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All Life Science resources

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

NSTA Press Book

Engineering in the Life Sciences, 9–12

When the authors of this book took part in Project INFUSE, the National Science Foundation–funded teacher development program, they noticed something. Life science teachers were highly receptive to engineering ideas related to everything from genom...

By Rodney L. Custer, Jenny L. Daugherty, Julia M. Ross, Katheryn B. Kennedy, Cory Culbertson

High School Biology Engineering Life Science Instructional Materials Inquiry Lesson Plans NGSS Teaching Strategies Interdisciplinary New Science Teachers Preservice Science Education Teacher Preparation

NSTA Press Book

Reading Nature: Engaging Biology Students With Evidence From the Living World

By making room for this book in your curriculum, you’ll have a fresh way to motivate your students to look at the living world and ask not only “Why?” but also “How do we know?” Unique in both its structure and approach, Reading Nature is a...

By Matthew Kloser, Sophia Grathwol

High School Middle School Biology Evolution Life Science Crosscutting Concepts Disciplinary Core Ideas Instructional Materials Inquiry Science and Engineering Practices Interdisciplinary Literacy Teacher Preparation

The Early Years: Begin With Open Exploration

Journal Article

The Early Years: Begin With Open Exploration

This column discusses resources and science topics related to students in grades preK to 2. This issue discusses ways to encourage children to engage in open exploration to learn about living organisms....

Early Childhood Elementary Pre-service Teachers Preschool General Science Life Science Instructional Materials Inquiry NGSS Pedagogy Phenomena Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies

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