All Resources

Journal Article

Editor’s Roundtable: Never cut corners on safety

Teaching science in a less-than-adequately equipped room is unsafe and just plain dangerous. Where safety is concerned, there are no shortcuts, no make-do techniques that Science Scope authors or anyone else can offer you. School districts must pro...

Book Chapter

Simple Models

As stated in “About This Book,” the author isn’t going to take the usual approach to the subject of chemistry. Because virtually all explanations of chemical reactions are based on our current model of atoms and molecules, the first thing to do...

Elementary High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Better Models

At the end of the first chapter, you realized, hopefully, that the model of an atom that we have so far (Rutherford’s model of a concentrated positive nucleus with negative charges around it) doesn’t go very far in helping us explain observations...

Elementary High School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Periodicity

In thinking about a title for this chapter, the word periodicity came to mind. I was sure this had some kind of pop culture reference. After discussing this with my wife, we figured I was thinking of synchronicity, which is a reference to music b...

High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Let’s Get Together … Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Ah yes, the theme song from one of the strangest movies of all time—Parent Trap. The original, that is, with Hayley Mills. I was in love with her back then. So naturally, I would choose that phrase to title a chapter on how atoms combine to form mo...

Book Chapter

Balancing Act

We now know enough about atoms and how they combine to investigate a number of different chemical reactions. We’ll even be able to represent those reactions with symbols that tell us how many of each kind of atom we begin with and how many of each ...

High School Middle School Chemistry Physical Science

Book Chapter

Organic, Dude

The word organic has lots of meanings in everyday life. Organic vegetables are ones grown without pesticides and organic beef comes from cattle that haven’t been given antibiotics. When it comes to chemistry, organic sometimes means something el...

High School Middle School Physical Science

eBook

More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, K-4 (e-book)

Teachers raved when NSTA Press published Picture-Perfect Science Lessons in 2005.* They loved its lively mix of kid-magnet books, Standards-based science content and ready-to-teach lessons. So what could be more perfect? More Picture-Perfect Scien...

eBook

Chemistry Basics: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach it (e-Book)

Do the words “periodic table” send chills down your spine? Are you anxious about atomic structure? Confounded by chemical equations? Relax! The cure for chemistry confusion is within reach, courtesy of this newly available book in the Stop Faking...

Journal Article

Film Canister Science

Because supplies are limited in many classrooms, opaque film canisters can be used in a number of scientific inquiry activities, including a “black box” activity and several activities on sinking and floating properties related to density and to ...

Journal Article

A Science Portfolio

The use of portfolios has had a positive impact on students, faculty, and the program in the Chemistry Department at Berea College. The portfolio allows for the inclusion in the curriculum of activities that occur outside of the classroom and offers ...

Journal Article

Editor's Note (January 2007)

Understanding cyclic patterns and distinguishing them from other patterns is critical to understanding the Earth and beyond. Whether you are discussing star cycles, rock cycles, life cycles, or carbon cycles, this is the stuff of science. It is a fun...

Journal Article

The Early Years: Light Foundations

The day-and-night cycle forms the basis for understanding many other natural cycles in plants, animals, and Earth processes, as well as later learning about the solar system, and it is part of the National Science Education Content Standard D, Earth ...

Journal Article

Methods and Strategies: Discussion Maps Make Sense!

One warm spring day, a group of 18 young children sat in a classroom discussing their ideas about plants. This was one of several discussions in a multi-age, grades 1–3 classroom in which the children were talking about living things. The plant dis...

Journal Article

Science Shorts: Making Waves

Children do not have to live near the coast to experience effects of water waves. They can throw stones into a pond and see the waves ripple outward, bob up and down while floating in a swimming pool, and splash water about while in a bathtub. As stu...

Journal Article

The Effect of Seat Location on Exam Grades and Student Perceptions in an Introductory Biology Class

The effect of seat location on learning has received surprisingly little attention in education literature (Weinstein 1979). Classroom experience and education literature suggest that students who sit in the front of a lecture hall are more likely to...

Journal Article

The Human HPLC Column

A highly relevant topic for adolescents is the impact of drug abuse on the nervous system. Out of 49,300 U.S. secondary school students surveyed, half of them will have tried an illicit drug by the time they complete high school (Johnson et al. 2005)...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Interactive interdependence

Modifying and building on a lesson created by the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, the British Columbia Ministry of Education, and the Provincial Learning Network (2000) that supports National Science Education Standards Teaching Standard A...

Journal Article

Books, Biodiversity, and Beyond!

Reading in science class doesn’t have to be boring, but it’s no secret to students or teachers that textbooks aren’t much fun to read. To enhance and integrate your science curriculum, try using alternative reading resources such as Biodiversi...

Journal Article

Can Students Learn From Lecture Demonstrations? The Role and Place of Interactive Lecture Experiments in Large Introductory Science Courses

There is little doubt that well performed lecture demonstrations play an important role in science teaching (Straits and Wilke 2006): for many students, exciting demonstrations are what keep them interested and motivated. The demonstrations also help...

Journal Article

Ask the Experts—January 2007

In this month’s Ask the Experts column, the following questions are addressed: I’ve heard that the two sides of my brain are specialized for different tasks (language vs. reasoning, etc.). If I listen to a science lecture on my iPod using only on...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: And then there were eight

This past summer the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved new definitions for objects in our solar system that orbit the Sun. The definitions now allow for only eight planets, while objects smaller than planets will be known as dwarf plane...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Word wall connections

A word wall has many uses in the middle school science classroom. It is ideal for reinforcing vocabulary and connections between concepts. In this article, the author describes an interactive way to use the word wall to create food webs. In addition,...

Journal Article

Coaching to Build Support for Inquiry-Based Teaching

Coaching, as a means to support inquiry-based teaching, starts by changing the culture from within (school, teacher, and student) rather than from external mandates. Recognizing that teacher empowerment is the first step toward increasing student ach...

Journal Article

From <em> Frustrating </em> Forgetfulness to <em> Fabulous </em> Forethought

Teens exhibit many types of behaviors—of both inattention and intense focus. From an adult’s perspective, one cannot help but wonder why this happens. Part of the answer lies in the neural restructuring of the adolescent brain. This article exami...

Journal Article

They’re M-e-e-elting! An Investigation of Glacial Retreat in Antarctica

Why has glacial melting occurred? What happens when that much freshwater enters the ocean? Will this melting continue? These questions inspired the authors to design a directed inquiry in which middle school students simulate glacial retreat in Antar...

Journal Article

How Do You Know That?

The purpose of many animal studies at early grades is to build observation skills, develop a knowledge base, and practice age-appropriate science skills like comparing, describing, and drawing. While these are important learning experiences, the Nati...