A key instructional change recommended by the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") is for teachers to be more explicit and systematic in teaching students science and engineering practices in addition to crosscutting concepts because the NGSS include a stronger focus on seamless teaching in three integrated dimensions…

Reviews the following computer programs: "Restless Earth" (National Geographic Society); "Science Cap 2.0" (DEMCO); "My Own Stories (MECDC); Wild Science Arcade (Binary Zoo); "Out and About" (Optical Data); "Botanical Gardens" (Sunburst); "BodyScope" (MECC); and "Mineral, Where and Why?" (Arizona Board of Regents). (PR)

Presents a project in which students monitor their use of trash, input and analyze information via a database and computerized graphs, and "reconstruct" extinct or endangered animals from recyclable materials. The activity was done with second-grade students over a period of three to four weeks. (PR)