Do students really know about the importance of the sun and the shadows it casts? They may be fascinated to know that hundreds of years ago the sun was the key to helping people know the time of day. NSTA’s “Discovering Science” lesson on the sun and shadows lets students explore how shadows can be used to tell time.

Use the lesson as a springboard to discovering the history of sundials. When and where were sundials first used? How were they made? How important were they in the lives of people? Let students create timelines showing the history of sundials. Engage students in using historical maps to trace the path of the sundial’s presence in the ancient world.

As students gain an understanding of the history of sundials, they will see the importance these early timepieces played in the cultures of our world and appreciate the advances made in science and technology. According to the Next Generation Science Standards, “With the addition of historical examples, the nature of scientific explanations assumes a human face and is recognized as an ever-changing enterprise.”

Read more about the history of sundials.

Lesson Plan

Please take a look at the sun lesson plan for Grades 4-5. Let us know how it worked in your classroom—we’d love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Image of students casting shadows courtesy of Brian Sahagun.

Key critical thinking skills can be easily incorporated into science lessons.

And you can keep the “matter” of teaching science exciting, fun, and relevant!

NSTA’s “Discovering Science” lesson on matter provides you with a natural segue into strengthening students’ classifying and categorizing skills.

Those critical thinking skills help students see patterns and organize their thinking. They also build competency in literacy and problem-solving. Let students work together to classify matter as solids, liquids, and gases and see patterns in information. The Next Generation Science Standards Science Standards, (2-PS1-1) emphasize the importance of classifying, “Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.” Reinforce skills by giving students opportunities to arrange or sort: shapes, words, numbers, words, or animals. Being actively involved in these processes gives students the foundation on which to develop higher order thinking skills. Read more about classifying and categorizing.

Lesson Plan

Please take a look at the matter lesson plan for grades 2-3 students. Let us know how it worked in your classroom—we’d love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Image of girl watching raisins dance in club soda courtesy of Moore Memorial Public Library.

The August 26 deadline for applying to the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy is fast approaching. To highlight the benefits of being accepted into the program, former Academy Fellows share how the experience has had a positive impact on both their own practice and the achievement of their students.
Today’s guest blog post is written by Cheska Lorena, a science teacher at the Brighter Choice Charter Middle School in Albany NY. Lorena was an Academy Fellow during the 2012-2013 school year.
I remember well when (and why) I decided to apply to become a New Science Teacher Academy Fellow. I was a first-year teacher—and the only science teacher—in an inner city, single-gender middle school. My responsibilities included creating curriculum maps for two grade levels and stocking a brand new laboratory. While very supportive, my administrators and colleagues couldn’t provide me with the specific help and advice I needed as a science teacher.
Before I became a New Science Teacher Academy Fellow, I felt isolated and alone in my department. Teachers experience many on-the-job situations that cannot be taught in college, and there were questions that I couldn’t ask my teammates because they didn’t have a science background, such as classroom management in a laboratory setting, or designing effective and true inquiry lessons and labs.  At the Academy, I had instant access to many mentors, ideas, and instructional materials. Unlike other PD workshops and in-service trainings, I was more engaged in my learning. I spent my time reading, researching, discussing, and sharing ideas on topics that really mattered to me with other science educators. My work with the Academy transformed me. I went from feeling overwhelmed and burned out to becoming energized and passionate about my work.
For teachers who may be looking at the program application and questioning how they will be balance the needs of their classroom with participating in the NSTA’s yearlong fellowship, I found that setting an organized schedule really worked for me, especially when working in a school with extended hours. When the Academy and eMentoring for Student Success (eMSS) staff sent emails on webinar events and project due-dates, I would block off time in my phone’s calendar and set automatic reminders and alarms.
Participation in the program had a direct, measurable impact on my students. From my research on designing inquiry lessons and differentiation, I found that my students became more engaged and more involved in our classes. They began to ask deeper questions and ask them more frequently, and were less intimidated by having to find answers on their own. I also became a more flexible instructor, less afraid of veering into other topics when someone asked a question, and more willing to give students more choices in their learning. As a result, our classes transformed from rigid direct instruction to more exciting student-centered instruction.
The single biggest personal impact that the Academy had on my teaching career is the confidence that I gained. I no longer feel overwhelmed or unsure about what I am doing. I have gained a very wide network of supportive mentors and friends who are there to help me any time. I have access to so many genius minds, and their passion and enthusiasm helps fuel my own. In just one year, my teacher evaluations have also shown improved performance. With support and constant practice, I have gone from scores of 2’s in my first year to scores of 4’s (4 being the highest) in my second year. The scores show me that I have grown as a science teacher, and this gives me the confidence I need to continue practicing and honing my craft so I can become that effective science champion teacher I want to be.
I have some advice for science teachers who are considering this program: Don’t hesitate—just jump in! Being selected and accepted as a NSTA New Science Teacher Fellow is an opportunity of a lifetime! It’s the present that keeps on giving long after the program is finished.

