Disguises a lesson about skulls with some fun to cause less fear among students. Outlines strategies, questions, and answers for use. Includes a skull mask which can be photocopied and distributed to students as a learning tool and a fun Halloween treat. Also shown is a picture of skull parts. (RT)

Presents an annotated bibliography of outstanding children's science trade books published in 1995 and intended primarily for kindergarten to eighth grade. Sections include biography, environment and ecology, fiction, life science, medicine and medical research, paleontology, and technology and engineering. (JRH)

Presents class activities to help elementary students learn about changes in the state of matter by making ice cream. In addition to making observations on the changes of state, students can practice measuring and identifying the properties (e.g., color, size, and shape). (SM)

Grammar school students (n=1073) completed a repertory grid comprising 20 constructs to measure their perceptions of the difficulty of, intellectual freedom offered by, social benefit derived from, and interest in eight academic subjects. Results indicate that A level subjects are chosen on the basis of pupils' interest in and perceived academic…

Suggested are activities about whales for children in schools not near the ocean. Activities designed to pique students' interest in whales and to investigate the size, breathing, buoyancy, and feeding strategies of whales are discussed. (CW)

Presented is a map of the night sky in the northern hemisphere during the month of March 1991. A calendar of celestial highlights including the positions of the planets and several stars is included. (CW)

Presents two elementary school activities to help students learn about autumn. The activities use autumn leaves to teach that each type of tree has its own distinctive type of leaf. One activity involves tracing, drawing, and writing about leaves; the other involves making a quilt using leaf designs. (SM)

Gives an account of the issues surrounding the attempts of two teachers to integrate literature into the science curriculum of a second-grade classroom. Argues that children's intellectual development is best served by curricula based on inquiry. (HB)

Analysis of instructional recommendations for mainstreamed students with disabilities provided in teachers' manuals of three elementary science textbook series revealed that there was a limited number of disability categories addressed, a poor match between recommendations and student needs, lack of consistency across grades, and inappropriate…

Presents suggestions for using children's literature to explore elementary science topics and create literature-based science activities. The article describes books that alphabetically tour the world's fruits and vegetables, describe the world through a blind grandfather's eyes, illustrate more than 600 animals and their sounds, and teach animal…

Winning essays written for the "Winning Words" international science competition are presented. A description of the competition, a summary of subjects chosen by grade level, a summary of entries, schools participating, and prizes are included. (KR)

Describes how to organize "SMATH TECH--For Kids Only!" a two-day convention for elementary students focusing on science, mathematics, and technology. The convention costs about $4,000 for 300 students to attend. (PR)

Investigated effects of two instructional interventions on 5- to 9-year-olds who could perform a balance beam task but either could not explain the principle or had naive theories. Found that more students who had observed the experimenter model and were then encouraged to explain what they saw improved performance over the pretest than students…

Presents a simple writing technique called the key-word process which helps students communicate the important science concepts they have learned. (ASK)

Presents a discussion, almost a debate, about using trade books in science teaching. Suggests that teachers should exercise caution in selecting trade books for their science classes, not simply default to trade books just because they and their students might be more comfortable with this form of literature than with science texts. (SG)