This article provides an overview of the instructional activity implemented to introduce the authors' first-grade students to the concept of measuring, collecting, and recording temperature data as part of a unit on weather. The activities introduced involved approximately one week of instructional time. However, the application of the skill…

This article is a presentation of a three-day sequence of lessons that engaged fifth-grade students in an exploration following the activities of scientists. From asking questions and analyzing data, to engaging in scientific modeling, to defending their theories to the scientific (classroom) community, these fifth graders were mirroring how…

A traditional science notebook is an official record of a scientist's research. Even in today's digital world, it is still common practice for scientists to record their experimental procedures, data, analysis, results, notes, and other thoughts on the right pages of a bound notebook in permanent ink with nothing written on the left side or back…

Engaging students in elementary science is often done within the confines of the classroom. Citizen science projects, however, bring students, families, teachers, and communities together to help scientists with their research. Students become active participants in real research, use their three-dimensional understanding of science, and…

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance science teaching. In the "Talking Window Garden" project, students create "smart" plant pots that use sensors to collect and analyze data on the health of their plants. The Talking Window Garden project was a collaborative effort between an elementary teacher who wanted to…

Writing in science is a natural way to integrate science and literacy and meet the goals set by the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") and the "Common Core State Standards" ("CCSS"), which call for learners to be engaged with the language of science. This means that students should record…

Teaching students to make daily weather observations is one way educators assist them as they learn to dress appropriately. In addition, it provides a natural and developmentally appropriate link between science and other curriculum areas, such as literacy and language development. The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead…

This article reports on the wonders of winter weather, as it often inspires teachers' and students' interest in collecting weather data, especially if snow falls. Beginning weather data collection in preschool will introduce children to the concepts of making regular observations of natural phenomena, recording the observations (data),…

In this article, Tammy D. Lee and Jane L. Lubischer describe a classroom lesson designed to explore how animals use sound to communicate and how this communication affects their survival. Lee and Lubischer wanted to bring an awareness of how science is happening in students' own backyards. They developed a half-day 5E lesson integrating two…

The authors open this article with a description of an incident that happened in 1992, when 28,800 rubber bath toys (i.e., ducks, frogs, turtles, and beavers) fell off a cargo ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In 2009, these rubber bath toys were still washing ashore on beaches all around the world. This science instruction can be used with…

Archaeology provides the chance to ask questions about human culture, past and present, using artifacts as evidence. By studying archaeology, students learn about how people in their region found and prepared food, responded to changes in their environment (e.g., flooding, earthquakes, droughts), and interacted with other peoples. This article…

The authors present a program where students and family members were involved in a taste-testing to select the items to be planted in the school's garden at Stephenson Elementary. A simple rubric of facial recognition is used. Smiles for the favorites; frowns for the disqualifiers. With the help of the school's leadership team consisting…

This article describes a special third-grade classroom unit based on the reality show "Survivor." The goal of this engaging and interactive unit was to teach students about physical and behavioral adaptations that help animals survive in various desert biomes. The activity combines research, argument, and puppet play over one week of…

Donnelly, Idaho, is a small town surrounded by private ranches and Forest Service property. Through the center of Donnelly runs Boulder Creek, a small tributary feeding into Cascade Lake Reservoir. Boulder Creek originates from a mountain lake north of Donnelly. Since 1994 it has been listed as "impaired" by the Environmental Protection…

One author shares the unique opportunity to be immersed in the science of "sound at work" through participation in NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Teacher at Sea Program. A third- through fifth-grade learning outcome within the Nature of Science section of the "Next Generation Science Standards"…