Details
| Type of Product: | NSTA Press Book (also see downloadable PDF version of this book) |
| Publication Date: | 3/1/2011 |
| Pages: | 198 |
| Stock Number: | PB220X4 |
| ISBN: | 978-1-936137-11-4 |
| Grade Level: | Elementary School, Middle School |
Our reviewers—top-flight teachers and other outstanding science educators—have determined that this resource is among the best available supplements for science teaching.
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Description
2011 Winner of Two Book Design & Effectiveness Awards from Washington Book Publishers!
In the fourth book of this award-winning series, author Richard Konicek-Moran explores 15 new mysteries children and adults encounter in their daily lives. Relating the mysteries to experiences familiar to elementary and middle school students—Party Meltdown examines ice cubes melting at different rates; Baking Bread explores the importance of yeast; Stuck! uses a playground sliding board to explore properties of friction—the stories show how science is part of everyday life and initiate inquiry-based learning by leaving each mystery without an ending. Students identify the problem to be solved, formulate questions, form hypotheses, test their ideas, and come up with possible explanations. The mysteries cover science concepts such as periodic motion, thermodynamics, temperature and energy, and sound and sound transmission. Students may read and discuss the stories in small groups or take turns reading the stories aloud for whole-class discussions. Each story also includes strategies for teaching the lessons to younger students, lists of related ideas from the National Science Education Standards, and related books and journals that can be used to continue the discussion. The author also includes a chapter on using the stories to emphasize the importance of both science and literacy.
Additional Info
| Intended User Role: | Curriculum Supervisor, Elementary-Level Educator, Middle-Level Educator, Teacher |
| Educational Issues: | Assessment of students, Classroom management, Curriculum, Inquiry learning, Interdisciplinary, Professional development, Teacher content knowledge, 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 the Book in Different Ways
Chapter 4: Science and Literacy
The Stories and Background Materials for Teachers
Matrix for Earth Systems Science and Technology
Chapter 5: The Coldest Time
Climate: (Temperature fluctuations during a 24 hour period)
Chapter 6: Is the Earth Getting Heavier?
Decomposition: (Recycling the Earth’s materials)
Chapter 7: What’s the Moon Like Around the World?
Astronomy: (The Moon’s shape around the world)
Chapter 8: Sunrise, Sunset
Astronomy: (How do the sunrise and sunset directions change over the year?)
Matrix for Biological Sciences
Chapter 9: Lookin’ at Lichens
Biology: (Introducing the lichens in the environment)
Chapter 10: Baking Bread
Yeasts: (Exploring the importance of leavening agents in baking)
Chapter 11: Springtime in the Greenhouse: Planting Season
Botany: (A family experiments on the needs for seed germinating)
Chapter 12: Reaction Time
Physiology: (How fast do you normally react?)
Chapter 13: Seedlings in a Jar
Botany: (Explorations in plant physiology)
Matrix for Physical Sciences
Chapter 14: Sweet Talk
(Exploring the differences between melting and dissolving)
Chapter 15: Cooling Off
(Mixing different temperatures of substances)
Chapter 16: Party Meltdown
(Finding the explanations for differential cooling)
Chapter 17: The Crooked Swing
(Solving a mystery and using engineering skills to remedy a problem)
Chapter 18: The Cookie Dilemma
(Using chemical tests to identify cookie ingredients)
Chapter 19: Stuck!
(Exploring aspects of friction and other forces)
Index
This Title Also Available as Part of a Set:
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