Jennifer Miller is a special education preschool teacher at Grant Elementary School in Muscatine, Iowa. In this article, she describes how she created and implemented a learning center with three-to-five-year-old students in an integrated morning class (nine students; four on IEPs) and an integrated afternoon class (10 students; four on IEPs) to…

Sound is typically thought of something that is heard. Can it be seen or felt? Most students experience the noises that surround them in everyday life, but few stop to think about what sound is, how it travels, and the biological challenges associated with perceiving sound. Since students are already familiar with everyday sounds, inquiry-based…

It seems each new school year brings its own opportunities to grow as an educator. As teachers in a STEM focused school that serves primarily at-risk students, the authors face a new challenge in rethinking their instruction to align with the "Next Generation Science Standards". This involves changing the focus of units previously taught…

Young children love stories, and teachers love to read stories. Young children also love to explore the motion of objects--they watch tossed balls, observe objects rolling down ramps, and are mesmerized by spinning tops. Yet it can be challenging to integrate these two loves, stories and exploring motion, in one lesson. Furthermore, while children…

This article describes a lesson taught in a designated English Language Learner (ELL) classroom in an elementary school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, using a sheltered instruction approach. Eighty one percent of the students at this school are from diverse ethnic backgrounds where 25 per cent of them receive ELL services. A variety of languages are…

Children love snow days, even when they come during the warmest weather. In this lesson the snow isn't falling outside, it's in the classroom--thanks to "Snowflake Bentley" (Briggs Martin 1998) and several models of snowflakes. A lesson on snow demonstrates several principles of practice for using models in elementary science. Focusing on snow was…

"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…

The authors collaborated on hosting a "Spring Inspire Day." planned and delivered by preservice elementary teachers as a social studies/science methods project. Projects that have authentic application opportunities can make learning meaningful for prospective teachers as well as elementary students. With the impetus for an integrated…

Providing opportunities for students to grapple with collecting and organizing data, struggle with how to represent and communicate ideas emerging from the data, and consider the alignment of these ideas with the science content being learned is reflective of authentic inquiry and supports the development of scientific understanding. The…

In this article, the authors present a new way of teaching the phases of the Moon. Through the introduction of a "self shadow" (an idea of a shadow that is not well-known), they illuminate students' understanding of the phases of the Moon and help them understand the distinction between the shadows that cause eclipses and the shadows that relate…

The author remembers how exciting it was when the teacher had "stuff" on the front desk: unfamiliar objects and other things out of place in the traditional classroom. Years later, as a new teacher, the author learned the importance of building lessons around concepts and that demonstrations are an integral part of concept development in science.…

Ideas are presented for demonstrating the kilometer to school children. (BB)

Many teachers look for a creative and engaging way to bring physical science topics of force and motion to life for their students. In this project, fourth-grade students weren't "forced" to investigate physical science topics--they were thrilled to! With the help of various technology tools--digital cameras, the Internet, computers, and…

Describes the construction of a model to show circumpolar stars. (BR)

Describes an experiment designed to introduce students to chromatographic techniques. Also describes a teacher demonstration in which leaves obtained during the spring and fall are analyzed using chromatography. Procedures for both the experiment and the demonstration are outlined. (JN)