Describes how to grow duckweed in the classroom. Includes a classification key, illustrations of the plants, and activities for the care and study of duckweed. (MA)

Presents information about watersheds including water quantity, water quality, floods and floodplains. Lists resources for learning more about watersheds as well as Internet resources. Includes a foldout that can be used to teach children about watersheds and floodplains. (JRH)

Discusses the use of biographies to increase student interest in plant science. Presents the biography of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who empowered women and children to plant and care for millions of trees in Kenya, as an example of teaching with biographies. (JRH)

Presents the Massachusetts Parent Involvement Project (MassPIP) comprising 59 local community coalitions of businesses, service organizations, school personnel, parents, and children. Describes steps coalitions follow in planning events and presents community success stories. The project developed a set of activities that parents can do at home…

Describes action research experiences as the study was conducted and reflection upon the results. Determines whether 1st grade students have similar misconceptions about animals. Investigates whether a constructivist approach focusing on students' prior knowledge could alter the misconceptions. (Author/KHR)

Describes a successful simulation that explores animal camouflage and the fundamental idea that organisms depend on their environment. Uses a story from a basal reader to facilitate student learning; however, other trade books could also be used. (SAH)

Describes activities in which students explore composting. Enables students to learn that all organic material returns naturally to the earth through a process of decomposition that involves many living organisms. (JRH)

Cites research to support the idea that field trips are more successful for students if they receive a process skills orientation as opposed to a cognitive orientation to the field trip experience. Provides details on planning and preparation for a trip to the zoo. (DDR)

Provides a chart comparing state and national objectives. Assesses student understanding of photosynthesis and explains the process of teaching students producer-consumer relationships. (Contains 14 references.) (YDS)

How can teachers make science learning relevant to today's technology savvy students? They can incorporate the Internet and use it as a tool to help solve real-life problems. A group of university professors, a field biologist, and classroom teachers teamed up to create an exciting, interactive Web-based learning environment for students and…

When a commercial pilot steps into the cockpit of an airplane, it has been serviced by a host of personnel and will be supported by many more from takeoff to landing. In more and more places, when an elementary school teacher steps into inquiry-centered science instruction, his or her materials have been carefully prepared by a team of experts,…

ScienceQuests organize the curriculum around an authentic problem or project for students to solve. They focus on developing students' content knowledge, collaborative skills, and dispositions (i.e., attitudes toward science). Each ScienceQuest is built around "big ideas," such as: (1) All living things have basic needs that must be satisfied in…

Florida's accountability program, the result of the Florida Accountability Acts of 1968 and 1976, contains four parts: statewide assessment program, functional literacy testing, compensatory education program, and norm-referred testing, which are discussed in this article. (BB)