Children can see the Moon with the naked eye and often are curious about the Moon and other objects in the sky, like the Sun and the stars. However, there is sometimes disagreement in early childhood about whether studying space is appropriate for young children. This activities described in this article engaged children who had different learning…

This article illustrates several types of at-home science experiences that could be incorporated during grades K-2 to provide enriching science experiences that are motivating for students without requiring exhaustive work and preparation. These activities are designed to augment science interest and enthusiasm of students in the classroom and…

While school field trips are valued as supplementary educational tools, Andersen and Zhang (2003) found that in practice field trips are often treated as one-off learning experiences and not furthered through connections to the classroom curriculum. Although students gain exposure to new phenomena and are able to participate in learning activities…

Water is critical to our health and well-being, yet one in three people do not have access to safe drinking water. Earth's water is threatened by pollution, deforestation, urban growth, and climate changes. This article describes a unit for kindergarten children called The Water We Drink.

The activity presented in this article is part of a four-part module that centers earthquakes as a common phenomenon that students experience and introduces the idea of a resonant frequency. When the seismic waves from an earthquake encounter a building, the subsequent oscillating motion of the ground causes the building to move back and forth.…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) encourages educators to help kindergarteners formalize a big idea in physics: A push or pull can cause an object to begin moving, speed up, slow down, stop, or change the direction it is going (NGSS Lead States 2013). In this article, the authors share an exciting, classroom-tested…

Multilingual children learning English often receive inequitable curriculum, instruction, and assessment opportunities in preK-5 schools where English is the dominant language of instruction. There is an even more prevalent gap when also considering access to high quality STEM learning opportunities. Why is STEM enrichment for multilingual…

Research indicates that STEM-integrated curricula and pedagogies have the potential to support student learning, nurture interest in STEM disciplines, and prepare students for future careers (Apedoe et al. 2008). Through engagement in these fields, students can develop the ability to think critically, solve intricate problems, and drive…

The concepts of "culturally relevant pedagogy" and "culturally responsive teaching" have been interpreted and enacted in various ways for over two decades. Informed by this research, the author shares a critical approach to teaching and learning using "sociotransformative constructivism" (sTc). This framework merges…

Investigating stars can be difficult. The five-day unit presented in this article is designed for fifth graders to work toward Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) performance expectation 5-ESS1-1, with each lesson lasting about 30 minutes. Students investigate the relationship between the brightness of light and distance, apply their…

This article demonstrates how the authors used a 5E lesson about food webs as a context to embed speaking and listening standards. This 5E lesson partially addresses 5-LS2-1 in the "Next Generation Science Standards" and focuses primarily on predator/prey relationships. Future lessons focus on decomposition and other relationships. To…

To combat environmental apathy, the authors seek to help students develop environmental knowledge, ethics, and "critical-thinking skills that will prepare them to evaluate issues and make informed decisions regarding stewardship of the planet". This article describes scientific, place-based investigations of local species and their…

In this challenge, the authors wanted to support students' knowledge of light and the ways in which it interacts with other materials through a series of connected learning experiences. These experiences are related to "NGSS standard 1-PS4-3 Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer. Plan and conduct investigations…

At any point during the school year, a teacher may find out the gap between what students know and need to learn is not large at all. In fact, formative assessment data may show a handful of students already have mastered the content for a specific unit of study. While some learners will achieve grade-level standards at the pace outline by a…

In this kindergarten lesson about pushes and pulls, the authors used the SHARE strategy to embed effective questions throughout each phase of the 5E learning cycle (Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate, Elaborate). The thoughtfully worded and open-ended questions shared in this article can help students generate ideas and focus their thinking…