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NSTA Press Book

Investigating Environmental Changes, Grade 2: STEM Road Map for Elementary School

What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can!...

Elementary Earth & Space Science Life Science STEM Assessment Curriculum Instructional Materials Lesson Plans Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary Teacher Preparation

Investigating Bark Beetle Outbreaks

Journal Article

Investigating Bark Beetle Outbreaks

Model and explain the cause of recent bark beetle outbreaks....

Middle School Life Science Lesson Plans Citizen Science

Journal Article

A Cancer Education Curriculum for Underserved Elementary School Children

Learn how Los Angeles educators implemented a new curriculum to teach underserved elementary students about basic cancer concepts.    ...

By Dieuwertje J. Kast, Anupam Singh, and W. Martin Kast

Informal Education Biology Life Science

NSTA Kids

The Beaks of Birds

Come along on a tour of the wonderful world of birds and their beaks. This book is the story of a child and two grown-up friends on a jaunt across their yard, in a park, past a pond, and through the pages of a photo album. Like them, you’ll find yo...

Early Childhood Elementary Middle School Pre-service Teachers Preschool Astronomy Earth & Space Science Life Science Instructional Materials

The Early Years: Analyzing Media Representations of Animals

Journal Article

The Early Years: Analyzing Media Representations of Animals

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. This issue aims to engage children in analyzing and interpreting illustrations to determine sizes of pictured animals and give evidence for how they know. To ...

Early Childhood Elementary Pre-service Teachers Preschool Life Science Mathematics STEM Crosscutting Concepts Inquiry NGSS Pedagogy Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies

Exploring Structure and Function in Insects

Blog Post

Exploring Structure and Function in Insects

As an entomologist, one of my greatest challenges is trying to overcome my students’ feelings of fear and disgust regarding insects. Insects often have negative images in society. Walk through any toy store, and you will likely find plastic insects...

By Cindy Workosky

Middle School High School Biology Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Life Science NGSS Science and Engineering Practices

Using Toxic Algal Blooms to Teach Structure and Function

Blog Post

Using Toxic Algal Blooms to Teach Structure and Function

Young children often experience a developmental stage in which they question everything. Why aren’t there dinosaurs anymore? Why do cats purr? Why are some potato chips green? They go from simply observing their surroundings to analyzing, experimen...

By Rebecca Brewer

High School Biology Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Life Science NGSS Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning

NSTA Press Book

Patterns and the Plant World, Grade 1: STEM Road Map for Elementary School

What if you could challenge your first graders to relate changes in seasonal weather patterns to changes in the plant world using a container garden? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can!...

Elementary Biology Earth & Space Science Life Science STEM Technology Assessment Curriculum Instructional Materials Lesson Plans Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary Preservice Science Education

First Graders Become Corn Experts: Using Questions to Drive Instruction

Blog Post

First Graders Become Corn Experts: Using Questions to Drive Instruction

First graders love when fall comes to Kansas. It’s a magical time when lots of events are occurring in their environment, and I take full advantage of their natural curiosity. We begin the school year with a mini science unit featuring corn and agr...

By Cindy Workosky

Elementary Life Science Science and Engineering Practices

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