All Resources

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Biggest and brightest

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. In this month’s issue, learn about the two brightest planets—Venus and Jupiter....

Journal Article

The Fifty-Cent Optics Lab

Any teacher who has had the pleasure of giving students their first view of an image made by a handheld lens will agree that optics is addictive. Seeing how a magnifying glass works, building a telescope, and discovering that a partial lens produces ...

Journal Article

Writing to Learn

By using the writing process to explore science, students and teachers can find new ways of clarifying, revising, and consolidating knowledge. To achieve this goal, try using The Writing in Science Wheel activity described in this article. The Writin...

Journal Article

The Nature of Haiku: Students use haiku to learn about the natural world

Haiku takes advantage of children’s curiosity and interest in nature. The open-ended nature of haiku writing is motivational and student centered. Also, the simplicity of haiku allows children to have successful writing experiences. This article de...

Journal Article

Parachuting Paraboloids

A parachute drop is a fun way to engage students in science while sneaking in a lesson on average velocity, wind resistance, and gravity. The following hands-on activities ask students to first build and then test parachuting paraboloids (the larger ...

Journal Article

Playful Activities for Young Children: Assessment tasks with low reading and writing demands

Alternative assessments in science instruction have been developed for the upper elementary grades but are limited in the area of early childhood instruction. Because younger children have limited abilities in reading and writing, teachers have diffi...

Journal Article

After the Bell: Modeling museum collaboration

Entering a partnership with a local museum is a great way to gain access to materials, facilities, and science expertise that might be unavailable at the school. This article contains a description of a museum/school collaboration that can serve as a...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: Science on the fringes

Conducting investigations over extended periods of time that use process skills in context is important but it's hard to find the time for such an investigation. This article proposes a solution—“science on the fringes”—ongoing low-maintenanc...

Journal Article

Teaching Teachers: Taking the Good from the Bad

Creating an environment where preservice teachers can reach an understanding about the merits and problems of science activities was the rationale for development of a favorite assignment—The Worst Activity. This assignment helps develop critical t...

Journal Article

Science Object Boxes: Using object boxes to promote hands-on exploration of both concrete and abstract science topics

Object boxes—plastic shoe boxes containing carefully selected figures, toys, and household items—can provide a hands-on opportunity for students to explore both abstract concepts, such as scale, and more concrete topics, such as bird body adaptat...

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Is There Nothing New . . .

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

H₂ O Olympics

Have you ever noticed that the water level in a measuring cup is higher at the sides than at the center? Can you explain how it is possible for water striders to walk on water? What are the physical properties of water that make these phenomena possi...

Journal Article

Celtic Science

Playing with toys isn’t always child’s play. Designing activities that use toys to improve student’s observation skills and problem-solving techniques can lead to serious science. To that end, the authors developed the following weeklong activi...

Journal Article

Girls Only, Please: An after-school science club for girls promotes understanding and involvement

Many girls come to school with few out-of-school experiences that properly prepare them for science in the classroom; however, boys often play with science toys and tinker with mechanical devices. Furthermore, when compared to boys, girls might not r...

Journal Article

Activity Selection: It’s More Than the Fun Factor—An easy-to-use evaluation form to help select effective science activities

Many people assume that if an activity is published or popular, it is a good one. This is often the case when teachers select science activities because they are fun or address a particular science topic, not because they provide a quality learning e...

Journal Article

Dig Into Mining Reclamation during Earth Science Week

Mining reclamation is defined as the process of returning mined land to productive and beneficial use. How this is accomplished depends on the type of mine, its location, and the degree to which the land was disrupted during mining operations. This i...

Journal Article

Wheelin’ and Squirtin’: Announcing the 1999 Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Program Regional Winners

When students in grades 3–8 design a new tool or make adaptations to an existing tool, the results showcase the extraordinary creative talents of our children. This article features the winners of the 1999 Craftsman/NSTA Young Inventors Awards Prog...

Journal Article

Electrifying Encounters: Linking the elementary school, university, and community through science and technology

In this “electrifying encounter,” fifth-grade students teamed up with elementary education students for a celebration of science and technology learning. A problem-solving-through-technology approach was used to give the preservice teachers valua...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Cooperating with Constructivism—Getting the Word Out on the Meaning of “Constructivism”

When science educators gather together and the word “constructivism” is used, many people pause and ask for clarification of that person’s definition of constructivism. In this article, the author gives a brief overview of constructivism. Some ...

Journal Article

Editor's Note: Hey, Look Us Over

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Journal Article

Creative Conflict Resolution

Creative Conflict Resolution is an instructional technique tailor-made for examining science and society issues. This technique provides an excellent forum for students to present data and discuss their findings with their peers. Conflict exists when...

Journal Article

Assessing Students’ Ideas About Animals: Participate in a new study that examines students' ideas about animals

This article is an interview protocol that you can use to gather information about your students’ ideas about animals. Specifically, you will be able to determine which organisms your students think are animals and identify what students consider t...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: Coming soon to a sky near you

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. In this month’s issue learn about September skies and the opportunities this year for students to join in the exploration of space....