One plausible method for ensuring students are truly understanding science fundamentals beyond being actively and intellectually engaged is to consider how informal learning environments can provide meaningful relevancy by connecting to real-world instances. Transforming traditional science centers into informal learning centers will ensure that…

By bringing everyday phenomena into the classroom, teachers can more readily engage students in authentic scientific inquiry. When working with young children, the best phenomena are those that students can directly experience and investigate. Meaningful phenomena can be identified by watching children at play, listening to the conversations they…

In the STEM classroom, students can work in collaborative teams to build those essential skills needed for the 21st-century world. In project-based learning (PBL), teams of four to six students are often randomly selected to describe a realistic situation that may occur in today's workplace; this may be done by counting off in fours, fives,…

This article describes how a farm-based class in the Great Lakes region investigated how plants and animals prepare for winter. Two groups of children, ranging in ages from three to five years old, had a farm, pasture, gardens, forest, and a pond available for exploration. A low teacher-to-child ratio was maintained, with one teacher to…

Keeping a log of scientific investigations, discoveries, and notes is a process that scientists have used throughout history. Elementary-age children engage in similar types of documentation when they perform investigations and sketch, label, or provide details about their work and findings. This column includes activities inspired by children's…

This 5E cycle of lessons takes students through a fun and thorough study of Silly Putty's properties, progressing from an initial observation of a "melting snowman" toy in the Engage phase to making and "marketing" their own homemade putty in the Evaluate phase. Along the way, students use evidence to construct their own…

For young children, a found acorn, stone, or lichen-covered branch can be a touchstone of an experience in nature. Children, however, should also be taught to "leave no trace." As the National Park Service advocates, visitors to natural areas should "Preserve the sense of discovery for others by leaving all natural and cultural…

Some of children's earliest explorations focus on movement of their own bodies. Quickly, children learn to further explore movement by using objects like a ball or car. They recognize that a ball moves differently than a pushed block. As they grow, children enjoy their experiences with motion and movement, including making objects move, changing…

There is a movement afoot in the nation--one that goes against the trend toward more testing, less recess, and too many standards to fit into the school day. This movement does not ignore standards; rather, it weaves the standards with the places and meanings that are ever-present outside of the classrooms. Place-based education connects students…

A lesson plan is provided for a formative assessment probe entitled "Is It a Rock?" This probe is designed for teaching elementary school students about rocks through the use of a formative assessment classroom technique (FACT) known as the group Frayer Model. FACT activates students' thinking about a concept and can be used to…

Family Math and Science Nights engage students and parents in active investigations tied to the curriculum in a fun, informal environment. Through this program, families actively explore math and science ideas, discover together through guided inquiry, and apply their discoveries to solve a problem at the end. All activities are hands-on, use…

"Framework for K-12 Science Education" states that "children are natural engineers … they spontaneously build sand castles, dollhouses, and hamster enclosures and use a variety of tools and materials for their own playful purposes" (NRC 2012, p. 70). The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") also…

A notebook is perhaps the single most important piece of equipment a naturalist takes into the field. But notebooks are not only for use by field scientists: They are also excellent tools for helping students record observations outdoors, develop communication skills, and mirror the work of real scientists. They may contain observations and…

In this article, the author shares her experience in successfully teaching elementary students how to create a tornado using a guided-inquiry approach. The guided-inquiry approach is a form of teaching in which the teacher poses the question, but lets the students decide how to answer the question. Students were so excited about the process they…

Children possess a genuine curiosity for exploring the natural world around them. One third grade teacher capitalized on this inherent trait by leading her students on "A Geometric Scavenger Hunt." The four-lesson inquiry investigation described in this article integrates mathematics and science. Among the students' discoveries was the fact that…