Skip to main content
  • Changing schools

    Blog Post |

    I’m moving to a different state to take a teaching position. I don’t know anyone there, so where can I look for guidance on state standards and other resources that would be helpful in my new job? —W., Pennsylvania…

  • The Anatomy of the STEM Pipeline: Dissecting Misconceptions at the 2016 #STEMforum

    Blog Post |

    Anatomy: The subject tend to make teachers freeze up, or make the obligatory “gross” puns. But it’s a great topic for STEM, and a career field more students need to know about. The NSTA staff had a chance to sit down…

  • Health Wise: Countering Poverty’s Effects on Learning

    Blog Post |

    Poverty is a student health problem, according to the 64,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP; 2016a). Poverty affects learning. The AAP announced earlier this year that at all checkups, pediatricians should…

  • Manipulating Contents & Containers, and representing 3-D objects in block play

    Blog Post |

    It is so fascinating how obvious it is that children have different prior experiences, different developmental ages, and different interests when we teachers present them with a set of materials and don’t ask them to…

  • Wooden unit blocks and representing their use in early childhood education

    Blog Post |

    Working with and reading about the work of other educators is inspiring. While observing or mentoring in different programs I am given an education and opportunity to reflect on my own practice. The teachers in the…

  • Once Upon an Earth Science Book

    Blog Post |

    Do your middle school or high school students have trouble comprehending scientific reading? If you answered yes, we’ve got just the book for you! Here’s another question: Are you ready to have some fun in your…

  • Focus on Physics: The Equilibrium Rule—A Personal Discovery

    Blog Post |

    Building an Understanding of Physical Principles Figure 1. Burl and Paul on a scaffold. Before college, I worked with master sign painter Burl Grey, who, like me, was passionate about science but didn’t study physics in…

  • Ideas and information from NSTA's Summer K-12 journals

    Blog Post |

    These issues are great additions to your summer reading list! Most of the lessons in these journals include a detailed chart connecting the lesson to the NGSS. Science and Children – From Molecules to Organisms The…

  • Soaring in a Digital Ecosystem

    Blog Post |

    This column regularly describes digital tools to help teachers make learning more personal and effective for all students. When these tools converge, they create a sort of digital ecosystem designed to make students…

  • Place-Based Learning in Middle School: Putting Scientific Principles to Work in your Community

    Blog Post |

    “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” -John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra, 1911. We hope that you are enjoying your summer!  As teachers, we…

  • Changing grade levels

    Blog Post |

    Next year there will be an opening in the high school science department. Although I love teaching middle school, I’m tempted by the opportunity to try something different and use more of what I majored in (chemistry).…

  • Update on ESSA; Good News for STEM and FY2017 Appropriations

    Blog Post |

      July 14, 2016: Congress is set to adjourn for the summer and will return after Labor Day. Before leaving town though there was a flurry of activity around appropriations for FY2017 programs and career and…

  • 3D Brings Science to Life

    Blog Post |

    Middle school children are inquisitive and enjoy classroom opportunities to learn visually. Subsequently, an option worth consideration is an application of technology known as 3D. It’s similar to the 3D technology that…

  • Write Grant Proposals That Win

    Blog Post |

    A successful grant application can provide you with the funding you need to do exciting new activities with your students. The only problem is that grant writing is an art form of its own. There’s a new NSTA Press book…

  • Water play…exploration…science inquiry

    Blog Post |

    Water explorations are a popular in early childhood programs during the summer. Exuberant water explorations can happen outdoors. The experience of wetness is enjoyable and clothes that get wet accidentally can dry on…

Asset 2