What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Investigating Environmental Changes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while…

How is epistemology related to the issue of teaching science and evolution in the schools? Addressing a flashpoint issue in our schools today, this book explores core epistemological differences between proponents of intelligent design and evolutionary scientists, as well as the critical role of epistemological beliefs in learning science.…

With 101 easy and inexpensive activities to do on school grounds, "Schoolyard Science" can help students develop their observation and inquiry skills as well as an appreciation of their outdoor environment. Covering topics such as lower plants, gardens, insects and other invertebrates, energy, and Earth science, Thomas Lord and Holly Travis…

This book is Laurie Thorp's dirt-under-the-fingernails ethnography of four years in an elementary school garden and the ways in which this garden catalyzed cultural transformation and inspired hope, growth, and community. Filled with photographs, sketches, poetry, and journal entries, Thorp's engaging book describes the educational benefits of…

Children are busy observers of natural objects, and have many questions to ask about them. But their inquisitive observation is commonly repressed, instead of being encouraged and guided. In this book the object of the author is to supply the mother and the teacher with the means of introducing the child into one department of natural…

This book of activities is designed to supplement a child's outdoor experiences and to encourage children to take a closer look at nature by creating temporary mini-habitats at home or in school. An introduction explains to students the concept of habitat and the responsibilities of keeping a mini-habitat. The remainder of the book contains…

This book is designed to introduce students to a variety of fascinating desert ecosystems through a series of learning activities including games, graphs, experiments, and crafts. Each section contains an information section along with student activities and worksheets. The section topics are sand, scorpions, and snow; scenic sculpture; desert…

This illustrated book presents the natural world that exists right outside the door through a series of projects, experiments, and activities that are simple enough for young children to do. Activities are divided into six sections: (1) Insects and Worms; (2) Birds; (3) Backyard Animals; (4) Seeds; (5) Plant Magic; and (6) Soil, Air, and Water.…

In this book for students of all ages, the author introduces unusual recipe ideas for the prickly, odd, and pestiferous plants of the American southwestern desert. Students are involved in cooking activities designed to spark interest in ecology, trigger logical thinking, utilize math skills, and build sound environmental concepts. Care was taken…

This book is designed to educate students in grades 4-8 about eight specific aspects of the environment. Activity-oriented experiences for both urban and rural children to gain certain understandings are provided. Concepts addressed include the fact that humans are animals and are living organisms, animals differ from plants in their ability to…

This book is an inquiry- and discovery-based teacher's guide. The interesting and fun activities in this teacher's guide meet the challenge of relating tiny, microscopic organisms to the lives of children. The inquiry-based activities range from designing and making a phytoplankter and collecting phytoplankton to designing an experiment for…

This book is one of four books in the Science-by-Design Series created by TERC and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This series presents directed instruction on how to successfully formulate and carry out product design. Students learn and apply concepts in science and technology to design and build a pair of insulated gloves, a…

This book introduces children to the exciting outdoors and their important relationship to the environment. Through quality hands-on activities, students become aware of their vital connection to the earth and are instilled with a sense of their place in the world. Chapters cover themes that range from life cycles and animal signs to climate and…

This volume of 16 chapters by 15 contributing authors was conceived as a means of drawing together a body of basic information about the Great Lakes that is up to date, based on sound research, and interpreted by experts in the scientific, historical, environmental and political value of the Great Lakes to North America and the world. Chapters…

The activities in this book guide exploration of rocky shores, wetlands, sandy shores, kelp forests, the open sea and deep sea, and introduce students to a variety of topics and different approaches. This material is written by marine educators and was tested with over 70,000 children visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium (California) each year. The…