Middle school students often struggle when writing testable problems, planning valid and reliable procedures, and drawing meaningful evidence-based conclusions. To address this issue, the author created a student-centered lab handout to facilitate the inquiry process for students. This handout has reduced students' frustration and helped them…

Less than a century ago, astronomers began to unlock the cosmic distances within and beyond the Milky Way. Understanding the size and scale of the universe is a continuing, step-by-step process that began with the remarkably accurate measurement of the distance to the Moon made by early Greeks. In part, the authors have ITEAMS (Innovative…

Nanoscience, or the study of the world at the size of a billionth of a meter, has the potential to help students see how all of the sciences are related. Behavior of materials at the nanoscale differs from materials at the macroscale. This article introduces three nanoscale properties and how they relate to various science domains. Three…

In the first months of 2009, the International Year of Astronomy, the authors developed an educational project for middle-level students connected with the first astronomical discoveries that Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) made 400 years ago. The project included the construction of a basic telescope and the observation of the Moon. The project, if…

Interdisciplinary teaching is a great way to focus on overarching concepts and help students make connections across disciplines. Historically, art and science have been connected disciplines. The botanical prints of the 18th and 19th centuries and early work with microscopes are two examples of a need for strong artistic skills in the science…

When students design and build their own versions of instruments, they appreciate them more--and are more likely to appreciate how experimentation plays a critical role in explaining the world around them (NRC 1999). In this activity, students learn how science is done by becoming active participants. They use free lenses to build simple…

Off-road motorcycle racing and ATV riding. Gardening and fishing. What do these high-adrenaline and slower-paced pastimes have in common? Each requires soil, and the texture of that soil has an effect on all of them. In the inquiry-based lessons described here, students work both in the field or laboratory and in the classroom to collect soil…

Learning about osmosis and diffusion is often a challenging task for middle school students. Here the authors present a lesson that was converted from a "cookbook" lab (McLaughlin and Thompson 2007) into a more inquiry-oriented lab that uses inquiry teaching strategies and hands-on investigations to teach middle-grade students about osmosis and…

Biotechnology is a fairly new concept for middle school students as well as teachers. If the latest craze of TV shows focused on crime scene investigation events were not so popular, the term and concept might be even obscure to the public. There is an increased presence of biotechnology in our daily surroundings that makes it practical and…

This investigation was part of a multi-lesson unit that gave students direct experience using increasingly sophisticated tools to make more detailed observations and measurements of light. Through these lessons, students experienced a key aspect of the nature of science (McComas 2004), namely how scientists constantly refine and modify theories as…

Teaching science by means of inquiry-based projects has the potential to transform the science lab into a place of debate and discovery, but teachers run the risk of either leaving students to work too independently or forcing them to be too dependent on our guidance. To counter these challenges, the author implemented changes in the way topics…

This is another great month for evening observing as four planets continue to remain easily visible. Venus, Mars, and Saturn can be viewed over the western horizon, and Jupiter is shining high over the southeastern horizon. Opportunities will also exist for using binoculars or low-power telescopes to observe conjunctions between the planets, the…

A local middle school requested that the Water Center of Advanced Materials for Purification of Water With Systems (WaterCAMPWS), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, provide an introduction to pH for their seventh-grade water-based service learning class. After sorting through a multitude of information about pH, a…

Deconstructing cookbook labs to require the students to be more thoughtful could break down perceived teacher barriers to inquiry learning. Simple steps that remove or disrupt the direct transfer of step-by-step procedures in cookbook labs make students think more critically about their process. Through trials in the author's middle school…

In this article, the authors present a classroom experiment that was developed to introduce middle school learners to the carbon cycle. The experiment deals with transfer of CO[subscript 2] between liquid reservoirs and the effect CO[subscript 2] has on algae growth. It allows students to observe the influence of the carbon cycle on algae growth,…