In this article, Karen Bucci describes how she incorporated her iPad with the wireless SmartScope iGO microscope and Wi-Viewer app to teach her fourth-grade class the science module "Ecosystems" by National Science Resources Center's Science and Technology for Children (STC) (1996, 2005). A main idea in the unit is the importance of…

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…

This article describes how observing whether objects sink or float in water using the P-E-O (Predict, Explain, and Observe) technique is an elementary precursor to developing explanations in later grades that involve an understanding of density and buoyancy. Beginning as early as preschool, elementary students engage in activities that encourage…

This article describes a lesson on bats developed for kindergartners, which uses models of bats to teach about their physiology, diet, and habitat. The lesson uses craft sticks, wax paper, and colored construction paper that kindergarten teachers can use to help their students compare the features of 4 different kinds of bats. The use of online…

Children are natural scientists. They do what professional scientists do, but for slightly different and less conscious reasons--whether observing water flowing down a pipe, investigating how to make different colors with paints, or reasoning through a series of problems in relation to building a bridge. A kindergarten teacher wanted to expand and…

Children often associate the study of bones with dinosaurs or crime scenes. This unit introduces students to "zooarchaeology," the study of animal remains from archaeological sites. Students in grades 3-5 engage in hands-on activities examining bones, shells, and other "hard parts" of animals. They use their observations as a starting point for…

Elementary students make great scientists. They are natural questioners and observers. Capitalizing on this natural curiosity and wonderment, the authors have developed a method of doing inquiry investigations with students that many teachers have found practical and user friendly. Their belief is that full inquiry lessons serve as a vital method…

What happens in the first week of school could very well set the stage for the rest of the school year. Setting high standards for science activities based in inquiry can start on the first day of science class and develop as the year unfolds. With the use of simple, readily available, inexpensive materials, an efficient mystery box lesson can be…

We typically know children are learning when they are able to make sense of an object's materials or a situation that was previously a bit mysterious and communicate what they have figured out. But what about observing? One of the process skills listed in the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996), observation is something students have…

The "Magic" String is a discrepant event that includes a canister with what appears to be the end of two strings protruding from opposite sides of it. Due to the way the strings are attached inside the canister, it appears as if the strings can magically switch the way they are connected. When one string end is pulled, the observer's expectation…

In this article, the author describes a series of lessons that focuses on observation and documentation of organisms and that is appropriate for the second through fourth grades. By giving students the necessary initial support, they will have the ability to observe details and the skills and confidence to make realistic scientific drawings and…

Researchers describe the need for students to have multiple opportunities and social interaction to learn about the differences between observation and inference and their role in developing scientific explanations (Harlen 2001; Simpson 2000). Helping children develop their skills of observation and inference in science while emphasizing the…

As educators, we are always deciding what experiences we want to give students in order to achieve our goals of developing science process skills. One of the best ways of teaching about observation is described here. Using a hand lens and an illuminated pocket microscope, students observe an object at three different levels of…

When you observe something, how do you know for sure what you are seeing, feeling, smelling, or hearing? Asking students to think critically about their encounters with the natural world will help to strengthen their understanding and application of the science-process skills of observation and inference. In the following lesson, students make…

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Digital cameras, young inquisitive scientists, give it a try! In this project, students create an open-ended question for investigation, capture and record their observations--data--with digital cameras, and create a digital story to share their findings. The project follows a 5E learning cycle--Engage, Explore,…