Inquiry practices often involve more student-centered activities where students interact more intensively with materials and with other students during investigations. In addition to monitoring the learning taking place, teachers in an inquiry classroom have to manage more movements of materials and equipment and the social dynamics among…

There is a commonality between methods that artists employ in portraying their subjects and the methods that those studying nature employ in learning about the world, and this similarity can provide encouragement in leading science students to study nature via art. In understanding how beneficial drawing can be to science, consider that both the…

It seems that everyone is using science journals or notebooks lately. As middle school science teachers, the authors use science journals as a tool to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of content and reinforce students' writing skills. Here they share how they use science journals to motivate students to write about science in middle…

As a new teacher, the author was disheartened to find that students could easily answer the end-of-chapter questions in their textbook, but couldn't explain any of their answers. Students were experts at finding the key phrases or using the glossary, but the real meaning of the text had not been internalized. To further their understanding of the…

Describes the use of science interactive notebooks for recording information, figures, and data that promote student learning. Uses the right spiral page to record information provided by the teacher and the left spiral page to demonstrate the processing of that information. (YDS)

Unlike journals and notebooks, scrolls allow for changes over time to be seen at once, providing students with a complete view of phenomena. Pages can inadvertently segment both the process of investigation and the content being investigated. Scrolls are excellent tools for documenting and displaying the continuity of natural processes that…

In this article, the author discusses one of the most functional forms of writing to learn, the two-column learning logs. Two-column learning logs are based on the premise that collecting information and processing information are two very different aspects of learning. Two-column logs allow students to connect the facts and theories of science to…

Describes the use of journal writing in science classes. Uses excerpts from student journals to highlight the role of journal writing in allowing students to discover ideas for themselves and use language to piece them together, determining the level of understanding of concepts taught, and identifying exactly what areas need more clarification.…

Explains a laboratory activity in which students study the effects of balanced and unbalanced nutrition on individuals' health by examining simulated urine samples. Uses a journal writing approach and includes laboratory instructions. (YDS)

The interactive science notebook (ISN) is a perfect opportunity for science educators to encapsulate and promote the most cutting-edge constructivist teaching strategies while simultaneously addressing standards, differentiation of instruction, literacy development, and maintenance of an organized notebook as laboratory and field scientists do.…