The article What’s behind the biological classification system in use today? goes beyond memorization and the mnemonic devices used to remember the hierarchy (King Philip Came Over From Germany Smiling was my bio teacher’s favorite). The author reviews the rationale for classification and describes the cladistics mechanism used in the classification today. Although there are SciLinks entries with the keyword classification at all three levels (K–4, 5–8, 9–12) there is more background information on the  phylogenetic approach to classification at the 5–8 and 9–12 levels. Start with The History of Life: Looking at the Patterns and Using Trees for Classification.
The activity in How Symbiosis Creates Diversity can help students to understand the behaviors of symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. The SciLinks for symbiosis seem to focus more on parasitism, but Ecological Communities: Networks of Interacting Species is a nice overview.
With a “wintry mix” of precipitation outside my window, I wish that I could join in on a Journey to the Reef. To complement a unit such as this, Scilinks has many resources on Coral Reefs. I especially like the Corals site from NOAA.

Clues to the Past uses the Bald Eagle as an example of a species made a comeback from the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states not long ago. Altough the SciLinks collection Mass Extinctions focuses mainly on dinosaurs, it might be interesting to compare and contrast the reasons for extinction as a follow-up discussion.
Feathering Your Nest shows how younger students used the process of observation, measurement, and communication to study the relationship between bird nests and their habitats. The pictures of bird nests suggested by the authors are interesting, especially since as the article notes, collecting bird nests without a permit may be illegal in your state.
I was blown away by the article Clash of the Titans, and not just by the photograph on the title page. The author shows how two very powerful instructional approaches – the 5E learning model and WebQuests can be integrated, rather than used as separate entities. The lesson described by the author also incorporated “driving” questions, graphic organizers, formative assessments, rubrics. It would be interesting to see additional lessons created in this way. Every time I read this article, I see more applications.
Check out the Connections for each issue. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, this resource has ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, etc.

Response to “What’s Next in Education Reform?”
From the December 2009 issue of NSTA Reports:

Race to the Top, the most recent federal educational improvement initiative, is driven by dismal statistics indicating the United States ranks highest among industrial countries in dropout rates and lowest in math and science scores on international tests such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). In response to these issues, the Obama Administration proposed the following goals…

Read the full article here.
The following letter was written in response to the article linked to above.
With this letter, I wish to comment on the “Educated Opinion” comments by Van Sickle and Finnan (December 2009 issue). I will begin by assuming that they are not expressing self-interest in advocating increases in federal funding for higher federal funding for education institutions  and expanding federal support for teacher unions and associations. This alone might call into question the actual necessity and significance of their argument.
That aside, I really take exception to their recommendations that the Obama administration need promote “hope” for our nation’s school children. Where in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Amendments and all other federal documents does it call for the government to provide “hope”? Are we a nation of sheep that need leader’s to bestow on us the light to see in the darkness, the tools to build our individual future’s, or the all-knowing one to guarantee success? Quite the opposite, I see in their presentation a great loss of hope if we are required to become dependent on some central power controlling our every move in education. This is, after all, what the Bush (W) administration was attempting to do with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. ‘Perform to our standards or be taken over by someone who will.’ According to many educators, this has led to a national morass of teaching to the test and not to the benefit of the students.

