Because honeybees are so crucial to the ecosystems in which they exist, educating younger children on the usefulness and relative harmlessness of honeybees may be key to ensuring their survival among future generations. Described here is a unit that addresses the critical role of the honeybee in pollinating flowers using the 5E learning cycle…

Against a backdrop of advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM curricula, this paper explores the design principles underpinning a three-year longitudinal research project that develops and evaluates interdisciplinary mathematics and science learning sequences involving multiple teachers and student cohorts across the primary school years. The research…

Elementary students should have opportunities to develop scientific models to reason and build understanding about how and why plants depend on relationships within an ecosystem for growth and survival. However, scientific modeling practices are rarely included within elementary science learning environments and disciplinary content is often…

Tree rings can be used not only to look at plant growth, but also to make connections between plant growth and resource availability. In this lesson, students in 2nd-4th grades use role-play to become familiar with basic requirements of trees and how availability of those resources is related to tree ring sizes and tree growth. These concepts can…