I was in an elementary school where scientists from a nearby university visited the schools periodically to work with the students on a variety of activities and to describe their own research. The students were impressed with meeting “real” scientists and learning about their work. (One little girl asked if the scientist would autograph her notebook!) These students were learning about careers first-hand.
If there is a shortage of career role models in your community, we often have students could do “reports” on careers in science, looking at educational requirements, salary projections, etc. But I wonder how middleschoolers really relate to this activity? The Internet can bring people from around the world into our classrooms. For example, NOAA’s Ocean Explorers has archives of webcasts that include videos of scientists at work.
And I just got a recommendation from the Math-Science Partnerships’ Learning Network about the No Boundaries project from NASA. In this project, students explore STEM careers (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) within the context of NASA programs. It appears to be well designed, with rubrics, graphic organizers, cooperative learning suggestions, and other guidelines. Students can submit their projects later this year in a national competition.
If you’re not affiliated with a Math-Science Partnership project, you can sign up to join the Math Science Partnerships’ Learning Network which has a guest newsletter that is a great source of information and suggestions.

The NSTA Elementary Science List had an interesting query last week:
Steve Geresy asked if anyone has any great books on Early Learning Inquiry that have concrete examples for teachers to guide them through the process of becoming more inquiry based in their teaching.
Here’s a short, and by no means exhaustive, list of my favorites—what are yours?
Worms, Shadows, and Whirlpools by Sharon Grollman and Karen Worth (2003, Heinemann) because it includes “In the Classroom” stories with observations by real teachers who may not have science backgrounds but are implementing inquiry in their classrooms and writing about it.
What Is A Scientist? by Barbara Lehn, with wonderful photos by Carol Krauss (1999, Millbrook Press), a children’s book rather than a teacher resource book, but I use it that way to help teachers learn about what science is and use it for explaining early childhood science to the families. Teachers and children can read it together to learn about the science they may already be doing. It’s a good introduction to early childhood science, and a reminder to us all that children are very capable and we teachers do not have to tell the children what they see, understand, guess, or wonder about, but to give the children time and permission to voice their thoughts.
Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method, Over 100 hands-on science experiments for children by Sally Stenhouse Kneidel (1993, Fulcrum Publishing) has an excellent chapter on the scientific method, is especially good for in depth study, and the chapter on equipment is very helpful. It has detailed instructions on finding and maintaining small animals in captivity and good ideas for opportunities to observe. The experiments are directed toward elementary school age children.
Guppies, Bubbles and Vibrating Objects, A creative approach to the teaching of science to very young children by John McGavack Jr. and Donald P. LaSalle (1969, The John Day Company) is an oldie but goodie resource for its valuable discussion on teaching science to young children as well as many activities and experiments. Sections titled “How to begin”, “Why do it this way?” and “How to do it” are good guides, and include valuable modeling of teacher-student dialogs.  I find that teachers, who know how to use open-ended questions and how to listen to children in all other aspects of classroom learning, somehow change when they begin a science activity and start telling information. (There are so many interesting facts and ideas about the world that I am sympathetic to (sometimes guilty of!) this failing but we must allow time for children to think for themselves.)
Please add to this list and tell what you like about the resources.
Peggy

