We successfully integrated science and language arts in a third-grade classroom. The students used "scientist's eyes" and "poet's eyes" to write original poetry. In addition, they created habitat posters about a swamp organism. Scoring guides for the habitat poems and posters are also included. (Contains 5 figures and 2 tables.)

This column features profiles of award-winning science programs and teachers. In this month's issue the author shares his experience of working with a university researcher. Third-grade students benefit from this relationship and learn about the nanoscale through up-to-date science equipment. (Contains 1 resource and 10 online resources.)

There are numerous benefits from using puppets in the classroom. There is evidence to suggest that puppets have a positive impact in motivating children and promoting language development. In this article, the authors explore the use of puppets to teach food science and nutrition. (Contains 2 figures.)

In this digital age, is primary science being left behind? Computer microscopes provide opportunities to transform science lessons into highly exciting learning experiences and to shift enquiry and discovery back into the hands of the children. A class of 5- and 6-year-olds was just one group of children involved in the Digitally Resourced…

Primary Science Quality Mark Scheme is a joint project led by the Association for Science Education, the national network of Science Learning Centres and Barnet Local Authority. The Primary Science Quality Mark is an award scheme to develop and celebrate the quality of science teaching and learning in primary schools. It encourages teachers to let…

The purpose of the present work is to describe the progression in the conceptions of prospective primary teachers about school science content while they were participating in three teacher education courses following the same constructivist oriented strategy. The participants' written output was analyzed in various categories--selection of…

In the United States, visits to informal learning environments [ILEs] such as zoos, have historically been considered to be important educational experiences that promote increased student achievement in content-area subjects. Recently, however, funds are more likely to be diverted away from field trip experiences, depriving less-privileged…

Lack of time for teaching science in traditional classroom placements in the United States has led some science teacher educators to provide practice teaching time for elementary education students in informal science settings. The purposes of this study were to describe the culture of one science methods course taught in conjunction with a K-7…

This exploratory study of elementary school science examines questions central to policy, practice and research on formative assessment: What is the quality of teachers' content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge and assessment practice? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge,…

The author looks at the future of primary science, and is not encouraged. It's pretty much all over for science in primary schools. One only has to look at the poor showing on the stands at January's ASE Annual Conference to see that it is no longer a publishing priority. Eroded by falling status, undermined by national strategies, and finally put…

During the last decade, science in the Primary curriculum has been squeezed from different directions. The literacy and numeracy strategies restricted time for science enquiry, and the perceived importance of the science SAT restricted teachers' imaginations and confidence. The end of this SAT was announced shortly after the publication of the…

This is an appropriate question, especially in light of the recent news that the incidence of hearing loss in teens has been increased by a third. To understand how loud noise affects hearing, you need to know the basics of how your ear works. To understand how your ear works, it will help if you do the following activities and ignore that they…

Special clothing is worn by "community helpers" such as police officers, nurses, firefighters, cafeteria workers, dentists, and waste management workers as they do their jobs. The special clothing allows workers to be safe. Therefore, exploring how hats help community workers do their jobs can be a way to introduce the idea of how the shape or…

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and General Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK) are fundamental types of knowledge for a teacher that he or she must use in order to plan, teach in the classroom, and assess students' learning outcomes. This paper investigates experienced primary school teachers' PCK and GPK while teaching science in Finland and in…

This study explores the science teaching efficacy beliefs of preservice elementary teachers and the relationship between efficacy beliefs and multiple factors such as antecedent factors (participation in extracurricular activities and number of science and science teaching methods courses taken), conceptual understanding, classroom management…