All Resources

Journal Article

Editor’s Corner: It’s Critical

The Science Teacher’s editor shares thoughts on the current issue....

Journal Article

Focus on Physics: Care in the Classroom: This Teacher’s Odyssey

This column helps teachers build an understanding of physical principles. The department editor describes his career as a teacher....

Journal Article

Career of the Month: Volcanologist

This column shares interviews with professionals using science in the workplace. This issue describes Adam Soule's career path to becoming a volcanologist....

Journal Article

Right to the Source: From Inconvenience to Inspiration

Exploring science and history with the Library of Congress. This issue discusses Benjamin Franklin’s May 23, 1785, letter to George Whatley about bifocal glasses....

Journal Article

Waves Sound Great!

First graders explore what makes sound through a 7E learning cycle....

Journal Article

Agree/Disagree T-charts

Supporting young students in scientific argumentation and modeling...

Journal Article

Understanding by Design

Using the Understanding by Design model and NGSS in concert to plan and instruct in science...

Journal Article

We Are Engineers!

Engineering design activities for preschoolers introduce practices and encourage scientific habits of mind....

Journal Article

Editor’s Note: Planting and Practicing

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Elementary Professional Learning old

Journal Article

Guest Editorial: Addressing Common Questions About 21st-Century Science Teaching

An early childhood science educator shares answers to commonly asked NGSS questions....

Assessment Performance Expectations Science and Engineering Practices

Journal Article

The Early Years: Making Sense of Their World

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. In this issue students document the apparent movement of the Sun by making and recording two daily observations for a period of time and looking for a patter...

Early Childhood Elementary Pre-service Teachers Preschool Earth & Space Science Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Inquiry NGSS Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Important Impacts

This column includes activities inspired by children’s literature. In this issue younger students investigate and determine that different types of plants have different needs, which depend on the environment in which they grow. Older students iden...

Elementary 5E Instructional Materials

Journal Article

Formative Assessment Probes: Is a Brick a Rock?

This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. This issue explores a probe about lines of agreement with opposing views....

Elementary Earth & Space Science Assessment NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

Journal Article

The Poetry of Science: Dimensions of Science

Building literacy in playful, meaningful ways. Students explore a poem about science....

Elementary General Science Lesson Plans Teaching Strategies Literacy

Journal Article

Teaching Teachers: The Language of Science in the Reading and Writing of Student Scientists

This column enhances the repertoire of preservice and inservice teachers. This article serves as an introduction to the different genres used in the work of doing science. The authors offer information about each and examples of how they differ in pu...

Elementary General Science Pedagogy Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary Literacy Professional Learning old

Journal Article

Engineering Encounters: How Can We Store Water During a Drought?

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This issue shares information about a sustainability engineering design problem for fourth graders....

Elementary Earth & Space Science Engineering Citizen Science

Journal Article

Methods and Strategies: Seeds of Practice

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This issue discusses how to modify 5E inquiry lessons to amplify science and engineering practices....

Elementary General Science 5E Instructional Materials Lesson Plans NGSS Pedagogy Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Professional Learning old

Journal Article

Inspiring Student-Driven Observations

Use low-cost temperature loggers to explore Earth science concepts through student-designed experiments....

Journal Article

The Temperature-Sensing Lunchbox

Teach electricity and circuitry while students build a working model of thermal energy transfer....

Journal Article

Connect-the-Engineer Activity

Help students make connections between the four main branches of engineering—electrical, chemical, mechanical, and civil....

Journal Article

Illuminating Food Webs

Assign students specific tasks to complete a maker jigsaw electric circuit that models energy flow and transfer in a food web....

Journal Article

Making in the Middle: Celebrity Statues

This column explores maker spaces, engineering and more. Students learn computational thinking by designing biomimetic robots....

Journal Article

From the Editor’s Desk: Reinventing STEM Through the Maker Movement

Science Scope’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

Commentary: A Real-World STEM Competition

An opinion piece about the eCYBERMISSION competition....

Journal Article

Disequilibrium: Flight and the Bernoulli Effect

This column shows how to use discrepant events to confront misconceptions. This lesson incorporates several discrepant events that demonstrate Bernoulli’s principle to help students understand lift, one of the four forces of flight (lift, drag, thr...

Journal Article

Science For All: Engineering a Classroom That Works for All

This column shares strategies for increasing student engagement. The authors have found that there are multiple strategies that support students with special education needs, as well as ELLs. Here are just a few research-based strategies that they ha...

Journal Article

Interdisciplinary Ideas: Creating a Classroom Library

This column shares ways to bring other subjects into the science classroom. This issue discusses the importance of building your classroom library....

Journal Article

Citizen Science: Be a Zombee Hunter for Science

This column highlights formal and informal science research projects that students can join and contribute to by gathering and sharing data. Celebrate National Honey Month this September with honeybee citizen science. ZomBee Watch, a project in par...

Middle School Life Science Technology Teaching Strategies Citizen Science Interdisciplinary

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Return to Sender (part 2)

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This issue discusses NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex mission....

Journal Article

The Maker Movement Is Everywhere, Including in the Current Issue of CSL

Editor Dennis Schatz welcomes you to the seventh issue of Connected Science Learning, focused on STEM learning experiences through making.    ...

By Dennis Schatz

Informal Education Technology

Journal Article

Making Deeper Learners

Educators from the Exploratorium Tinkering Studio and the Lighthouse Community Public Schools explored how out-of-school Making and Tinkering programs could support learning that flowed into the school day.  ...

By Bronwyn Bevan, Jean J. Ryoo, Aaron Vanderwerff, Mike Petrich, and Karen Wilkinson

Informal Education

Book Chapter

Bridges in the Community

In this lesson, students explore the state of infrastructure in the United States. Using bridges as a lens, they are presented with the challenge of developing a decision model for the local department of transportation. In the process of developing ...

Book Chapter

Beam Bridges

In this lesson, students take a closer look at beam bridges—one of the earliest forms of bridge construction—and the most common design. As they explore the basics of beam bridges, they experiment, collect data, and write functions that model the...

Book Chapter

Arch Bridges

In this lesson, students explore arch bridges—one of the earliest bridge designs—and because of its beauty and strength, a design that has stood the test of time. Through experimentation, students investigate strength, span length, and overall st...

Book Chapter

Suspension and Cable-Stayed Bridges

In this lesson, students explore the last two bridge designs— the suspension bridge and the cable-stayed bridge. While these bridges both use cables to support the road deck, they do so in different ways. Through research and experimentation, stude...

Book Chapter

Economics and Bridges

Bridges can have a major impact on the people and communities. In this lesson, students explore some of the economic impacts bridges have had in our society. In mathematics, students will be presented with four plans that describe the initial and fut...

Book Chapter

Putting It All Together–Decision Models

In this lesson, students will use the knowledge they have gained through their research, investigations, and classroom discussions to compare and contrast strength, span length, structure, and function of the four bridge designs explored in this modu...