Last fall, "Science and Children" invited kindergarten to grade eight teachers to participate in a study investigating students' ideas about plants and plant growth (Barman et al. 2002). Two hundred twenty-seven individuals from 16 states in the United States, one U.S. Territory, and one Canadian Province responded to this invitation and…

In many developed countries of the world, pupil attitudes to school science decline progressively across the age range of secondary schooling while fewer students are choosing to study science at higher levels and as a career. Responses to these developments have included proposals to reform the curriculum, pedagogy, and the nature of pupil…

This article describes the use of the "glabrous1 (g11)" mutant and constitutively active "(CA)-rop2" transgenic plants of "Arabidopsis thaliana" in teaching genetics laboratory for both high school and undergraduate students. The experiments provide students with F[subscript 1] and F[subscript 2] generations within a semester for genetic and…

This teacher's guide supplies information and hands-on activities to teach about trees from several disciplines. Activities are grouped into six areas that cover botany, social studies, arts and literature (aesthetics), and trees as a resource. Sections include: (1) Tree Identification, which defines trees and leaves and presents activities that…

A curriculum for the jobs of specialty grower, plant propagator, and horticultural worker I and II is provided in this guide. It contains curriculum guidesheets for seven duties: performing administrative functions; preparing soil and growing media; propagating horticultural plants; growing plants; performing maintenance operations; harvesting…

One of a series of activity guides, this publication offers a variety of learning activities and resource materials for elementary school students. The activities and resources include: poems; word puzzles and other puzzles; art and art appreciation activities; language arts activities; bulletin board ideas; self-awareness activities; facts and…

This unit, developed by the Third World Science Project, is designed to add a multicultural element to existing science syllabi (for students aged 11-16) in the United Kingdom. The project seeks to develop an appreciation of the: boundless fascination of the natural world; knowledge, skills, and expertise possessed by men/women everywhere;…

This study quide is intended to provide students with information about the types and functions of plants, along with some individual learning activities. The guide contains sections about: (1) the contributions of plants to life on earth and the benefits they afford to humanity; (2) the processes of photosynthesis and respiration; (3) the flow of…

This book is made up of six reading courses in the sciences, each of which is divided into several exercises. Each exercise has an objective and at least one reading selection. In most of the courses, the first objective is to acquaint the student with names and terms used in the subject being discussed. Exercises following the reading selection…

This instructor's guide contains three units for teaching gardening and root cellaring in Alaska. The units are intended to be used in long-term gardening projects so students can learn fundamental principles and techniques and apply them to a gardening situation. Each unit contains an overview that provides a basic framework for understanding the…

Acid rain is a term for rain, snow, or other precipitation produced from water vapor in the air reacting with emissions from automobiles, factories, power plants, and other oil and coal burning sources. When these chemical compounds, composed of sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, react with water vapor, the result is sulfuric acid and nitric acid.…

Nissequogue River State Park is one of the last large tracts of undeveloped land on Long Island (NY) and is a refuge for organisms displaced by the rapid and extensive growth of suburbia. A reconstructed 120 year old barn and stable house the Outdoor Learning Laboratory which consists of interpretive displays (bird and mammal identification,…

This USMES unit challenges students to grow plants and determine some purpose for their use. The teacher resource book for the Growing Plants unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES "challenges" and of…

Describes laboratory procedures, demonstrations, and classroom activities/materials, including chi-square tests on a microcomputer, an integrated biology game, microscope slides of leaf stomata, culturing soil nematodes, technique for watering locust egg-laying tubes, hazards of biological chemicals (such as benzene, benzidene, calchicine,…

This two-volume resource guide is designed to help K-6 and ESL teachers implement multicultural whole language learning through thematic social studies units. The four chapters in Volume 1 address universal themes: (1) "Climates and Seasons: Watching the Weather"; (2) "Trees and Plants: Our Rich, Green World"; (3) "Animals around the World: Tame,…