When exploring and introducing sound, students need to understand that there are multiple aspects that work together to create sound. In this single class lesson, students work through an inquiry-based challenge to discover how sound can be manipulated and altered through these elements. By investigating how to manipulate sound, students are able…

In this essay from a teacher in Argentina, Valeria Vincent describes how she employed Multiple Literacies in Project-based Learning (MLPBL) (Krajcik, Palincsar, and Miller 2015). ML-PBL, an open education free resource, has three design principles that support teacher and student learning and satisfaction. ML-PBL builds on teacher ingenuity and…

Using cross-grade peer mentoring as an integral component to field trip experiences can help educators realize the learning potential of nature-based experiences. When young students are paired with older students, Socratic peer dialogue deepens interest, investment, and ultimately ownership of new learning. Using peer-supported inquiry…

Many preservice and practicing elementary teachers are familiar with the 5E learning cycle. This cycle provides a relatively simple, alliteratively memorable framework for teaching science in which lessons (or even entire units of instruction) consist of five distinct phases: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration/Extension (hereafter,…

How can an engineer design a bird feeder that attracts many birds? This question resulted from kindergarten students' observations of the bird feeders in their school's bird sanctuary. The challenging question is the heart of project-based learning (PBL), a teaching strategy in which students tackle real-world problems and design projects to solve…

Reading and writing are essential skills that students use as they learn science. For students to attain scientific literacy, they must create meaningful lessons capitalizing on curiosity and natural wonders about the world, through which students speak, read, and write about their science experiences. The inquiry-based lesson described in this…

Inquiry-based active learning in science is helpful to all students but especially to those who have a hearing loss. For many deaf or hard of hearing students, the English language may be their second language, with American Sign Language (ASL) being their primary language. Therefore, many of the accommodations for the deaf are similar to those…

The first thing that comes to mind for many teachers when they think of assessment is testing, quizzes, performance tasks, and other summative forms used for grading purposes. Such assessment practices represent only a fraction of the kinds of assessment that occur on an ongoing basis in an effective science classroom. Formative assessment is a…

"Feeding up" establishes a substantive line of inquiry that compels learners to engage in investigation and inquire. It also forms the basis for the assessments that follow. Once students understand the purpose and begin to work, they receive "feedback" that is timely and scaffolds their understanding. Based on their responses, the teacher gains a…

Having taught K-12 students and preservice teachers for almost 20 years, the author knows the problems that arise when students are asked to generate an investigation of their own design. Therefore, she developed some lessons that significantly increased the diversity and quality of the investigations students generated. This article describes…

Provides a chart comparing state and national objectives. Assesses student understanding of photosynthesis and explains the process of teaching students producer-consumer relationships. (Contains 14 references.) (YDS)

The California State University, Long Beach has received a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services in 1995 to carry out a project called "A Head Start on Science." The project's goals were inspired from a book written by world-renowned biologist Rachel Carson entitled "The Sense of Wonder." Carson promoted…

Describes a workshop to provide parents, their elementary school children, and elementary teachers with a common science learning environment. It included 45 activities/demonstrations with directions and learning notes. The primary goal was to promote inquiry through involvement and interaction with each other, discovery, discussion, and thinking…

Discusses ways in which parents can foster children's curiosity by engaging in activities with them and asking probing questions to help children find answers on their own. Activities described include mixing different substances with water to note changes, identifying trees by leaf shape and bark texture, observing squirrel behavior, and making…

Describes an integrated science unit to help preservice teachers gain confidence in their abilities to learn and teach science. The teachers role played being salmon as they learned about the salmon's life cycle and the difficulties salmon encounter. The unit introduced the use of investigative activities that begin with questions and end with…