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More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching


By: Richard Konicek-Moran

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2010 Finalist for Distinguished Achievement Award
Details

Type of Product:NSTA Press Book (also see downloadable PDF version of this book)
Average Rating:
 based on 2 reviews
Publication Title:Everyday Science Mysteries Series
Publication Date:4/1/2009
Pages:207
Stock Number:PB220X2
ISBN:978-1-93353-144-1
Grade Level:Elementary School, Middle School
Read Inside:Read a sample chapter: Worms Are for More Than Bait
Author Blog:Read Dick Konicek's blog

NSTA Recommends
Our reviewers—top-flight teachers and other outstanding science educators—have determined that this resource is among the best available supplements for science teaching.
[Read the full review]


Description

Where do rotten apples go after they fall off the tree? Does the temperature of the wood affect the heat of the fire? Can you make water boil faster? How large a mirror do you need to see your whole body? This second volume of 15 mystery stories examines more science concepts and reinforces the value of learning science through inquiry. Each mystery presents opportunities for students to create questions, form hypotheses, test their ideas, and come up with explanations. Focused on concepts such as weather and climate, thermodynamics, interdependency of living things, adaptation, life cycles, properties of matter, reflection and refraction, and chemical bonds, these mysteries draw students into the stories by grounding them in experiences students are familiar with, providing them with the foundation for classroom discussion and inquiry.

“These stories are bound to reveal the wonderful ideas all students have, give them the confidence to explore their own thinking, and provide opportunities for them to ‘do’ science rather than have science ‘done’ to them.” —Page Keeley, NSTA President 2008–09


Ideas For Use

Additional Info

Science Discipline: (mouse over for full classification)
Global climate change
Adaptations
Reflection
Refraction
Physical properties
Analyzing data
Asking questions
Collecting data
Experimenting
Hypothesizing
Interpreting data
Observing
Predicting
Scientific habits of mind
Life cycles
Intended User Role:Curriculum Supervisor, Elementary-Level Educator, Middle-Level Educator, Teacher
Educational Issues:Classroom management, Curriculum, Educational research, Inquiry learning, Instructional materials, Interdisciplinary, Professional development, Teacher preparation, Teaching strategies

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction: Case Studies on How to Use the Stories in the Classroom

Chapter 1: Theory Behind the Book

Chapter 2: Using the Book and the Stories

Chapter 3: Using This Book in Different Ways

Chapter 4: The Link Between Science, Inquiry, and Language Literacy

• The Stories and Background Material for Teachers

• Matrix for Earth Systems Science and Technology

Chapter 5: What’s Hiding in the Woodpile?

Chapter 6: The New Greenhouse

Chapter 7: Rotten Apples

Chapter 8: Now Just Wait a Minute!

Chapter 9: Cool It, Dude!

• Matrix for Biological Sciences

Chapter 10: Worms Are for More Than Bait

Chapter 11: What Did That Owl Eat?

Chapter 12: Trees From Helicopters, Continued

Chapter 13: Flowers: More Than Just Pretty

Chapter 14: A Tasteful Story

• Matrix for Physical Sciences

Chapter 15: The Magnet Derby

Chapter 16: Pasta in a Hurry

Chapter 17: Iced Tea

Chapter 18: Color Thieves

Chapter 19: A Mirror Big Enough

Appendix

Index


This Title Also Available as Part of a Set:
Set: Everyday Science Mysteries 4-Book Set
Buy all four volumes of Everyday Science Mysteries together and save!
Member Price: $74.76 Nonmember Price: $93.95

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National Standards Correlation

This resource has 21 correlations with the National Standards.  
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This resource has 21 correlations with the National Standards.  
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  • Physical Science
    • Properties of objects and materials
      • Objects have many observable properties, including the ability to react with other substances. (K-4)
      • Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, and temperature. (K-4)
    • Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
      • Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object. (K-4)
    • Transfer of Energy
      • Light interacts with matter by transmission (including refraction), absorption, or scattering (including reflection). To see an object, light from that object—emitted by or scattered from it—must enter the eye. (5-8) (5-8)
  • Life Science
    • Life cycles of organisms
      • Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms. (K-4)
      • Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from an individual's interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristics include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. (K-4)
    • Organisms and environments
      • All organisms cause changes in the environment where they live. Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, whereas others are beneficial.
    • Diversity and adaptations of organisms
      • Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. (5-8)
      • Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment (5-8)
  • Earth Science
    • Changes in earth and sky
      • Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons.
      • Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.
  • Science as Inquiry
    • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
      • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
      • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
      • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
      • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
    • Understandings about scientific inquiry
      • Types of investigations include describing objects, events, and organisms; classifying them; and doing a fair test (experimenting).
      • Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations. (K-4)
  • Process Standards for Professional Development
    • Learning
      • Incorporate ongoing reflection on the process and outcomes of understanding science through inquiry. (NSES)
  • Teaching Standards
    • Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
      • Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science.
      • Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
    • Teachers provide students with the time, space, and resources needed to learn science.
      • Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.


Customer Reviews
Critical thinking / habits of minds
  Reviewed by: Ethelinda Guy-Joco (Kota Bekasi, ) on September 10, 2009
  honestly,i'm not familiar in this subject matter may i know more information on this? and help me also how to implenment in my elementary students teaching science. Thank you so much for your help! God bless!

Beginning Inquiry-Based Science
  Reviewed by: David Szagola (Chambersburg, PA) on June 24, 2009
  This is a great book for K-8 teachers. It focuses on teaching Systems and Technology, Biology, and Physical sciences through short, open-ended, mysteries. Differentiated lesson guidelines allow any K-8 teacher to begin inquiry-based science exploration. It also provides the scientific background necessary for each mystery concept, common pitfalls of teachers and students during the exploration of the mystery, and the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for grades K-8.

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