Flowering plants that live underwater in marine and estuarine habitats (seagrasses) are important because they support human food sources, such as crabs and fish, as well as endangered animals, such as turtles and manatees. Seagrasses are now known to be declining globally, largely as a result of increasing pressure from human populations living…

Although the teaching of photosynthesis occurs yearly in elementary classrooms, one thing that makes it challenging is the inclusion of English language learners (ELLs). This article presents several activities for teaching and assessing of photosynthesis in a third grade classroom. The activities incorporate the photosynthesis content, teaching…

For curriculum content-related reasons, inquiry activities can be difficult in classrooms unless the activities are approached in a manner that makes variations among student group findings understandable in the context of the study. Studies of individual animals and plant reactions to stimuli, such as insect exploratory behavior, allow the…

Even though photosynthesis is an obligatory part of the science curriculum, research has shown that students often have a poor understanding of it. The authors advocate that classroom coverage of the topic of photosynthesis should include not only its biochemical properties but also the role of photosynthesis or photosynthetic organisms in matter…

Many topics in the secondary science classroom can be difficult to introduce to students in a manner that fully engages them, especially when presented using traditional teaching methods. However, with a little innovation and an emphasis on inquiry, even dry subjects can be presented in an appealing way. The authors developed an inquiry-based…

In these activities, middle school and high school students examine the threat of nonnative plant species to Hawaiian ecosystems. Students explore different viewpoints on alien plants and consider how beliefs and attitudes may affect others' decisions concerning nonnative plant species. Students also identify invasive plant characteristics and…