I reject both the Bush and the Van Sickle/Finnan approaches and applaud President Obama’s aim to provide leadership that calls for personal responsibility and respect for everyone. In his speeches, he encourages independence, a high work ethic, and respect. “Unless you [students] show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed…. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.” (Remarks of President Obama, September 8, 2009, in Arlington, Virginia). Unlike previous administrations which pushed from behind, the President leads by example and encouragement. Testing and assessments have their place in school life, but if students do not respect themselves, their peers or their teachers, those assessments are bound to reflect failure.
Van Sickle and Finnan appear to regret the loss of “neighborhood schools in which teachers and students share values, language and life experiences.” I am sure they are not calling for a return to segregated schools and the separation of handicapped students. So what are students to do with this change in the educational paradigm? Well, in the 82^nd Airborne, we were taught to “adapt and overcome!” Teaching tolerance and acceptance and understanding is not a bad thing. Sharing values, experiences and even languages can make for a stronger populace and therefore nation. Any biologist worth his or her salt will tell you a diverse ecology is more productive (and more likely to survive) then a mono-culture. I was educated in a segregated school system and the shock I experienced when I joined the Army was palpable. It is possible for a well-educated individual to learn about other values and cultures but, I believe, earlier is better than later.
I agree with Van Sickle and Finnan that “skills, attitudes and aptitudes are nurtured in high-quality educational systems that foster creativity, innovation, conceptual thinking, and problem-solving.” I disagree with their claim that it should be handed down from on high. Constructivism teaches that students build on a framework or scaffold that begins in early education. If respect is not a major part of that early structure, then the foundation is made of sand and easily washed away. No matter how much ‘hope’ they have.
Lastly, I do not agree that increased teacher union or association activity is key to an improved educational system. Local control of the educational system is an integral and historic part of the American system of public education. It has provided the strength of our economic system since its founding. We do not require unions or associations to give teachers ‘heart’ to teach well as Van Sickle and Finnan state. Teaching is as much an avocation as it is a career and those teachers who are in education for the good of the students know what needs to be done to maintain a strong educational system. If respect is not a major part of that instruction, then there is a tremendous loss for students and our nation.
Tom Wieland

My colleague and I are hoping to attend NSTA’s national conference this year, our first. The school has funds to cover some of the costs, but one of the school board members says conferences are just excuses to lounge around and play golf! What can we do to convince him otherwise?
—Brianna, Wilmington, Delaware

Hmm. I’ve been attending educational conferences for more than 25 years, and I have yet to see teachers “lounging around.” Attendees are usually exhausted (in a good way) from participating in sessions from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, browsing the exhibit floor for new ideas and materials, and networking with other educators. That’s after preparing lesson plans for their substitutes before they left home.
Attending the NSTA national and area conferences are wonderful professional development activities. Many of the sessions are hands-on, demonstrating strategies and procedures that can be used in the classroom. The opportunity to hear scientists describe their research in person is extraordinary (I still remember sitting in the front row to hear Carl Sagan). If your school is updating textbooks or reference materials, virtually every publisher is there, along with vendors of lab equipment, supplies, and teaching materials—many with free samples! Making connections with teachers from around the world is a priceless experience.

In my district, teachers who wanted to attend conferences had to submit a mini-proposal, outlining their professional goals for attending, topics they were interested in learning more about, and a strategy for sharing information with the rest of the teachers when they returned. After the conference, we had to submit a report. It was work, but we understood some accountability and documentation was necessary because the district was using grant funds. Perhaps such a proposal from you and your colleague would show the school board you mean business.
Survey other teachers for suggestions on sessions to attend: topics they would like more information about, content students struggle with, and new equipment or materials to investigate and compare. Ask your students what you should know more about (related to science, of course). Add these topics to your proposal. The conference schedule is available ahead of time online, so you and your colleague can decide how to split up the sessions to meet your needs and those of your department.
In your proposal, explain how you will share what you’re learning. During the conference, use tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype, blogs, or e-mail to update the folks at home. Send pictures of yourself at various sessions and events or posing with famous people. Many of the conference presenters upload their handouts and other materials to the NSTA Communities site, so even if you can’t make a session, the materials can be instantly accessible.
Your proposal could also note you are willing to do a presentation to the faculty about what you learned, lead a discussion, or demonstrate a new idea. Let your supervisors know you will prepare a report to the board about your experiences, too. Turn in session evaluations and you will have access to a NSTA “transcript” documenting your participation. Include it with your report (my supervisor was amazed we attended Saturday and Sunday sessions, too).
You can also point out there are no golf courses in center city Philadelphia! I hope to see you there.

