All Resources

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. This month's insert, Severe Weather, has been created by NOAA to help educate the public about hazardo...

Journal Article

Home Connections: Up Goes the Water

Have you ever wondered how water performs its gravity-defying act of moving upward from the roots to the leaves of a plant? How does water get all the way up to the top of a tall tree? This month's Home Connections activity demonstrates the process o...

Journal Article

The Adventures of the Bucket Buddies

Through Bucket Buddies—a collaborative online project—elementary students from more than 150 schools in 33 states and 6 countries have taken samples from local ponds and teamed up to answer the question: Are the organisms found in pond water the ...

Journal Article

Snail Tales

“Snail Tales” is an inquiry-based exploratory lesson for students to investigate learning and memory using common garden snails. This classroom laboratory is based on research by neuroscientists and best classroom practice....

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Expectations and Difficulties of First-Year Biology Students

In a study done at Tel-Aviv University, Israel, the author tracked 410 students who majored in biological sciences. He focused on different variables, such as students’ preferred instructional methods and learning styles, expectations from learning...

Journal Article

Mercury's MESSENGER

A salient feature of our species is the impetus to explore. Now that most of our own planet is well explored, the Space Age has opened the heavens for our excursions. One of the most challenging space exploration missions that will be conducted this ...

Journal Article

The Case Study: The Case of the Dividing Cell—Mitosis and Meiosis in the Cellular Court (Part II—Court is Back in Session)

The jury filed back into the courtroom, hardly visible to the spectators seated on the benches. Their tiny prokaryotic bodies seemed to bounce along to some inner music. There had been 3 days of testimony and the jury had become comfortable with the ...

Journal Article

Newton's First Law: Not So Simple After All

With the premise that even "simple" ideas aren't always understood by all, these demonstrations and hands-on activities were conducted to help third- and sixth-grade students understand the concepts behind Newton’s First Law....

Journal Article

Editor's Note (March 2004)

If science is the study of the natural world, how can we avoid physics and chemistry? Our students should understand the connections of the biological and physical realms before they hit the more abstract treatment in high school. This editorial in...

Journal Article

Career of the Month: An Interview with Microbiologist Dale B. Emeagwali

Although invisible to the naked eye, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites can be found everywhere, from the air we breathe to inside our favorite foods. Microbiologists investigate how these organisms exist and affect our lives. Dale B. Emeagwali ...

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Melting a Misconception

The following lab was originally designed to teach the importance of manipulating a single variable in an experiment. However, the lab also dispels a common misconception, teaches the value of following lab instructions, and provides a good working d...

Journal Article

Libros de Ciencias en Español (March 2004)

Spanish-speaking children, like children everywhere, are naturally interested in the world around them. If we are to encourage their understanding and appreciation of the natural and physical sciences, we should provide them with a wide variety of b...

Journal Article

Tried and True: Extending paper chromatography inquiry

With some ingenuity and forethought, teachers can make simple modifications to a standard paper chromatography lesson that will improve student interest and extend inquiry learning. After separating the components of a water-soluble marker, students ...

Journal Article

Preparing Undergraduate Women for Science Careers

To learn more about how the barriers women in science face can be eased or circumvented, the authors examined how an undergraduate research program prepared female undergraduates for science careers. The skills, confidence, and increased motivation t...

Journal Article

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: Books published in 2003

The books that appear in this annotated bibliography were selected as Outstanding Trade Books published in 2003. They are intended primarily for kindergarten through twelfth grade. They were selected by members of a book review panel appointed by the...

Journal Article

Action Research for Teachers

In this article, the authors draw on their experiences as science teacher-researches and present practical guidelines for science teachers who want to learn more about conducting teacher action research. They participated in a yearlong collaborative ...

Journal Article

Hey, There's a Forest in that Classroom!

After a prolonged visit to an elementary classroom, this author was inspired to share his reflections on the effective combination of creative science teaching approaches he observed. In particular, the author highlights the unusual classroom envir...

Journal Article

Helping Students Make Connections

Science teachers want their students to attain scientific literacy for applications beyond the classroom. Unfortunately, many students view school, and especially school science, as disconnected from their lives and interests. Project-based science (...

Journal Article

Linking Environmental Science Students to External Community Partners

This article describes a course that integrates environmental science students into local community organizations. Despite initially high expectations, students who completed the course held negative opinions about their experience because of inadequ...

Journal Article

Science 101: Are there different types of force and motion?

"Red Rover! Red Rover let Jesse come over!" Young students are familiar with the observable effects of force and motion but may not have considered the many varieties demonstrated in simple ways every day on the playground. This brief article offers ...

Journal Article

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: Books published in 2003 (TST)

The books that appear in this annotated bibliography were selected as Outstanding Trade Books published in 2003. They are intended primarily for kindergarten through twelfth grade. They were selected by members of a book review panel appointed by the...

Journal Article

Science for Elementary Educators

Science for Elementary Educators is a multidisciplinary, interactive learning course developed for the science instruction of childhood education majors. The course described here is a model for science education reform that requires relatively few r...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: What's All the Fuss About Mercury?

Mishandling of mercury can cause costly cleanups or even school closings. This article outlines the following basics about mercury exposure: Why it is dangerous? Where it can be found in schools? and What can be used as a safe alternative?...

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Practical Skeptical Thinking

Gallup polls consistently indicate that substantial percentages of adult Americans harbor paranormal beliefs (Gallup and Newport 1991; Gallup 1997). A key to helping students apply the habits of mind used in science class is to model the processes of...

Journal Article

Student Poster Sessions

Poster presentations are one way scientists present their latest research findings at professional meetings. This format also works well in the classroom and gives students the opportunity to communicate the results of their experiments (perhaps the ...