Plants provide oxygen, food, shelter, medicine and more for all animals, including humans. In fact, people depend on plants for their very survival just as plants rely on animals! In All About Plant & Animal Interdependency, join aspiring botanists as they discover how plants and animals interrelate. Learn about the constant exchange of gases…

Outlines a teaching strategy designed to promote hands-on, inquiry-type learning. This strategy is based on constructivist principles and reflects much of the current understanding of how children learn science. Contains 31 references. (DDR)

Describes a field trip to study, collect, and analyze galls in the field and classroom. Students hypothesize about factors that cause gall formation, develop a basic understanding of the complex and fragile interactions between plants and insects that result in the formation of plant galls, and determine the broader role of galls within the…

Describes a high school chemistry class that regularly studies a local river to incorporate hands-on environmental studies into chemistry topics. This integration has proven to be a successful technique to make science come alive for students, arouse students' curiosity, and convince students that chemistry is indeed everywhere. (DKM)

Discusses the revamping of high school biology and chemistry curricula with the guiding principles of hands-on science and performance-based assessment. Includes goal identification, program design, and a discussion on measures of success. (DDR)

Presents an activity that focuses on insects and the choices they make in response to sensory input. Involves students and teachers in inquiry-oriented investigations and presents details of preparation, a discussion of the teacher's role, and a materials list. (DDR)

Examined the performance of middle school students with learning disabilities (N=86) or without (N=39) on the Science Appraisal Battery. Questions required either verbal answers or hands-on activities with no time limits. Regular education students outperformed students with learning disabilities on all portions of the test and on both verbal and…

Presents a lesson designed to help students understand the concept of density. Provides students with a concrete experience to help them understand an abstract concept thereby providing another strategy for learning the concept. (JRH)

New, unplanned uses for digital photography in the preschool classroom emerged as a Head Start teacher photographed her class participating in a science curriculum development project called Building Structures Exploration. The photographs enabled children to revisit and extend their investigations, to reflect on their building experiences and…

Introduces a weekend science program for early childhood and elementary school students. Uses kites to teach about lightening as a source of electricity and aerodynamics. Includes directions on how to make a kite. (YDS)

Describes a course developed for undergraduate students that includes an environmental science lecture and laboratory section. Focuses on the laboratory section as the critical component with activities that are real-world related, hands-on, problem solving-based, and use cooperative learning approaches. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/YDS)

Explores the challenge of providing all future citizens with an appropriate quantitative literacy by means of teaching mathematics through useful applications with local and global perspectives. (Author/KHR)

Describes a hands-on activity, Hitting the Mark, which is found in the "Healthy Water, Healthy People Water Quality Educators Guide" in terms of its objectives, materials, background, procedures, activities, and assessment. (KHR)

Discusses the use of Windows on Science, a laser disc-based video program used by elementary schools for science curriculum. Results of a teacher survey (which is appended) indicate that teachers felt the program was ineffective used as the sole curriculum but was a useful supplement to discovery-based, hands-on activities. Teacher training is…

Presents a week-long unit of study that covers the concepts of acid base chemistry and involves students in a context in which that information is relevant. In this activity, students build a model swimming pool and must maintain the chemistry of their pool at safe levels. (DDR)