Making the connections between science, reading, writing, and media literacy has been a professional interest of mine for many years. So I get really excited when The Science Teacher has literacy as a theme. In addition to these articles, SciLinks has additional resources under the topic Reading and Writing in Science with ideas to help students understand the structure of informational text and understand the content.
Our colleagues at the elementary level are probably familiar with “literature circles.” This month’s Prepared Practitioner column describes how this technique for getting students to read and discuss can be applied at the secondary level (see a similar article in the Literature Circle Roles for Science Vocabulary (TST Summer 2007), Literature Circles for Science (S&C November 2006), and A Literature-Circles Approach to Understanding Science as a Human Endeavor (SS October 2007). Literature circles are not difficult to implement, and many teachers have the structure in place to do so. As the authors describe these versions of Literature Circles at various grade levels, I was reminded of the “jigsaw” cooperative learning strategy, which many secondary teachers already use in labs or other activities.

Another term that’s used in elementary reading is “wide reading,” as described in the article Building Background Knowledge. The authors define the term as “students independently read books, magazines, or other available materials for an extended period of time.” They describe an action research project that looked at the use of wide reading a way of improving students’ content knowledge. A difference between free reading and wide reading is a focus on a specific topic. If you need more materials at different reading levels, you could consider searching SciLinks for informational websites, using the “Save to Favorites” option to create a list of sites for a wide reading list on a topic. If electrophoresis is part of your curriculum, you could start a wide reading list with the SciLinks sites suggested in the article Gel Electrophoresis on a Budget to Dye For.
If your efforts at poetry consisted of the roses-are-red style, take a look at Rocks and Rhymes. The authors describe a process in which students summarize field notes in creative ways. I observed a biology class that did this. The students added a haiku as part of the summary of the lab activity. Using this format caused the students to really think about their observations and analysis, and they couldn’t copy something from a textbook (or a partner). If you want to see what some of these poetry styles look like, go to Poetry for Kids or Types of Poetry. Your students may be familiar with these from their language arts class, so they might think their science teacher is crazy at first. Acrostics or cinquains are good places to start.
Check out the Connections for this issue. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, the authors provide handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, examples of student work, etc.

Is the arrival of gardening catalogs inspiring you to dream about planting with your students, and plan a garden of any size? You know that people of all ages benefit from spending time outdoors and that your children were interested in seeds, perhaps in October if you carved a pumpkin, opened a milkweed pod, or cut vegetables to make “Stone Soup.” But how to be sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew, that the garden will be a success and the children will learn concepts that are part of the National Science Education Standards, or your state’s standards?

Let the National Gardening Association do it for you by following the comprehensive gardening curriculum in their new book, Garden Adventures: Exploring Plants with Young Children, by Sarah Pounders. She urges us to start small so initial enthusiasm is not exhausted before the plants mature. I had the pleasure of reviewing an early draft of sections of the book, and I look forward to using the lessons, beginning with the first: “What is a plant?”. The Plant Parts reproducible page of a pea plant will prepare my students for planting peas in February . To attract butterflies, we’ll plant flowers (for nectar), and dill, parsley, milkweed, and cabbage plants (for caterpillar food) in April, or maybe May, depending on the weather!
Garden Adventures has an easy-to-follow layout with basic lessons expanded in the “Digging Deeper” sections, teacher background information, reproducible, and newsletters to send home. Photos of children gardening will show your students that even young children can be gardeners. The list of children’s books includes old favorites—The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter—and some new to me—Whose Garden Is It? by Mary Ann Hoberman. The National Gardening Association’s Kids Gardening website has additional activities and information.
I’ll pair this book with the book Early Sprouts: Cultivating Healthy Food Choices in Young Children by Karrie Kalich, Dottie Bauer, Deirdre McPartlin, from Red Leaf Press, and have the students do some tasting in spring, in anticipation of harvest in the fall.
Peggy

