This lesson focuses specifically on teaching concepts of speed and its impact on energy, as well as providing a basic introduction to potential and kinetic energy to fourth-grade students. "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") 4-PS3-1 states that students should be able "to use evidence to construct an explanation…

Defining friction and asking what causes it might seem like a trivial question. Friction seems simple enough to understand. Friction is a force between surfaces that pushes against things that are moving or tending to move, and the rougher the surfaces, the greater the friction. Bill Robertson answers this by saying, "Well, not exactly".…

This article describes a lesson taught in a designated English Language Learner (ELL) classroom in an elementary school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, using a sheltered instruction approach. Eighty one percent of the students at this school are from diverse ethnic backgrounds where 25 per cent of them receive ELL services. A variety of languages are…

This article presents the experiences of Miss Felecia McLaughlin, a fourth-grade teacher from the island of Jamaica who used the model proposed by Bass et al. (2009) to assess conceptual understanding of four of the six types of simple machines while encouraging collaboration through the creation of learning teams. Students had an opportunity to…

Ah, springtime, and young people's thoughts turn to... baseball, of course. But this column is not about "how" to throw a curveball, so you'll have to look that up on your own. Here, the focus is on the "why" of the curveball. There are two different things that cause a spinning ball to curve. One is known as the "Bernoulli effect" and the other…

Maria lifts up a book from the table. Dietre eats cereal for breakfast. Akisha winds up a toy robot. Jacob puts batteries in a flashlight. These seemingly dissimilar events demonstrate various ways children experience energy daily. The authors have used these lessons successfully for several years and have been continually impressed with the…

The often observed and misunderstood phenomenon of movement of black and white vanes in toy radiometers under illumination is discussed in a generalized non-mathematical manner. Effects of light pressure, low gas density, friction, heat, and motion are illustrated. (JM)

Describes the energy education program given for elementary school groups at the Museum of Science in Boston. Several energy machines or demonstrations are described and their use in this energy education program is outlined. Also some other suggestions to illustrate the use, storage, and transformation of energy are presented. (MDR)

Presents lessons to stimulate children's interest in science and develop communication skills by having students simulate the locomotion of an ameba, a paramecium, and an Euglena, and the cyclosis in the pondweed Elodea. Students practice communication skills by demonstrating their organism to the remainder of the class. (MDH)

Describes directions for constructing "racing" cars out of simple materials like spools and coffee cans. Discusses procedures for students to build cars, then to test and race them. Stresses that the activity allows for self-discovery of problem solving techniques and opportunities to discuss the scientific concepts related to the activity. (TW)