What is the purpose of an assessment? The featured articles in this issue show assessment as a true part of the instructional process, not an add-on to get a score for a grade. As I read the articles, I was impressed at how the assessments were designed to match the learning goals and the instructional content.
This approach to assessment is described in Assessing for Achievement.* The authors show how formative assessments can be included in each phase of the 5E Instructional Model during a lesson on mixtures and solutions. The authors include samples of student handouts, and their chart showing examples of assessment for each phase of the Model is a wonderful resource for any teacher and any topic. [SciLinks: Mixtures, Solutions] Is It Melting?* (Formative Assessment Probes) has a tool for examining students’ ideas about physical changes in matter (and has an interesting discussion of the difference between melting and dissolving). [SciLinks: Physical Changes, Dissolve]
The first paragraph of Crystal Clear Assessment* should be required reading for educational decision-makers, including the sentence “An effective teacher creates a student-centered learning experience that links essential concepts and skills to students’ current understanding and natural curiosity about the topic.” The authors apply their understandings about students and learning to a 5^th grade chemistry unit, using student-designed experiments as a summative activity (rubrics are included). [SciLinks: Physical Properties of Matter]
During a lesson on simple machines, the students featured in Simply Performance Assessment* used basic, inexpensive materials to demonstrate their understanding and use their creativity. The article includes rubrics, a list of materials provided to the students, cooperative learning roles for each team, and photos of some final projects. If you need more background, this month’s Science 101 column is What is the Physics Behind Simple Machines? [SciLinks: Simple Machines]

Do you have students who love to “perform” in class? The authors of …And Action!* describe a skit their students created to show their understanding of electricity. The skit also showed off their skills in writing and performing as a way of communicating. The article includes rubrics, photographs of students in action, and a discussion of how these skits were learning and assessment opportunities. [SciLinks: Magnets]
As the authors of Seeing the Science note, English language learners have two challenges in the science classroom: learning science and learning English. They describe a rubric they developed to assess ELL students’ written observations and include examples of student work. The article also includes strategies for supporting these students as writers and scientists. The unit focused on plants, but the rubric could be modified for other topics. Speaking of plants, this months Teaching Through Trade Books column, Pondering Plants*, has trade book and lesson suggestions for engaging K-2 and 3-5 students in a study of parts of a plant, observing plant growth, and investigating factors that affect plant growth. [SciLinks: Factors Affecting Plant Growth, How Do Plants Grow?, Parts of a Plant]
Models (designing, developing, and using) are an important features of the NGSS. This month’s Engineering Encounters column describes how to capitalize on elementary students curiosity and enthusiasm for dropping things (in this case, parachutes!] Who wouldn’t enjoy and learn from this type of activity? And this month’s Early Years column, Are They Getting It?* also has an engineering focus in which students experience a variety of materials and then design a container for food items. The article and lesson note that formative assessment can be as basic as watching students at work and interacting with them with open-ended questions.  [SciLinks: Engineering Structures]
The kindergarten class in Scoring a Goal for Learning used a soccer analogy to guide their teamwork toward meeting a learning goal. The lesson included activities for students to reflect, observe, record, and discuss—all of which are opportunities for formative assessment by teachers (and self-assessment by students). The author of The Sun Is a Star? describes his experiences as a college instructor with a group of third-graders and their misconceptions. He offers suggestions for  using these misconceptions and misunderstandings as opportunities to help students “develop their capacity to make sense of scientific ideas.”
* Many of these articles have extensive resources to share, so check out the Connections for this issue (November 2013). Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.

Join the #NSTA13 Charlotte Twitter contest! If you’ll be attending the National Science Teachers Association’s Conference on Science Education in Charlotte, NC, November 7–9, 2013, tweet for a chance to win NSTA Gear or a $50 Gift Certificate to the onsite Science Store at the Charlotte Convention Center. Tweet the answer to the question “What session/exhibit/talk did you like best at NSTA’s conference in Charlotte?” and put #NSTA13 into your tweet. Those who tweet between 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 6, and 2:00 p.m. ET, Friday, November 8, 2013 will be eligible to win. Winners will be selected randomly and must be in the onsite Science Store in the Charlotte Convention Center at 3:30 p.m. ET, Friday, November 8, 2013 to win. Here are the terms and conditions.