The word “data” for some people conjures up pages of numbers or a dreadful experience in statistics class. But get rid of the deer-in-the-headlights look and dig into lessons focused on forensics, snow, fruit flies, and Down syndrome. The protocols, rubrics, and examples can help you work with students in this critical inquiry process.
I’ve been trying to learn more bird songs, from CDs and other media. So I was blown away by the idea of learning insect sounds as described in Exploring Sound with Insects. It was fascinating to read how the authors combined the physics of sound with an investigation in biology. I downloaded the software Raven Lite (free!) from Cornell University and spent an entire evening “playing around” with it and with the sound resources listed at the end of the article. The authors describe how to use the software to record and analyze insect songs, but it seems like the software could be used to record and analyze musical sounds or environmental sounds, too. The whole lesson looks fascinating, and if you’re concerned about learning the software, perhaps a few students could become familiar with it and do a demonstration for the class? (For background resources on sound, check out SciLinks with the keywords “sound” and “communication”)

With many of us in the grips of winter weather, perhaps a virtual exploration of Hawaii would be interesting. The lesson described in Predicting the Timing and Location of the Next Hawaiian Volcano shows students how to extract data from maps, diagrams, and tables and how to analyze the data by looking for trends and patterns. For background information for this lesson, check out SciLinks with the keywords “volcano” and “ring of fire” – a great way to integrate concepts in earth science and geography.
As someone who actually enjoys statistics, I was intrigued by the article Is Knowledge Random? Introducing Sampling and Bias Through Outdoor Inquiry. My state includes statistics in the math standards, so this lesson could be a way to show students some practical connections between science and math. I’ll share this with a math colleague.

NSTA members are in conversation in all kinds of places—on these blogs, in NSTA’s Listservs, on our new online communities, and throughout our external social media outposts, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Recent conversations include cold weather experiments (a “hot” topic these past couple of weeks through most of the US), mitosis activities, and stoichiometry labs and activities. Get in on the conversation and make new professional connections while you’re at it!

My colleagues and I would like to try some collaborative projects between elementary and secondary students. Our buildings are not close, so in-person events are impossible during the school day. Do you have any suggestions for projects involving students from different grade levels?
—Cindy, Roswell, Georgia
I’ve always envied school districts with facilities close enough for students to go back and forth. I thought it would be interesting for my middle-school students to work with elementary students and be mentored by high school students. However, I found out face-to-face interactions were difficult to coordinate even in districts with a single campus due to different schedules and the reluctance of some principals to have students leave the building during the day.
In the “old days,” we tried pen-pals or email-pals, sending projects and materials back and forth between schools. Although there was initial interest, the time lag and lack of face-to-face opportunities for feedback led to the gradual demise of these programs.
New web-based tools and Internet accessibility have rekindled interest in inter-school projects. Possibilities for collaborations might include having older students create podcasts or videos, which can be posted on school-friendly sites such as TeacherTube.
Another possibility is computer-based video conferencing. The logistics are fairly simple now: a computer with a camera and microphone (some computers have these built in; if not they are inexpensive to add), Internet access, and software such as Skype (the software is free to download and access between Skype accounts is free; visit www.skype.com). Personally, I’m hooked on video conferencing—communicating with colleagues across the United States and in Australia and “attending” meetings online rather than traveling several hours to a site.

Before you start, brainstorm some possible types of collaborations to make sure a project is worth the time and effort and accomplishes an academic purpose. A once-and-done demonstration event is easy to do, but an ongoing collaboration requires thought and planning. Older students could teach a brief science lesson, answer questions, demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, then watch the younger ones practice or offer advice on science investigations. Younger students could initiate a question and answer session on science topics or high school science courses. Older students get the opportunity to summarize their own learning and work with younger students, who could benefit from these role models. Students at both levels could communicate in other languages. The article “Skype in the Classroom: Technology Brings Students Together” shows an example of an inter-school project.
Some schools may have sites such as Skype blocked or not allow software to be downloaded. It’s interesting that schools are so concerned with the possibility of students accessing inappropriate sites or images that legitimate academic projects are discouraged. Perhaps if you had a rationale for using web conferencing (focused on science learning) and a detailed plan for the event (including proper supervision), a small crack in the firewall could be arranged for your project. Present your case to your information technology director or principal.
Test your connection with a colleague first to iron out any bumps. The first time you try an online conference, there will probably be a lot of oh-wows and giggles, particularly if the students are unfamiliar with the process. Give yourself permission to make a few mistakes or fumbles, too. (It took me a few times until I figured out how to display my image!) Once the initial giggles and fumbles are over, focused events can begin.
After you get hooked up, the possibilities are virtually endless—including a student on extended medical leave in class activities, connecting several classes for an event, interviewing a scientist, inviting interested elementary or middle school students to “sit in” on a high school discussion (or vice versa), holding online parent conferences, engaging in professional development with teachers in other schools, hosting virtual visits by parents or other teachers. To find potential collaborators beyond your own school, use resources such as the NSTA Communities or the NSTA listserves.
Starting in the January 2010 issue of The Science Teacher, “Science 2.0” will discuss tools for sharing and creating content via Web 2.0. If you don’t get a hard copy of this journal in the mail, you can check out the column online.
Resources:
50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom
The Many Roles of Skype in the Classroom
Skype in Schools
Skype in the Classroom
Using Skype in the Classroom

