For the last several years, the authors have implemented an integrated Mars Colony project for their third-grade classes. Students explored several considerations related to colonizing and inhabiting a new world, including food sources, types of citizens, transportation, and housing design. Nearly everything about the project was open-ended, full…

Most plants are able to obtain all of the nutrients that they need from air, water, and soil; however, this is not true of carnivorous plants. Because they tend to live in boggy soils where there are small amounts of nitrogen, carnivorous plants have developed specialized structures that enable them to lure and capture insects and sometimes other…

In practice, sustainable development is the use of natural resources in a manner that allows ecosystems to continue to function as natural ecosystems and biotic and abiotic interactions to maintain checks and balances are homeostatic. Historically, human activity has led to modification of nature that leads to (1) economic development, (2) biotic…

Fred Estes is a science teacher and lower school science coordinator at The Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. Carolee Fucigna is a prekindergarten teacher at The Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. Their year in the classroom regularly begins with starting a compost pile that serves as a focus for classroom research and science…

Announces the National Science Teachers Association publications How to Investigate the Environment in the City: Air and Water'' and How to Tell What's Underground.'' (AL)

Presents an interdisciplinary unit that combines science and technology as a social-historical study on Arcadian dikes. Promotes an authentic task for assessment. Provides a student resource materials packet and activity sheet. (ASK)

Introduces the Geographic Information System (GIS) and its applications in interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Specifically focuses on natural resource management. Explains the data collection process of GIS and areas in which this technology is used. Makes recommendations for the classroom use of GIS. (YDS)

Describes a study that included classroom lessons on hydroelectric power, the history and construction of a nearby lake, data recording, the use of field guides, and methods of counting natural populations. The study culminated in a field trip to the lake. (JRH)

Discusses population growth in the U.S. and questions the appropriate time to teach about environmental protection to elementary school students. Introduces activities on conservation, natural resources, and endangered species. (YDS)

Describes activities done to help second graders learn about spring using their imaginations, curiosity, and body energies. Includes activities in science, reading, dramatics, and movement. (MA)

Suggests many possible educational activities for energy education under the following sub-headings: math and science, field trips, energy conservation in the home, language arts, and social studies. (MDR)

Introduces the Apple Ocean activity which teaches about the diminishing natural resources of the earth including drinkable water, habitable land, and productive areas while working with fractions, ratios, and proportions. (YDS)

Illustrates the use of a module used in Mexican schools that focuses on survival on a deserted island. Explores questions related to inhabitants of the island, predator-prey relationships, identification of natural resources, water and food issues, and health considerations. (DDR)

Describes ideas and approach to an interdisciplinary unit in creative writing and science which uses art and storytelling to sharpen imaginative skills. Relates the special success of this unit's approach in motivating students, the culmination of which was an all-day field trip to a marine science center. (JM)

Describes activities which demonstrate the abundance of organisms living underground. Provides outlined directions, lists of materials, and a soil ecosystem transparency for delving into the properties of soil. (RT)