Children observe and document seasonal changes as they begin to learn how living organisms respond to their environment.

Do you have resources for early childhood teachers who are struggling to teach earth science or life science concepts? Especially for teachers who understand that young children need to be physically involved with their learning but not simply making a craft project to take home? Teachers who responded to this NSTA members’ email list request suggested:

•Young children really do well with observation techniques. Get them talking and discussing what they see using their senses. Make a chart with the senses and document verbiage they use in short words/phrases about an object/topic. Go outside and explore their environment with hand-lens, let them get their hands dirty. Let them bring items from home that would add to the discussion. Let them draw what they observe (this helps with fine motor coordination). Let them use a BROCK microscope, my first graders loved to take them out to recess. They are VERY durable. Make screens with varying grids to shake [sort] out dirt. ASK them what THEY want to learn about. Open the world of science for them and you’ll have life-long learners in no time! Graph [the number of] objects they bring in or find outside. Get them thinking what else could they use the object for. Have them draw/trace an object say, scissors, then have them draw them as something else. Deb Wilson, Retired Primary Teacher, Executive Director for STOM (Science Teachers of Missouri).

• Being able to use the outdoors as your classroom is a real plus. Humans begin to make sense of their world by using their 5 senses, so take advantage of investigating it, especially the tiny minute organisms. Most children are so ready to go outside…running, playing, etc., but how many children go outside to observe and investigate? I take a bag of science tools outside with me: hand lenses, binoculars, small “collection” jars, rulers, identification books, nature journals, pencils, and my camera. Encourage the children to “take in” the textures – tree bark, leaves, rocks, soil; the sights: get on their knees and look for tiny insects and bits of nature that have interesting color, shapes, texture, smells; look up in the trees and the sky; go on a listening walk and identify natural and man-made sounds; plant a small garden so the children can experience plant life cycles and the interdependence of plants and animals. If you have access to a digital microscope, bring some of the nature inside so your children can look even closer (see attachment). Hope this gives you some more ideas. The experiences that I am talking about can be enjoyed by all children. Asking leading inquiry based questions might result in projects. Gail Laubenthal, Pre-K teacher, Austin, Texas

• Here are some life science learning activities. Some may be considered “arts and crafts” because they are required to draw or assemble, but these are legitimate science (and motor) skills that young students need to learn. Describing and depicting what they observe is an early building block to later inquiry. Specific to elementary life science: camouflage as a selective advantage,  animal behavior and observation and recording skills,  studying pollination and seed dispersal adaptations, parts of the plant with a Plant Party and using Hidden Pictures to search for and name animals and plants that live in various habitats around the world. Sheri Amsel Science Coordinator, Exploring Nature Educational Resource, Wild Science Professional Development, www.exploringnature.org

Children plant seeds to begin learning about life cycles.

Here are my two cents about these resources–a few books that I found especially helpful in teaching about life cycles and flower-fruit-seed formation in plants, and a rich discussion and listing of resources on an NSTA Learning Communities forum.

From Seed to Plant (Rookie Read About Science Series) by Alan Fowler. 2001. Childrens Press.

Nature Close-Ups: Seeds and Seedlings by Elaine Pascoe. 1999. Blackbirch Press.

Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman, illustrated by Phyllis L. Tildes. 2009. Charlesbridge.

Seeds by Ken Robbins. 2005. Atheneum Books.

Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown. 2001. Knopf Books.

Examining rocks up close to see small textural features.

And a couple about earth science concept of rock formation:

Materials, Materials, Materials: Rock by Chris Oxlade. 2002. Heinemann.

Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough by Natalie M. Rosinsky. 2003. Picture Window Books.

See more resources on teaching earth science to young children, at the NSTA Learning Center Elementary Science forum, Earth Science Ideas for Kindergarten 

Rock on! (groan) Peggy

The melting snow piles outside NSTA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, provide daily reminders of the D.C. area’s record 2010 snowfall (locally dubbed Snowmageddon).  Like many teachers in other parts of the country, we’re watching for green shoots and planning for spring. What better way to spend the remaining days of winter than planning how to take science learning outdoors as soon as you can?  Right on time for winter-weary teachers, author and state science supervisor Steve Rich packs outdoor activities and novel teaching strategies into his new NSTA Press book Outdoor Science: A Practical Guide.  In Steve’s book, you’ll find lessons about seeds, birds, and butterflies as well as new ways to incorporate reading and writing into your science lessons.  He emphasizes educational benefits students experience from increased opportunities to connect with nature and explore the natural world. On another level, as 2008-09 NSTA President Page Keeley points out in the foreword, “In an era of standards and accountability, we need to think outside the box for new ways to make learning accessible to students. What better way to do that than to take ‘the box’ outside!” Take a look inside Steve’s engaging book by browsing the sample chapter we’ve posted in the Science Store:  “Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies: Science Lessons for Your Outdoor Classroom.”

It’s summer and maybe some of us are involved in writing/revising the science curriculum for our schools. Rather than just creating a laundry list of topics to be “covered” based on a textbook table of contents, you might be looking for some resources that combine content with inquiry processes, that are a comprehensive set of classroom activities with materials and multimedia components, and that include references to your state’s standards.

I recently came across the materials available through the Office of Science Education at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The main page has many resources and is worth a look, but I was impressed by what I found when I clicked on the Curriculum Supplements link. These are arranged by grade level (high school, middle school, and elementary levels). You can request a print copy for some of them, but the complete resource is available on line for all of them.

These are called “supplements,” but these are more complete that most resources I’ve seen! Each one has a content summary, and the web versions have suggestions for classroom use and links to multimedia activities. The teacher’s guide has background information on the topic, a wealth of classroom resources including a student manual, and all of the materials can be downloaded as PDF files. The student activities link leads to the multimedia and animations that complement the print and web-based materials.

Another neat feature is the alignment of these supplements to the state standards. On the page listing the supplements for each level, there is a link to the “state standards” for each one. I clicked on my state for one of the supplements, and not only were the relevant science standards listed, but also the relevant standards in mathematics, health, and communications!

Some of the topics in the high school supplements include cell biology and cancer, infectious diseases, human genetics, the brain, and cellular/molecular biology. The middle school topics include inquiry, healthy behaviors, the skeletal and muscular systems, the brain, mental illness, and chemicals in the environment. The elementary topic (right now there is only one) is on teeth and oral health.

Many of these individual supplements have been added to SciLinks over the years. They rate highly in the SciLinks rubrics for design and resource integration. It’s great to see all of the NIH resources in one place! Why re-create what you can get here?