Magnifiers and microscopes can reveal small details that children otherwise might not notice. I would love to have a digital microscope in the classroom so children could really see the head of an insect such as a butterfly. No happy face, no smile, no eyes with pupils and eyelashes but many other interesting structures —setae (hair), [...]
Also posted in ConferencesCalling all full time pre-kindergarten through second grade teachers! (Tell your upper elementary colleagues too.) Win an award for your innovative science inquiry program through the National Science Teacher Association that will put some cash in your pocket and pay for your expenses to attend the national NSTA conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conferences are [...]
What is in motion in your classroom, in addition to children? Spinning tops are one of the materials I keep available all year long because they can be an independent or collaborative activity, children’s ability to spin them increases as they grow, and spinning tops is an exploration in physical science. The October 2011 Science [...]
An earthquake (my first ever experienced), the edge of hurricane Irene’s winds, and unending rain (over 10 inches in the last two weeks) brought flooding, downed trees, and rampant fungus growth—is this an auspicious beginning to fall? One nearby county has already had an “excessive precipitation” day (not due to snow, the roads were flooded).
Teaching spatial awareness is part of most early childhood standards, such as the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework (Understands directionality, order, and position of objects, such as up, down, in front, behind.), and it is part of national standards for K-12 curriculum such as the National Research Council’s A Framework for K-12 [...]
For early childhood teachers professional development can range from first aid to interactive reading to integrating science inquiry with literacy and mathematics learning. We hope we never have to use the first aid training but everything else is a boost to our teaching. This summer I got to participate in a training on science inquiry held [...]
My neighbors just drove off, heading towards the first day of kindergarten for their daughter. I love to see the excitement on children’s faces as they go to “the big school” for the first time. Middle school and high school teachers hope to see that kind of excitement in their students too! On the NSTA [...]
At the end of the school year I gave each preschool student’s family (about 58 of them) a note and a self-addressed stamped envelope in the hopes that they would write to me to let me know about any explorations their child experiences over the summer. Any exploration—deconstructing chalk on the driveway, blowing bubbles on [...]
As I was packing up materials and readying the classrooms for summer storage I reflected back over the year and thought about the next. Developing an on-going inquiry (or overlapping inquiries because more than one class uses the space at this school) is foremost in my mind. I want to find some resources to share [...]
Collecting and analyzing data follows observational steps in science inquiry. To get inspired about expanding your students’ science experiences, read about the data collection by first and second grader teams who are National Elementary School Winners for Grades K-2 of the 2010-2011 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge!
