Science teaching practices at the Long Island School for the Gifted emphasize hands-on experiments where children do the work and the teacher assists learning. This approach bypasses the reading/writing barrier that prevents some children from learning science. Many science experiments are described, including a first-grade lesson on using…

With the high cost of gas and electricity, more people are turning to wood or charcoal for fuel. The ash that remains after the wood or charcoal has been thoroughly burned can be used to prepare lye. "Suman sa lihiya,""cuchinta," and soap can be made with the use of this lye. Procedures for making these materials as well as the…

Salted fish paste (locally known as "bagoong") is fermented fish and salt with or without spices or coloring. A bagoong preparation is actually a digestion of fish protein into substances which can be taken in by the body cells and changed into body material. The substance is used in many Filipino dishes (such as pinakbet, dinengdeng, or…

This module provides instructions for clarifying cooking oil and using it with either wood ash lye or commercial lye to make laundry soap. It also provides (in appendices): a discussion of oils and soaps, including the history of soap; instructions for preparing an 18 percent lye solution; instructions for preparing soap using lye from wood ash;…

This biology lesson on carnivorous (insectivorous) plants is designed to supplement the textbook in the areas of plant diversity, ecology, and distribution. An introduction provides general background information for use as lecture material by the teacher or as reading and/or study material for students. The introduction also includes…

This science column includes background information, discussion questions, science activities, writing activities, and a bibliography on a different topic each month. The titles of the five installments included in this compilation are: (1) "Chameleons and Other Quick-Change Artists"; (2) "Niagara Falls and Other Super…

Discusses the use of the "Science Journal" by elementary school children as a means of developing effective writing skills and in helping to individualize the science classroom. (JR)

Described is an activity, designed for use with undergraduate elementary science students, which emphasizes certain concepts regarding the origin of measurement. (PEB)

Provides directions for construction of a working model of the eye and specifies some experiments using this model. (PEB)

Described is an independent study project for students in chemistry at New College, Sarasota, Florida. Six students collected and analyzed local plants to determine content of alkaloids, terpenes, and flavonoids. (RH)

Described is a simple experimental system, which uses radioactive carbon dioxide to study whole leaf photosynthesis under a variety of conditions. Other experiments and simple apparatus for the experiments are also described. (Author/RH)

Describes a series of experiments designed for general chemistry in which the students prepare metal complexes which are then used as samples for spectral study. (SLH)