All Blog Posts
Blog Post
I see that NSTA has just published the Tool Kit for Teaching Evolution by Judy Elgin Jensen. According to its description,...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Science activities that children initiate motivate teachers to extend and expand the activity. Children learn more details about their area of interes...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I want to use more essay-type questions on my unit assessments, but with 150 students I feel swamped trying to grade all of the papers and provide fee...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Sink? Float? Try it with pumpkins
For an activity to explore buoyancy—what materials and which objects sink or float in water—I gave each child in a small group an object to hold....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Earth materials, features, and processes
Which branch of science seems to attract lifelong learners? You can make a strong case for the life or physical sciences, but my vote would go to the ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Yes, a science teachers' conference IS the place for early childhood teachers
I’m looking forward to the NSTA Regional Conference in Portland, Oregon, in November, a cornucopia of a conference so full of interesting present...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Little children love to ask questions such as Why? How come? But it seems that in school, it’s the teacher who asks most of the questions. This ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Do you have any suggestions for a brand-new science department chairperson? —Derek, Chillicothe, Ohio First of all, congratulations on assuming...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Research in science classrooms
Wow — students doing real research! This adds a different dimension to the “labs” that students do. There is certainly a time and pl...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Observing, Learning about, Appreciating, and (Maybe) Holding Small Animals Such As Insects
In the fall we may begin to see more spiders in our houses and schools. Why is that? Are they moving indoors as the weather cools?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
I’ve been asked to chair a committee to look into using science “kits” for our elementary classes. We’re interested in this, b...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Understanding and using symbols
It was Monday morning and a sharp corner on a large immovable object (left by another group sharing the space used by the preschool…sound familiar?)...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
It’s interesting in this issue to see how teachers can incorporate inquiry learning into topics such as Bernoulli’s Principle, bridge desi...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
As a preschool teacher I try to be aware of how my work might introduce or reinforce misconceptions in my students’ understanding of concepts. In th...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
At our inservice last month, we learned several strategies for writing in science classes. But when I tried one in my classroom, it went over like a...
By MsMentorAdmin