I’m a new elementary teacher, and I love seeing how students get excited doing hands–on science activities. But the students can get out of hand and I have a hard time focusing them on the activity. Any advice on channeling their enthusiasm with good classroom management would be great!
—Carolyn, Hartford, Connecticut
Most students of any age enjoy being active mentally and physically. As you noted, the key is to capitalize on the enthusiasm of your students in productive ways.
It’s important that students understand a science activity is as much of a learning event as a worksheet, lecture, technology application, or teacher-led discussion (and probably more so). You want them to enjoy the activity, talk with each other, and get up out of their seats (if appropriate), but students need to understand that doing the activity is purposeful and not “free” time. So before they get started, introduce the purpose of the activity and emphasize what students are expected to produce as a result (e.g., a report, a table or graph, a drawing, a model, a list of questions, a summary, or new ideas to share). For example, you could introduce an activity with “Can you remember a time when your heart was beating really fast? [discuss] Today we’re going to explore how your heart rate changes with physical activity. During the investigation you’ll collect data in your notebooks, and then we’ll compare and discuss our findings.” Remind students of any safety issues.
Before the class period, gather all of the materials and make them accessible for students. I found it helpful to have a numbered tray for each group stocked with necessary supplies and an itemized list to help students inventory and return the materials. Keep additional items handy.
Teachers often assume students know how to work cooperatively, but we know assumptions are not always correct! Demonstrate or model the routines you expect (such as getting materials) and appropriate language for group work. For some classes I had to help students practice the routines. One thing that worked for me was to establish teams of 3-4 students. We changed the teams periodically, but students knew where their workstation was and who was in the group (this saved a lot of time and discussion). Each member of the team had a colored dot on their notebook: red, yellow, blue, and green. For an activity, I would say that the red dots would be the recorders, the yellow dots would be the equipment managers, the blue dots would be the question-askers, and the green dots would supervise the clean-up (substitute whatever roles you would have). For the next activity, I would change the roles, so everyone had a chance at each. The roles were clearly defined and I modeled the expectations of each.
During the activity, walk around, ask students about what they’re doing, and reinforce appropriate behaviors. This is also a good time for formative assessments of students’ skills in lab and safety procedures, measurement, and data recording. Immediately address individual students or groups who are off-task or engaging in unsafe, disruptive, or distracting behaviors. If things really start to get out of hand, stop the activity and refocus the students on the activity.
It’s hard to estimate how long a new activity will take. Give yourself and the students enough time, even if you continue the lesson the next day, to avoid rushing through it. If some groups complete the activity in less time than you thought, have some suggestions for extensions or additional ideas to investigate, rather than letting them use this as unstructured time.
Allow enough time to summarize or debrief on the activity (and clean up) before the end of the class period. This gives students time to settle down, focus on what they did, and transition to the next class.
For more ideas, see the July 2009 issue of Science Scope with the theme of Classroom Management. The articles would be appropriate for upper elementary classes, too.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rongyos/2686415336/lightbox/

The colors of the autumn leaves in my area call out to me for attention and to bring inside in a basket for the kitchen table. Outside I arrange them into patterns pleasing to myself. While making this ephemeral art with natural materials, artists may notice details about the materials that we might otherwise overlook—the veins visible on both sides of the leaf but bulging above the surface on one side and within the surface on the other side.


This leaf structure shows clearly in leaf rubbings and prints.  Leaf collections and drawings provide interesting mathematical and literacy tasks–counting and graphing, learning new vocabulary and writing.
Teachers can model using natural materials for creative purposes. Do you draw in the sandbox, arrange pebbles in shapes, gather sticks and build or hit them together to make a rhythm? Maybe you throw leaves into the air and dance among them as they fall or pretend to be the river and flow as you walk the school grounds.
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who creates works with natural materials and photographs them. It is hard to describe the fascinating beauty of his work. It is further revealed in a movie about his work, Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time (2001), directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer. I watched this movie in parts, each time I had a short break from work on a non-teaching day. It was relaxing to watch someone else work and fascinating to see his choices as he worked with natural materials of wood, ice, stone and water to create a sculpture that often fell apart within a short period of time. The work is often meant to be temporary—it’s part of his plan.
I wonder what young children would think of his work. While I would not plan for the children to watch the 90-minute film, I’d like to see if any would choose to watch for short periods of time if I had it playing during a work/free-play/centers time. Like pictures of interesting architecture hung in the block area to inspire children to take risks and try new build strategies, a book of Andy Goldsworthy photographs taken outside might inspire new uses of natural materials. What can you do with a red maple leaf?
 

