Although literacy plays a large role in elementary science classrooms, one thing that offers a challenge for educators is meeting the linguistic needs of English language learners (ELLs) while also meeting their content needs. An additional challenge is ensuring that academic literacy extends beyond the classroom. This article presents ways of…

Increasingly, teaching assistants and parents are engaging with children across the curriculum in group-led activities. However, whereas in literacy and numeracy the outcome of activities is predetermined and the same objectives and teaching points are reinforced over a week or a fortnight, in science things can be very different. Helpers often…

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, "Taking Science to School" provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of…

This digest addresses the needs of homeschooling parents teaching science. National and state science standards documents are recommended for deciding what students need to know and should be able to do at different age levels. Sources of science lessons and activities are provided. Science reference materials such as books, magazines, and…

Focusing on the use of common, everyday materials that can be obtained for free or purchased inexpensively, this document was developed to provide classroom teachers, youth leaders, camp counselors and parents with ideas and activities in science. A major emphasis is placed on "starter" activities, which are designed to encourage…