Why Does It Take Longer to Boil Potatoes at High Altitudes? This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. This month's issue looks at why water boils at different temperatures at different altitudes.

As plants and seed dispersal are common themes in primary science, the author thought that she would share an enquiry challenge activity that addresses many of the "working scientifically" objectives of the National Curriculum for England. Year 3 and 4 children had a whole afternoon made up firstly of "playing", planning and…

In this article, Helen Spring explains how a 'wow' activity is a great place to start learning outside the classroom. It will enthuse both children and staff. Teachers new to outdoor learning can start with something simple like having students use double-sided sticky tape to collect as many colours as they can from the school grounds. Then look…

In this article, trainee teacher, Lisa Fox, outlines some of her successful activities pulling science and art together while on her teaching practice. The activities were planned for nursery-age children through Grade 6. The purpose was to show that all ages can develop phase-related science knowledge and explore and demonstrate this through art.…

Scientific modeling, the practice of creating models such as "diagrams, analogies, and simulations" (NGSS Lead States 2013) allows students to develop and revise their own representations of the natural world and use them to generate predictions and explanations about scientific phenomenon. Research provides evidence for elementary…

The author believes that science within a primary school is there to enable children to be interested in the world around them and to help them start to understand it, getting them interested in the very basics, and pointing out things around them that they had not considered, so that they can start asking the questions 'why' and 'how' and 'what'…

Turtles are animals vulnerable to extinction. Scientific literacy is the main goal of the science curriculum. Augmented Reality technology is very helpful in the education process of animal conservation. Turtle mobile learning is one of the scientific literacy sources developed on Android smartphones. The study's purpose is to produce and…

Anything messy, noisy, cute or unexpected will usually generate an excited reaction or a 'wow' moment for children when they experience a new or surprising phenomenon in science. not to lose the moment after the wow but to ensure that the enthusiasm and interest of the children is channelled into new learning experiences. This involves careful…

Noise - sound waves with high energy - is a significant element influencing the school climate today. The research took place in two primary schools in Bursa in the 2016-2017 academic year. Pre-service teachers were instructed about the process, who conducted the "Noise Map" activity with 4th-grade students in primary schools. The…

In March 2016, the school that the author teaches at held its annual science day and the theme was "bees." Each class was given a different question relating to bees to investigate. The children in the authors' year 2 class (ages 6-7) were challenged to investigate the life cycle of a bee. The whole day was focused around the life cycle…

Children enjoy water play, and kindergarten children can learn about the water cycle. Teachers are already introducing elements of the water cycle when discussing weather and bodies of water. The water cycle also can be a springboard for teaching children about plants and animals and the importance of water for sustaining life and shaping our…

This column includes activities inspired by children's literature. This month's issue shows that allowing students to use both photographs and information presented through technology helps them begin to construct an understanding of landforms and bodies of water and use models to describe these concepts. This months trade books are: (1) "Our…

The Maker Movement (Dougherty 2012) highlights innovation and creativity through "activities focused on designing, building, modifying, and/or repurposing material objects, for playful or useful ends, oriented toward making a 'product' of some sort that can be used, interacted with, or demonstrated" (Martin 2015, p. 31). When engaged in…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") and the guiding "Framework" invite students to engage in practices of scientific argumentation and modeling through which they can collaborate as young scientists and develop understandings of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. This article shares…

Microorganisms (microbes) play essential roles in our lives, although the general media usually focuses on their negative or pathological aspects. Here we describe a collaborative approach between teachers and academics to teach primary school students about microbes in an engaging and diverse way. We introduced microbes, such as bacteria and…