I’ve talked with teachers who are concerned about the E in STEM. “I barely have time for science, and now I’m supposed to teach engineering, too? I’ve never studied engineering!”
I think these teachers might feel a little more confident after reading the guest editorial The Next Generation Science Standards and Engineering for Young Learners: Beyond Bridges and Egg Drops. The article has a chart that compare science and engineering practices, and there are a lot of similarities. The fundamental difference seems to be that science asks questions while engineering defines problems. Many of the activities that are common in science classes are actually based on engineering problems.
In an earlier post Early education in engineering and design, Peggy Ashbrook looks at the engineering skills that even our youngest students bring with them. She provides insights, resources, and suggestions for building on these.
Beginning with the October issue, Science and Children has a new column called Engineering Encounters on teaching strategies to support teaching children how to design, explore the ways engineers conduct their work, and include ways in which lessons in engineering can be integrated with science. This month’s column explores some misconceptions students have. In another column, Safety First, Ken Roy reviews some safety precautions that should be considered during STEM activites.
Other featured articles focus on activities and design problems on flying machines, pendulums, weather forecasting, rockets, buoys, building projects, electromagnetic induction, and waterways. [SciLinks: Forecasting the Weather, Magnetic Fields, Engineering Structures, Pendulums, Rivers, Rockets]
Many of these articles have extensive resources to share, so check out the Connections for October 2103. Even if the article does not quite fit with your lesson agenda, there are ideas for handouts, background information sheets, data sheets, rubrics, and other resources.

Last year (my first year teaching) I floated among several classrooms. A few days before the beginning of this year, I learned that I have my own biology lab! I didn’t have much time, so I just put up a few posters. Now I want to make this plain classroom into a learning center for my freshman students. Do you have any tried-and-true ideas?
—JoAnn, Houston, Texas
I assume you have a traditional lab/classroom, with lab tables at one end and student desks/tables in another part of the room. I would definitely post your lab safety rules in the lab section and keep it free from clutter so you and the students can move around without bumping into each other. Establish a place where students can access and return the materials needed for their activities and investigations. Don’t forget to label safety equipment!
In the other part of your room, you can certainly go beyond motivational and scenic posters:

• Designate and label bulletin board or wall space to display student work.
• Use bulletin board space to highlight the topic students are currently studying.
• Work with students to create a word wall to display key vocabulary terms. (Previous blogs have more ideas for bulletin boards and word walls.)
• Create a live animal center with an aquarium or terrarium.
• Grow live plants on the windowsill or under a grow light.
• Begin a class library of books and magazines related to science and nature.
• Designate places where students can access supplies, store notebooks and laptops/tablets, and hand in assignments.
• Display student projects (or photographs of them).
• Set up places in the room for individual work, conferencing, and small group work (if space permits).

Biology teachers often display artifacts related to the topic being studied. You might not have many to start, but you could look in storage rooms and cabinets for hidden treasures. I found a lot of interesting things at flea markets and yard sales, too.
I’ve been in science classrooms that weren’t the learning center you’re looking for. One teacher had just about every square inch covered with memorabilia related to his favorite sports team. If students didn’t like sports or cheered for a different team, this “shrine” was not a welcoming place. Another teacher I worked with collected frogs. Her classroom was full of pictures of frogs, frog figurines, stuffed frogs, and frog mobiles hanging from the ceiling. She was an elementary teacher, so her students were in this environment all day, every day. I found it cluttered and distracting, and I couldn’t imagine cleaning around all of these knickknacks.
However, if students are invited to bring in artifacts to share and see their work on display, it will give them ownership in the learning environment.
 
Photograph: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2137/4558969712_68b6854c16.jpg
 

Welcome back to guest blogger Sarah Erdman! Sarah writes about her first-hand observations of sharing books with a toddler. Learn more about her programs and writing at her Cabinet of Curios blog.

