NSTA - National Science Teachers Association

Worms Are for More Than Bait By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Average User Rating: Segmented worms are considered “yucky” by a great many people, yet they are members of a large animal group that populates the entire world and provides a great service to our planet. This story should stimulate students to want to know more about this...  [view full summary] Segmented worms are considered “yucky” by a great many people, yet they are members of a large animal group that populates the entire world and provides a great service to our planet. This story should stimulate students to want to know more about this group of animals—their behavior, life cycles, habits, and their benefit to the Earth. Worms are also cool. Once kids get to know them, they find them very interesting and should become protective of these animals so vital to our ecosystem. This free selection includes the Table of Contents, Preface, and Index. [hide full abstract] Member Price: Free Nonmember Price: Free Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School, Informal Education

The New Greenhouse By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Average User Rating: This story is based upon using solar energy and a variety of materials to modify and channel this energy to capture and hold heat. Almost everybody has experienced the differences in temperature due to sunshine passing through windows into an enclosed...  [view full summary] This story is based upon using solar energy and a variety of materials to modify and channel this energy to capture and hold heat. Almost everybody has experienced the differences in temperature due to sunshine passing through windows into an enclosed space. With this story, students can explore the effects of solar energy, energy absorption, and energy dissipation of various substances and also the effect of dark and light colors on the absorption of heat in closed systems. The technological aspects of this story are also important in that students can use their new learning about energy supply and storage for the development of a more efficient product. This is putting science to use in solving a real-life problem. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School, Informal Education

Cool It, Dude! By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Average User Rating: The two concepts at work here are conservation of matter and the question about many surfaces vs. fewer surfaces absorbing heat. You may wonder what this story is doing in the Earth system science area, but it has to do not only with thermodynamics and...  [view full summary] The two concepts at work here are conservation of matter and the question about many surfaces vs. fewer surfaces absorbing heat. You may wonder what this story is doing in the Earth system science area, but it has to do not only with thermodynamics and conservation of matter but with water, arguably the most important material on the planet. It sounds more like a physics story but the author suspects that more integration of the various sciences is done in Earth science than in any other of the disciplines because it uses so many concepts from other areas in order to understand its overarching view of the world we live in. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School, Informal Education

The Magnet Derby By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Average User Rating: Magnetism is a force that acts over a distance. Children play with magnetic toys all of the time. Any family that has a refrigerator knows that the number of magnets on the door defines the size of the appliance. This story should give students an opportunity...  [view full summary] Magnetism is a force that acts over a distance. Children play with magnetic toys all of the time. Any family that has a refrigerator knows that the number of magnets on the door defines the size of the appliance. This story should give students an opportunity to test some of their conceptions about magnets, namely what they will attract, their strengths, their interactions with each other, and how they are used in everyday life. It also allows for a great deal of investigation, testing of hypotheses, and drawing of conclusions. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

What’s Hiding in the Woodpile? By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Average User Rating: Wood comes from trees, right? It is full of potential chemical energy that can produce heat when it is put into a stove or fireplace and burned. Yet, in this story, the Earth’s bounty seems to produce a cooler room. What can be the cause? Thermodynamics,...  [view full summary] Wood comes from trees, right? It is full of potential chemical energy that can produce heat when it is put into a stove or fireplace and burned. Yet, in this story, the Earth’s bounty seems to produce a cooler room. What can be the cause? Thermodynamics, the branch of physics that deals with the conversion of various forms of energy from one to another, affecting things such as temperature, is the answer to this riddle, since the flow of heat goes from warmer to cooler objects in a closed system. This story can lead to a discussion of our uses of the words warm and cold in the colloquial sense as compared to the words physicists use. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

A Tasteful Story By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Hardly a day goes by without something arriving by e-mail or being posted on the internet that just doesn’t sound true. The students in this story are depicted as having alert skepticism about things that don’t actually add up in their minds and determining...  [view full summary] Hardly a day goes by without something arriving by e-mail or being posted on the internet that just doesn’t sound true. The students in this story are depicted as having alert skepticism about things that don’t actually add up in their minds and determining to find out for themselves. The tongue map has been around for a long time—even in textbooks—but recently, it has undergone scrutiny and was found to be a myth. At least, so say some “experts.” Therefore, the purpose of this story is threefold: (1) to design the proper test for the tongue map; (2) to encourage the alert skepticism we want our students to display when confronted with seemingly discrepant information; and (3) to learn something about the nervous system and how it works. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School, Informal Education

Pasta In A Hurry By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching This story should give students an opportunity to discover that every liquid has its own unique boiling point and that heat applied to any liquid that has reached its boiling point will not result in an increase in temperature but will be used to change...  [view full summary] This story should give students an opportunity to discover that every liquid has its own unique boiling point and that heat applied to any liquid that has reached its boiling point will not result in an increase in temperature but will be used to change the state from liquid to gas, resulting in evaporation. It also touches on the point that adding substances that dissolve and ionize (break down into charged particles) to water changes the freezing and boiling points of the water. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

Flowers: More Than Just Pretty By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching Children love to look at flowers but few are inclined to become familiar with the structure and function of the flower. This story is aimed at providing some motivation for children to learn about one of the most important evolutionary developments in...  [view full summary] Children love to look at flowers but few are inclined to become familiar with the structure and function of the flower. This story is aimed at providing some motivation for children to learn about one of the most important evolutionary developments in the plant and animal world. The students will also develop skills to help them decipher the purpose of these fascinating structures and the fruits that emerge from them. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School, Informal Education

Theory Behind The Book By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching This book, and particularly the stories which lie within, provide an opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and learn science in a way that will give them a more positive attitude about science. In addition, it will serve to help...  [view full summary] This book, and particularly the stories which lie within, provide an opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and learn science in a way that will give them a more positive attitude about science. In addition, it will serve to help students to process their learning with their classmates and teachers. The theory behind this remarkable book is presented in this chapter. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School

What Did That Owl Eat? By: Richard Konicek-Moran A chapter from More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching This story is true, although Maria and Enrique are fictional characters. A barred owl does live in the rafter of the chickee at Shark Valley and does drop owl pellets from its nest almost daily. The purpose of this story is twofold: (1) to learn more...  [view full summary] This story is true, although Maria and Enrique are fictional characters. A barred owl does live in the rafter of the chickee at Shark Valley and does drop owl pellets from its nest almost daily. The purpose of this story is twofold: (1) to learn more about the eating habits of owls and (2) learn something about the anatomy of what the owls eat, which is mostly rodents. This is done by dissecting the owl pellet and trying to put together the bones in the pellet into a complete skeleton. [hide full abstract] Member Price: $2.79 Nonmember Price: $3.49 Grade Level: Elementary School, Middle School