Flying across the country to the conference for the National Association for the Education of Young Children brought many different landscapes into view through the plane window. I saw ridges, meandering rivers and river-carved canyons, heavily wooded areas, hills, mirror-like lakes, flat regions that went on and on, and sharp snow covered peaks. Human impact on the land appeared as long straight and curved lines, circles, crazy quilt patches, and structures of many shapes including skyscrapers, railway lines, wind turbines, flat roofs, single structures and clusters of structures. The sky changed from clear to cloudy.

How can we help preschool children explore how the landscape and natural resources affect how their community’s infrastructure develops? Should we? National Council for the Social Studies describes the benefits of learning about geography: “Geographic inquiry helps people understand and appreciate their own place in the world, and fosters curiosity about Earth’s wide diversity of environments and cultures” (NCSS, pg 40). How can preschool educators provide experiences that will later help children think about the landscape and ask questions to learn more to be able to make informed choices as adults?

We can begin with becoming very familiar with the area around our own school or home, talking about its slopes, vegetation, and structures. Help children take an inventory of the natural features of their play area counting how many: trees or other plants, rocky areas, puddles, grass lawns, mulched areas, steep slopes and gentle inclines, and other elements. An inventory can include human structures such as fences, tables, and climbing structures. As they count and record how many, children can sort the features into groups, natural or human-made. Ask children what elements they would add, if possible.

Walking field trips to the field or building next door will reveal additional features–the spot with the most grasshoppers or a ditch with cat tail plants to pick for their fuzzy heads, and buildings made of stone containing fossils or windows with a glimpse into a store. Children’s reasons for valuing a particular location may differ from adults’ reasons. A walking field trip can incorporate a mapping experience (Ashbrook). As children grow older the walks can go further, expanding children’s understanding of their place. 

Ashbrook, Peggy. 2011. The Early Years: A Sense of Space. Science and Children. 49 (1): 30-31

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013).

At the beginning of class, it takes my students a long time to settle down. We are wasting time as I try to get their attention. Any suggestions? –T., Maryland                                  

To take advantage of the class time we have, it helps to have an established routine so students know what to do when they come into the classroom.

One method I found effective was posting an agenda. When the students entered the lab, they saw what the learning goals were, what activities they were going to work on in class, what needed to be turned in, and what materials they needed (pencil, science notebook, paper, and so on). As they assembled these materials and put their other things away, they still had a little time to socialize, which is important to middle schoolers. When we started the lesson or lab investigation, they had their materials in order.

Another suggestion is to have a warm-up or bellringer activity. Students should get started right away, even before the bell actually rings. The students are focused while you take attendance, distribute materials, or return assignments. Some examples include

• Answer a question about yesterday’s work or another related topic
• Respond to a statement or visual to uncover misconceptions or activate prior knowledge
• Complete a vocabulary entry with a graphic organizer
• Do a “quick write” with several sentences on a theme or topic
• Do a “quick draw” on a theme or topic

You can tell the students to quiet down over and over every day. Or you can help students take responsibility for using time purposefully through guidance and modeling (and persistence).

When I was student teaching, I had some really good science lessons for second-graders that lasted about an hour. But now I have only a half-hour for science each day. I need suggestions for shorter lessons. – C., Colorado

I’m glad to hear that your school schedules science daily. In many elementary schools, science and social studies have been deemphasized, in favor of reading and math.

• If your schedule is flexible enough, “borrow” time from another subject to complete the activity, making up the time later.
• Divide the activity into several parts, perhaps making observations or collecting data one day and doing the analysis or summarization later. (You may have to include time to review on the second day)
• Use time during writing instruction for students to summarize the lesson in their science notebooks.
• Use nonfiction books on the topic during reading instruction, read-alouds, or personal reading to provide background prior to or after the science lesson.

Each month, NSTA’s Science & Children publishes features to help educators craft additional age-appropriate lessons:

• Teaching with Trade Books explores a concept with recommended books and lessons. For example, the September 2016 topic is “What We Do With Ideas.”
• The Early Years features easy-to-use ideas for developing student interest and curiosity. The July 2016 topic is “Discovering Through Deconstruction.”
• Articles related to the monthly theme include lesson plans, connections to the Next Generation Science Standards, and related materials.

Even at the secondary level, the class period is often not long enough to complete an investigation or activity. And I’ve never heard science teachers say they had too much time!

Photo:    https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgc/7080721/sizes/q/

This December, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) will feature a special strand “Tackling Scientific Problems and Pitching Engineering Solutions” at our 2016 Area Conference on Science Education, in Columbus, Ohio, December 3-5. We need this strand, because the challenges facing society are both complex and interdisciplinary. Issues like water availability/quality, climate change, renewable energies, food shortages, the need for improved transportation/city infrastructure, and issues in the biomedical realm require clearly defining problems that can be solved through design. Students address these issues by implementing the practices of scientists and engineers, including developing explanations, designing and building models, and creating solutions. Students must be able to link the domains of science and teachers must teach students in a learnable manner that reaches multiple grade levels, increasing in depth and sophistication.

The featured presentation for this strand will be “Sowing the Seeds of STEM,” on Friday, December 2, from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, B130. Presenter Kimberly Clavin (Pillar Technology: Columbus, OH) tells us that today’s world delivers advanced technologies at lightning speeds—and with that comes an exponential growth in STEM fields. How can educators prepare middle school and high school students without a background in the emerging fields? Learn various strategies to attract and grow a diverse range of students into these in-demand career fields.

Below is a small sampling of other sessions on this topic:

• Human-Centered Engineering Design: The Key to STEM
• Developing Scientific Arguments: Claims and Stories in the Graphs
• Learning Ecosystem Management with NGSS: Developing Solutions to Invasive Species Using Science and Engineering Practices
• EiE Ohio: Building 21st-Century STEAM Learners
• Impactful Learning: Engineering to Serve Special Needs Students—The Win-Win Scenario
• Teaching Engineering in Grades K–3

Want more? Browse the program preview, or check out more sessions and other events with the Columbus Session Browser/Personal Scheduler. Follow all our conference tweets using #NSTA16, and if you tweet, please feel free to tag us @NSTA so we see it!

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Future NSTA Conferences

• Portland, November 10–12
• Columbus, December 1–3

2017 National Conference

• Los Angeles, March 30–April 2

2017 STEM Forum & Expo

• Orlando/Kissimmee, July 12–14

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