When you search a bookstore database, you can find over 1,000 books that are categorized as “science” for children, ages 0-2 years old. Honestly, I think that number is a little low. Remember, “science” includes animals, plants, your body, the motion of objects, places around the world and more. That means that well-loved classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969) or The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Crockett Johnson (1945) are all supporting your child as they explore the natural world. As caregivers, that gives us incredible freedom to choose books that spark the interest of the babies and toddlers in our care. Resources such as Even More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, K-5 by Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry (2013) can guide us to books that support learning science concepts without developing misconceptions about the natural world. Check out the NSTA Recommends website to find Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12, chosen in cooperation with the Children’s Book Council. Ladybugs by Gail Gibbon (2012) and The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins (2012) are two of the winning titles for 2013. Knowing how many books support science learning gives us one more reason why reading is such a crucial and fun activity to do with your young child!

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Lovely sentiments, but when it comes to reading to a wiggly 1 year old the reality can be very different. A lot of parents that I’ve met are concerned that their toddlers are reluctant readers, or are just at the end of their creativity for how to add reading into their day. Never fear! There are strategies to make reading less stressful. Even with very young children, when it comes to books, it is all about how you pick them, how you read them and how you add them to your day.
This post is intended as a starting point, but if you want more information you can search for “raising a reader” on the Internet. You will find a lot of articles like “How to Raise a Reader” by Common Sense Media, which has a lot of tips for older children and “How to Raise a Reader” by Parents, which breaks down strategies for different age ranges.
When you have a child who isn’t talking yet, it can be hard to know what types of books they want to read. For no reason that I can tell, my son might take his favorite book and chuck it off the side of the chair and unearth one that he usually shuns. This is why I take full advantage of our library. It lets us “try on” some different kinds of books as I get a feel for what he is interested in. Then I can decide what ones we are going to invest in and feel more confident they will hold his interest. Hand-me-downs and garage sales are also a great way to acquire a wide variety without spending a lot.

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I am a HUGE fan of board books. Since he could pinch the pages between his little fingers, my son has loved turning pages. With a board book he can be a helper as we read and he really gets into the story. For babies and toddlers, a nice sturdy book lets them experience the story in their own way (yes, often that means munching on the corners). You don’t have to say “no” or tell them to be “careful” and they can just delight in the sensations. The more independent they can be, and the less they have to hear “no,” the more interesting reading will be as an activity. We are now starting to incorporate more traditional picture books and with some guidance he is making the transition to turning soft pages.
Unfortunately, many publishers feel that as long as the book has colorful pictures and is fairly sturdy it is a good book or toddlers. But that isn’t really the case. When you are looking for a book for your very young child you need to take a look at the word count on each page. Too many words and you won’t get through them, which will be really frustrating for you. Finding ones that have only a sentence or two on each page will be good for easing into reading together. As your child grows you’ll be able to better judge what they can tolerate and increase the complexity of the text.

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The quality of illustrations also ranges from uninspired to really stunning. I actually have no preference between drawings and photographs. My son is equally delighted by his cartoon truck and the color photograph of the dump truck. In my opinion, a mix is good since he will learn to distinguish between “real” and “pretend” and see a range of art and interpretation. My son tends to get overwhelmed if there is a lot happening on each page, so I try to make sure that the pictures are not too busy. You might find that is successful for your child also, or they may delight in a book that has a lot going on. Another factor to consider when you are choosing books is to make sure that YOU can stand it. Remember, if everything works out as you hope you will be reading these books over…and over…and over. If there is a book that really rubs you the wrong way, don’t include it in your library.

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My son love to hear the first couple pages of a book and then go back and hear them again. Sometimes I have to stop myself from hurrying him on to the rest of the book. In my mind he is memorizing the book, but I don’t know if that is true. My evidence for this is that for some of his favorite books he knows when the words on that page are done and it is time to turn to the next one and that is really exciting for me see. As you are reading you don’t have to stick to just the words on the page. You can ask them questions, point out things in the illustrations, encourage them to make the noises or finish off a well-loved sentence. Even for kids who are not yet talking this back and forth and observation is an important skill to learn and books are a great way to introduce them to it! Visit “Reading Rockets” for more strategies.

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One of the key components of this is a phrase popular in teacher education called “wait time.” It is literally the time you wait after you’ve asked a question. With bigger kids, this is the time they need to collect their thoughts and maybe get up the courage to share. For babies and toddlers it is the time that teaches them “here is where you share” and gives them a chance to vocalize. When we read “Moo Baa La La La” (his current favorite book by Sandra Boynton) I always pause before I make the animal noise. Sometimes he jumps in with an “Mmmmmmm” (that’s the way he moos) and other times he just looks at me and smiles. Giving him a chance to talk, and praising and reacting to him when he does, is encouraging him to share and observe and engage in the book. All good and transferable skills!

