As the new school year is getting underway, are you looking for some experiences to get students focused on scientific thinking and research skills? How can we show students what scientists actually “do” and how they communicate?
In one of the NSTA’s listservs , the site Natural Inquirer was mentioned and recommended, so I took a look. This is described as a “middle school science education journal” for students and teachers and is published by the USDA Forest Service. The articles are written by scientists who conduct various types of research. These aren’t just summaries or digests – the articles describe the methodology and discuss the results, just like an article in a professional science journal. The difference is that these are written in student-friendly language and include resources for the classroom.
In each issue, the articles can be downloaded as PDF files. Many are also available in Spanish. Each article introduces the scientists and has a glossary, graphs, diagrams, charts, and photographs. What I really like, though, were the reflection questions throughout the article to get students to stop and think as they read. Many articles also have a “factivity” that extends the concept to the classroom as a hands-on investigation or a vocabulary review.
Some of the issues have several articles relating to a theme; others are monographs with one article. You can browse the contents of each issue, but I found the search feature helpful. The “Education Resources” link has ideas for lesson plans, downloadable podcasts, and slide shows. And, best of all, the downloads and other resources are FREE.
Some of the topics include the effects of nonnative earthworms on the environment; the relationship between carbon, photosynthesis, and roots of trees; the relationship between nonnative trout and pacific tree frogs; using harmonic radar to track the flight of beetles; the potential impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide on U.S. forests.
If you’re an elementary or high school teacher, please take a look at this site, too. Even though the journal is designed for the middle school level (ages 11-14), the articles and activities could be useful at other grade levels: for upper elementary students who are interested in science and who could handle the reading level or for high school students with little experience in science thinking and hands-on science or those who struggle with the advanced reading level in traditional textbooks. Or for teachers who want to learn more for themselves! You could also give a copy of the articles that are in Spanish to the Spanish teachers in your school for their students to read “real” materials.
The articles are multidisciplinary, focusing not just on biology and ecology, but also on related topics in the physical and earth sciences. There is an invitation to “login” (which is necessary to purchase hard copies), but I just browsed through the site and downloaded a few articles without registering. Can you tell that I like this site?