Some children love pandas, some love dogs, but many more love dinosaurs. At times it seems young children feel dinosaurs are “more real”—more interesting, more important, more present in their minds—than modern animals. “More real” might be an exaggeration, but details about dinosaurs are verbalized more often than those about most modern animals. They can tell you that “ a Troodon has three toes and one extra long sharp claw” and “a T.Rex has really big sharp teeth” but have difficulty describing the length or number of teeth or toes of a dog. (Just my perception, and not a result from any kind of survey, or maybe it’s my own prejudice, reflecting my interest in fossils.)
You can use this intense interest in dinosaurs to teach about how animal body shapes help animals survive in their environment. To get children to think about and research how dinosaurs lived, ask the children, “If you were a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be?” Open-ended questions about their dinosaur will encourage them to search and talk about details—“What shape were its feet? I wonder what its ears looked like, or why were its eyes on the sides of its head?”
Use the resources listed in this post and in the January 2010 Early Years column in Science and Children. Teachers and older students can use The Dino Database to learn how to pronounce dinosaur names and how they are grouped. Design activities or assignments that draw attention to details such as type of teeth, shape of feet, and fossil evidence for behavior such as living in herds or nest building. This directs their thinking to how the shape of the dinosaur and fossil evidence gives clues to how they may have lived.
Children reveal their understanding in their imaginative play. Do they have the toy Maiasauras construct nests and care for the babies, and have the carnivorous Coelophysis (also called “Rioarribasaurus”) eat only animals, and when pretending to be Diplodocus on the playground do they run in herds?
While learning about dinosaurs students can learn about the nature of science—how, with further study and new technology, new discoveries are made changing what we know about dinosaurs.
Here are some resources that will be of interest to you and your students.

Books about dinosaurs, nonfiction and fiction

• Dinosaurs, Amazing Dinosaurs: The Fiercest, the Tallest, the Toughest, the Smallest, and Amazing Dinosaurs: More Feathers, More Claws, Big Horns, Wide Jaws! all by Dougal Dixon (1998, 2000, and 2007, Boyds Mills Press). Details are easy to see in the large drawings about the variety in dinosaur bodies.
• First Dinosaur Encyclopedia by DK Publishing (2006, DK Children). With a timeline and fascinating details about specific dinosaurs, this book will help teachers and children alike make sense of the ever-expanding list of known dinosaur species—when and how they lived.
• How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? series by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague (2000, 2009, Blue Sky Press). No one is better than Jane Yolen at imaginative story telling, and children love to see themselves represented as the dinosaurs they imagine themselves to be. See if your class can identify dinosaurs such as the Kentrosaurus or Pachycephalosaurus outside of their usual habitat, and tell you what their bodies were able to do.

