Science

=Science Thoughts=

//Science Portfolio//
Every child should have a checklist of scientific experiences that they carry in their file throughout their school years.

Deficiencies could then be addressed much earlier. Associate each Standard with a corresponding activity that has to be completed. It's not exactly a performance standard, since proficiency does not have to be measured, but it would at least keep the teachers and kids focused. Examples: Submitted by Scott Orshan 5/23/2009 to pedagogy-request@list.nsta.org
 * Hold a bug - look at it with a magnifying glass
 * Measure liquids
 * Weigh stacks of coins
 * Make a light bulb light up with a battery
 * Plant a seed and watch it grow - graph its height over time
 * Mix baking soda and vinegar
 * Milk a cow
 * Look at the moon through a telescope
 * Find the answer to a question in a library (without using computers, except to search the catalog)

//Inquiry//
5/23/2009 pedagogy-request@list.nsta.org Robert Penrose < RPenrose@unitedsd.net > wrote: I think that once again, people associate inquiry with hands-on. Inquiry is minds on. I do many inquiry lessons that do not involve a "lab activity". It is about helping them to think like scientists (the right answer is not always the obvious or expected answer).

5/23/2009 pedagogy-request@list.nsta.org Bethany Atis There is always enough time - it doesn't have to be a full-blown lab, but can instead be a **series of questions you use to engage your students in a discussion**. It is also possible to modify cook-book labs into inquiry labs....and they will take the same amount of time. I don't know what grade level you teach, but I use **Holt Biosources Inquiry Lab books** to help me during times when I don't have time to modify a lab on my own.

5/21/2009 pedagogy-request@list.nsta.org; on behalf of; Joseph Bellina [jbellina@saintmarys.edu] Teachers are not trained to create an inquiry based curriculum. Don't create, just use one that already exists and get PD (which often can get grants for).

Rubrics for Inquiry

 * [|NSTA rubric]for evaluating inquiry activities (need to read).
 * [|Looking at Web pages and evaluating level of inquiry]

Misconceptions (Most recommended by NSTA list serve)

 * //Uncovering Student Ideas in Science// from NSTA.
 * Robert Sweetland [|Web page of Science misconceptions].
 * Research section in //Benchmarks for Science Literacy// (Project 2061/AAAS)
 * //Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research into Children's Ideas by Drivers and Squires and Children's Ideas in Science// by Rosilind Driver.
 * //Seeing the Science in Children Thinking; Case Studies of Student Inquiry in Physical Science// by David Hammer and Emily Van Zee.
 * Quote: I like to think of science as a thoughful form of play. It's fun, you get to play with toys, blow things up, take things apart to see how they work. Show your future teachers some cool demos, excite their curiosity, tell them that if they like kids and can form relationships with them, that they won't have to work a single day for the rest of their lives. They will be playing instead. -- Joseph J. Morin, pedagogy@list.nsta.org, 7/15/2009.

Curriculum

 * [|21st Century Skills and Science Map] (review -- how tie in with all standards?)
 * [|PowerPoint slide show about Science in learning other subjects] (review, possible pieces for staff development)
 * [|EngagingScience.org] - Teaching science to be more engaging - [|games for kids]
 * [|http://www.curriki.org] Curriki is an open-source curriculum wiki, allowing partner organizations and teachers to search, post and collaborate on curriculum. Great free resources for K-3: [].
 * Suggested curriculum for technology - Gary Benenson and James L. Neujahr, Stuff that Works: A Technology Curriculum for the Elementary Grades, Heinemann.
 * National Science Resources Center: [|Rubric for evaluating curriculum].
 * [|Ready, Set, Science]: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms -- online version of this book
 * [|Vocabulary picture cards]
 * [[file:Word Wall Activities.pdf]]Word wall activities from John Baglio, NSTA ListServe (8/26/2009)

Web sites

 * American Chemistry Council [|web site about teaching plastics]
 * [|BBC](British Broadcasting Company)
 * [|CSIRO] is a great Web site from Australia. They have a [|weekly email]and many other resources.
 * [|Dick Heckathorn's list of Physics Web sites]
 * [|Discovery Education] - Science Fair Central
 * [|Earth Sciences by Design] -- includes what the big ideas are in Earth Science, teaching resources, and implementing Understanding by Design.
 * [|Exploratorium]- California museum of Science and Art (many projects to do)
 * [|Exploring Nature] - Information about many animals, plants, projects etc.
 * [|FossWeb]-- activities for K-2 (e.g. match baby animal with parent), 3-6 etc.
 * [|Futurity.org]- site by a number of universities who are bypassing news outlets because many news organizations are no longer reporting science.
 * [|Kids gardening] Web site.
 * [|Learning Science] Tools to teach science.
 * [|NSTA]- National Science Teacher's Association
 * [|NSTA position statement on elementary science.]
 * See Oct 08 issue - [|Investigation Skills].
 * Smithsonian [|National Science Resource Center]
 * [|Teaching Treasures](interactives and other games) from Australia
 * [|TOPScience] -- Science with simple things.
 * [|Understanding Science] -Berkely
 * [|Virtual laboratories] - University of Colorado

Assessment

 * Website for [|Stem assessments]

To Do

 * Other's sites to look through. - From NSTA ListServe