With the use of technology such as Global Positioning System (GPS) units and Google Earth for a simple-machine scavenger hunt, you will transform a standard identification activity into an exciting learning experience that motivates students, incorporates practical skills in technology, and enhances students’ spatial-thinking skills. In the activity described here, seventh-grade science students use GPS units to locate, identify, and describe the location of simple machines on their middle school campus. Then, by importing the GPS points into a file that is viewed in Google Earth, students view the relative location of the simple machines to the school from an aerial perspective.
[hide full abstract]

The study of biological clocks and circadian rhythms is an excellent way to address the inquiry strand in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) (NRC 1996). Students can study these everyday phenomena by designing experiments, gathering and analyzing data, and generating new experiments. As students explore biological clocks and circadian rhythms, they are provided with opportunities to connect learning to experiences and observations from their own lives. This article describes how to reset the biological clock of a shamrock plant while shedding light on its circadian rhythms.
[hide full abstract]

Why not combine the use of technology with the excitement of a scavenger hunt that moves middle-level students out into the “wilds” of their school campus to classify plants? In the lesson plan described here, students embark on a botanical scavenger hunt and then document their findings using a digital camera. This project was designed to allow students to not only understand the concept of classification, but to incorporate 21^st skills such as collaboration, public speaking, problem solving, and creativity.
[hide full abstract]

As our technology advanced, so has the sophistication of our classification systems. Over time, we’ve moved from the ancient Greeks’ four elements to the periodic table, and from classifying animals by the way they move to comparisons of their DNA sequences. Classification systems are an essential tool in all branches of science, but also help bring order to our everyday lives in the form of phone directories, library catalogs, bus schedules, supermarket aisles, and countless other ways. This issue of Science Scope has some interesting classification activities to build on the observation and classification basics that students bring with them from elementary school.
[hide full abstract]

Middle school students make great learning gains when they participate in lessons that invite them to practice their developing scientific reasoning skills; however, designing developmentally appropriate, clear, and structured lessons about scientific thinking and reasoning can be difficult. This challenge can be met through lessons that teach students not only what to know, but how to think about what they know. The lesson-planning model introduced in this article, called the Thinking Lesson Model, highlights two specific types of scientific reasoning processes: inductive thinking and deductive thinking.
[hide full abstract]

While most school districts utilize a drug abuse resistance curriculum, as science teachers, it is our responsibility to understand the science behind drug addiction in order to most effectively educate our students against drug abuse. In the last two decades, increases in scientific technology have permitted significant discoveries surrounding the neurobiology, genetic components, and treatment of drug addition. This article address the latest scientific knowledge about drug addition and treatment with information that can be used in the middle school setting, focusing on cocaine addiction to illustrate the points discussed.
[hide full abstract]

As an interdisciplinary exploration, middle-level students were reading The Cay (1969) by Theodore Taylor in their English classes, honing map skills in social studies, and learning the importance of making observations in science class. Then, inspired by the autobiography of Dr. Geerat Vermeij, the author decided to have her students make observations as he did—using only their sense of touch. Dr. Vermeij, a distinguished professor of geology at the University of California, has been blind since the age of three, but he has an extraordinary gift—he can identify shells using only his hands. Through the activities described here, students not only honed their science process skills, but also gained a deeper appreciation of science as a human endeavor.
[hide full abstract]

Scientists are always working at refining their observations to help them make that leap toward stronger inferences. Teaching students to make inferences means showing them how to take their careful observations and use them to explain natural phenomena. It takes practice, but it is beneficial to help students make sound science decisions. The activity described here was designed as a stand-alone mini lesson to help students focus on building a case for their observations by using evidence.
[hide full abstract]

The Great Fakesperiment is based on 10 fictitious experiment examples. These examples included a brief description of what the experiment was about, asked students to identify the independent or dependent variable, and listed possible answers. The activity ended with students partnering to create their own fake experiment in which they identified the independent and dependent variables. This activity allowed students to deepen their understanding of variables and to think critically about how scientists choose what to change and what to measure as they design more complex experiments.
[hide full abstract]

Everyone loves the beach. Unfortunately, most schools don’t have access to beachfront property. So, why not bring the beach to the classroom? This seashell lab investigation is great because students enjoy it, they learn that science is a way to solve problems through a thinking process, and they learn about the important methods of classification. Through these different methods, students take part in the same process that a scientist would to classify an organism, only on a smaller time scale that fits within classroom instructional time.
[hide full abstract]

A major cause of injuries in middle and high school science laboratories can be summarized by one word—heat. Heated liquids, glassware, and hot plates are the most common source of student burns in the lab. Training—the key to preventing most burns—should be provided at the beginning of the year and reviewed whenever you are conducting an activity that requires a heat source. Students need to be reminded of the inherent dangers of heat sources and have proper procedure demonstrated by the teacher. In addition to training, the prevention strategies outlined in this month’s column should be adopted to help prevent burn injuries when working in the science laboratory.
[hide full abstract]

When students are asked about the Milky Way galaxy and where our solar system is located, most will describe it as a spiral-shaped galaxy with the Sun located on one of the spiral arms. While this is essentially correct, data obtained with the Spitzer telescope have provided new insight into the shape of our galaxy and given us a newer model of the Milky Way galaxy to consider. This month’s column sheds light on the new Milky Way galaxy and the Spitzer telescope.
[hide full abstract]

During a recent unit on characteristics of animals in different environments, “backyard safari” trips around the schoolyard provided opportunities for students to describe ways that animals are adapted to their unique environments. This led to a discussion of how polar bears have adjusted to living in the arctic. Therefore, students’ questions provided an opportunity to make natural connections between the life science topic—characteristics of organisms and their environment—and properties of objects and materials in physical science. Using broad themes that encompass concepts in several science strands helps students to develop understanding of the “big ideas” of science—in this case, form and function.
[hide full abstract]

The National Science Education Standards recommend that middle school students have a clear understanding of the history, composition, and formative processes that shape the Earth. To accomplish this goal, the authors use an engaging activity that uses candy chips to explore the rock cycle and model the different types of rocks. This is a culminating activity to reinforce the main concepts of rocks and the rock cycle that have been previously introduced. This activity, which is described here, was inspired by a lesson found on the Utah State Office of Education website entitled “A Chip off the Old Rock.”
[hide full abstract]

When students classify, they embark on observing and identifying the properties of the object, and then they categorize, sort, group, organize, arrange, or grade objects into smaller and similar clusters or divisions. Therefore, observing and classifying are fundamental skills for comparing and contrasting material objects. In addition, observing and classifying are skill-based stepping stones to helping students to think spatially. The following discussion focuses on three questions: (1) What is spatial thinking? (2) How do spatial-thinking skills apply to everyday problems and situations? and (3) How do spatial-thinking skills integrate into the science curriculum?
[hide full abstract]