Middle school students need to know about energy concepts and how they can reduce their energy use. New energy-monitoring tools provide powerful opportunities for students to engage in authentic investigations rich in the science practices described in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012), while at the same time advancing their…

In this article, the authors describe an investigative activity in which their eighth-grade students reconstructed past environmental change in the New England area using data from lake varves in central Vermont to examine evidence of climate change. The investigation uses an authentic paleoclimate record (Ridge 2011) from the Pleistocene epoch,…

Since the formation of atomic bonds is active, the authors sought a way of learning through drama or kinetic activity. To achieve this goal, they developed an activity called Romance of the Atoms. The activity requires students to use computer-animation technology to develop short cartoons that explain atomic classification and bonds. This…

"Mashup" is a new technology term used to describe a web application that combines data or technology from several different sources. You can apply this concept in your classroom by having students create their own mashup maps. Google Maps provides you with the simple tools, map databases, and online help you'll need to quickly master this…

Around 1590, Zacharias Jansenn of Holland invented the microscope. Jansenn, an eyeglass maker by trade, experimented with lenses and discovered that things appeared closer with combinations of lenses. Over the past 400 years, several refinements to microscopes have occurred, making it possible to magnify objects between 200 and 1,500 times their…

Provides helpful tips regarding classroom use of computers in a cooperative-learning environment. Comments on student computer ratio, interdependence, individual accountability, heterogeneous grouping, shared responsibility, and good working relationships. (ZWH)

Students enjoy carrying out an exciting and challenging research project that combines science with computers and mathematics to investigate how polyacrylate animals change in size over time when placed in water and aqueous salt solutions. The hands-on activity motivates students and provides them with the necessary skills and information to have…

The NASA's Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) is led by the Arizona State University (ASU) Mars Education Program, a major partner of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. MSIP is based on the National Science Education Standards and includes curriculum on terrestrial planet characteristics, experimental design, and proposal writing. Three spacecraft…