"A Framework for K-12 Science Education" emphasizes the need to teach students the core ideas of science through capitalizing on students' curiosity to discover the world around them (NRC 2012). Children's experiences vary, and for educators to engage them in the process of science, they need to think of diverse ways to nourish their…

With their sunny stripes and fuzzy bodies, bees are beloved--but unfortunately, they are in trouble. Bee decline, of both wild bees as well as managed bees like honey bees, has been in the news for the last several years. Habitat loss, diseases, pests, and pesticides have made it difficult for bees to survive in many parts of our world (Walsh…

This article describes the driving question board (DQB), a visual organizer that supports inquiry-based instruction through the use of guiding questions. The DQB is a teaching aid designed to increase student engagement alongside science kits. Information is provided on its application to a lesson on buoyancy, highlighting how it improved…

Ensuring science for all in the classroom requires that all students are afforded ways to grasp key science and engineering practices; however, we know that the practice of "obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information" can be a challenging task for children with high incidence disabilities (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 15).…

The classroom use of attribute blocks to develop thinking skills is defended in this article. Divergent-productive thinking is identified as an important skill that can be developed by using these blocks. However, teacher commitment and involvement in the program is considered necessary. Suggestions for using these blocks are included. (MA)

The right brain hemisphere is concerned with sensory learning, including creativity, intuitiveness, and metaphors. This article gives two science activities designed to stimulate the right brain function and to motivate elementary students. The two activities concern batteries and metamorphosis, and each includes the concept, story (fantasy),…

The right and left brain hemispheres have been found to be responsible for different processes. Educators are searching for methods of learning which utilize the right as well as the left brain. The activities in this article attempt to develop right-brain functions in Middle School students through metric measurement. (Author/MA)

"Whole body" denotes using the entire body to sense and experience a concept or idea. Typical whole body learning activities involve use of several senses: muscle sense, temperature, pain, pressure, and sense of equilibrium. Four whole body science activities are described, including identifying trees by touch. (Author/JN)

Children with special learning needs participate fully in the authors' science classes every day; their job as teachers is to bring about meaningful science connections for all students, including those who do not communicate their knowledge most effectively through the ways most typically associated with classroom learning (i.e., reading,…