Formative assessment during the course of instruction is an essential practice for supporting all students, including English learners (ELs), in the science classroom. It typically consists of three steps: (1) The teacher elicits information about student learning through various methods; (2) The teacher interprets (or makes sense of) that…

While field trips are an exciting way to engage students in science learning, they may not be feasible. Therefore, the authors decided to create a 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluation; Bybee 2014) field experience for a multi-aged primary class where the learners would investigate soil samples in the school yard and compare and…

This article describes a three-dimensional 5E (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation) lesson that investigates 3-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived. A phenomena-based approach was used to engage third graders in the story of Maya, who…

Since the release of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" in 2012, there has been a significant shift toward the use of science and engineering practices that mirror the way scientists do their work (NRC 2012). The "Framework" states, "A focus on practices (in the plural) avoids the mistaken impression that there is…

Crossroads Elementary School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was designed and built physically and pedagogically with an "Inquiry Zone" located in the heart of the school. This collection of 80 learning centers provides a pathway for all students to pursue their own scientific interests. In this article, the authors describe the background and…

Formative assessments serve to engage students in active sense-making, making them critical tools for both teachers and students. Though formative assessments may be an informal mode of assessing, they are one of the most important, especially when teaching science. As a subject, teaching science does not have the same kind of beginning-middle-end…

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…

Students come to class with ideas about science content and the practices used to generate knowledge. Their lived experience provides them with basic ideas about how the world works. Tapping into their innate understandings and testing their ideas allows them to construct a more accurate understanding. Research shows that all students are ready to…

A key instructional change recommended by the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") is for teachers to be more explicit and systematic in teaching students science and engineering practices in addition to crosscutting concepts because the NGSS include a stronger focus on seamless teaching in three integrated dimensions…

Formative assessment probes can be used to foster productive science discussions in which students make their thinking visible to themselves, their peers, and the teacher. During these discussions, there is an exchange between the teacher and students that encourages exploratory thinking, supports careful listening to others' ideas, asks for…

According to the vision of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS), science and engineering are language intensive and offer both opportunities and challenges for all students, especially English learners (ELs), who are developing language and disciplinary knowledge and practices simultaneously. To support ELs of varying levels of…

This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. This month's issue describes using formative assessment probes to uncover several ways of thinking about the puzzling discovery of a marine fossil on top of a mountain.

This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. Formative assessment probes are designed to uncover students' ideas about objects, events, and processes in the natural world. This assessment information is then used throughout instruction to move students toward an understanding of the scientific ideas behind the probes. During the…

One of the most powerful strategies to support next generation science instruction is the use of instructional models. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) instructional model is arguably the most widely used version of a learning cycle in today's classrooms. The use of the 5Es as an…

Picture a wet towel or a puddle of water on a hot, sunny day. An hour later, the towel is dry and the puddle no longer exists. What happened to the water? Where did it go? These are questions that reveal myriad interesting student ideas about evaporation and the water cycle--ideas that provide teachers with a treasure trove of data they can use to…