JoinAll Resources
Journal Article
Investigating Island Evolution: A Galapagos-based lesson using the 5E instructional model
Many endemic species of the Galapagos Islands are useful for a biology teacher planning an extended lesson on evolution. In this activity, the teacher focuses on his Galapagos Islands’ experience to develop a unique lesson plan, using the 5E instru...
Journal Article
Scope on the Skies: Watch your weight
This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. This month’s issue focuses on gravity, one of the four forces in the universe that scientists refer to as a fundamental force....
Journal Article
Forensic investigations are a great way to involve middle school students in the inquiry process. In this activity students decide if the drowning was an accident or murder by examining microscopic evidence from the scene....
Journal Article
Thinking Outside the Block: An innovative alternative to 4x4 block scheduling
Block scheduling is a schedule composed of four 90-minute class periods in a day. This article focuses on the experiences of a high school's adoption of block scheduling but rethinking the block to a 4x1 block schedule—four 110-minute class periods...
Journal Article
Reflecting on a Misconception: Can students see a full-length image in a small mirror?
Looking at the reflection of our image in a mirror is so commonplace that most of us are unaware of the misconception we hold with respect to this phenomenon. This article provides an activity that will help students explore the concepts and relatio...
Journal Article
Journal articles are the fundamental building blocks of the edifice of science. Students learn the necessary skills and confidence to read primary research literature by working in groups in a computer conference. This model for analyzing research pa...
Journal Article
Using three active-learning strategies (i.e., teaming, opening, and linking), students perform a series of molecular biology experiments (i.e., transformation, miniprep, and electrophoresis) to identify unknown plasmid DNA. The presented model combin...
Journal Article
Research and Teaching: Persisting Misconceptions
A content-based test instrument administered to a large class of general biology students as pre- and post-tests revealed that knowledge was gained after the semester. A misconception index calculated from these data served to identify specific misco...
Journal Article
Watch student interest grow as they shrink down everyday items in this study of thermoplastics. ...
Journal Article
Science on a Roll Part Two: How Many Sheets to Saturn?
Students gain a better appreciation for and understanding of the distances between the planets using a roll of toilet paper. This activity also integrates math, actively engages students, and promotes inquiry....
Journal Article
Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts and suggests an extraordinary effort to involve parents in their child's science learning. Try sharing your educational challenge with your students' parents--together this is a potent combination!...
Journal Article
Defining Inquiry: Exploring the many types of inquiry in the science classroom
Different types of lessons and different types of inquiry are used for specific needs in the science classroom. Understanding the different aspects of inquiry can help educators vary the types of teaching and learning experiences to better meet the n...
Journal Article
After the Bell: Science of the symphony II: Sound intensity
The sounds that reach our ears when we listen to an orchestra performance are founded on scientific and mathematical principles. The science of sound can be used to engage students in explorations of tone, pitch, frequency, and the decibel scale....
Journal Article
Tech Trek: Graphing calculators
Middle school science curriculum should include explorations of statistics in real-world situations that require students to collect, organize, and represent sets of data. A graphing calculator is the perfect tool to help achieve this goal....