All Resources

Journal Article

Spring Break: A Lesson in Circuits

This case, taught in a problem-based learning format, introduces students to the topics of electricity and circuits within the context of house wiring...

Journal Article

Assessing Student Participation in the Classroom

We know that students should participate constructively in the classroom. In fact, most of us probably agree that a significant portion of a student�...

Journal Article

The Tokaimura Nuclear Accident

The 1999 accident at the Tokaimura nuclear fuel processing plant near Tokyo is the context for a student discussion on nuclear power and the consequen...

Journal Article

Editor's Note (September 2001)

Science and Children’s editor shares thoughts regarding the current issue....

Elementary General Science Policy

Journal Article

Concrete Inquiry: An introduction to materials science

Students walk to school on concrete sidewalks every day. Yet how many of them understand how concrete is made, how it can be strengthened, or the diff...

Journal Article

Learning by Heart: Students use heart rate patterns to identify nervous system imbalances

In this article, students use computer-based sensors to detect beat-to-beat variations in heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV). HRV analy...

Journal Article

Niños Desaparecidos

This case is based on the experience of 50 children who were displaced during Argentina’s “dirty war” of the 1970s, underwent DNA and protein an...

Journal Article

Sonic Hedgehog: A Good Gene Gone Bad?

In this case of a baby born with the genetic condition holoprosencephaly, students explore the “Sonic hedgehog” gene, signal transduction, and the...

Journal Article

Commentary: Together, Learning Science and the Science of Learning

An opinion piece about professional development and what we want to accomplish through professional development....

Journal Article

Idea Bank: Mitosis Flipbook

The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s Idea Bank, the activity shows students that ...

Journal Article

Scope on the Skies: A busy school year for spacecraft

This column focuses on astronomy throughout the year. In this month’s issue learn about the busy year for spacecraft as well....

Journal Article

Dem Bones

In this case, students enter the world of a forensic anthropologist who must determine the sex and age of an individual from a collection of bones. St...

Journal Article

Chuck A. Luck Wagers a Buck

This case study tackles a tricky problem in probability based on the well-known carnival game Chuck-a-Luck, which, at first glance, appears to favor t...

Journal Article

You Make the Diagnosis

Many of our nation’s health concerns affect our students in a personal way. For example, there are over 750,000 new cases of diabetes mellitus every...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: Aqua analysis

The relationship of science to personal health becomes a relevant issue to middle school students. Nutrition plays an important role in physical healt...