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As you build up a fantastic library, a key factor is to make sure your baby or toddler has access to it. Since they aren’t reading yet, the real attraction will be the illustrations on the cover and it works best to figure out storage that still lets them see the covers. I have an awesome bookcase that I bought from a preschool that is like a book store display shelf, but you can also use baskets, spice rack shelves (that is a Pinterest suggestion!) or put them right into the toy box. Having books throughout your child’s world will mean that when the mood strikes, there is a book close at hand. We have a bag of them in the car, which make them special since he doesn’t see them all the time. One of his favorite times to read is when he is strapped in to his car seat with few other options! I also have a few water safe books, which can be a fun change during bath time. I do hesitate a little with books around the tub because I don’t want him to think just any book can take a dunking!

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We also put a few books in his crib at night and for naps. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics is very firm on its recommendations that babies should not have toys etc. in their crib and if your child is prone to chewing on books this may not be the best choice for you. For my son, a sturdy board book in the corner of his crib does not get in the way of his sleep and is something he will entertain himself with when he wakes up. I love going in to get him and finding him happily flipping through pages and talking to himself.

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Finally, and this is especially for caregivers who worry their baby or toddler doesn’t “like” books, take a deep breath and let yourself relax. If you have books available, if they see you enjoying them and you incorporate them in low stress ways throughout the day then they will learn to associate books with pleasant and fun times. Your baby may only want a page or two before he moves on to something else, but that is ok. They are learning from you what it means to be a reader and incorporating it into their day. Sampling different type of books, as well as when and how you read together will let you find the right combination for you. For more tips, resources and strategies I highly recommend the website 0f Zero to Three, which is a “national non-profit that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development.”

So – who’s ready for Mole Day? Rather than competing with the commercial hoopla around Halloween, perhaps we science teachers could get a head start on October 23 (10/23) from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. The timing of this event celebrates Avogadro’s number — 6.02 * 10^23
This day is used to celebrate the science of chemistry and its applications. The National Mole Day Foundation’s website has background information, themes, and some suggested activities. The American Chemical Society has embedded Mole Day in its National Chemistry Week activities. The ACS site has many resources for students and teachers of all grade levels. Even if your students are too young to understand Avogadro’s number, they can still enjoy learning about chemistry and the role it plays in their lives. The Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK also has information about Avogadro and the mole. (The Society’s student journal is called The Mole.)
See SciLinks for more information on Avogadro: you’ll get a list of websites related to moles and to the work of this scientist.
I’ve also heard of teachers who reverse the numbers and celebrate their mole day on June 2 (6/02) at 10:23 a.m. This could be a neat end of the year wrap-up! (And who says we can’t celebrate twice?)
 

An aquarium in the classroom may be a science center and the site of a morning separation ritual for some children. In addition to daily feeding and casual observation, children can make scientific drawings and notes. To encourage close observation, provide magnifying glasses and have two kinds of animals in the tank for observation. You might have two kinds of fish, or a fish and a snail. We can ask productive questions which encourage children to observe and think about what they see. As the children talk or point, suggest they draw the details of the animal’s body to show how it moves, how it is the same or different from the other animal, or the evidence that shows the animal is alive.
Learn about fish in the classroom from other teachers:
Read Mrs. Poulin’s blog (“Kindergarten is one of the places I call home”) about how the process of setting up a fish tank, and observing and documenting the completed tank, supported children’s work in thinking, speaking, listening and drawing.
Mrs. Larremore’s “Chalk Talk” blog shares a math unit using the book Fish Eyes by Lois Elhert (1990).
Short posts by teachers on ProTeacher about pet suggestions includes fish.
Parent and fish aquarium veteran Karen Randall writes on the Animal.com FishChannel that “Aquariums in school classrooms are a great way for kids to learn about fish and biology — and they’re fun too!”
Have any readers taken part in the Pets in the Classroom grants?
A National Science Teachers Association’s resource, NSTA Recommends, describes Catherine Sill’s About Fish: A Guide For Children (2002 Peachtree Publishers, Ltd) as “an informative and well-illustrated book for primary children…a beautiful introduction to fish or life cycles…will support an integrated approach to science and language arts in the primary grades.”
Maybe fish aren’t the perfect classroom pet….share your pet suggestions by commenting below. Roly-polies (aka isopods) anyone?