All Resources

Journal Article

Portfolios in Physics

Student attainment of all-important course goals is not easily measured by paper-and-pencil tests. Whereas portfolio assessment forces alternative ways of thinking by the teacher about what is done and what is measured. Portfolios also provide an imp...

Journal Article

Field Trip to the Moon

The main features of lunar geology are now fairly well known, perhaps better known than some aspects of terrestrial geology. This is not surprising—the Moon’s main internal activity stopped billions of years ago, unlike the Earth’s. This articl...

Journal Article

Editor's Note (April 2004)

Have you ever worked with your students on some authentic problem? An issue in the school or community comes up and your class studies it? Most of you probably have. You have taught using some instructional technique for years, then someone "inven...

Journal Article

Editor’s Corner: Spirit and Opportunity

Throughout the 2004 school year, The Science Teacher (TST) feature articles focused on providing inquiry experiences with meaningful assessments in our classrooms. Issue themes focused on developing skills in the classroom for “doing science.” ...

Journal Article

Exploring Native Science

This article describes an innovative summer camp program that serves middle school Iñupiat and Athabascan students from the interior and the arctic regions of Alaska. The camp enables students to learn from Native Elders while completing hands-on sc...

Journal Article

Touchable Tornadoes

Tornado machines are scaled-down versions of the type exhibited in children’s museums. However, unlike those in the museums, these machines allow students to change the flow in and out of the tornado and observe how the twister changes. This articl...

Journal Article

Inquiry and Developing Interpretations from Evidence

When developing a rubric or criteria for assessment, teachers should be sure that they are accurately gauging student understanding. Good questions for teachers to ask themselves are, “What would I consider evidence of understanding on this task?�...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Scope it out!

A multitude of celestial opportunities were present during the month of April, 2004. This issue of Scope on the skies highlights some of the celestial events that occurred during this timeframe; such as planet conjunctions, the phenomenon of Daylight...

Journal Article

Teaching Through Trade Books: Exploring Ecosystems

This month’s Teaching Through Trade Books column explores the complex relationships of living things to their natural environment and to each other. Investigations for grades K-3 and 4-6 are included....

Journal Article

Ladybugs Across the Curriculum

A thematic unit centered in ladybugs offered cross-curricular opportunities for kindergarteners. A series of activities designed to build on individual learning styles included observing ladybugs, role-playing, drawing, peer sharing, and singing. A l...

Journal Article

Tried and True: Bean plants: A growth experience

To enhance a seventh-grade life science unit, the author had students grow bean plants in the classroom. Students were then able to observe roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit up close as they learned about them. Students who held misconceptions...

Journal Article

The Quest for the Perfect Weather Forecaster

Just how accurate are weather forecasters, anyway? How can a meteorologist from one television channel predict a completely different forecast for the same area on a different station? To answer these queries, this article describes two projects for...

Journal Article

Severe Weather

Educating the public about safety issues related to severe weather is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission. The National Weather Service (NWS)—which is part of NOAA and its parent agency, the Department of ...

Journal Article

Ooey, Gooey, FISH GUTS!

Hook your students onto inquiry-based science by implementing this ooey, gooey fish guts activity into your science curriculum. The author developed this fish dissection lesson as an inexpensive, safe, and clean alternative to the traditional and cos...

Journal Article

Problem Solvers to the Rescue

During a two-week summer camp, third and fourth graders participated in a series of hands-on lessons related to the concepts of mass and volume. Through these measures, organizers were able to assess students in several areas: scientific vocabulary, ...

Journal Article

Looking At Density From Different Perspectives

All too often middle school students equate density with one object simply being "heavier" than another. Even if students are able to accurately calculate the density of an object, that doesn't necessarily mean that they fully understand the concept ...