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Addressing Student Diversity and Equity

Journal Article

Addressing Student Diversity and Equity

The Next Generation Science Standards are leading a new wave of reform....

Critical Response Protocol

Journal Article

Critical Response Protocol

A classroom tool for facilitating equitable critical discourse in science classrooms....

Editor's Corner: Science for All

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Science for All

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

Science 2.0: Mastering Scientific Practices With Technology, Part 3

Journal Article

Science 2.0: Mastering Scientific Practices With Technology, Part 3

This column shares web tools that support learning. This month’s issue examines how technology can help students master the science practices described in the Next Generation Science Standards....

The Green Room: When Lead Flows From the Tap

Journal Article

The Green Room: When Lead Flows From the Tap

This column focuses on making your teaching more environmentally friendly. This month’s issue shares activities that deal with lead exposure and lead poisoning....

Health Wise: Helping Students Cope With Dyslexia

Journal Article

Health Wise: Helping Students Cope With Dyslexia

This Q&A style column provides up-to-date information on current health topics—helping students (and teachers) make healthy choices. This month’s issue discusses diagnosing and dealing with dyslexia....

Safer Science: Preventing Alcohol-Based Laboratory Fires

Journal Article

Safer Science: Preventing Alcohol-Based Laboratory Fires

This column provides best safety practices for the science classroom and laboratory. This month’s issue discusses why teachers performing lab demonstrations involving flammables should closely follow current legal standards and better professional...

High School Chemistry Labs Safety

Career of the Month: Medical Scientist

Journal Article

Career of the Month: Medical Scientist

This column shares interviews with professionals using science in the workplace. This month’s issue describes Brian Brooks's career path to becoming a medical scientist....

Nature of Science and Science Process Skills

Book Chapter

Nature of Science and Science Process Skills

The nature of science (NOS) is usually described as having six or more basic understandings or aspects. In this chapter eight aspects are listed, and the lesson provides a very simple example of how to voice your observations, make inferences and off...

Objects in Motion

Book Chapter

Objects in Motion

This lesson includes early childhood activities for ages 3 and up that direct children’s exploration to the concepts of force, motion, and the properties of matter. The activities are not intended to stand alone but should be incorporated into a sc...

What Are Things Made of?

Book Chapter

What Are Things Made of?

In this chapter, the activities use light to explore matter as it moves through magnifying lenses and other materials, investigate processes including melting and dissolving, and provide experiences that can help children understand the properties of...

Mixing and Making a Change: Chemical Science

Book Chapter

Mixing and Making a Change: Chemical Science

Mixing and making a change engages children in learning chemistry long before they are able to understand the atomic structure of materials. This chapter focuses on activities of mixing materials in the kitchen to help children understand the differe...

Exploring Our Senses

Book Chapter

Exploring Our Senses

This chapter focuses on early childhood science standards related to the senses. It includes learning that all organisms have external parts that the organisms use to sense and communicate information and how teachers can use sensory explorations to ...

Learning About Plants and Animals: Biological Science

Book Chapter

Learning About Plants and Animals: Biological Science

This chapter focuses on learning about living organisms and how children develop this understanding by taking care of living organisms and observing, documenting, and discussing their changes as they grow. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this b...

Water Play

Book Chapter

Water Play

As children explore the properties of water, they build a foundational knowledge of a material that is important in all the areas of science. This chapter focuses on activities of water play that is so common in early childhood programs, such as in t...

Weather

Book Chapter

Weather

Talking about the weather is a daily opportunity to increase children’s awareness of the natural world. This chapter highlights some of the core science ideas children can investigate about weather events and includes suggested activities, such as...

Designing and Building to Solve a Problem: Engineering

Book Chapter

Designing and Building to Solve a Problem: Engineering

This chapter focuses on the engineering part of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as it is often neglected in early childhood programs. Educators are seeking to change this by focusing increased attention on developing integrat...

Technology

Book Chapter

Technology

This chapter highlights the need to explore electronic technology for the ways that cameras, digital microscopes, sensors, tablets, and phones can add to your students’ understanding of using tools to investigate the world and document learning. Ch...

What Can Young Children Do as Scientists?

Book Chapter

What Can Young Children Do as Scientists?

