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. 

 
The Next Generation Science Standards has been released and is now available for download.  As with any new set of standards, there is always much discussion about the feasibility of implementing them within the classroom – all classrooms.  Opinions and discussion surface on both sides – can we, can’t we; what will it look like?  Have they thought about???
The writing team and support personnel at Achieve thought about these issues and also developed an appendix which answers and addresses many of these topics.  Appendix D of the NGSS has the title of “All Standards, All Students: Making the Next Generation Science Standards Accessible to All Students.”  The supporting information in this section states that “the NGSS are intended to provide a foundation for all students, including those who can and should surpass the NGSS performance expectations. At the same time, the NGSS make it clear that these increased expectations apply to those students who have traditionally struggled to demonstrate mastery even in the previous generation of less cognitively demanding standards.
To supplement this information, seven case studies were developed and posted to the NGSS website with the intent of providing views or lenses into different classrooms. Each of the seven case studies consists of three parts.

• A vignette of science instruction to illustrate learning opportunities through connections to the NGSS and the CCSS for English language arts and mathematics as well as use of effective classroom strategies. The vignette emphasizes what teachers can do to successfully engage students in learning the NGSS.
  • A brief summary of the research literature on effective classroom strategies for the student group highlighted in the case study.
  • Information on context for the student group – demographics, science achievement, and educational policy

The seven case studies have the following topics:

• Case Study 1: Economically Disadvantaged
• Case Study 2: Race and Ethnicity
• Case Study 3: Students with Disabilities
• Case Study 4: English Language Learners
• Case Study 5: Girls
• Case Study 6: Alternative Education
• Case Study 7: Gifted and Talented Students

 
We invite readers to discuss their thoughts and views about this supplemental appendix to the NGSS and their thoughts on how and what the NGSS will look like in their own classrooms!

I am enjoying eating fresh blueberries every day—before that it was mangos. Neither of them grew in my neighborhood but I do have a large enough sliver of sunlight to grow herbs such as mint, rosemary, thyme, fennel and oregano. At the preschool, children are harvesting cucumbers. Sarah Pounders writes about promoting fruits and vegetables as snacks for children, in the National Gardening Association’s KidsGardening online resource. She also shares ideas for planting a fall garden, something I want to try again this fall.
We can reinforce science concepts about the needs of plants every time we talk about plants or garden with children. While volunteering at a community science event at a public library, I talked with children ages 5-12 about the needs of plants as they did a simple activity—planted a lima bean in a cup. Who knew that lima beans would be so popular with this age group!? Many of the children knew at least one or two of the needs of plants—water, sunlight, nutrients, and soil (support)—and some children also added “air,” amended by a few older children to “oxygen.” It isn’t surprising that young elementary school age children don’t think that plants use air, or if they think air is the same substance as oxygen. These are just two of the naive ideas or misconceptions that teachers can address while teaching about the needs of plants. We can also be sure to say that (most) plants get nutrients from the soil and make their own food using sunlight, so children don’t think that plants get their food from soil. The temperature needs of plants to sprout seeds and grow are another need that children often neglect to think about.
The formative assessment probe, “Needs of Seeds” by Page Keeley in the February 2011 NSTA journal, Science and Children, helps students express their understanding of what seeds need to grow into seedlings. With a text level for grade 3, the probe is useful for early childhood teachers to read to prepare ourselves for investigations and discussions about growing plants from seeds. In Keeley’s book for grades K-2, Uncovering Student Ideas in Primary Science, Volume 1: 25 New Formative Assessment Probes for Grades K-2, the Teacher Notes for the probe “Seeds in a Bag” describe activities to further student understanding.
The Science of Spring website is designed to help children learn about seeds and how they grow. It is part of Science NetLinks, developed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It features photographs of seed investigations carried out by children and suggests books for reading.
Children might ignore a garden if they aren’t allowed to contribute to it in some way. By planting seeds and harvesting produce, children are involved with food production and learn about the needs of plants. Because teachers will be responsible for getting volunteers or for doing all the garden maintenance themselves, only plant the size garden you have time to nurture to harvest. Maybe just a lime bean in a pot!

