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Overcoming socioeconomic hurdles
Do you have any advice for working with students in a low-income school? This is my first year in this school, teaching 9th grade environmental science. Classroom management is not an issue and I have a good rapport with the students, but I haven’t...
By MsMentorAdmin
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I was in a school once where the teachers did a “winter” unit on penguins with activities that included trade books, puzzles, writing activities, and the showing of several popular films. But there was not a lot of science involved, and o...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I would like to curl up in a cave until this sore throat and runny nose goes away. And I would like to know exactly how to prevent the spread of cold viruses—me and every other early childhood teacher! Here are some resources on cold germs: A ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
A classic activity to show that air is matter and takes up space is to tuck a piece of tissue into a small clear jar, up end the jar and lower it into a larger container of water....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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I’m mentoring a new science teacher. I’ve never done this before, so I’m asking teachers, “What’s the best advice your mentor ever gave you?” -Frank, Clarksville, Tennessee...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Invertebrates in the classroom
Children often do not think of invertebrates as animals. If we can train ourselves to talk about insects and other invertebrates not as “bugs” but as “small animals” we’ll help children make that connection....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Playing with magnets and learning about the property of materials
Playing with magnets is a useful science activity in early childhood classrooms because it fosters conversation, exploration of materials, and learning to make predictions....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
It’s one thing to get students to recite definitions for the states of matter. But what do they really understand? For instance, the word “gas” is confusing. My students had to stop and think whether the word was referring to a state of...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Setup day for NSTA staff here in Cincinnati and all is going smoothly. We’re looking forward to thousands of attendees engaging in outstanding professional development and returning to their classrooms full of ideas and energy! Not-to-miss eve...
By Howard Wahlberg
Blog Post
One of the many rich workshops I attended at the NSTA Portland Area Conference was the Family Science Day Session presented by the Foundation for Family Science. The specific goals of Family Science include: To get parents more involved in their chil...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
With the emphasis on literacy since the onset of No Child Left Behind, there seems to be two schools of thought. One emphasizes instruction in reading and math to the point that instruction in science, social studies, and the arts, especially in the ...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
I am a new teacher, and my supervisor asked me to write a letter recommending a student for an award. I don’t think he is qualified. What should I do? Nancy, No City Please...
By MsMentorAdmin
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Visiting the city of Portland, Oregon and the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge invigorated my thinking about taking classes outside....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
At the NSTA conference in Portland
It was exciting to be in the midst of so many people who care about teaching and learning science, and a pleasure to anticipate being on the receiving end of lesson planning. I’m looking forward to using what other educators thought was import...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Collaboration in science teaching
Collaboration is key for many scientific endeavors, and an opportunity for growth for teachers. Here’s how two preschool teachers, both with a science outlook but from opposite coasts, came to present a workshop together. A writer of The ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Diverse reading matter converges around "preconceptions"
My reading matter for the trip to the NSTA Portland conference is How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, Expanded Edition, (National Academy Press, 2000) and a fantasy novel, Dragonsbane by by Barbara Hambly (Del Rey, 1987)....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
WOW, the universe is REALLY big
More than 60 educators crowded into room C124 at the Convention Center this afternoon to ponder the imponderable: the size and scale of the universe?...
By ManagingEditorSC
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Have you ever thought about writing for an NSTA journal?...
By ManagingEditorSC
Blog Post
Overly political, endlessly complicated…and standing-room only, featured speaker Dr. Philip Mote had a receptive audience for his climate change talk. Coauthor (with 100+ participating scientists) of the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate...
By ManagingEditorSC
Blog Post
Need a pick me up after a full day of NSTA conference sessions? Head to Cacao, a chocolate shop with the feel of an asian tea house. A shot of “drinking chocolate”–think a liquid chocolate bar, not a powdered mix—only costs...
By ManagingEditorSC
Blog Post
Portland has a lot to offer, but if you only have time for one thing, make it Powell’s. The largest independent bookstore in the world fills a city block and features used gems tucked among the enormous selection–including a science and ...
By ManagingEditorSC
Blog Post
Check out this digital resource
One of my roles on the SciLinks team is to find resources for a specific topic. Using several search engines, I browse through the lists and select sites for a more intense review and approval process. You as a SciLinks user then have a list of we...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Today I visited the Rainbow Preschool, a half-day preschool with extended care in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of NE Portland....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
A few years ago, one of the speakers at our school’s career day was a graduate who was an environmental scientist. A student asked her what she did all day. The audience expected her to say things such as I do chemical tests. I spend all day on...
By Mary Bigelow
Blog Post
Do you have any suggestions for grantwriting? I’ve just been told that the budget may be very lean next year, and I’d like to try to get additional funding for the science department. —Shug, Stillwater, OK...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
“I have to do a science project.” These words can produce a feeling of dread for students and parents, with visions of Styrofoam planets or tri-folds for science fairs....
By Mary Bigelow
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What do you want in your science lab?
If you could have the science lab of your dreams for preK through 2 students, what would it include?...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Every year my students come to class with the idea that it’s colder in the winter because the earth is farther away from the sun. Where did they get this idea? —Lauren, Aurora, Illinois ...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
Supporting children's observation: what will they remember?
Two particularly inquisitive and bright former preK students (siblings) unexpectedly attended a workshop I gave for early childhood teachers about bringing local butterflies into the classroom for observation. Instead of distracting from the planned ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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I see that NSTA has just published the Tool Kit for Teaching Evolution by Judy Elgin Jensen. According to its description,...
By Mary Bigelow
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Science activities that children initiate motivate teachers to extend and expand the activity. Children learn more details about their area of interest and make connections with other concepts when they work more than once on activities about the sam...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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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 feedback. Any suggestions for making this a good learning process? —Brian, Reading, Pennsylvania ...
By MsMentorAdmin
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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
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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 earth sciences!...
By Mary Bigelow
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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 presentations that each of my time slots is double (sometimes triple) booked with workshops and fieldtrips....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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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 issue provides some suggestions and examples for helping students to apply their curiosity to scienc...
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 a leadership role in your school! This is a wonderful opportunity to share your expertise and to le...
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 place for replication or follow-the-directions activities (for example, to learn how to use various eq...
By Mary Bigelow
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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