Resources about scientific work

• Watch “Uncovering Tawa hallae”, a 5 minute National Science Foundation audio slideshow about the discovery and analysis of the fossil of a Triassic, carnivorous dinosaur. Scroll down and click on “downloads” to print out cool photos of the fossil, the reconstructed skeleton, the Ghost Ranch fossil bed, and the paleontologist team.
• In Science News for Kids (11/19/09), paleontologist Jack Horner tells how fossils representing what were thought to be 3 kinds of dinosaurs were revealed by CAT scans to (probably) be only one kind, but at 3 different stages of growth, juvenile, teenager, and adult.
• When I was growing up, dinosaurs were thought to be slow moving animals that dragged their tails. The books we owned were, Dinosaurs (A Little Golden Book) by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by William de J. Rutherfoord (Golden Press;1959), and a work of fiction, Danny and the Dinosaur (An I Can Read Book, Level 1) by Syd Hoff (1958, HarperCollins). Since then scientists have researched how animals balance and the type of stride that would make the fossilized footprints that have been uncovered—without an accompanying tail print—and determined that dinosaurs probably lifted their tails as they moved.
• Teachers can see lists of works with early illustrations of dinosaurs on these sites to use when searching for illustrations that represent out-dated ideas:
  • Vintage Dinosaur Book Web Page
  • Old Dinosaur Books
• What’s Wrong With This Picture? An Audio Critique: Listen to dinosaur paleontologist Thomas Holtz talk about tail dragging versus raised tails and other revisions on National Geographic. com

Activities to assess children’s knowledge about how dinosaurs related to their habitat

Build a diorama

Construct a
diorama based on research—picture research or text reading. Provide shoeboxes, small, accurate models of dinosaurs, plasticine clay to anchor the dinosaurs and paper to draw pictures of the appropriate habitat including food source. (Hint: trioramas can be made with a single sheet of paper if you do not have easy access to shoeboxes. See www.reallygoodstuff.com/pdfs/144012.pdf and www.mcsdk12.org/curr/WebQuests/Spider/Triorama.htm for directions.)

Write a poem

Write a poem about a physical characteristic of the chosen dinosaur explaining how the body part functioned to help the dinosaur species survive. Your students might be inspired by Jack Prelutsky’s Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast (illustrated by Arnold Lobel). Some language may be above most young children but those who love language will enjoy the challenging words such as “slaughtered”, “nibbled”, “perpetual”, and “morsel.”

Play a game

Play “I’m thinking of a dinosaur body feature that is for…” and have students call out names of dinosaur body features which fit the named category (eating plants, catching animals, keeping warm, running fast, balancing a big head, eating meat, hiding among plants, climbing, or other description that allows for many answers). For example, “I’m thinking of a dinosaur body feature that would help a dinosaur see well to hunt.” Possible correct answers: big eyes, eyes facing forward, good eyesight. Students could be asked to explain their answer and give an example of a dinosaur that shows that body shape.
Have a good time using dinosaurs as the topic for learning about how animal bodies are shaped to perform a particular function,
Peggy

A few years ago, I found some interesting background data for a professional development project I was working on–when elementary teachers were asked to name a specific science area that they would find difficult to teach, more than 60% mentioned physical science. And yet this is an area in which students can have a high interest level: electricity, heat, magnetism, chemical reactions, optics, or sound. If your resolution is to do a better job with physical science content, consider the articles in this December issue. Even if you teach at an upper grade level, these activities can be appropriate for students who do not have a strong background in physical science, especially in electricity and light. I really appreciate that the authors included photos of their students doing the activities and samples of their work.
This issue has links to SciLinks resources on Electricity and Light at the K-4 level. However, you’ll find a larger collection of resources if you go directly to SciLinks and use the keywords electricity and light for grades 5-8. Many of these would also be appropriate for younger students, and they also can give you some background information on the topics. I really like the activities offered by the Exploratorium Museum.
I was really intrigued by the possibilities of Shoe Box Circuits as a way for students to demonstrate their understanding of circuits. I shared this with a middle school teacher who is going to try it with her students, with the suggestions in the article for more advanced topics.
For resources related to this article and others, check out the Connections for this month’s issue, too. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda or grade level, the authors provide ideas for handouts, background information sheets, blank data sheets, rubrics, etc.