Idea Bank: A Resonance Tube Experiment Using "Boomwhackers"

Journal Article | December 2004

Bring the "sound of music" to your science classroom--this activity uses the lengths and fundamental frequencies of a set of resonance tubes to verify the expression for the relationship between these two quantities and…

Are We Looking at the Same Sun? Exploring the Seasons Using Data Analysis

Journal Article | August 2012

Students gather, analyze, and interpret data to understand why the seasons change. This lesson features the 4E x 2 instructional model.

Natural Selection and Evolution: Using Multimedia Slide Shows to Emphasize the Role of Genetic Variation

Journal Article | September 2012

Adding multimedia slide shows developed by the Genetic Science Learning Center as supplements to the activities you already use in your middle school classroom can help reinforce the concept that evolution is a natural…

Clear Creek Then and Now: An historical watershed analysis

Journal Article | April 2003

Students worked collaboratively with a local council to conduct a watershed analysis of Clear Creek, a tributary to the Clackamas River in Oregon.

The Case Study: What is a Case? Bringing to Science Education the Established Teaching Tool of Law and Medicine

Journal Article | October 1997

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month’s issue features both medicine and law cases that are real…

Home Connections: Up Goes the Water

Journal Article | March 2004

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…

Lessons from The Little Prince

Journal Article | June 2005

This article discusses the ways the classic children’s book touches on issues teachers face and suggests analogies between the encounters of the Little Prince and the challenges of making science meaningful for our…

Teaching through Trade Books: A Habitat Is a Home

Journal Article | August 2009

We all have our own habitats, and this month students spend time thinking about what other organisms need to survive, what types of habitats they live in, and how to set up a habitat for a classroom animal.

Connections Charts and Book Talk Groups

Journal Article | October 2008

Making connections is always an important task for teachers. Science teachers are encouraged to connect new learning with students’ prior knowledge, learning with student interests, learning with cultural experiences,…

Celebrate With SATELLITES

Journal Article | December 2008

The SATELLITES program uses geospatial technologies to study surface temperatures of Earth’s materials, such as sand, soil, grass, and water. Data are collected using Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the…

Science Shorts: Action Figures

Journal Article | January 2010

With upper-elementary students, using the skeletal system can be a productive first step in learning about the various systems in the human body. Of all the systems, the skeletal system seems to be the most familiar to…

Metchnikoff’s Munchies

Journal Article | November 2006

Many microscopy activities used in classrooms involve observations of structures in cells and organisms, and in research the microscope is an important and powerful tool for investigating cellular processes. To…

Scope on Safety: Monitoring for Safety's Sake

Journal Article | January 2013

This column shares safety information for your classroom. This month’s issue discusses practices that can possibly have negative safety consequences in a laboratory environment.

Argument-Driven Inquiry in Undergraduate Chemistry Labs: The Impact on Students' Conceptual Understanding, Argument Skills, and Attitudes Toward Science

Journal Article | February 2012

This article describes a new instructional model called Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI), which is designed to promote student engagement in processes of investigation design and scientific argumentation. The ADI…

Safety First: Modeling Safety in Clay Use

Journal Article | November 2012

This column shares safety information for your classroom. This month’s issue discusses the types of clay and when to use each type.