Describes ScienceFest, a program that teams up students and teachers in an effort to create and perform original science-related plays. (PR)

Describes a unit of study for elementary school science on bats. Students investigate the different types of bats; examine their behavior; find facts that other students are unlikely to know; write stories about bats; and examine the concept of echolocation, the means by which bats navigate. Suggests integrated activities for mathematics…

Describes a program to bring farm animals into the classroom. Topics discussed include using the senses, health and safety for both children and animals, and rewards of using animals in special situations. Talks given include "Similarities and Differences of Living Things"; "From a Sheep to a Ball of Wool"; and "Food from…

Reasons for not using generative learning or inquiry-oriented strategies in teaching include the fact that it takes too much time to develop appropriate materials and the instructional pace is too slow. This research studies the thinking of elementary teachers concerning a generative learning model of instruction as they developed unit plans for…

Argues that science should be taught in a conceptual manner in elementary and middle school, after which (and only after) formulas, concrete strategies, and specific, isolated facts should be taught. Discusses linear versus conceptual learning, how boys and girls learn, how middle school teachers can approach this, preparing new science teachers,…

Describes distance education in an elementary science methods course using newsgroups and electronic mail discussion groups via computer. Compares the newsgroup to the discussion group and points out the importance of interaction in cooperative learning. (YDS)

Examined how elementary school students remember what they learn and how they learn in science and social studies. Found that students used long-term working memory for sorting, interpreting, and integrating representations of classroom experiences as they acquired knowledge and skills. Recollection 12 months later replaced details with inferences…

Details a collaborative reform effort between a school district and a university that includes an elementary teacher preparation program with an emphasis on science, mathematics, and technology. Contains 48 references. (DDR)

Presents an activity of students hunting for dirt in the classroom to launch a study of the environment and to provide children with an exercise in which they learn and use the skills of collecting, labeling, organizing, observational drawing, classifying, hypothesizing, and summarizing. (PR)

Students explore the workings of the lever, wheel and axle, and the inclined plane as they build simple toys--a bulldozer and a road grader. The project takes four weeks. Diagrams and procedures are included. (PR)

Describes the EQUALS Family Science Program, a national program designed to promote equity in mathematics, science, and technology, in which the goal is to make children and parents more scientifically literate by doing science investigations together. Presents activities that teachers can use to promote scientific literacy and cultural diversity.…

Examined ways three fifth-grade teachers facilitated student notebook writing as part of an inquiry of electric circuits. Found that teachers promoted notebook writing through explicit instructions and prompts. Teachers provided frequent opportunities for writing, and checked that students had documented procedural aspects of investigations.…

Presents a poetry across-the-curriculum activity designed to help primary school students build word-recognition skills and an appreciation for the natural world. Students read a poem about polliwogs aloud, discuss the sounds, examine spelling patterns, and investigate scientific details about polliwogs. The poem, "Polliwogs" is included. (SM)

Examined four urban elementary student teachers' use of sense-making in analyzing one teacher's work within a specific instructional ecology. Student teachers viewed a videotape of an elementary science lesson. Data from lesson plans, viewing notes, and interviews highlighted what their sense-making included, how they described an instructional…

In this article, fifth graders investigate biographies to expand their knowledge of what real scientists do. The goal of this activity is to find a way to show students that all kinds of people participate in the scientific enterprise. After finding picture-book biographies, the author's next job was to ensure that students saw more than a good…