JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
An image gallery of ideas for learning centers
Setting up science learning centers for young children in early childhood programs sometimes means just grabbing what you have at hand because your teaching partners have been out sick all week, and the materials you ordered haven’t arrived yet, ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Connecting with the education community online to find resources
To support my science teaching practice I look for information about teaching young children, and about the science content I think is important for the young children in my program. I have a lot of questions about both these areas:...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Appropriations Update A lot is going on in both chambers of government; let’s start first in the U.S. House of Representatives: lawmakers last week passed a stopgap spending measure (continuing resolution) that provides continuing appropri...
By Jodi Peterson
Blog Post
How would a science teacher intertwine DNA and Mendelian genetics into lessons to younger audiences? Could elementary school teachers introduce this field by having different colored beads on a string to represent DNA and build on from there? How sho...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Phenomena-driven Instruction in the Elementary Classroom: A Lot Like Herding Cats?
Guest blog post by Jen Brown-Whale ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Encouraging Students to Engage in Argument With Evidence
When I first began to shift my curriculum to support the Next Generation Science Standards, I was a bit overwhelmed!...
By Michelle Monk
Blog Post
Arguing From Evidence to Discover the ‘Why’
In my science classroom, students look at evidence all the time. Sometimes it is in photos or videos; sometimes in charts and graphs; and sometimes we generate our own data through investigations. A more traditional approach previously used is asking...
By Rebecca Schumacher
Blog Post
Pairing Literacy and Science to Effectively Teach Argumentation
Most elementary teachers, have many opportunities to learn best practices in English Language Arts (ELA), but few in science....
By Judine Keplar and Carrie Launius
Blog Post
Blog Post
Get students hooked on real-world science
When students see the real-world applications of science, their interest levels soar. Teachers are experts at guiding students through the wonders of how science helps us answer questions and engineering helps us solve problems. This month, stock up...
By Claire Reinburg
Blog Post
Launching the PocketLab Voyager
Intro Exploring motion, light, temperature, altitude, and magnetic fields can be taken to new interactive heights with the PocketLab Voyager by Myriad Sensors. Subsequently, by using a wireless sensor, the PocketLab Voyager records and sto...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
I am a preservice biology teacher and was hoping to get some insight on labs. What are some of your favorite labs that you have done with your class and what made them a success? How do you typically assess labs? —D., Virginia I believe biology bec...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
I’ve been having trouble getting students willing to talk, answer questions, or share their ideas in class. What strategies/activities do you use to help kids feel more comfortable talking and sharing in your class? —C., Arizona...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Educating Students About Aerospace Careers
Students in William Ervin’s aerospace class at Dubiski Career High School in Grand Prairie, Texas, gather around the flight simulator used in the class. Cindy Hasselbring reads from the Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook report: “804,000 new...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
A Manhattan jury recently awarded nearly $60 million in damages to a former Beacon High School student who was badly burned by a teacher’s botched chemistry experiment more than five years ago. The student suffered third-degree burns over 30% of hi...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
I find it challenging to engage elementary students in the life sciences. What are some hands-on activities that work? Are there anchoring phenomena that you recommend? —C., Utah Depending on your curriculum, you could pursue several avenues to cap...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Measuring Murphy’s Law with the Vernier Go Direct Acceleration Sensor
On the 4th of July this year, a fitting date, America lost a true hero whom many people had never heard of, namely Robert Gilliland. Bob Gilliland was the chief test pilot and first person to fly the iconic SR-71 Blackbird, arguably the coole...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
The “Zoon Hot-Air Balloons Getting Started Package” contains all the materials necessary for a class of 30 students to construct and launch their own hot ...
By Edwin P. Christmann
Blog Post
Plan an Interactive Family Science Event with Support from an App
Welcome to guest post authors Cindy Hoisington, a science educator researcher at Education Development Center (EDC), and Claire Christensen, an educational media researcher at SRI International....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Apply to Serve on the NSTA Board or Council by Dennis Schatz
Now that fall is almost here it is time for you and our colleagues to apply to be an NSTA board or council member. The web portal to apply – or nominate someone else – is now open at https://www.nsta.org/about/governance/nominations.aspx. Applic...
