JoinAll Blog Posts
Blog Post
How a Dog’s Paws Support K-5 In-the-Moment Assessment
What special features of plants and animals can inspire solutions to human problems?...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Shoes! Beaks! They’re All About Structure and Function
As we watch students arrive for class, we notice that Alejandra hangs her jacket on a coat hook, while Calder reaches for scissors to make a fringe on his picture. Tessa replaces her rain boots with the sneakers from her cubby, and Nick searches for ...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Exploring Structure and Function in Insects
As an entomologist, one of my greatest challenges is trying to overcome my students’ feelings of fear and disgust regarding insects. Insects often have negative images in society. Walk through any toy store, and you will likely find plastic insects...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Using Toxic Algal Blooms to Teach Structure and Function
Young children often experience a developmental stage in which they question everything. Why aren’t there dinosaurs anymore? Why do cats purr? Why are some potato chips green? They go from simply observing their surroundings to analyzing, experimen...
By Rebecca Brewer
Blog Post
Pumpkins inspire investigations
Although astronomical fall for the northern hemisphere begins when the autumnal equinox occurs on or around September 22, meteorological seasons vary geographically. October may be when your area “really feels like fall.” Does your school or...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Five Reasons Why You Should Attend the NSTA Area Conference in National Harbor
In less than a month, science educators will convene for the NSTA Area Conference on Science Education in National Harbor, Maryland....
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
Ed News: The Case for (Quality) Homework
The Case for (Quality) Homework...
By Cindy Workosky
Blog Post
Incorporating engineering into lifesciences
Fish Ladder, Bonneville Dam, OR What are some good activities and lessons to incorporate engineering into biology/life science? – K., Connecticut...
By Gabe Kraljevic
Blog Post
Reducing the Risk of Liability in the Lab
If a student gets injured while taking part in a laboratory activity, the science teacher and school district have potential liability for their failure to prevent the harm to the student. This blog post describes the duty of care of science teachers...
By Kenneth Roy
Blog Post
Ideas and inspiration from NSTA’s October 2018 K-12 journals
Many NSTA authors share resources related to the lessons and strategies in their articles. These resources include rubrics, graphic organizers, handouts, diagrams, lists of resources, and complete lessons....
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Reading Nature: Evidence-Based Texts Inspire and Bring Context Into the Biology Classroom
Dedicated to “all those who wonder about the world around them,” Matthew Kloser and Sophia Grathwol’s new book Reading Nature: Engaging Biology Students With Evidence From the Living World uses quality research (from sources like the Journal of...
By Carole Hayward
Blog Post
The Vernier Go Direct Sound Sensor: See Sounds in a New Light (Bluetooth)
As much as I loved field trips with my students, I found the bus rides to be excessively stressful. It wasn’t because of the teacher responsibilities or the student behavior, but because of the noise. The volume and diversity of machine noises ...
By Martin Horejsi
Blog Post
Ed News: Betsy DeVos Steers Federal Grant For Innovation To STEM Programs
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By Kate Falk