Amphibians, a class of vertebrates consisting of frogs and toads, salamanders, and caecilians, are excellent organisms for middle school science students to study because of their ecological significance. Because they exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide through their skin, amphibians absorb any chemicals or substances present in their immediate…

Through a project funded by the National Science Foundation, Horizon Research has been developing assessment items for students (in the process, compiling item-writing principles from several sources and adding their own). In this article, the authors share what they have learned about writing items that reveal student understanding, including…

One school offers zipTrips as an alternative to actual field trips taken outside of school. ZipTrips are web- and broadcast-delivered electronic field trips that include online videos, lesson plans, and a live, 45-minute interactive program consisting of four core components: an in-studio audience, live interaction with scientists, prerecorded…

If we want our students to become capable practitioners of scientific inquiry, we should not stop at providing opportunities to do inquiry. We need to be intentional about assessing and teaching the competencies necessary for inquiry. However, the ability to conduct scientific inquiry can be difficult to assess. Therefore, the author created The…

Since 2004, middle and high school students have been monitoring the effects of ground-level ozone by collecting data on observable leaf injury on cutleaf coneflower ("Rudbeckia laciniata") and crownbeard ("Verbesina occidentalis") in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This project is part of an ongoing citizen-science effort in which…

Sampling, very generally, is the process of learning about something by selecting and assessing representative parts of that population or object. In the inquiry activity described here, students learned about sampling techniques as they estimated the number of trees greater than 12 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) in a wooded, discrete area…

Take advantage of teen internet savvy and redirect students' online travels toward exploration of our environment through streaming real-time data (RTD). Studies have shown that using RTD adds relevancy to students' learning experiences and engages them in scientific investigations. (Contains 14 online resources and 5 figures.)

For thousands of years, people have used music to transfer information and narrate stories. The musical structure, consisting of words set to melodies in rhythmic patterns, made the content easier to remember. Researchers have investigated the long- and short-term effects of song on memory and found that music aided in the recall of information.…

Many of the skills and talents required to be a successful scientist, such as analysis, experimentation, and creativity, can be developed and reinforced through art. Both science and art challenge students to make observations, experiment with different techniques, and use both traditional and nontraditional methods to express their ideas. The…

This article describes how our common addiction to cell phones was used to launch a discussion about their use, impacts on the environment, and connections to issues of civic concern. By encouraging middle school science students to adopt the perspectives of special-interest groups debating communication tower restrictions designed to protect…

One of the largest challenges of teaching astronomy is bringing the infinite scale of the universe into the four walls of a classroom. However, concepts of astronomy are often the most interesting to students. This article focuses on an alternative method for learning about stars by exploring visible characteristics of the constellation Orion and…

This inquiry-based activity provides a real-world example that connects to students' everyday seafood choices. In fact, many students went home and insisted to their parents that they should only buy "green" seafood choices. It was also an effective activity because students were able to use what they learned about ocean ecosystems and…

This integrative, cross-curricular lab engages middle school biology students in an exercise involving ecology, arthropod biology, and mathematics. Students research the anatomy and behavioral patterns of a species of brine shrimp, compare the anatomy of adult and juvenile brine shrimp, and graph and interpret results. In this article, the authors…

High school chemistry can be intimidating to some students, so it is critical that we engage students in nonthreatening preparatory investigations during middle school. Based on the learning cycle model (Bybee and Landes 1990), this lesson invites students to investigate disposable diapers. As they explore the properties of sodium polyarcylate, a…

To give students a tangible model of an ecosystem and have them experience what could happen if a component of that ecosystem were removed; the authors developed a hands-on, inquiry-based activity that visually demonstrates the concept of a delicately balanced ecosystem through a modification of the popular game Jenga. This activity can be…