This article describes an integrated unit designed to teach second graders about the phases of the Moon. The science department at the author's school had been reshaping their curriculum to match their state standards as well as the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Their primary goal was for students to be…

With the integration of engineering into science instruction, teachers have been seeking ways to add engineering in their classrooms. This article presents a primary (K-2) STEM unit that took place in a half-day kindergarten classroom as a way to address the scientific and engineering practices (dimension 1, p.41) and the disciplinary core idea…

Teachers in districts with high rates of poverty and low-achieving schools often lament the lack of resources for instruction. However, when a teacher in a third-grade inner-city classroom began a lesson about natural resources by saying, "We will find out what we know before we start," she used a precious resource--students' ideas.…

The authors conducted a test to determine whether they could incorporate a discovery box into a preschool setting was successful. It stimulated the students' natural inquiry processes while promoting understanding of healthy foods and allowing for practice of fine-motor skills. It was easily incorporated into the curriculum and classroom space.…

A major part of developing concept-based instruction is the use of an overarching idea to provide a conceptual lens through which students view the content of a particular subject. By using a conceptual lens to focus learning, students think at a much deeper level about the content and its facts (Erickson 2007). Therefore, the authors collaborated…

With the number of popular medical and forensics programs on television and many references in the media today, even elementary students can comfortably throw around terms such as "cells," "DNA," and "artificial products." However, their questions on these topics often go unanswered, or they are left with misinformation regarding these concepts.…

What happens when university curriculum developers are mixed with motivated elementary teachers? ? An awesome learning collaboration that benefits researchers, teachers, and students! That's what the authors discovered when they--university researchers involved in the Physics for Elementary Teachers (PET) project--teamed up with local elementary…

Providing sun-safe environments, schedules, and activities; teaching and modeling sun-safe behaviors; and implementing a sun-safe school policy are ways that schools can help protect children from sun overexposure and lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle at an early age. This article presents the SunWise program and examples of classroom…

While there is frequent talk of integrating science with mathematics, and more recently, science with literacy, the author has always felt that at the elementary level there is more overlap between social studies and science. Mathematics and literacy share essential skills with science (e. g., measurement and data collection, observation and…

Describes a project in which 5th grade students study eastern bluebirds, their habits, habitats, and interactions with other species over the course of the school year. Includes the project schedule, a student field journal sample, and resources. (KHR)

Outlines and discusses elements for designing elementary school science programs, considering: goals and objectives; scope; sequence (arrangement dependent on logic, topic, hierarchy, developmental psychology, or combinations); instructional strategies; evaluation; and inservice education. Also suggests that textbooks serve as points to begin the…

Four approaches may be used to convert an existing textbook science program into a district science program. These include correlated resource, chapter, lesson, and generalized approaches, each approach using an adopted textbook series as a base (determining subject scope/sequence) into which local aims and resources may be integrated. (Author/JN)

"Accents on Science" is a new K-6 text which includes pupils' and teachers' editions, activity book (pupil and teacher), and evaluation programs. Content is drawn from life, physical, and earth sciences. "The Way We Are" is a kit of free materials on human sexuality for the emerging adolescent. (DS)

Following evidence indicating lack of science instruction in schools, a science curriculum expressed as a modified pyramid, with the majority of process skills, content, and contemporary issues introduced at the K-6 level is described. Includes two tables indicating which grade level skills, content, and issues should be introduced and emphasized.…

Described is a junior high science curriculum which lists two purposes, emphasis on activities and studying science topics which are meaningful to early adolescents. A curriculum that offers opportunities for adolescents to explore each of the five senses and their attributes is outlined. (Author/DS)