Marine hermit crabs are a simple and exciting way to introduce landlocked students to the ocean. Tips for keeping the crabs in the classroom, crab anatomy/behavior, and student activities (including a challenge to students to race their crabs) are discussed. (Author/JN)

Reviewed are four computer software packages including "Project Classify: Mammals,""Living Science Textbook--The Frog,""Life Science Help Series," and "Talking Dinosaurs." Discussed are availability, features, strengths, and weaknesses. (CW)

Describes the construction and use of a shell-discovery kit for students to employ in actively investigating the natural world. (WRM)

Describes children's conceptions of the structure and function of the human digestive system based on an investigation carried out with children aged 4-10 (n=45). Finds that children possess biological knowledge as an independent knowledge domain from the age of four. Discusses acquisition of and barriers to scientific concepts related to human…

Discusses the need to change the Montessori botany nomenclature cards to reflect the progress of the field over the past 55 years. Maintains that the materials used should reflect the goals of botany study for children. Provides a sample outline of lessons and nomenclature for the flowering plants. Discusses the need to use available reference…

Studied whether or not viewing different versions of a silent, single concept film would affect the responses of elementary school children to tests related to the film. No significant correlations were found between pretest and posttest scores and 19 independent variables related to the children. (MLH)

This book is written for children ages 5 through 10. Part of a series designed to develop their curiosity, fascinate them and educate them, this volume describes various aspects of life on the tropical island of Nossi Be, off the coast of Madagascar. Topics include houses, daily life, food, and animals and plants. (YP)

This book is written for children ages 5 through 10. Part of a series designed to develop their curiosity, fascinate them and educate them, this volume explores the natural history of animals that live underground. Animals included are porcupine, insects, earthworm, mole, badger, rabbit, prairie dog, and beach animals. (YP)

This book is written for children ages 5 through 10. Part of a series designed to develop their curiosity, fascinate them and educate them, this volume describes the physical characteristics, behavior, and peculiar habits of crocodiles, including how to distinguish them from close relatives such as alligators, cayman, and gharials. (YP)

This continuum is designed to be used as a guide to aid science educators, elementary teachers, administrators, and others in developing elementary school science curricula. It is divided into five major competency areas: (1) processes of science; (2) biological science; (3) physical science; (4) earth and space science; and (5) attitudes (toward…

This publication is designed as a guide for the instructional program in science for grades 4-6. The first part contains performance goals and conceptual schemes. Emphasis is placed on the teaching of science as content and as process. The processes to be included and outlined are: observing, classifying, communicating, measuring, inferring,…

The guide lists seven program objectives and 15 activities guides for meeting the objectives. Included in each activity is an introduction, outdoor activity, classroom activity, and evaluation. Sample activities are: Animals Use Natural Materials to Provide Food and Shelter, Differences in Soil, Decomposition, Man-made or Natural Objects, Food…

This report describes the wide variety of materials developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). These materials extend from kindergarten to college and include specific programs for the broad range of student abilities. The currently available BSCS learning programs are listed and described. These descriptions include a brief…

To evaluate a method of content analysis, and as a step toward the specification of a conceptual domain for primary level science, extant instructional programs were analyzed. This paper reports an analysis of the introductory unit and three biological science units of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). The background of the program…

This curriculum guide describes an activity-oriented marine study program, designed for use with middle school children (grade 5). The content focuses primarily upon the life sciences, with some emphasis on chemistry and geology. Following the development of a rationale for the inclusion of marine sciences in the school curriculum, a middle…