Tag Archives: literacy

Exploring natural and human-made materials

By Peggy Ashbrook | Published: December 20, 2012

“I found these two rocks in the sandbox and I think they’re from a volcano.” Children like to share their special found objects and talk about where they came from and what they might be. “I think this is a dead spider or a something else.” They like the way the rock feels, or the [...]

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Connecting science lessons to real life

By Claire Reinburg | Published: February 13, 2012

Rather than rolling your eyes at the common student query, “Why do I need to know this?”, use it to your advantage! Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan wrote in the Washington Post, “if we want more Americans to pursue careers in STEM professions, we have to intervene much earlier than we imagined” to help them see [...]

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Science the “write” way

By Claire Reinburg | Published: November 17, 2011

Why write in science class? As Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, editor of the new NSTA Press book Science the “Write” Way, notes in her Introduction, “there are many reasons to have our students write, but the one that is most powerful for me is simple: Writing helps students learn.” Scientists write their observations and analyses and publish [...]

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Picture-perfect elementary STEM

By Debra Shapiro | Published: November 11, 2011

This morning in New Orleans, as part of the Urban Science Education Leadership (USEL) session, presenters from the Baltimore City Public Schools described their district’s Elementary STEM Teacher Clinic and how it transformed the teachers who participated in it.

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Picture science and reading together

By Claire Reinburg | Published: November 10, 2011

Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry, authors of the popular Picture-Perfect Science Lessons Series, led a lively group of teachers in exploring classroom strategies and lessons that combine science with reading in the elementary grades. The Picture-Perfect Science Preconference Workshop at the New Orleans NSTA Area Conference included activities highlighting reading strategies like making connections, questioning, [...]

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Visual literacy

By Mary Bigelow | Published: August 18, 2011

Our district has a goal for every teacher to reinforce student literacy skills. We’re struggling with this at the secondary level. Most of our students seem to have decent reading levels, and the reading specialists provide extra help for those who need it. So what can we do in science classes to improve student literacy? [...]

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20th century skills for the 22nd century and beyond!

By Martin Horejsi | Published: March 1, 2011

“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.” —Chinese Proverb A team of science educators has developed a new NSTA position statement acknowledging the value of 21st-century skills within the context of science education (available here). The statement advocates for the science education community to support 21st-century skills consistent with best practices across a science [...]

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LOL in science class

By Debra Shapiro | Published: March 19, 2010

Today I needed a laugh. This workshop was the best place to get one–and some good science as well.

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The scoop on science notebooks

By Debra Shapiro | Published: March 18, 2010

I’ve been hearing a lot about science notebooks lately, so I went to the Education Development Center’s Pathway Session on Establishing Science Notebook Habits and Skills. It was interesting to hear each presenter’s unique take on the science notebook and see all of the student examples they displayed.

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Early enthusiasm evident

By Lynn Petrinjak | Published: March 18, 2010

I was talking to a first time attendee on the trolley from the hotel to the convention center this morning. Cecelia Dygdon told me the web site was overwhelming, she found a lot of sessions she wanted to attend, but didn’t immediately realize they were spread out between the convention center and a couple nearby hotels. She was headed to the first time attendee meeting, so I’m sure she’ll get some great advice from the folks there.

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