All Resources

Journal Article

Shell Creek Summers

What would motivate high school students to donate valuable summer vacation time to do science research?--the opportunity to make a difference! The Shell Creek Watershed Improvement Group (SCWIG) was formed to identify and promote needed conservatio...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Microscopic Impressionism

Claude Monet meets the world of science through Histro-Art, a concept that was conceived from the impressions of an 11th and 12th-grade college preparatory human anatomy and physiology class who were studying histology using a micro-video system. As ...

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: What Happens to Seeds?

Wondering what will happen, waiting for a change, watching a young plant unfold--these are what make experimenting with seeds so enticing. Early experiences with planting seeds can lay a foundation for further learning as children progress from dire...

Journal Article

Crystal Clear Science

Subjects like Earth Science often rely on "ready made" hands-on materials such as kits and modules to support understanding and science inquiry. However, sometimes the materials need adaptations to make sure they suit students' and teachers' needs. ...

Journal Article

Cycling Through Plants

Through a sequence of three related learning cycles--exploring seeds, germinating seeds and monitoring plant experiments--third-grade students answer answer these and other questions about plant growth and discover that new seeds are made from the pl...

Journal Article

Service Learning: A Way to Connect Science to the Community

How often have we tried to connect middle school science to students' lives only to lack an idea or a vehicle for making the connection? Service learning can provide that kind of link for students. It is a teaching and learning method that combines m...

Journal Article

Discovery Central

One very nifty teacher decides to create four interactive, plant themed learning centers to help students develop science process skills, including observing, comparing, recording data, collecting data, sorting, and classifing. The centers address f...

Journal Article

After the Bell: Science and algebraic thinking part I: Rates and Change

One of the most important connections that must be made during the middle school years is the relationship between scientific inquiry and algebraic thinking. One way is by studying rate of change, a topic that shows the connection particularly well,...

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Beyond Classroom Walls

In this month's Editor's Corner, the Field Editor discusses the importance of community-school-student partnerships. Science activities that take students outside the school walls can combine the best aspects of service to the community, problem-base...

Journal Article

Linking the Classroom to the Community

The Youth Network for Healthy Communities (YNHC) is a teacher-driven project in Washington State in which students research environmental health issues in their communities and present their findings to other students throughout the state via videoco...

Journal Article

Cougars, Curriculum, and Community

Cougars are fascinating creatures and most students are naturally interested in learning about them. This article describes the design and implementation of the Cougar Conservation Project (CCP), a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum that provide...

Journal Article

The Prairie Science Class

Students from a rural middle school in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, joined with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore a native tallgrass prairie. The students, known as the Prairie Science Class, discovered that using their local environment help...