Solar eclipses occur several times a year, but most people will be lucky if they see one total solar eclipse in their lifetime. There are two upcoming total solar eclipses that can be seen from different parts of the United States (August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024), and they provide teachers with an amazing opportunity to engage students with a…

The Next Generation Science Standards call for the integration of science and engineering. Often, the introduction of engineering activities occurs after instruction in the science content. That is, engineering is used as a way for students to elaborate on science ideas that have already been explored. However, using only this sequence of…

Why are there only crumbs left at the bottom of the cereal box? Many factors, such as package handling, have caused the cereal pieces to break down into crumbs. This explanation is also related to the process of creating sediment from rocks. Sediment is created by weathering over millions of years, and it is deposited all over the world by…

Everyone needs strong observational skills to solve challenging problems and make informed decisions. However, many students expect to find exact answers to their questions by using the internet and do not understand the role of uncertainty, especially in decision making and scientific research. Humans and other animals choose among many options…

More than 60 years have passed since the work of Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and Francis Crick led to the discovery of the 3D-DNA double-helix structure. Nowadays, due to the simple and elegant architecture of its double helix, the structure of DNA is widely known. The biological role of the DNA molecule (e.g., genetic information), however,…

Elementary, middle-level, and high school science teachers commonly find their students have misconceptions about heat and temperature. Unfortunately, student misconceptions are difficult to modify or change and can prevent students from learning the accurate scientific explanation. In order to improve our students' understanding of heat and…

Argumentation is one of the central practices in science learning and helps deepen students' conceptual understanding. Students should learn how to communicate ideas including procedure tests, data interpretations, and investigation outcomes in verbal and written forms through argument structure. This article presents a negotiation model to…

Like the figurative apple for the teacher, the tomato is a well-known food symbol representing a variety of cuisines. We drew on current scientific research and partnerships with classroom teachers to develop a case study activity consisting of four layers to teach concepts of plant biology and genetics to middle and high school students. The goal…

Learning about microscopic things, such as cells, can often be mundane to students because they are not able to see or manipulate what they are learning about. Students often recall learning about cell division through memorization--thus they find it tedious and dull. Few opportunities exist that allow students to explore and manipulate cells or…

This article describes the use of project-based instruction in activities and labs intended to develop higher-order thinking skills with high school students and pre-service teachers through the use of soap making.

Teaching science as inquiry is advocated in all national science education documents and by leading science and science teaching organizations. In addition to teaching science as inquiry, we recognize that learning experiences need to connect to students' lives. This article details how we use a sequence of faded scaffolded inquiry supported by…

There is a wide range of new products emerging from nanotechnology, and "nano ice cream" is an easy one that you can use to teach topics from surface area to volume applications. In this activity, students learn how ice cream can be made smoother and creamier tasting through nanoscience. By using liquid nitrogen to cool the cream mixture, students…

This article presents an authentic writing opportunity to help ninth-grade students use the writing process in a science classroom to write and illustrate picture books for fourth-grade students to demonstrate and share their understanding of a biology unit on cells. By creating a picture book, students experience the writing process, understand…

In this interdisciplinary and field-based activity, grade 5 to 9 students engage in a comprehensive scientific study of snow. Through a series of in-class and out-of-class structured interdisciplinary and team-teaching lesson progressions, students will collect data to be able to analyze and apply knowledge about weather, the physical properties…

Teachers often struggle with controversy when teaching biological evolution in American schools. Research indicates that curriculum with a nature of science (NOS) focus quells controversy (McComas 2004; Scharmann 2005; Staver 2003). This article presents a 5E NOS series that is a first step in a NOS curriculum that situates student understanding…