JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
Updating traditional investigations
As a middle school life science teacher, I wanted students to learn about the living things in the habitats of our own community. One of the investigations we did each year was to “inventory” the bit of lawn in front of the school....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Wondering "Why?" with NSTA Kids
“Why are there so many different kinds of rocks?” “Why can’t you see the wind?” “Why does it rain?” “Why, why, why?” Anyone who has spent any time with little kids knows that their inquisitiveness...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Apply to the New Science Teacher Academy: Don't Miss Your Chance!
The August 26 deadline for applying to the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy is almost here, but there’s still time. To highlight the benefits of being accepted into the program, former Academy Fellows share how the experience has had a positive...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Discovering Science: teaching science and sequencing (seeds, grades K-1)
They put down roots and then sprout shoots! Seeds—they are little packages that bring new plants to life. As children discover the steps in a seed’s development, they will also experience the skill of sequencing. Understanding sequence or the...
By admin
Blog Post
Helping students learn the language of science
Science students at all grade levels often struggle with the vocabulary. It’s as if we’re all SLLs—Science Language Learners. Textbooks and websites are full of specialized words that challenge our students. Some are technical and relat...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
New Leadership in the Nexus of Science and Literacy
NSTA Recommends and the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (OSTB) list bid a fond farewell to Juliana Texley, who has moved on to a new ro...
By Lauren Jonas, NSTA Assistant Executive Director
Blog Post
Our middle school teams are encouraged to make interdisciplinary connections. I have some ideas for integrating physical science topics with language arts and mathematics, but we’re struggling with social studies connections. I was considering ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science of Golf: evolution of the golf ball
Baseballs have their stitching. Soccer balls have their black-and-white pentagons. And golf balls have their dimples! All have the potential to aerodynamically affect the balls’ movement through the air—to the players’ advantage when they know ...
By admin
Blog Post
Discovering Science: teaching science and a sense of history (sun and shadows, grades 4-5)
Do students really know about the importance of the sun and the shadows it casts? They may be fascinated to know that hundreds of years ago the sun was the key to helping people know the time of day. NSTA’s “Discovering Science” lesson ...
By admin
Blog Post
Discovering Science: classifying and categorizing (matter, grades 2-3)
Key critical thinking skills can be easily incorporated into science lessons. And you can keep the “matter” of teaching science exciting, fun, and relevant! NSTA’s “Discovering Science” lesson on matter provides you with a natur...
By admin
Blog Post
The New Science Teacher Academy: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
The August 26 deadline for applying to the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy is fast approaching....
By Cheska Lorena
Blog Post
We are being asked to post “essential questions” in our classrooms this year. I’m not sure of what makes a question “essential” and how this would help students. Would I need a different question each day for my biology ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Discovering Science: teaching science and motivating students (acid rain, grades 4-5)
Think about it. Why would students be motivated to learn about acid rain if they don’t understand what it is and why it is a problem? It’s not difficult to motivate students when you have the right resources and tools to make a science concept au...
By admin
Blog Post
The Next Generation Science Standards has been released and is now available for download. As with any new set of standards, there is always much discussion about the feasibility of implementing them within the classroom – all classrooms.�...
By Christine Royce
Blog Post
Summer eating and learning about the needs of seeds
I am enjoying eating fresh blueberries every day—before that it was mangos. Neither of them grew in my neighborhood but I do have a large enough sliver of sunlight to grow herbs such as mint, rosemary, thyme, fennel and oregano. At the preschool, c...
By Peggy Ashbrook