Sep01

Book lovers and science

Just in case you have not yet read the column, “Teaching Through Tradebooks”, in Science and Children,  the National Science Teachers Association’s elementary school journal, I’ll share why I like it with you. The column writes up two activities, one for K-3 and one for 4-6. The book choices are always excellent, the kind of books that you hold onto for 20 years because they are scientifically accurate and resonate so well with children. The content of featured books is appropriate for elementary school grade levels and aligns with the National Science Education Standards. The books are a pleasure to read with illustrations that add to our understanding of the text.

 

This month the titles are I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2005) and The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer and Steve Johnson (Random House Children’s Books, 1994).

 

“Picture” books make great teaching tools for older elementary students too! Reading aloud develops students’ vocabulary and is a jumping off point for large group discussion.

 

Reading aloud to children

Do you have a favorite book that ties into your science lessons? Bet you can't choose just one!

Peggy

Published: Sep-01-09 | 3 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Aug10

Showing the science: using children’s work to document your program

Digital photography changed the way I do science with my students. I reflect more on what has happened and what is being left out as I look over the photos, in moments after school, at home on the computer. I have this luxury as a parent of older children who are themselves busy on the computer, and because I do some of my work at home.

Not every program has time or resources to use digital photography to document the science learning going on in their classes, but the children’s own work also reveals the learning taking place. Anytime children record their thinking with drawings, such as drawing an object they think will sink and an object they think will float (before trying to find out or drawing what happened after), they are documenting their science process skills. When recording observations, children make a record they can refer back to. In one classroom children drew the caterpillars as they grew, comparing them to a unit cube (which didn’t grow!). Over the week the growth was noticeable because they had their earliest drawings for comparison.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
(Click on the photograph to go to the photograph folder and see more examples of students’ documentation.)

Have a few clipboards with paper and marker attached for children to carry to where the science is happening—in the block area children are discovering the need for a wide base, in the water table children are noticing the shape of drops, in the housekeeping area children are talking about how their family cooks, and in the book nook children are remembering a butterfly they saw outside that was different from the one in the book. Ask them, “Can you show me with a drawing? “Would you like me to write down your words?”

Peggy

Published: Aug-10-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Aug01

Transitioning to kindergarten: hearing from children who have been there.

Support on the first day of schoolSome elementary schools on a “year-round” or “modified calendar” are about to begin a new school year on Monday, and many others begin in September. Children from my “fours” classes are among the new kindergarten students and I feel so protective of them even though I believe they are ready for the the work, the larger school building, and sometimes a larger class size. After his first week in elementary school my son told us, “They have so many rules there.” New rules in the new school with a larger class size and a larger student body—he soon acclimated to that school’s culture but it was  a process.

Learning and teaching are easier when children feel comfortable. Read  what children say as they tell what new children need to know about starting school in the International Journal of Transitions in Childhood website links to full text papers from the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Annual Conferences.

 

I remember my first day as a parent at a preschool, wondering how all the other parents seemingly knew what to do—where to put the cubby bag and tuition check, and where to find extra paints, the mop, and the key to restock the paper towels. There was institutional knowledge that was unwritten. Once we become part of a community we may no longer see the need for posting such information. As teachers we can take the lead to increase the comfort level of new students and new families by sharing the unwritten “rules” and culture of our classrooms.

Here are my suggestions for families participating in science activities at one co-op preschool:

           ·          Participate in the activities as an explorer. This will encourage your child to do so.

           ·          Make observations after giving the children a chance to do so (but adults do not have to share all the knowledge they have).

           ·          Ask open-ended questions that can have multiple answers, such as, “What do you see happening?”

           ·          Don’t answer most questions—that’s the children’s job! Instead say, “I wonder how we can find out?” It’s ok to leave questions unanswered, especially when the details are more complex than they are ready to understand (a fine line!).

 

Do you have special practices to welcome new students and families to your school? Tell me about them by clicking on the word “Comments” below.

Peggy

Published: Aug-01-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Jun23

Celebrate pink!