In addition to articles on a featured theme for each issue, NSTA journals have monthly columns that offer suggestions on content and teaching strategies for K-12. If you subscribe to a journal as a member, you have access to all of these!
Science & Children: (Middle school teachers may want to look at the activities, especially for students who may not have had many experiences in science.)

• Teaching Through Trade Books by Christine Royce features two trade books related to science (K-2 and 3-5) and two 5E investigations related to the topic.  The feature concludes with a section showing the connections  between the reading and activities with  A Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and/or Mathematics. This month’s issue has students investigating space travel by designing their own rockets and manipulating variables to determine if the rocket’s performance changes.
• The Early Years by Peggy Ashbrook focuses on our youngest learners (Pre-K to grade 2). In a conversational style, Peggy describes how to foster children’s natural curiosity about the world around them. The article also includes a lesson idea appropriate for these budding scientists. This month’s issue talks about students growing plants and discussing evidence for how plants reproduce.
• Formative Assessment Probes by Page Keeley features a probe from the popular series of books (you can download it) and describes how it can be used. The summer 2013 probe deals with the topic “Is It a Solid?”
• Author Bill Robertson describes Science 101 as a “background booster” with an easy-to-read discussion. This month’s question is “What is the difference between solids and liquids?”
• Methods and Strategies has ideas from many authors for lessons and projects. The article often includes handouts, rubrics, and detailed descriptions for techniques you can adapt to your class or grade level. This month’s issue describes a science ecology club and an environmental education family science night.

Science Scope (Teachers at the upper elementary grades as well as high school teachers may find ideas that can be adapted for other grade levels):

• In the Green Science column, = a variety of authors share ideas for lessons or schoolwide activities to promote environmental science projects and “green” practices in school. This month’s issue discusses nanotechnology.
• Ken Roy’s Scope on Safety should be required reading at science department meetings! (and the topic in Science Scope is different than the one in The Science Teacher—two for the price of one!). This month’s issue discusses various ways to communicate in an emergency.
• Scope on the Skies by Bob Riddle takes a seasonal look at astronomy topics (note to earth science teachers of any age!), such as viewing the planets in the summertime.

The Science Teacher (Teachers at the middle school can find ideas for interested students. Teachers of any age level can enhance their background knowledge of science content, lab practices, and safety):

• Each month, Safer Science by Ken Roy discusses safety issues in the science classroom and laboratory (and it’s usually a different topic than in Science Scope for a double dose of safety information.) This month’s issue discusses the need to have a qualified employee provide technical guidance on implementing the Chemical Hygiene Plan.
• Career of the Month features interviews with scientists, engineers, and other professionals who share their experiences. This column would certainly be appropriate for middle school and upper elementary students to explore the possibilities.
• Health Wise by Michael E. Bratsis has information and activities to help students learn to make healthy choices. For example, the summer issue features sunscreens and skin cancer myths.
• Science 2.0 by Eric Brunnsell and Martin Horejsi is brief look at using webtools to support learning in science. Each month has a different tool or technique. This month’s issue discusses using voice-command options in the science lab and classroom.
• Michael Romano has useful suggestions each month in the New Teacher’s Toolbox. Share this with new teachers at any grade level! The Summer 2013 issue discusses using end-of-year surveys for feedback to help gauge your teaching style.
• The Green Room by Amanda Beckrich has ideas for activities and classroom practices to make teaching and learning more environmentally friendly. This month’s issue discusses classroom activities related to extinction.
• If you need an activity that integrates with a lot of content, the Idea Bank has a new idea every month. This month discusses social processes such as making claims, examining claims, replicating findings, and proposing alternate explanations in science.

If you don’t have time to browse all three journals, use the NSTA blog as a guide. Each month, all three journals are featured in the blog, complete with links to the table of contents and to related SciLinks topic.