JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
I’m a new elementary teacher, and I love seeing how students get excited doing hands–on science activities. But the students can get out of hand and I have a hard time focusing them on the activity. Any advice on channeling their enthusiasm with ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Fall changes in trees bring science and art together
The colors of the autumn leaves in my area call out to me for attention and to bring inside in a basket for the kitchen table. Outside I arrange them into patterns pleasing to myself....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’ve talked with teachers who are concerned about the E in STEM. “I barely have time for science, and now I’m supposed to teach engineering, too? I’ve never studied engineering!”...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
The classroom as learning center
Last year (my first year teaching) I floated among several classrooms. A few days before the beginning of this year, I learned that I have my own biology lab! I didn’t have much time, so I just put up a few posters. Now I want to make this plai...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Reading to support science learning begins with babies
Welcome back to guest blogger Sarah Erdman! Sarah writes about her first-hand observations of sharing books with a toddler....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
So – who’s ready for Mole Day? Rather than competing with the commercial hoopla around Halloween, perhaps we science teachers could get a head start on October 23 (10/23) from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. The timing of this event celebrates Avogadr...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Documentation and discussion at the fish tank
An aquarium in the classroom may be a science center and the site of a morning separation ritual for some children. In addition to daily feeding and casual observation, children can make scientific drawings and notes. To encourage close observation, ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Science for the Next Generation: Preparing for the New Standards
If you’re an elementary school teacher who teaches grades K-5, the authors and editors of ...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Putting Science Words on the Wall
I’ve seen “word walls” in elementary classrooms, but I wonder whether older students would find them helpful in dealing with vocabulary. What should I consider in trying this idea? —Wendy, Chattanooga, Tennessee...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science of Golf: physics of the golf swing
What do the trebuchet, said to have been invented in China in about 300 BC and Paula Creamer, the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champion, have in common? They both owe their success to the double pendulum effect. Find out why in Science of Golf: Physics o...
By admin
Blog Post
This December, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Engineering the Engineering: Connecting the Why to the How” at our Conference on Science Education in Denver, CO, December 12–14....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Earth Science Week Resources from the National Science Teachers Association
Earth Science Week is October 13–19, 2013. Take a world tour, solve a mystery, apply to be named the Environmental Science Educator of the Year, or delve into an entire year’s worth of lessons with this resource collection from the National S...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
This December, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “PreK–8 Science: A Playground for Literacy and Mathematics” at our Conference on Science Education in Denver, CO, December 12-14. Classrooms are the p...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Citizen Science: Engaging Students Through Public Collaboration in Scientific Research
Too often, students think of science as a static collection of facts rather than an ongoing process of discovery in which they can play a part. Citizen science offer opportunities for students to engage in authentic investigations....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Chemistry: Strategies and activities
October — The school year is well underway and it’s the month in which science teachers celebrate Mole Day (so who needs Halloween to have some fun?) It’s also the month for featured articles on chemistry....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
October K-12 Journals Available from the National Science Teachers Association
October’s K–12 journals from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) highlight unique trends in science eduction....
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
One of Apple’s more recent releases may cause problems in your classroom: You and your students will be fighting over it to see who can create the splashiest electronic books! Given Apple’s remarkable success with its iPad, the company has moved ...
By Ken Roberts
Blog Post
Using "kits" in science
I’m a second-year teacher at a small elementary school. I was poking around the supply closet and found several unopened science kits. Last year, I did some basic science activities that I did while student teaching, but this year, I’d ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Assessments: Part of the learning process
Do you have advice on assessments that would be helpful for sharing with my mentee, a new teacher? —Shirley, Lexington, Kentucky Assessing student learning can (and should) include more than final tests. The process has components before, during, a...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I’ve been a longtime fan of Understanding Science from the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley. It’s a comprehensive resource for learning more about the processes of science as used in the real world. The processe...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
What are science teachers reading in September?
Check out this month’s most popular books, e-books, and children’s science trade books! Click over to our NSTA Recommends Catalog app to see what’s new. Between now and October 31, 2013, save $10 off your order of $40 or more of NST...
By Amy America
Blog Post
Talking about the Top Ten Technology Items Administrators Think About
This month’s The Leading Edge asks science education leaders to share their views on The Top Ten items identified by administrators as part of the Speak Up National Research Project which focused on the changing environment for digital learning....
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
Aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment with the NGSS and Framework
One of the big ideas from my teaching courses was “congruency”—an alignment of curriculum (What content and skills will you teach?), instruction (What learning activities will help students learn and use the content and skills?), and as...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Just in Time: The New Science Teacher's Handbook
As a new science teacher, your first year of teaching is well underway....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Our parents’ association is giving mini-grants to each teacher. This is only my second year teaching at the elementary level, so I still need lots of stuff for my classroom. I’d like to spend the funds on science-related materials. Any su...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
First week of preschool for two-year-olds
The first week of school is when we begin to know our students and make observations about their skills, personalities and interests. I was surprised by the abilities of this year’s two-year-old class, but I shouldn’t have been....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Many of us remember building models in school—replicas of the solar system, atomic structure, or the double helix of DNA. But in the era of the Next Generation Science Standards, models should not just be built as an arts-and-crafts activity, but a...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Learning more about the NGSS (Part 2)
In a previous post, I touched on the resources I’m using to familiarize myself with NGSS. In addition to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) app, I’m finding quite a few additional online resources t...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
This October, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Bridging to the Next Generation Science Standards—What’s in It for Me?” at our Conference on Science Education in Portland, OR, October 24-26, 2...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
This October, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Bridging Elementary and Secondary Science and the Common Core” at our Conference on Science Education in Portland, OR, October 24-26, 2013. Adopted by m...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Science of Golf: friction and spin
It’s the Sunday round on TV and the leader lands short of the green. He (or she) pulls out a wedge and gives the ball a mighty whack. The ball lands well past the pin, then suddenly starts spinning backwards! Before you know it, the ball has snugge...
By admin
Blog Post
This November, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Merging Literacy into Science Instruction” at our Conference on Science Education in Charlotte, NC, November 7-9. NSTA recognizes that the grow...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
California's Decisions Show that NGSS is State Driven
The California State Board of Education unanimously adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) this week, making it the sixth state to do so. The decision not only represents a move forward for evidence-based science instruction but also hi...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Is a series of single digit numbers really that hard to mentally add up? Seems that many high school golfers think so. Even as a senior excelling in calculus, my golfer daughter and her competitors would whip out their cell phone calculators after a ...
By admin
Blog Post
Apply for a Leadership Position on NSTA's Board and Council
Are you looking for a way to hone your leadership skills and give back to the science education community? Consider sharing your time and talents with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) by applying for a nomination to the NSTA Board of ...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Engaging students in a variety of instructional strategies
What would implementing the NGSS “look like” in a classroom? Each of the featured articles in this issue highlights several classroom strategies that you can use to start making connections to the disciplinary core ideas, practices, and c...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Google Glass: A Lab on the End of your Nose
Over the summer I had the privilege of watching a 5th grader take Google Glass for a spin. The student was far faster at mastering the interface than I was, and also much more creative in his application of Google Glass....
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Workshops at NSTA’s Area Conferences This Fall
“Uncovering Student Ideas is highly recommended for teachers at every level; it contains a set of essential tools that cross discipline, grade, and ability levels. There’s no better way to guide your planning and decision-making process.”...
By Wendy Rubin, Managing Editor, NSTA Press