Next year there will be an opening in the middle school science department. Although I love teaching high school chemistry (my current assignment), I’m tempted by the opportunity to try something different. What should I consider to help me decide?
Mark, Phoenix, AZ
Sometimes our teaching assignments are changed for us, but taking on new subjects or grade levels can be rejuvenating professionally. Your high school colleagues many think you’re crazy for considering middle school, but I think a little insanity is just what middle-schoolers need in a teacher–someone who can do things a little differently, has a sense of humor, is flexible, and understands there are many ways of learning and doing things.
You’ll notice some differences in the students. Even though they try so hard to act like adults, most middle schoolers are still basically kids, with high levels of energy and enthusiasm. Middle schoolers love to participate in activities, and they readily engage in discussions—they love to talk. They are also physically active and prone to fidget. The challenge is to focus their energy and enthusiasm with routines and procedures, and since most of them like science this isn’t hard to do. They are emotionally needy. You’ll need a lot of patience and a thick skin–they’ll hate you one day and love you the next.
With middle schoolers, you may have to stop and teach skills you took for granted in high school, such as organizing, notetaking, graphing, and technical writing. If you’re used to teaching an “academic” level high school course, you may have to broaden your repertoire to include instructional strategies for a wider variety of student learning styles and backgrounds.
There are also some practical considerations as you make your decision. Be sure you have the appropriate credentials for the science taught at the middle school. Many states require a separate middle school certificate or endorsement.
Look over the content of the middle school science curriculum. A physical science course will include topics in physics as well as chemistry. Some middle schools have switched to integrated or general science that may also include topics in biology, ecology, earth science, and health.
Ideally, you should visit the middle school to check out the resources, including the laboratories, the technology, and the library. Being a new person on the faculty, ask if you would be expected to float or teach in a non-laboratory classroom. These situations raise a number of red flags in terms of logistics and safety for hands-on activities and for classroom management. Many middle schools use a “team” approach in which subject area teachers collaborate in team meetings and on interdisciplinary projects.
I had the opposite situation from yours, switching to a high school position after many years at a middle school. I think my middle school experience gave me an off-beat sense of humor and helped me deal with the high schoolers who needed different instructional approaches. Engaging high schoolers in spirited discussions and in high-level laboratory investigations was intellectually exhilarating, although I admit I still have a soft spot for middle schoolers. But I don’t regret taking on a rewarding challenge that enabled me to grow professionally.
And if you decide to make the switch, you’ll have the chance to clean out your file drawers!

I was facilitating a workshop once, and I overhead these statements from two science teachers: My students are so busy, they don’t have time to think and We have so much fun, the students don’t know that they’re learning.
I hope that the teachers were oversimplifying their classroom environment. I can certainly understand the teachers’ desire to engage students actively and to make science enjoyable, but I think what might be missing in their classes is a chance for students to connect new learning to what they already know, to ask questions, to predict, to apply what they are studying to new situations, or just to quietly reflect on what they are doing. There is a difference between doing busywork and being cognitively engaged in a task. (When I do the laundry, I’m busy, but I’m not very engaged!) I’m also curious as to why students have the impression that learning is a chore or a dull experience rather than an enjoyable, positive one? If students don’t know what and how and when they are learning, how can we ever expect them to become independent, lifelong learners?
Fortunately, this month’s Science Teacher has many suggestions for engaging students in meaningful tasks and making learning a positive experience.
The article Energizing Students describes how to apply concepts from neuroscience to “maximize student engagement and attention.” For our colleagues at the primary level, moving around, stretching, and varying the activities are standard procedures. High school teachers may be skeptical at first, but I’ve seen for myself how even a simple stretch break can help students to re-focus, and I would certainly explain to them why we’re stretching–to get more oxygen to the brain. The relationship between learning and the brain is a fascinating one, and two interesting neuroscience resources are Neuroscience for Kids and The Brain from the Franklin Institute.
Another interesting concept is using the arts to get students actively engaged, whether it’s creating a video (Movie Mitosis) or a cartoon ( The Art of Physics) to illustrate what the students are learning in science. Both of these include rubrics to help students focus their learning and their creativity. (See the August 2008 blog for more on rubrics.) And when the students have completed their projects, the projects can be shared with other classes, especially younger students.
The article “Life” in Movies has great suggestions for getting students to think about the science (or lack of scientific accuracy) in popular films. If you ‘re an elementary or middle school teacher in a school where films are shown at the end of a marking period or before a break, check out the potential discussion topics for films such as Finding Nemo and A Bug’s Life. Even if students have seen the films, you can engage them from a different perspective. There are also suggestions for how to select films to show in a school setting. The author of the popular Bad Astronomy site discusses movies that are (or are not) scientifically accurate. It’s a fun (and engaging) site.

