This article describes activities in which students sample, investigate, classify, and compare characteristics (i.e., texture, color, density, porosity) of local soils, evaluating whether the soils are healthy or at risk. Students investigate correlations between geology and geography, predict which soil types may go extinct in their state, and…

Students best learn science through a combination of science inquiry and language learning. This article presents a series of chemistry lessons on the naming of compounds. The weeklong unit focuses on patterns across compound names and chemical formulas and addresses several of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States…

In this article, Renee Clary and James Wandersee describe the beginnings of "Classification," which lies at the very heart of science and depends upon pattern recognition. Clary and Wandersee approach patterns by first telling the story of the "Linnaean classification system," introduced by Carl Linnacus (1707-1778), who is…

Creating inquiry activities is inherently difficult. Asking meaningful questions requires both background knowledge on the part of the students and complexity on the part of the phenomena. Yet numerous strategies can help teachers conduct inquiry activities. In this article, the authors share a taxonomy of teaching strategies used to create…

Classification is a vital science-process skill for all students to master. Understanding dichotomous keys as a means of classification enables students to better comprehend large amounts of information and understand how to organize, compare and contrast, and analyze that information. To biology students, mastering the dichotomous key provides an…

Describes a project to help students shift from the precision they expect in science to the more ambiguous nature of taxonomy. Students are asked to project themselves 500 years into the future when, as a result of humankind's pollution, there are only 10 remaining organisms. Some organisms are unlike any previously known. Students name and…

Suggests that teachers should consider which questions to ask as a part of instructional preparation. To ensure that diversity and critical thinking are involved, a teacher should use a taxonomy for a template when writing questions. Presents and discusses Bloom's taxonomy, Gagne's levels of learning, and a taxonomy for general science process…

Presents three inquiry-based lessons to develop the science process skills of observation, identification, and classification. Activities use whelk eggs and snail shells as the focus of the students' inquiries. Provides a list of 19 facts about whelks and snails. (MDH)