JoinAll Book Chapters
Book Chapter
Addressing Science-Religion Interactions by Teaching About Science in the Elementary Grades
Teaching science can be a challenging endeavor, especially for elementary school teachers. In this chapter, we first define science and identify important characteristics that elementary students should learn about science. Second, we outline concept...
Book Chapter
Science and Religion in Middle School and High School Classrooms
This chapter is at the heart of the conflict around teaching evolution—the classrooms of middle and high school teachers. Our overall approach gives science teachers a way to move beyond conflict and toward a classroom honoring both science and stu...
Book Chapter
Science and Religion in Higher Education
This chapter explores how religion surfaces in science teaching and learning in higher education contexts. First, it explores models of college student development in terms of epistemology, noting how college students often begin seeking authority an...
Book Chapter
Lessons About Science and Religion From Informal Science Educators
Teaching evolution can be challenging whether you are a formal or informal educator. This chapter introduces information on visitor learning of evolution in informal education venues—particularly museums—and describes how we prepared volunteers t...
Book Chapter
Talking About Science and Religion Beyond the Classroom
This chapter provides a consolidated and modified list of advice that we find helpful for science-religion outreach. Many of the points are similar to what we already do as science teachers and educators, but with a few caveats. What would it take fo...
Book Chapter
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest general science organization in the world. Among the range of initiatives sponsored by AAAS is the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program. However, in th...
Book Chapter
The Future of Science and Religion in American Schools
While it is not usually the first thing that science educators focus on in our communication with students, colleagues, or community members, the act of teaching is underpinned by a belief in, and hope for, a better future. While we do not necessaril...
Book Chapter
Leave It to Beavers: Should We Relocate the Beaver Dam?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students examine the manner in which beavers change their environment to survive by building dams and lodges. Students engage in an engineering design challenge in which they work together as a beaver family ...
Book Chapter
Swingy Thingy: What Makes a Great Playground?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students explore the way pushes and pulls affect the speed and direction of objects using both playground swings and model swings that they build and test. They experiment with swings on the playground and mo...
Book Chapter
Take a (Farm) Stand: Can Plants Help Us Fight Hunger?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students conduct a series of experiments on bean plants to determine what plants need to live and grow. They also compare and contrast individual bean plants to recognize the variation that can exist in obser...
Book Chapter
Monkey Business: Do We Need Zoos?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students take two virtual visits to a zoo—one by reading a book and the other by conducting online research. Students are asked to use their observational skills to spot the ways that parents and offspring ...
Book Chapter
Soaky, Doaky: What’s the Best Way to Clean Up Spills?
Is Bounty really the “quicker picker upper”? In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students have the opportunity to test advertisers’ claims through laboratory investigations. This lesson focuses on the two main properties of paper towels�...
Book Chapter
Bee-ing There for Bees: Are Bees Disappearing?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-2, students learn about bee anatomy and behavior. They develop and test bee models to demonstrate their understanding of the interrelationships between plants and pollinators. After examining some of the controv...
Book Chapter
Weather or Not? Should We Rebuild in Twisterville?
In this lesson, suggested for grades K-3, students are introduced to tornadoes through a picture book. They make observations using water-filled bottles that function as “Tornadoes in a Bottle” when they create a swirling motion and evaluate the ...
Book Chapter
Eggstreme Sports: Is Football Too Dangerous for Kids?
In this lesson, suggested for grades 3-5, students learn about brain anatomy to reinforce the idea that the brain is an internal structure that has a specific role in the body’s functioning. They then create and test helmets undergoing impact, usin...