Insects are extremely important for maintaining the natural environment, performing such essential ecosystem services as decomposition, dung burial, and soil aeration, as well as providing food for other wildlife. Insects are also important for human interests such as crop pollination. Though the advantages of using insects as teaching tools are…

Robotics is emerging as an effective strategy for bridging the gap between technology and engineering design in early childhood classrooms (Bers, Seddighin, and Sullivan 2013). Using a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) grant received from the authors' school, they purchased a KIBO-18 set from KinderLab Robotics…

The Reggio-inspired approach often leads a teacher down unexpected paths, as many class explorations originate from students' observations of problems or phenomena. Students then work collaboratively with the teacher; the teacher consistently observes and questions the students to discover what the students are thinking and why. The teacher…

This column presents ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue shares information about trying (again) to engineer an egg package. Engineering is an essential part of science education, as emphasized in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013). Engineering practices and performance…

This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching. This month's issue discusses how children think about the small-particle model of matter. What Richard Feynman referred to as the "atomic hypothesis" is perhaps more familiar to us as the small-particle model of matter. In its most basic form, the model states…

With the new focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, it's important to keep an open mind about incorporating technology into science lessons. In many cases, lessons that incorporate technology are not about the technology itself. Rather, the technology serves as a tool to enhance the lesson or add a new dimension to…

Teachers created an after-school club called The Green Team and implemented an instructional strategy know as service-learning to teach environmental science. This article describes the transformation that occurred over a three-year period and illustrates how service-learning can provide a framework for environmental education. (Contains 1 figure,…

The fact that "The Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") are standards and not curriculum (NRC 2012, p. xiv) means that while they tell teachers what to teach, they do not tell them "how" science shall be taught. Ana Houseal and Peter Ellsworth have worked with eight Wyoming school districts on the…

An open field--with its wildflowers, grasses, and vole tunnels--became an instant classroom. Students' senses were awakened there, and upon entering a nearby forest, they immediately detected a difference: less light and cooler air. "Why are there no grasses in the forest? Why aren't there ferns in the field?" These and other questions emerged as…

Many people look forward to planting their own garden and enjoying its fruitage throughout the summer months. Gardening can be an excellent learning experience in many ways because it offers opportunities to learn about plants and to observe changes over time. This column focuses on a long-term project of understanding plant growth and planting…

For farmers and gardeners, slugs and snails may be serious pests that will limit the amount of harvest, but for a child, they represent a world to be explored. To teachers, however, invertebrates are tools for broadening students' understanding about animals, the connections between animals and habitats or plants, and an engaging subject to write…

This hands-on, minds-on zoo project provides a fun and safe opportunity for students to experience the world of animals and nature right in their own classroom. Students have the chance to work individually or in small groups to explore, observe, and discover answers to their questions about the natural world. In addition, it provides numerous…

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…

At the authors' school, as in many places, she struggles with making science a meaningful part of her students' lives. The teachers are working under state mandates to prepare students for reading and mathematics tests in third, fourth, and fifth grades. Often, this relegates science and social studies to a distant back burner. In an effort to…

When Gary Hamilton became principal of Monongahela Elementary Center (MEC) over 10 years ago, he wanted to establish a nature trail on the four acres of wooded area on the east side of the school. "Children today are into so many structured activities they are denied opportunities to learn about nature firsthand," he said. "I want kids to…