We are being asked to post “essential questions” in our classrooms this year. I’m not sure of what makes a question “essential” and how this would help students. Would I need a different question each day for my biology course?
—John, Boston, Massachusetts
My knowledge and experience with essential questions relates to the Understanding by Design framework from McTighe and Wiggins (see the end note). But there are other interpretations, so you should ask your principal what she has in mind. (Perhaps she could model this in a faculty meeting or professional development event?)
Basically, whether you use the term essential questions, big ideas, key understandings, or themes, the purpose is to focus student learning on important concepts that unite and underlie the lessons or chapters in a unit or course. They help students make interdisciplinary connections and see the bigger picture of science beyond the vocabulary and facts. Most models suggest using them at the unit level, rather than for every lesson.
Essential questions, big ideas, or themes provide a context for the topic and address “Why are we learning this?” During each lesson, students revisit the question, connecting new content or experiences with previous learning. For example, an earth science teacher I observed posed the question “How does the surface of the earth change over time?” As students investigated processes such as plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, or asteroid impact, she guided them to reflect on the question and record their connections in their notebooks.
I’ve seen teachers display the questions on the white board, on a bulletin board, in a PowerPoint, or on a flip chart. In some classes, students put them in their science notebooks.  The location should not be as important as how students use them.
Both the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and A Framework for K–12 Science Education describe and focus on a limited number of core ideas and crosscutting concepts—the big ideas of science. As I learned more about the NGSS, I found examples of questions in the “Storyline” narratives on the website. These questions  could be adapted for your units.  For example, these are life science questions for secondary grades:
Performance Expectations by DCI [Disciplinary Core Idea]
From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

• How can one explain the ways cells contribute to the function of living organisms?
• How do organisms live and grow?

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• How does a system of living and non-living things operate to meet the needs of the organisms in an ecosystem?
• How and why do organisms interact with their environment, and what are the effects of these interactions?

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• How do living organisms pass traits from one generation to the next?”
• How are characteristics of one generation passed to the next?
• How can individuals of the same species and even siblings have different characteristics?

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• How do organisms change over time in response to changes in the environment?”
• What evidence shows that different species are related?

Performance Expectations by Topic

Structure, Function, and Information Processing

• How do the structures of organisms contribute to life’s functions?
• How do the structures of organisms enable life’s functions?”

Growth, Development, and Reproduction of Organisms

• How do organisms grow, develop, and reproduce?

Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• How are the characteristics from one generation related to the previous generation?

Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

• How do organisms obtain and use matter and energy?
• How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?

Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

• How do organisms interact with other organisms in the physical environment to obtain matter and energy?
• How do organisms interact with the living and non-living environment to obtain matter and energy?

Natural Selection and Adaptations

• How does genetic variation among organisms in a species affect survival and reproduction?
• How does the environment influence genetic traits in populations over multiple generations?

Natural Selection and Evolution

• How can there be so many similarities among organisms yet so many different plants, animals, and microorganisms?
• How does biodiversity affect humans?

Unfortunately, some principals may think of the questions as something to check off during a walkthrough. I had a principal who noted that while he was in my class, I did not address the essential question. I responded that the 10 minutes he was there did not include the beginning and end of the class, when we did indeed make the connections!
Additional readings:

• Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding (including excerpts from the the new book by McTighe and Wiggins
• Understanding by Design
• What is an essential question?
• Essential questions
• Big Ideas in Earth Science 
• Why Do We Have to Learn This?
• Teaching the Big Ideas of Science

Think about it. Why would students be motivated to learn about acid rain if they don’t understand what it is and why it is a problem? It’s not difficult to motivate students when you have the right resources and tools to make a science concept authentic and relevant.

NSTA’s new “Discovering Science” lessons provide those tools with activities that engage students to solve problems, collaborate, and discover. The acid rain lesson invites students to experiment, observe the effects of acid rain on plants, and then write about it. Additional activities help you expand topics across the curriculum. (For example, let students read and analyze Chris Van Allsburg’s, Just a Dream.) Many students benefit from seeing connections between literature and science. Research indicates that giving student variety and choice in literature improves motivation. Use the list of books provided in each lesson to keep students motivated, engaged and learning.

Lesson Plan

Please take a look at the acid rain lesson plan for Grades 4-5.

Let us know how it worked in your classroom—we’d love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Image of boys sorting flowers courtesy of Carrie R.