Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) hold tremendous interest for students at all grade levels. The breadth of the topic areas teachers can cover in STEM lessons reinforces for students that these fields are interconnected and linked to exciting scientific and technical developments that are key to our future. The March 2014 issue of NSTA’s Book Beat highlights strong STEM lessons that connect with the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards.
Doing Good Science in Middle School, Expanded 2nd Edition: A Practical STEM Guide
Olaf Jorgenson and his coauthors took middle-school science teaching by storm when NSTA Press published the first edition of Doing Good Science in Middle School. Teachers loved the down-to-earth advice and lively lessons in the book and propelled the book to the top of the Science Store bestsellers list. Now the author team has updated and expanded that resource into the just-released Doing Good Science in Middle School, Expanded 2nd Edition: A Practical STEM Guide. This new book offers chapters to help teachers assimilate STEM principles, understand and apply the NGSS and A Framework for K–12 Science Education, and integrate the Common Core literacy and writing standards into science instruction. At the heart of the book are 10 teacher-friendly, ready-to-use STEM activities that connect with NGSS and follow the BSCS 5E model. Lessons highlight key topics in the middle-level curriculum, such as energy transfer (“Keeping Your Cool”), engineering and structural design (“Bridge Buster”), and ecosystems and biological diversity (“Saving the World, One Ecosystem at a Time”). Download the sample chapter “Some Striped Seeds Seem Similar!” for a biology lesson on genetic variation. Students will take on the roles of scientists as they learn about statistics and genetic variation within a species while they focus on discovering statistical patterns that emerge from their data. Check out other exciting NSTA Press STEM books as well: Integrating Engineering and Science in Your Classroom, The Case for STEM Education, and STEM Student Research Handbook.
Special Offer in March 2014

We are offering special savings this month on Science the “Write” Way. This volume gives K–8 teachers a wealth of strategies and lessons focused on writing in science, with articles covering lab reports, science journals, field guides, and interactive science notebooks. Science the “Write” Way is specially priced at $18.17 through March 31, 2014, which is 30% off the regular nonmember price of $25.95. Visit the Science Store to learn more about this book and our newest Spring 2014 books.