ideas that could improve future science activities.
NPS question in surveys with students
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a quick way to measure satisfaction and loyalty by asking students how likely they are to recommend science activities at their school to a friend. For elementary school students, use simple wording like, “How likely are you to tell your friends about the science activities you do at school?” and provide a scale from 0 to 10. This approach gives you a quantifiable benchmark for engagement-and helps identify both enthusiastic promoters and those who need more support. Try an NPS survey tailored for elementary school students and science activities in one click.
The power of follow-up questions
Effective surveys don’t just ask questions—they listen and dig deeper when something is unclear or interesting. Automated follow-up questions transform a simple survey into a real conversation. With AI-driven followups, like those in Specific, you get richer, more precise feedback without manually tracking individual responses or chasing them via email.
Here’s how it works if you don’t use follow-up questions:
Student: I don’t like doing experiments.
AI follow-up: Can you tell me what you don’t like about experiments? Is there something that would make them more enjoyable for you?
Without this follow-up, you might never know if the problem is with instructions, group dynamics, or materials.
How many followups to ask? In our experience, 2-3 targeted follow-up questions are usually enough. You don’t want to overwhelm students—just get the detail you need, then move on. Settings in Specific let you tune this so you collect the info you want and move naturally to the next point.
This makes it a conversational survey: AI-powered followups make the experience feel like a back-and-forth chat, putting students at ease and making participation more natural.
AI survey response analysis: Even if your survey collects a lot of unstructured feedback, analysis stays easy. Using AI survey response analysis, you can review and summarize main ideas from hundreds of responses in minutes, not hours.
Automated followups are a new but powerful concept. Generate a survey with Specific and experience how these smart followup questions bring your student feedback to life.
How to prompt ChatGPT (or any GPT) for great survey questions about science activities
If you want to create your own question list using AI like ChatGPT, start with a simple prompt:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for elementary school student survey about science activities.
For even better results, add context about your goal or classroom situation. For instance:
I am a science teacher aiming to understand what types of activities engage my students most. Most students are in 3rd and 4th grade. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that will help me learn what they enjoy and what confuses them about our science activities.
Group and organize your ideas with another prompt:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Finally, decide which categories you want to dig into. Then:
Generate 10 questions for the categories “Experiments” and “Science Topics I Find Difficult”.
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys use AI to recreate the experience of a real chat. Instead of a dry list of static questions, students engage in a back-and-forth exchange—just like texting with a teacher or coach. That’s the approach we’ve built at Specific, and it’s why researchers and educators choose our solution for modern AI survey creation.
Let’s compare traditional manual survey design to AI-powered, conversational survey makers like Specific:
Manual Surveys | AI-generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Slow to create, inflexible | Instant generation, easily updated |
Fixed questions, no context | Dynamic follow-ups, contextual probing |
Difficult analysis (especially open-ended) | Automated AI summaries, easy data review |
Respondents may get bored | Feels like a conversation, higher engagement |
Why use AI for elementary school student surveys? With AI survey builders like Specific, you remove all the heavy lifting—question design, followups, response review, and analysis become fast and interactive. Try an AI survey example or read about how to create a survey for science activities.
Specific offers world-class user experience in conversational surveys, making feedback seamless and engaging for both you and your students.
See this science activities survey example now
Get a practical look at how AI-powered, conversational surveys can uncover real insights from elementary students—making your next science activities survey easier to launch and more enjoyable for kids. Act now and experience better feedback and analysis, every time.