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 playgrounds that challenge and  excite children. Science gives students a relevant and engaging purpose for reading, writing, and problem solving. Research shows that the integration of science and literacy enhances the learning of preK–8 students. As reflected in the CCSS and NGSS, integrating science into literacy and mathematics instruction improves students’ thinking skills.
Sessions organized around this strand include a featured presentation on Friday, December 13, 9:30–10:30 a.m. (“Play and Science Running Together”) by Kenneth Wesson (Educational Consultant, Neuroscience: San Jose, CA). More sessions on PreK–8 Science include the following:

• Using Graphs to Organize Data
•  S’COOL: Making Cloud Observations from the Playground
• How Does Your Garden Grow?
• Bringing Science to Life! Using Invertebrates to Enhance Classroom Teaching
•  Make-and-Take: Science, Literacy, and Math
• Let’s Get Physical: Force and Motion
• Sensational Science: Step-by-Step Strategies Across the Curriculum
• SMILE with Physical Science
• Engaging Children in Scientific Explanation: Connecting Science and Literacy Using a “Question-Claim-Evidence-Reason”  Framework

Want more? Check out more than 400 sessions and other events with the Denver Session Browser/Personal Scheduler at http://www.nsta.org/conferences/area3.aspx.