By Kate Falk
Blog Post
My grade 3 students seem to be bored with the content on ecosystems. I’m wondering if anyone has any ideas of what I could do to make ecosystems more engaging? — A., Arizona...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Designing Engineering Projects That Teach Science Concepts by Cory Culbertson
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the engineering projects in my courses. On the surface, they don’t seem like something I need to worry about. My students love these projects and talk about them all year. My administration likes the student-...
By Cory Culbertson
Blog Post
Linking Science and Engineering Through Good Questions
Engineering design projects are a wonderful opportunity for students to develop science disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). (As many of you know, with the release of the NGSS, learning in engineering must be integrated with developing DCIs in physical, l...
By Greg Bartus
Blog Post
Science and Humanities Classes Collaborate for Engineering Integration
As my school’s new K–4 science teacher, I wanted to expand the limited time I had for dedicated science instruction by connecting science and engineering to established student activities in the homeroom classes. Successful integration depends on...
By Kathy Kennedy
Blog Post
Join NSTA’s Book Study and Gain 40 Hours of Personalized Professional Learning
If you’re beginning the school year feeling like you need more support with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), NSTA has the answer for you!...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Two New NSTA Books Make It Fun and Easy to Engage Students in Physical Science
Teachers: We know that your instructional hours are short but that your list of teaching priorities is long....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Solid lessons, fluid performance
What are some fun, engaging hands-on activities or demonstrations about the three states of matter for a third grade class? —B., Tennessee...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
The High School Teacher’s Guide to the #NSTA19 Area Conferences on Science Education
What does a typical high school science teacher’s week look like? If you rolled your eyes and think that’s a trick question, you’re not alone! Typical, predictable, boring… those just aren’t words that describe your job. And you’re not a...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
NSTA’s 2019 Area Conferences: 3 Dates, 3 Cities, Endless Ideas for Elementary Teachers
NSTA’s position statement on elementary school science recognizes that elementary science instruction often takes a back seat to math and reading and receives little time in the school day. But it’s also the time when children are easily interes...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Middle School Science Teachers: NSTA’s Area Conferences Are for You
Does teaching middle school science require superhuman powers? Maybe, but no matter how you answer this question, one thing is certain—three days away from the classroom surrounded by educators who understand and can teach you tried-and-true ways ...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Guest blog post by Valeria Rodriguez Walking into the Moscone West Center in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, I had a few personal issues I was tackling, when I overheard a teacher saying: ...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Guest posters Claire Christensen, Corinne Singleton, Kea Anderson, and Danae Kamdar share their work investigating approaches to school-community organization partnering, perceived benefits to participating organizations and local children and famil...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Preschool Science at Home: The PEEP Family Science Apps
Guest blog post authors, Michelle Cerrone, Gay Mohrbacher, and Megan Silander write about using digital media to support children’s interest in science topics, and discuss tips educators can use to support families using media to explore science wi...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I start my first teaching position this fall sharing a fourth grade class with a veteran teacher. I will be teaching science, math, and art. Do you have any suggestions for a new teacher? —V., Manitoba Congratulations!...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Guest blog post by Anne Lowry As teachers, we know how important family engagement is for student success. How can we improve upon last year’s family engagement and how do we do so while maintaining respect for each family’s unique cult...
By Korei Martin
Blog Post
Sand play engages children in many of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) disciplinary core ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts. Explorations with sand also involve natural phenomena of flow and adhesion, and math concepts of scale ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I had a hard time figuring out a way to get my second-grade students involved with recycling or something with the 3Rs. So, I was just wondering if you had any suggestions on something better? — N., Massachusetts...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Reflective questions for choosing resources or shaping your practice
Asking myself about my teaching practice and looking for evidence to answer reflective questions (see Resources) that support my growth as an educator means considering how I collect data when working with children or adults. ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
How Safe Are Biological Stains?
In middle and high school science labs, biological stains, such as basic fuchsin, crystal violet, and Congo red, are used to enhance properties of microscopic plant and animal cells/tissues. Fortunately, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) note that some of the...
By Kenneth Roy