Give children tools for exploring a concept and they almost always show me a new way to teach it. In a session of flashlight and mirror exploration, Walter began building by putting a flashlight on top of a single-eyepiece, single-mirror periscope. “Look!” he said, pointing to a beam of light exiting the periscope. He was able to see that mirrors can change the direction of a beam of light. (Click on photos to see details.)
We were using flat plexiglas mirrors, a variety of flashlights, two kinds of periscopes, and some “half” pictures drawn on paper. Before handing out the flashlights, I always caution the children that they may not shine the lights into their own eyes or anyone else’s because bright lights can damage eyesight. Usually a few children test this rule and I take the flashlights away for a few minutes. LED, or light-emitting diode flashlights, have particularly bright, narrow beam.
The “half” pictures idea comes from Make a Bigger Puddle, Make a Smaller Worm, also called The Magic Mirror Book (Scholastic 1979) and the Mirror Puzzle Book (Tarquin 1986), both by Marion Walter. Showing the children a drawing of one shoe, I tell them, “I was going to wear this pair of shoes today but I couldn’t find the other one. Can you help me find it with a mirror?” Then we hold a mirror perpendicular to the page and move it close to the shoe—ta dah! the other shoe appears (and I pretend to put them on). Other favorite images are a pizza missing a slice (make it whole or “eat” it bit by bit), an apple missing a bite, half a heart, half a moon, a soccer ball half deflated, and a broken plate. As the mirror is moved across the page, the other half is revealed (the “whole” section is reflected) completing the image and removing the bite or deflated area or broken edge from sight. As they manipulate the images the children are learning that mirrors reflect images (which are light but they don’t realize this) and the angle you hold them changes what is viewed.
Peggy

Do you have any advice for working with students in a low-income school? This is my first year in this school, teaching 9th grade environmental science. Classroom management is not an issue and I have a good rapport with the students, but I haven’t been able to help them to achieve at the levels I think they can.
—Kathy, Vancouver, Washington
I’ve worked with students and schools in distressed communities. I’ve seen how heartbreaking the economic and social situations these students face every day are. These external situations can affect student learning and many are beyond our control. But we can do something about what happens within our classrooms.
Students need our love, respect, and patience. But if students have not had much success academically, they also need modeling, guided practice, feedback, resources, a positive classroom environment, and opportunities for using inquiry and creativity. From your question, it seems you’re already meeting some of their basic needs. You have high expectations for them, and your good classroom management and positive rapport show you’re establishing a good climate for learning.
In working with students who do not have strong academic backgrounds (regardless of their economic circumstances), you can’t assume anything. For example, you might ask them to “brainstorm,” “reflect,” “read and take notes,” or “review for a test,” but they may not really know how to do these. Model the processes you want them to use through “think alouds” in which you literally talk your way through a process, making the process visible (and audible). Make some intentional mistakes, verbalize how you recognize the errors, and ask the students how you could deal with the errors.
Show the students what a well-written lab report and a science notebook look like–they may have never seen one before! Take notes together at first, to show how to find and record important information. Break down a task into small, do-able components that lead to a successful finished product. Plan for most assignments to be completed in class at first, so you can guide the students through the task. After a while, these “scaffolds” can (and should) be scaled down for most students; others may continue to need support.
Environmental science is appealing to students, and you can incorporate real-life, relevant, interesting issues. Having a “big idea” or “essential questions” for each unit provides a focus and a structure for the content and activities. In class discussions try to use “wait time” (pausing to give students a chance to respond to a question or comment). It is a powerful but very underused strategy to get students thinking at higher levels.
When you provide feedback, comment specifically on what the student did well and on what the student could do to improve, more than just saying “good job” or “needs work.” This works best if you have rubrics for your reports and activities and the students know what the rubrics mean.
It’s also helpful if you can provide resources we may take for granted: pencils, paper, time in a computer lab, information about the public library, science reading materials or videos, and a quiet place to read or study.
Be sure your tasks become more and more challenging, while providing scaffolding, safety nets, and constructive, focused feedback. Give students the opportunity, the intellectual tools, and the encouragement to be creative and to solve problems.

