If life hands you lemons, make lemonade. This age-old advice is hard to argue with, but if you’re handed lemons in science class, it’s time to make observations. “A Lemon of a Lesson” provides valuable opportunities for students to hone their observation skills and extend these observations through the use of magnifiers and measuring devices. Once this seed of “observation awareness” has been planted, students understand why they need to make more in-depth observations—and do so—during later inquiry experiences in class.
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This inquiry-based lesson was inspired by Denise Fleming’s book entitled, In the Tall, Tall Grass (1991). The author used the book and a real study of prairie grasses to teach kindergartners how to make careful observations and record what they see. In addition, they learn how to “draw as scientists.” Here the author describes her class’s yearly journey into the “tall, tall grass.”
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As educators, we are always deciding what experiences we want to give students in order to achieve our goals of developing science process skills. One of the best ways of teaching about observation is described here. Using a hand lens and an illuminated pocket microscope, students observe an object at three different levels of magnification—“Close, Closer, Closest.” You may be amazed at how surprisingly simple and effective this experience is for teaching young learners to be keen observers.
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Children’s descriptions of commonplace objects and events of life are often limited because they do not provide adequate information about the context of their observation. Encouraging primary and early intermediate students to consider the context of an observation can further encourage them to generate questions about what they are observing and why it appears that way. This, in turn, pushes students to “use critical and logical thinking and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students can actively develop their understanding of science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills” (NRC 1996, p. 2).
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Observation is a fundamental process in science. It is a skill that many science curricula emphasize. It seems like such a simple skill, but observation skills are not quite so simply mastered. Like anything else, just watching and observing does little to improve the skill. In order to improve, we must pay explicit attention to how and why we observe in science. In this issue, we explore what it means to observe and how to teach skills that will lead to more thoughtful observations.
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This monthly feature contains facts and challenges for the science explorer.
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Helping young children avoid developing deeply held misconceptions and promoting developmentally appropriate Nature of Science (NOS) ideas will establish a foundation for students from which they will later develop more accurate and sophisticated NOS understanding. This article delineates important NOS ideas and practical K-4 classroom teaching strategies to help teachers avoid inadvertently perpetuating these misconceptions.
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Researchers describe the need for students to have multiple opportunities and social interaction to learn about the differences between observation and inference and their role in developing scientific explanations (Harlen 2001; Simpson 2000). Helping children develop their skills of observation and inference in science while emphasizing the importance of each skill will help them develop a better understanding of how scientists generate knowledge about the world.
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It turns out that telescopes, microscopes, and binoculars all work on the same principles, so you get three for one in this answer. They give us information that we can’t get with the unaided eye. To do that, these devices gather as much information (in the form of emitted light or other electromagnetic waves or in the form of reflected electrons) as possible, focus it on a small area, and then enlarge the result for easy viewing. Now, if we could just develop a similar system to find out what’s going on in the mind of a teenager.
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When you observe something, how do you know for sure what you are seeing, feeling, smelling, or hearing? Asking students to think critically about their encounters with the natural world will help to strengthen their understanding and application of the science-process skills of observation and inference. In the following lesson, students make observations and inferences of an object and some mystery photos.
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The winter months are a great time to make observations of several familiar constellations. While there’s no scientific reason to “know” the constellations—they are simply imaginative pictures imposed on stars—studying constellations can help students connect with culture in a fun way and develop the awareness that stars are different in apparent brightness and color. And, exploring the night sky over a period of weeks can also help students notice the motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets.
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Inspire your students to become detailed observers by encouraging the use of magnifiers. Magnification can make us see an object with new understanding. Rachel Carson said, “Some of nature’s most exquisite handiwork is on a miniature scale, as anyone knows who has applied a magnifying glass to a snowflake” (Carson 1965). The lesson described here uses interesting objects to give children a reason to learn to use a magnifier.
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A wind vane is a tool for making observations of wind direction and initiating inquiries about the weather. Its construction and use continue to be mainstays of the science education of elementary students. By providing students with the opportunity to discern critical features associated with the wind vane’s operation, you can ensure that students develop accurate understanding of how this meteorological tool works and can be used in weather forecasting while also honing their science inquiry skills. The lesson described here is written in the format of a 5E learning cycle (Bybee et al. 2006).
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In this science investigation based on the 5E learning model, students moved through four different centers designed to focus their attention on the concepts of mass, volume, and density. At these stations, students encountered discrepant events that heightened their curiosity and encouraged discussion with peers about what they expected and observed. They answered questions and made predictions based on these observations.
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