Slithering Into Summer

Journal Article | March 2012

This article provides ideas for introducing students to herpetology.

Tried and True: Inside the Earth: Using Cookie Dough to Teach the Layers of the Earth

Journal Article | November 2012

This column provides classic demonstrations and experiments with a new twist. This month’s issue discusses using cookie dough to assess what students know about the layers of the Earth.

Hunting for Energy

Journal Article | November 2009

“I have no energy! Energy is everywhere! Solar energy comes from the Sun. Energy drinks give you energy!” These are the typical responses from sixth-grade students when asked about what they know about energy. Students…

Tried and True: Soil is more than just dirt

Journal Article | March 2010

This article describes a series of activities in which students investigate soil, culminating in the biomimicry of reducing landfill waste. After students learned about soil’s ecosystem structure and the function of its…

Editor's Note: Stand Up and Be Counted

Journal Article | March 2000

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

Washed Away!

Journal Article | March 2013

Fourth graders model water's role in changing Earth's surface.

Weather Detectives: Searching for Cool Clues

Journal Article | December 1998

It is a well-kept secret that weather is nature's way of redistributing energy and converting it to heat. There are many opportunities to teach these concepts—all it takes is a little detective work to recognize them.…

Enzyme Inquiry

Journal Article | August 2008

In this article, the authors describe a two-phase inquiry lesson in which students explore the catalytic activity of amylase on starch (Rungruangsa and Panijpan 1979). In the first phase, students’ prior knowledge about…

Science Shorts: Making a Case for Camouflage

Journal Article | August 2007

What child doesn’t enjoy a good game of hide-and-seek? There is the challenge of finding the perfect hiding spot and, of course, the allure of the hunt. Though children get great pleasure from the game, many members of…

Dramatic Science

Journal Article | September 2010

The setting: the science classroom. The characters: you and your students. The scene: Your students acting out scientific discoveries, modeling a frog’s life cycle, mimicking the transition from liquid to solid. This is…

Science Sampler: Smelling the chocolate—The Perks of modeling habit of mind

Journal Article | March 2010

Branston, a sixth-grade urban charter school student, used scientific habits of mind to explain a real event. This was due to a series of lessons that make up the “smell” unit (Krajcik et al. 2006), a six-week, project-…

Teaching Science to the Nonscience Major—An Interdisciplinary Approach: Presenting Science as an Integrated Process Using a Modular Course Format

Journal Article | January 1998

This article discusses the structure, content, and implementation of a new course designed to teach the crucial essentials of the scientific enterprise to the nonscience major. The focus is the attempt to teach the…

Visualizing NeuroscienceL Learning about the Brain through Art

Journal Article | June 2006

Neuroscience is a subject that can motivate, excite, and stimulate the curiosity of everyone. However, the study of the brain is made difficult by an abundance of new vocabulary words and abstract concepts. The art…

Science Circus: Preparing Students and Engaging the Scientific Community

Journal Article | February 2013

Demonstrate the interconnectedness of Earth, life, and physical science using community-based exhibits.

What Students Think: College students describe their high school chemistry class

Journal Article | December 2001

A college chemistry professor teaching first-year students was curious whether there was a link between student attitudes about chemistry and experiences they had in their high school chemistry classes. The survey…