In this article, the author discusses how she made a major improvement to her fifth-grade lesson plan by providing a hands-on Internet experience before students worked on their own oil pastel still life. It was a success with beautiful finished products and highly motivated, engaged students. Details of this lesson are described in this article.

A fast way to teach investigative skills in science is to tie them to NASCAR using Hot Wheels Formula Fuelers Race Cars. These inexpensive toy cars travel different distances based on the strength of the "electrolyte" (a substance that conducts electricity when dissolved in water) in their "fuel" tanks. Advertisements for these race cars urge kids…

As environmental changes become a significant societal issue, elementary science curricula need to develop students' understanding about the key concepts of energy and climate change. For teachers, developing quality learning experiences involves establishing what their students' prior understanding about energy and climate change are. A survey…