I had a hard time figuring out a way to get my second-grade students involved with recycling or something with the 3Rs. So, I was just wondering if you had any suggestions on something better?
— N., Massachusetts

While all three of the Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) are important, I find that we really only concentrate on one: recycle. Reducing our use of resources, which in turn reduces energy consumption and waste, is the ideal first step.

For your young class I recommend starting with awareness. Identify and quantify the waste in your classroom. This integrates math, observation, measuring, and sorting skills. Introduce how to display and present their collected data. Students can research how the different items are produced and how they behave in the environment.

Once the students have a base line of their waste production, brainstorm ways to reduce the amount. This may include communicating the students’ ideas to parents. Ask the class if there is refuse that could be replaced with reusable items such forks, spoons, and water bottles. Identify the items still being discarded that can be recycled and research recycling options.

Continue quantifying how much waste your students produce and track results as they try different strategies to reduce it. Don’t forget to update the display!

Once your students become 3R practitioners, consider introducing them to advocacy. They can create posters, make presentations to other classes, set up an information booth with literature for the other students in the school.

Your 3R program has now become a complete cross-curricular project!

Hope this helps!

Image credit: OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Asking myself about my teaching practice and looking for evidence to answer reflective questions (see Resources) that support my growth as an educator means considering how I collect data when working with children or adults.

Reflective questions from the Thinking Lens^TM guide lead teacher Brian Silveria’s support of, and participation in, his children’s discoveries in their exploration of natural phenomena such as the flow of rain water (Silveria with Curtis 2018.) Members of the NAEYC Early Childhood Science Interest Forum (ECSIF) (Peterson et al 2019) discuss the use of online resources and provide two sets of questions we can use to tell if activities and lesson plans found on the web are of high quality. Use the questions tool to help determine if activities engage children in the practices of science and engineering (NRC 2013), don’t underestimate children’s abilities to learn core science ideas, and provide the necessary time children will need to deeply engage in meaningful scientific questions and engineering problems. And to avoid craft-only, teacher demonstrations, or prescribed steps for children to follow exactly.

Resources

Curtis, Deb, and Margie Carter, Debbie Lebo, Wendy C.M. Cividanes. 2013. Reflecting in Communities of Practice: A Workbook for Early Childhood Educators. Redleaf Press. https://www.redleafpress.org/Reflecting-in-Communities-of-Practice-A-Workbook-for-Early-Childhood-Educators-P2353.aspx

NRC. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards.

Peterson, Sherri, and Cindy Hoisington, Peggy Ashbrook, Beth Dykstra Van Meeteren, Rosemary Geiken, Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa, Sandy Chilton and Joseph B. Robinson. 2019. To Pin or Not to Pin? Choosing, Using, and Sharing High-Quality STEM Resources. Young Children. 74(3): 79-85. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/jul2019/high-quality-stem-resources

Silveria, Brian, with Deb Curtis. 2018. Look, Listen, Learn. Where Does the Rain Go? Considering the Teacher’s Role in Children’s Discoveries. Teaching Young Children. 11(5): 22-23. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/aug2018/considering-teachers-role-childrens-discoveries

A Thinking Lens^TM for Reflection and Inquiry. https://www.uwyo.edu/wind/_files/docs/echo/ec-resources/session-materials-thinking-lens-1.pdf

In middle and high school science labs, biological stains, such as basic fuchsin, crystal violet, and Congo red, are used to enhance properties of microscopic plant and animal cells/tissues. Fortunately, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) note that some of these popular stains may contain suspected carcinogens, toxins, and mutagens.

Potential Hazards and Risks

When assessing safety for chemicals in the lab, always use the AAA approach: Hazard Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Safety Action.

To begin, determine the hazard analysis and resulting risk assessment using a free online document titled “Handbook of Biological Dyes and Stains Synthesis and Industrial Applications.” In addition, the IHC World Life Science Products & Services: ABC of Safety in the Biological Sciences provides a quick health and safety summary of many biological stains in a chart form.

Next, check out the chemical nature of the biological stain being considered. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) mandates that manufacturers and suppliers of biological stains provide Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) share information with laboratory occupants on hazardous chemical products. The following sections are some of the most important to review before using biological stain.

Section 2, Hazard(s) identification includes all hazards regarding the chemical; required label elements.

Section 8, Exposure controls/personal protection lists OSHA’s Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs); Threshold Limit Values (TLVs); appropriate engineering controls; personal protective equipment (PPE).

Section 11, Toxicological information includes routes of exposure; related symptoms, acute and chronic effects; numerical measures of toxicity.

The following biological stains are examples that present specific health and safety concerns.

