All Science Scope resources

Journal Article

An Environmental Town Meeting: Balancing Environmental Decisions and Real-Life Issues

In order to help middle school students understand the many aspects that go into making decisions about environmental issues and concerns, as well as identifying the players involved in these decisions, an environmental town meeting activity was deve...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Clearing the air on ventilation

Poor ventilation is often a topic of conversation relative to safety concerns in school science laboratories. Too often, school science laboratories have ventilation systems that are inappropriate and ineffective for removing hazardous chemical vapor...

Journal Article

Issues In-Depth: How “bright” is it to use CFLs? A look at the controversy

Commonly referred to as CFLs, compact fluorescent light bulbs are rapidly replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs for residential use. However, controversy and even comic parody have arisen surrounding CFL use. CFLs contain small amounts of me...

Journal Article

Tech Trek: No need to weather the storm to collect data

At a time when climate change is at the forefront of the media and is a topic of worldwide scientific inquiry, it is critical to engage middle school science students in technology-based activities that integrate climate change into course instructio...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Fueling interest in science—An after-school program model that works

As our society becomes more technologically advanced and jobs require additional related skills, it is important that all girls, not just those interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (commonly referred to as the STEM disciplines), t...

Journal Article

Volunteer Scientist-in-the-Classroom Partnership in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools

In 1897, long before the entertainment industry made Nashville famous with country music and the Grand Ole Opry, the city was known as the “Athens of the South,” with numerous institutions of higher learning. A century later, four of Nashville’...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Environmental Service Learning—The Clean Air Zone Service Learning Project

In September 2006, the Maine Green Schools’ facilitators, consisting of environmental specialists from Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection and Energy Education Program, kicked off the Clean Air Zone Service Learning Project, a campaign...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: School yard geology

“Can we break rocks again today?” This statement is typical of the excitement students show for identifying rock types after they apply their rock identification knowledge to the geology in the school yard. Many school yards, although bulldozed d...

Journal Article

Scope on Safety: Flame Tests—A Burning Safety Issue

Flame-test demonstrations are conducted annually in middle and high school science labs across the country. The purpose of the flame test is to help identify an unknown metal or metalloid ion based on a characteristic color the salt produces in a fla...

Journal Article

Tried and True: Cell organelle employment advertisements

Are you looking for a creative way to teach the functions of cell organelles? If you answered yes, then organelle employment advertisements are just what you need. During this project, students must create an employment ad for a cell organelle and gi...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Sculpt-A-Scientist—Confronting negative stereotypes of scientists

Career choice is a process, not an event. Interest in science is a preliminary step toward and prerequisite for a career in science. Once interest in science is established, training and education can then provide the critical links between labor-for...

Journal Article

Teacher’s Toolkit: Linking proportionality across the science and mathematics curricula through science literacy maps

Proportionality should be a central focus of the middle-grades science and mathematics curricula and concepts such as density can be introduced and taught in both disciplines, highlighting for students the connections between science and mathematics....