This article describes a force and motion unit that spanned four weeks (50 minutes a day) in a fifth-grade classroom. The inquiry-based learning progression mirrors Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development (1952) because it allowed students to manipulate materials and ideas as they actively constructed and reconstructed their knowledge of motion…

In this article, we present some practical tips primary teachers might use to help their students understand adaptations. We also aim to raise awareness of the learning progression towards understanding one of the big ideas of science. A key message is the role that language plays in presenting scientifically accurate ideas about adaptations.

Light is a topic that is often taught in year 3 (ages 7-8) in English schools, where children learn that light is needed for us to see, that it can be reflected from shiny surfaces and that shadows form when light is blocked by an object. They may also have some experience of how the size of shadows changes when the distance between a light source…

Using the practices in three-dimensional learning means that a classroom community of students working alongside the teacher identifies questions and debates how to make progress. Students should see each step of their work as addressing goals they have set. This article explores a strategy developed by researchers and teachers for supporting…

In the United States, "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (National Research Council, 2012) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) offer a vision of rigorous science standards for all students across K-12 classrooms. As science and engineering practices (e.g., develop models, argue from evidence, construct explanations) are…

Statistics need data and data need context. Contexts from across the curriculum can be the most powerful in creating interest, reward, and enthusiasm for both teachers and students. The activity described here is based in STEM, employing aspects of each field to create and solve a hypothetical problem of escaping from an erupting volcano (Science)…

This paper reports on a transdisciplinary approach to science with a Year 4/5 class incorporating citizen science through the Birds in Backyards project. This transdisciplinary approach created opportunities for student engagement through science, mathematics, design and technology, humanities and social sciences (HASS), arts and English, while…

Growing up in a small coastal town, students spend a great deal of time outdoors and at the beach. Given the many learning opportunities that such an environment can provide, engaging students in a sustained, environmental service project seemed like a natural complement to lessons focusing on the interaction of organisms within a habitat. This…

Life would not be possible without plants. Plants supply food to many organisms (including people), produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide from the air, provide products for human use, and homes for many other living things. It is not surprising, therefore, that plant growth is a familiar topic in the primary school science curriculum. This paper…

Science is one of the most important subjects for students at all educational levels. To promote engagement, hands-on experiments can provide a 'realistic and exciting experience of the content' (Holstermann, Grube and Bögeholz, 2010: 744) and hopefully facilitate motivation. In this article, George Stylos and Konstantinos T. Kotsis present four…

As computational models are becoming more widely used with the release of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) and the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"; NGSS Lead States 2013), these models are reshaping the way science is practiced in increasingly diverse classrooms. For students classified…

In this article, the authors present a 5E learning cycle for fifth grade that focuses on using a model of matter to explain the properties they observe, and how those properties can help identify whether two objects are made of the same type of matter. That model also helps explain phenomena such as why a specific material floats, no matter how…

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) topics into K-12 school curricula is a relatively new but crucial challenge faced by education systems worldwide. Attempts to address this challenge are hindered by a serious lack of curriculum materials and tools to aid teachers in teaching AI. This article introduces the theoretical foundations and…

Studies of scientific practice demonstrate that the development of scientific models is an enactive and emergent process (e.g., Pickering 1995; Chandrasekharan and Nersessian 2017). Scientists make meaning through processes such as perspective taking, finding patterns, and following intuitions. In this paper, we focus on how a group of fourth…

Creating a culturally responsive (Ladson-Billings 1995) or culturally sustaining (Paris 2012) learning environment requires teachers making connections to students' experiences outside of school, allowing them to draw on what González, Moll, and Amanti (2006) refer to as students' "funds of knowledge," or the values, interests, and…