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The average wind speed in Minneapolis is 10 miles per hour (mph), equal to the Windy City of Chicago, according to worldfactsandfigures.com. While that makes Minneapolis a less-than-ideal location for a wind turbine, it is still good setting for a wi...
By Lynn Petrinjak
Blog Post
Richard Louv on returning nature to the classroom
By now many of you surely have heard of Richard Louv and his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
The editor makes a good point – helping students connect science to real issues can help to dispel the “why are we doing this” question....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
One of the organizing strands for the NSTA Conference in Phoenix is “Rigor Without Mortis: Challenging and Accessible Content.” Challenging AND accessible? Genetics fits that bill. The science is in our cells, so it’s certainly accessible, and ...
By Debra Shapiro
Blog Post
Asking questions and solving problems
In the article CSI for Trees there a quote that sums up the theme of this issue: “An ordinary activity can be transformed into a lesson that includes nature of science themes simply by adding a few key statements and questions throughout a les...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Some of my colleagues in the science department and I would like to start a book group, but we’re not sure how to get started. What books should we read? How often should we meet? Any other suggestions? —Allison, Lexington, Kentucky How many time...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Resource sharing—websites and other places to learn
Does it seem to you that this blog needs a place to post about resources such as book and website recommendations, commercial sites for needed early childhood science supplies, and interesting articles that are not necessarily related to a particula...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
"Early Sprouts" for two
When I shared my copy of the book Early Sprouts: Cultivating Healthy Food Choices in Young Children with a nutritionist friend, she got very excited about the possibilities, but then her job changed and she no longer works directly with children. Di...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
What science should we teach in early childhood?
I’m interested in your opinions on what should be included in early childhood science standards. We don’t want to underestimate the abilities of young children to understand relationships in natural systems, nor overestimate their ability to unde...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Living things in the classroom
Many NSTA journal articles refer to working in “Outdoor Classrooms.” I teach in a neighborhood school with no grass or trees in the schoolyard, so I’m thinking of bringing the outdoors indoors by adding some plants and live animals ...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
What a bonanza for chemistry/physical science teachers this fall–first, the September issue of The Science Teacher (with the theme of Chemistry for a Changing World), and now the October issue of ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Favorite smells—stories and activities
I love the way two-year-olds inexpertly sniff, to sense an odor. They crinkle up their nose and snort, or gasp, and blink their eyes, not quite putting it all together to inhale through their nose. Yet they have an expert sense of smell—nothing...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’m feeling really frustrated. I thought the students were following along in my first unit, but I am really disappointed in the test results. What can I do differently in the next unit? —Lisa, Topeka, Kansas The first unit is the toughest on...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Rather than competing with the commercial hoopla around Halloween, perhaps we science teachers could do our own special celebrations that relate to science concepts. For example, it’s not too early to plan events for Mole Day, celebrated on Oct...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Thinking BIG, Learning BIG: Summer reading becomes September's lesson plans
July is a distant memory of 6am wake up calls for my high-schooler who took PE over the summer, balanced with my getting more than five minutes of peace and quiet—time to read about early childhood and science, to think my own thoughts and get hung...
By Peggy Ashbrook