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Scientists at Work” is to relate students’ work to the work of “real scientists” by looking at many photographs of scientists in action. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selecti...

The Matter of Melting

Book Chapter

The Matter of Melting

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Melt Away!” is to learn that heating a solid can make a change in states called melting, which can be seen, felt, and measured. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 f...

Feet First

Book Chapter

Feet First

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Footprint Fun” is to explore how feet differ from animal to animal and to think about how foot structure is related to animal behavior and habitat. It includes two activities, My Foot and Animal Pri...

Roll With It

Book Chapter

Roll With It

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Wheel Work” is to experience the way work is made easier with the use of wheels. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use of “The...

Young Questioners

Book Chapter

Young Questioners

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Name That Object” is to practice asking questions and use reasoning along with the senses of touch and sound to discover the identity of a hidden object. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this b...

Learning Measurement

Book Chapter

Learning Measurement

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Measuring Hands” is to introduce measuring as a tool of scientists. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use of “The Early Years�...

Rocks Tell a Story

Book Chapter

Rocks Tell a Story

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Pretend Rocks” is to notice the range in grain size in sedimentary rocks and think about how such rocks are formed. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on sc...

Birds in Winter

Book Chapter

Birds in Winter

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Bird Shapes” is to identify birds common to your area by shape and color and to introduce scientific illustration. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on sci...

The Sun’s Energy

Book Chapter

The Sun’s Energy

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Making Sun Prints” is to understand that although we can’t see the ultraviolet light part of sunlight, it can have an effect on plants, our skin, and light-sensitive chemicals. Chapters 1 and 2 ar...

Collards and Caterpillars

Book Chapter

Collards and Caterpillars

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “What Do Caterpillars Eat?” is to notice the interrelatedness of the cabbage white butterfly and the Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae) family of plants. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book sel...

Water Works

Book Chapter

Water Works

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “How Can We Move Water?” is to explore the idea of work as expending energy to move water, to raise the question of what force(s) move water, and to gain experience using different science tools (spo...

Counting a Culture of Mealworms

Book Chapter

Counting a Culture of Mealworms

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Beetle Roundup” is to count, sort, and collect data, while observing the change in body form of an insect as it matures to adulthood (metamorphosis). Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book ...

Observing With Magnifiers

Book Chapter

Observing With Magnifiers

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Exploring Magnifiers” is to introduce the hand lens or magnifier and explore its properties and to become so comfortable using magnifiers that students will use them throughout the year. Chapters 1 ...

An Invertebrate Garden

Book Chapter

An Invertebrate Garden

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Attracting Invertebrates” is to plant food source plants and create conducive environments to attract invertebrates for study in the fall. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. ...

Objects in Motion: Crash Dummy Fun!

Book Chapter

Objects in Motion: Crash Dummy Fun!

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Crash Dummy Fun!” is to provide experience using models to explore motion and force. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use of �...

Air Is Not Nothing

Book Chapter

Air Is Not Nothing

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Moving Air” is to experience air’s mass and the force it can exert on objects. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use of “The...

Bring on Spring: Planting Peas

Book Chapter

Bring on Spring: Planting Peas

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Planting Peas and Observing Growth” is to notice and participate in the arrival of spring by planting seeds and observing them sprout, grow, and produce fruit. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in ...

Does Light Go Through It?

Book Chapter

Does Light Go Through It?

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Playing With Light” is to explore how light passes through, or is blocked by, transparent, translucent, and opaque materials. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 foc...

Hear That?

Book Chapter

Hear That?

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Make a Kazoo” is to feel vibrations that create sound. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use of “The Early Years” column to ...

Adding Up the Rain

Book Chapter

Adding Up the Rain

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Measuring Up” is to measure and collect data about precipitation (rain, hail, and snow). Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science inquiry and the use o...

Planting Before Winter

Book Chapter

Planting Before Winter

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Some Like It Cold” is to learn about the needs of flowering bulbs and to observe seasonal changes in plants. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses on science i...

Safe Smelling

Book Chapter

Safe Smelling

In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Do You Smell What I Smell?” is to experience using our sense of smell and notice the variety in favorite smell choices. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book selection. Chapter 1 focuses o...

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