The authors describes their experiences incorporating the virtual lab into a simple circuit lesson during an energy unit in a sixth-grade class. The lesson included a hands-on group experiment using wire, batteries, and light bulbs to make a circuit and an online simulation, using a virtual lab. Class discussions, student inquiries, and the study…

This lesson combines the science concepts of renewable energy and producing electricity with the technology concepts of design, constraints, and technology's impact on the environment. Over five class periods, sixth-grade students "work" for a fictitious power company as they research wind as an alternative energy source and design and test a…

A piece of children's literature can be a powerful tool for teaching and learning science; however, it takes more than reading about a topic to qualify as "doing science." Inspired by the book, "The Gift of the Tree", the author developed an in-depth interdisciplinary lesson for her sixth-grade students without diluting the science. Through this…

We all hope our classrooms don't take on a circus-like atmosphere, but juggling can be an engaging way to introduce elementary physics to students. The very act of tossing and catching objects can help students to understand the basic physical principles involved in rotating a set of objects. This article suggests a variety of simple hands-on…

The community can be a powerful context and mini-laboratory for cultivating students' common understandings of science and mathematics. On the island of Panay in the Philippines, the community was the starting place for a group of fifth- and sixth-grade students to explore simple machines in their daily lives. What students learned in the process…

While the sight of a spider may cause a shriek of alarm from an adult, the very same sight might evoke a squeal of delight and fascination from a child. Even "icky" and "gross" creatures can become part of great science lessons. That's the goal of "Spiderrific," a unit of the New Jersey 4-H Science Discovery Series.…

One of the most basic concepts related to force and motion is Newton's first law, which essentially states, "An object at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion in a straight line tends to remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Judging by the time and space…