Robotics is emerging as an effective strategy for bridging the gap between technology and engineering design in early childhood classrooms (Bers, Seddighin, and Sullivan 2013). Using a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) grant received from the authors' school, they purchased a KIBO-18 set from KinderLab Robotics…

While curriculum designed as project-based learning is not suitable for use with every science standard, this methodology can be used when teaching concepts that naturally contain some flexibility. With small adaptations, teachers can implement these practices into the classroom regardless of the grade level. This article provides a detailed…

Classroom talk is frequently limited, often used to check student comprehension rather than develop thinking. In classrooms with higher numbers of students living in poverty, teachers talk more and students talk less (Lingard, Hayes, and Mills 2003), positioning students as passive learners, which is problematic to developing critical thinking.…

Photography is a creative art that continues to advance through technological innovations. Smart phones have made photography a nearly daily occurance, and people have become quite accustomed to zooming in and taking photos. This article explains how elementary teachers can harness a much "bigger" technology application--GigaPan--to help…

Taking a sociocultural perspective, this qualitative case study aims to contribute, investigate, and understand how young Mexican American emergent bilingual learners engage in early science experiences. Furthermore, the study focuses on how the students manifested their knowledge, understanding, and perceptions about science and its…

In this article, students examined how and why plants work through in-depth investigations. They performed scientific inquiry through questioning, developed models, constructed explanations, and communicated information of the structure and function and system models of plants, and then engineered a representation of their understanding. The…

Scientific modeling along with hands-on inquiry can lead to a deeper understanding of scientific concepts among students in upper elementary grades. Even though scientific modeling involves abstract-thinking processes, can students in younger elementary grades successfully participate in scientific modeling? Scientific modeling, like all other…

This article describes a cooperative project between eighth graders and first graders called "Going Green in the Neighborhood." The project entailed the first grade students sketching home designs on paper to make a model community, and the eighth grade students taking those drawings and making them into 3D computer models and then…

In recent years, science has taken a backseat to reading and mathematics in many primary classrooms. Imaginative teachers have coped with this loss of science time by creatively integrating science topics into reading instructional materials (Douglas, Klentschy, and Worth 2006). In this article, the author describes an effective physical science…

Science IDEAS is an evidence-based model that reflects interdisciplinary research findings that support the integration of literacy (e.g., reading comprehension) within science instruction in grades K-5. Presented is a framework for planning integrated science and literacy instruction in which six elements (hands-on investigations, reading,…

This book examines learning science from multiple perspectives--especially a child's. The whimsical character of Mary Froggins guides readers through the steps of igniting students' natural sense of wonder, incorporating brain research, integrating science concepts with other subjects, and applying science to daily life. The authors demonstrate…

The author talks about an interdisciplinary unit on insects, and presents activities that can help students practice communication skills (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and learn about insects with hands-on activities.