All Resources

Journal Article

Sticking Together: A learning cycle investigation about water

Science educators are consistently challenged to seek ways to help students make meaning of difficult and often abstract concepts. This learning cycle investigation was designed to serve this purpose on important concepts about water, and to help st...

Journal Article

The Whirl and Hurl: Demonstrating centripetal force in the classroom

Principles of physics are difficult for most students to grasp. That’s why “The Whirl and Hurl” machine and activity were developed—to demonstrate centripetal force in the classroom and teach students how to calculate distance traveled, circu...

Journal Article

A Sweet Balance: A module activity for balancing chemical reactions

This module uses a relevant problem of baking sugar cookies to develop a basic understanding of balancing chemical reactions. It is designed to stimulate creativity and motivate students to become scientifically literate on chemical reaction balancin...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Feel the heat

This article features a simple game that can help students understand the nature of heat transfer through conduction....

Journal Article

Tech Trek: Ready to navigate—Classroom GPS applications

The potential for enriched science instruction using GPS is virtually unlimited. An inexpensive GPS unit can help students prepare for the national and global dynamics of the twenty-first century, GPS models and applications are discussed....

Journal Article

The Case Study: Naming Names

Names are vital. Names do more than allow us to pigeonhole things and give us relationships. They give us a sense of ownership. Once we put a name to things we get a sense that we understand something about the essence of the thing itself. Therefore,...

Journal Article

Phasing in Future Teachers

All college science students, especially those who will become science teachers, need an understanding of scientific inquiry and effective ways to teach it. Phasing is an effective approach for training future science teachers in inquiry-based teachi...

Journal Article

Chewing on Ideas: Engaging students in meaningful learning about digestion

This activity was created by turning dull facts about digestion into experiences and questions to be investigated. The experience physically and mentally engages students in the study of digestion....

Journal Article

Editor's Corner: Science in a Safe Learning Environment

The Science Teacher’s editor shares thoughts on inquiry-based learning in the science classroom and the importance of establishing strict safety guidelines....

Journal Article

Commentary: You Plan for Professional Development

An opinion piece about The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and its strong emphasis on professional development for teachers. This article highlights how the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has been thinking about professional developmen...

Journal Article

Electric Connections

By working with a common and familar item such as a strand of holiday lights, students learned how different types of wiring affect uses and outcomes. This simple and enjoyable activity helped students understand exactly how parallel and series circu...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Orbits and distances

In this article, learn how astronomers determine a planet's orbit and its distance from its sun....

Journal Article

Favorite Demonstration: Differential Weathering

In this inquiry-based demonstration, the consumption of a Baby Ruth candy bar is used to nurture students’ interest in chemical and physical weathering. In addition, two other concepts can be illustrated: the difference between weathering and erosi...

Journal Article

Let’s Go Fly a Kite!

Adults and children of all ages and cultures have either seen a kite or have flown one. Why not use this common pastime to teach some of the simple laws of aerodynamics? Making kites and then flying them can motivate children—especially urban child...

Journal Article

Surveying Science Safety: NSTA analyzes safety in the classroom

Results of a yearlong safety project prompted the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to conduct a web-based study of its membership examining the potential need for a national safety indexing system with respect to science safety. The findi...