Severe flooding was prevalent within the authors' region at the beginning of the school year. Many homes and fields were affected by the amount of rain that fell within a short period of time over multiple days. Their students were concerned about the impact this natural phenomena was having on their local community. Natural phenomena can provide…

What if you could challenge your second graders to design an outdoor STEM classroom with a butterfly garden, birdbath, and sundial? With this volume in the "STEM Road Map Curriculum Series," you can! "Investigating Environmental Changes" outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while…

In the fall of 2002, teachers at the author's school were expressing interest in finding new ways to teach science as inquiry--and she was looking for an interesting plant inquiry for second-grade students. That November, She attended a Journey North workshop at the Tennessee Science Teachers Association convention and had an "a-ha"…

Primary students at one Hawaiian elementary school learn science through direct experience, gaining firsthand knowledge from their gardens and fieldwork. The article describes a garden project involving students and parents. The project, which was originally intended to teach students about plants, actually expanded their knowledge in a variety of…