All Science Scope resources

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Using the IFSMU method to solve mathematical word problems

The author’s experience with middle school learners has taught him that they need structure with the steps in solving mathematical word problems. They need a tool they can rely on if all else fails. As a result, he devised a method called IFSMU, a ...

Journal Article

En “light” ening Geometry for Middle School Students

Many science topics can naturally be integrated with a variety of mathematical concepts, including the study of light and optics. In the hands-on activities described here, students explore the properties of light energy while building their understa...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Mean, median, mode, and range

A hands-on approach to mean, median, mode, and range turned a simple lab into a two-day opportunity for cooperation among lab-group members and among lab groups. The concepts of accuracy and precision were introduced and distinguished from each other...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Piñatas, episodic events, and real-life applications

Teaching students to gather and analyze data can be challenging. In particular, many students find the concepts of mean, mode, median, and range to be confusing, even though these concepts are typically introduced to students in second grade, and cov...

Journal Article

Editor’s Roundtable: Science, the ultimate math word problem

Science is a proving ground for skills learned in math classes, and for most students, it is often the first place where they have had to repeatedly use math to answer questions and solve problems. A lack of math skills can have a negative impact on ...

Journal Article

Making and Measuring a Model of a Salt Marsh

Students are often confused by the difference between the terms accuracy and precision. In the following activities, students explore the definitions of accuracy and precision while learning about salt march ecology and the methods used by scientists...

Journal Article

Tried and True: The blue bottle demonstration

The abilities to propose experiments, make observations, and use data to justify conclusions are critical to the scientific process (NRC 1996; NRC 2000). The Blue Bottle Demonstration provides an excellent platform for introducing these skills. The d...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: Sinking and floating—Bringing math to the surface

The concept of density underlies the explanation for a variety of natural phenomena such as weather patterns and plate tectonics. However, we often find that although students can identify the formula d = m/v, they are not able to apply it to other c...

Journal Article

Science Sampler: My glass of water has “circulating streams” in it!

The use of science stations in the classroom is a good way to integrate investigative skills and the teaching of science content. The author uses two different types of science stations within the 5E learning cycle (Bybee et al., 1989) to teach the t...