By thinking about the concept of density and taking into account the research on children's ideas about this concept, the authors were able to unpack the typical sink or float activity and realize that it has students unscientifically making comparisons between objects by changing two independent variables (mass and volume) at one time. With this…

It is common practice for elementary classes to plant seeds so that students have the opportunity to observe them germinate and grow. Beyond introducing plant anatomy, this relatively simple activity has the potential to engage children as young plant scientists who investigate the basic needs and behaviors of plants. In this article, the authors…

Richard Louv's "Last Child in the Woods" (2008) added to a growing consensus to get children outside and experiencing nature. Using ideas from place-based education, the authors present a simple year-long project that brings science, nature, and other curriculum standards to life right in your school yard. With a focus on journaling, this project…

It is important to help young children make connections between events in their lives and science concepts in preschool classrooms, so introducing basic meteorology ideas offer a great opportunity to make weather connections and awaken scientific curiosity (Spiropoulou, Kostopoulos, and Jacovides 1999). Therefore, this article presents a science…

This article introduces The RULER Approach ("RULER") to social and emotional learning, with a particular focus on its Feeling Words Curriculum. Through this curriculum, RULER contributes to the ultimate goals of an English language arts education--preparing students to achieve personal, social, and academic goals and to be engaged and contributing…

Using the format of the original "Through Children's Literature" series of titles, the author expands the original series focus by discussing how instruction today and the use of integrated children's literature is "Shaped by the Standards." Arranged around the national standards strands in Geography, this title includes an…

The setting: the science classroom. The characters: you and your students. The scene: Your students acting out scientific discoveries, modeling a frog's life cycle, mimicking the transition from liquid to solid. This is "dramatic science", a teaching approach that uses acting techniques to explore and develop young children's ideas about…

Although substantial inquiry has been made into fitness levels of students, there has been scant examination of knowledge in this domain. This article seeks to review and analyze research on student health-related fitness (HRF) knowledge mastery in K-16 programs by examining studies published in the literature. Two major results emerging from the…

Two experts on education offer a rich and diverse selection of children's literature and teaching strategies for the K-8 mathematics classroom. To date, a vast majority of classrooms continue to fall short in the implementation and direction of NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM), in part because most of these classrooms…

We present scaling outcomes for mathematics assessments used in the fall to screen students at risk of failing to learn the knowledge and skills described in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Focal Point Standards. At each grade level, the assessment consisted of a 48-item test with three 16-item sub-test sets aligned to the…

The US National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy recommend that students understand the apparent patterns of motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars by the end of early elementary school, yet no research has specifically examined these concepts from an Earth-based perspective with this age group. This study examines…

Discover discovery bottles! These wide-mouth plastic containers of any size filled with objects of different kinds can be terrific tools for science explorations and a great way to cultivate science minds in a K-2 science classroom. In addition, the author has found them to be a useful, inexpensive, and engaging way to help students develop skills…

The Dearborn Public Schools, with 18,300 students, is located in the Detroit urban area with the largest concentration of Arabic-speaking people in the United States. In order to prepare the students for the 21st century skills and global awareness and in response to parents' requests, the author in collaboration with the school principal and…

Science education reform has long focused on assessing student inquiry, and there has been progress in developing tools specifically with respect to experimentation and argumentation. We suggest the need for attention to another aspect of inquiry, namely "mechanistic reasoning." Scientific inquiry focuses largely on understanding causal…

Family involvement in children's math education is critical to helping kids succeed. "Helping Children Be Successful in Math" explains why--and how. (Contains 5 endnotes.) [Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines. This document was produced by DreamBox Learning, Inc.]