I was in a school once where the teachers did a “winter” unit on penguins with activities that included trade books, puzzles, writing activities, and the showing of several popular films. But there was not a lot of science involved, and one of their bulletin boards even showed a group of polar bears and penguins frolicking together (Arrgh!). They put a lot of time and effort into this, but I had to wonder what the students actually learned about these birds or about the winter season.
Any change of season can be a focus for science activities. A colleague starts each season by having students brainstorm seasonal questions and adding a few of her own. She shares some of the winter ones:
Why do we have “winter?” What is a “solstice?”
What happens when animals hibernate?
How do frogs survive the winter?
Why should we “dress in layers” when it’s cold?
Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?
What does a desert look like in winter?
Is there a difference between a conifer and an evergreen?
Are all conifers called “pines?”
Do we see different constellations in the winter? Why?
How does a thermostat work? How does a heat pump work?
Why do people put wax on skis?
What is the “jet stream” that seems to influence our weather?
Do El Ninos and La Ninas happen in the winter?
Why do icicles form? What makes ice slippery?
How does “insulation” work?
If ice is a solid, why does it float?
What is “frostbite?”
Does colder weather cause us to catch a cold?
What’s the difference between the Arctic and Antarctica?
Why do highway crews put salt on the road? What happens to the salt later?
Note how these questions include topics in the life, physical, and earth sciences. She puts them on her “seasons” bulletin board and refers to them in her lessons where appropriate. For example, during a unit on the states of matter she would address questions related to ice, a weather unit would incorporate the questions on El Nino. At the end of the season she wraps things up with any remaining questions.
She does not look up all of the answers herself to present to the students. Through hands-on activities and Internet searches, she guides students through the process of answering their own questions. That’s where SciLinks can help. Use keywords such as Snowflake, El Nino, Identifying trees, Ice, Season, Heat, States of matter, or Constellations to access web-based sources of information and ideas for related activities.

I would like to curl up in a cave until this sore throat and runny nose goes away. And I would like to know exactly how to prevent the spread of cold viruses—me and every other early childhood teacher! Here are some resources on cold germs:
A December 8, 2008, article from The Boston Globe by Judy Foreman, Cold Comfort, quotes doctors as saying that the viruses are spread from nose secretions mainly through touch, to the nose or eyes.
Common Cold, a website with in-depth information and the goal of providing “a framework for critical thinking which will allow informed decisions about medical care for the common cold,” states that cold viruses are removed by the mechanical action of washing and that germicidal hand lotions do not reliably kill rhinovirus, the most important cold virus. So all I have to do is to keep my hands off my face and wash my hands frequently. Now I wish we had a sink in every classroom!
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ pages on the Common Cold say, “Hand washing with soap and water is the simplest and one of the most effective ways to keep from getting colds or giving them to others.”  And the Mayo Clinic recommends that children wash their hands for as long as it takes them to sing their ABCs, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or the “Happy Birthday” song. It seems to me that children spend more time to wash their hands with liquid soap than with bar soap, perhaps because it takes longer to wash off the squirt than it does to wash off the film of soap from a bar (no data, just an observation).
Do you have any tips for making washing or cleaning hands easier or more effective?
Peggy

A classic activity to show that air is matter and takes up space is to tuck a piece of tissue into a small clear jar, up end the jar and lower it into a larger container of water. When the small jar is pulled out (still upside down), children are often surprised that the tissue is dry.
The range in development in preschool students is typically broad, with some of my 4-year-old students surprised because they expected the tissue to be soaking wet, and others unable to duplicate the position of the jar because they didn’t notice that it was upside down when I demonstrated it. Children of all ages love to play with water and air.
Please note a correction to my word choice in the December Early Years column: air is matter, not a single substance—it is a mixture of substances—so I should have written that air is matter. Thanks to Myrna Klotzkin for catching this incorrect usage of a scientific term!
What kinds of activities, or experiments, do you do with your preK through second grade classes to explore the nature of air?
Peggy