Basic fuchsin has carcinogenic effects and mutagenic effects (Mutagenic for mammalian somatic cells and for bacteria and/or yeast.) It may cause damage to the following organs: blood, liver, spleen, thyroid.

Crystal violet has evidence of a teratogenic effect (birth defect) and can also effect
the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

Methyl blue leads to the formation of methemoglobin, which can cause cyanosis, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, and headaches.

Eosin Y may be fatal or cause blindness if swallowed. Effects due to ingestion include gastrointestinal disturbance, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, confusion, drowsiness, and unconsciousness.

Lastly, determine if there are any alternative means of staining available that are safer to use. One can post queries on the biology, chemistry, or general science NSTA list serves. If there is insufficient information that would warrant banning a particular biological stain, be sure to take the appropriate safety action. For example, check out the SDS Section 8 relative to personal protective equipment is adhered to when using the stain.

Submit questions regarding safety to Ken Roy at safersci@gmail.com or leave him a comment below. Follow Ken Roy on Twitter: @drroysafersci.

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NSTA Press author Emily Morgan wants young readers of her books to be filled with a sense of wonder about ordinary objects or phenomena—like bees—and to never stop exploring the “whys” of our natural world. 

Two books that every K-5 teacher should add to their classroom collections are Never Stop Wondering and Next Time You See a Bee. 

Jacqui Crocetta’s engaging illustrations bring Morgan’s delightful rhymes to life in Never Stop Wondering, which implores its readers to keep questioning, searching, and trying to figure things out, because, “That is what science is all about.”

Students are introduced to physician and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton; astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison; and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle. Morgan encourages her readers to emulate these great thinkers’ wondering minds by: 

• Studying the world;
• Looking for changes and patterns;
• Trying to predict what comes next;
• Asking why things happen;
• Testing ideas;
• Noticing the structure and function of objects; and
• Calculating scale, proportion, and quantity.

Realizing that all scientific discovery occurred after many fits and starts, recalculations, etc., Morgan reminds her readers that it’s OK to have more questions than answers, to say, “I don’t know.” 

“Celebrate what you learned , try another idea, keep your eyes, ears, and mind opened up,” she says. 

Science as boring, dull, or dry? No way. After reading this book students will understand just how exciting, fun, and inspiring the field of science is! 

At the beginning of Next Time You See a Bee, Morgan includes an important note to parents and teachers: She intends for this book to be read after children have had some experience with these fascinating insects. 

Morgan wants educators and/or families to take children outside on a warm, sunny day and observe bees as they fly from flower to flower; take photos or slow-motion videos; talk with children and share collective wonder, such as: 

• Why is the bee visiting these flowers?
• Is there any kind of pattern to the way it moves?
• What is that yellow stuff sticking to its body? 

The author acknowledges that some children may initially fear bees, but her hope is that when they learn how important bees are to humans and the planet, that they develop an appreciation for all that they do for us. 

The gorgeous, high-resolution photos of bees and other pollinators that accompany Morgan’s storytelling strongly reinforce the sense of wonder she wants to convey. Hard to imagine anyone, child or adult, not wanting to pore over every single detail found in a chose-up shot of a bee completely saturated with yellow pollen while feasting on a sunflower. 

At the end of the book, the bees in each photo are identified, and activities, websites, and references are included to supplement the learning.

Did you know that there are more than 4,000 species of wild bees in North America? Thanks to this book, the next time you and your students see a bee you’ll be chockfull of knowledge. And wonder.

I want to demonstrate different states of matter and need activities for third graders for gases.
— D., Georgia

It’s hard to teach about something we can’t see!
Here are a few ideas:

Perfumes: Open a bottle of cologne in the room. Students can observe evaporation if you pour some on a dark counter.

Solid room air fresheners: This is a scented material in solid form and, over time, you will see the solid disappear as it sublimates.

“Ghost” in a Bottle: (Have theatrical fun with this.) Refrigerate a large, empty pop bottle before class. Bring it to class, open it and place a coin over the opening. In a few moments you will hear the coin rattling as the gas inside the bottle heats and expands.

Crushing a can: (Practice this demo for safety.) Boil a few mL of water in an aluminum can until steam comes out. Grasp the can with tongs and quickly turn it upside down into a pan of ice water. The steam condenses, emptying the can of a lot of gas. Atmospheric pressure outside is now greater than the pressure inside the can, causing it to crush.

Break a ruler using air: place a wooden ruler half way over the edge of a table. Flatten a full sheet of newspaper across the ruler. A forceful karate chop should break the ruler. The large surface area of the newspaper has substantial atmospheric mass pushing down on it, holding the ruler in place.

Hope this helps!

Image credit: Ken Boyd via Pixabay