What was your favorite color when you were five? Many young girls like pink, a stereotypically female color. Young scientist in pink, solving problems

Do girls who love pink ever grow up to be women who do work that historically has more often been done by men? What can we do to encourage all children to think of themselves as capable and support an interest in science? Remember to alternate saying “boys and girls” with “girls and boys”? Monitor who we call on and call on girls 50% of the time? Be sure to display pictures of all kinds of people, including women, doing science?

Many women scientists say they pursued a career in science because a teacher or other mentor encouraged them, and believed in their capabilities, say Ashley Campbell and Gerald Skoog in Preparing Undergraduate Women for Science Career, (The College Science Classroom, March/April 2004 33 (5):24-26). This idea is echoed in many of the life stories of women scientists on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s the "Women of NASA" page. Dr. Deborah Amato of NASAPrint out and post some of the photos to put in a display of scientists at work to inspire and inform children. and testify to women’s presence in science. 

 

The Institute of Educational Sciences Practice Guide "Encouraging Girls in Math and Science" (2007) recommends five key practices. View it on the U.S. Department of Education website. The practical suggestions from Doing What Works are geared towards middle and high school age students but are food for thought for all of us.

A recent report from a National Research Council panel states, “women are not applying for tenure-track jobs at research-intensive universities at the same rate that they are earning Ph.D.s” although “those who do apply are interviewed and hired at rates equal to or higher than those for men.“ The report also noted that “The surveys revealed that most institutional strategies to try to increase the proportion of women in the applicant pool -- such as targeted advertising and recruiting at conferences -- did not show significant effectiveness, the report says.  One strategy did appear to make a difference: Having a female chair of the search committee and a high number of women on the committee were associated with a higher number of women in the applicant pool.”

Implicit Association Tests taken by half a million people in 34 countries revealed that the stereotype of associating science with males is held by most of the test takers in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead investigator Brian Nosek, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, said in UVA Today, "We found a general tendency, across every country that we investigated, that people on average have an easier time associating science concepts with male, rather than with female."   

Some tactics I use to try to reduce any suggestion of excluding girls from science are to be sure to call on girls at least half the time (yes, I count), use the pronoun "it" when talking about animals whose sex isn't known or alternate "she" and "he", post pictures of female and male scientists from many cultures, and ask girls as often as boys to help other children with science questions or problems. My take-away thought on this is that every early childhood teacher can do science activities with their class with eyes open to our own biases, in a way that creates a positive environment for all children for loving science. Much later in their education, some will decide not to pursue a career in science, but it won’t be because they think their gender prevents their success. 

Share your tactics by clicking on the word "Comments" below!

Peggy

Published: Jun-23-09 | 1 Comment | 1 Link to this post

May27

Tadpoles are baby frogs

What percentage of children ever get to see a tadpole grow into a frog? Reading about tadpoles amazing metamorphosis into adult frogs is less amazing than observing the living animals and noticing a daily change in size or form.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
The seasonal nature of this transformation means that young children may not remember the last time they saw it because it happened one third of their lifetime ago, so teachers may want to repeat this observation activity every year. There are concerns among scientists that even common species of frogs and other amphibians are facing extinction because infectious diseases are damaging their ability to grow and reproduce. To prevent any accidental spread of disease causing organisms, officers from the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) and Amphibian Ark wrote a letter to the editors in the 2009 April/May Science and Children (also posted at www.ssarherps.org) describing the strict but feasible hygiene conditions and procedures that must be followed by anyone keeping and then releasing amphibians into nature. They said that observing live amphibians “is a great approach for fostering “bioliteracy”.” IF YOU KEEP LIVE TADPOLES AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS IN YOUR SCHOOL PLEASE READ THE EXPANDED LETTER, "Considerations and Recommendations for Raising Live Amphibians in Classrooms, SSAR’s response to a recent article in Science and Children” . 

I won’t quote from the letter because I believe it’s important to get the accurate information in the entire letter but will say that bleach is used in the disinfection procedure.

Now that you know where to get information on how to prevent the spread of disease in amphibians by classroom activities, here is a photo of the baby Wood frog, newly released back to the pond where it hatched. I wish I could have taken each of my students (a few at a time!) with me to see the frog in its natural environment.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Please read the letter and follow these best practices so that generations of frogs will be alive to inspire wonder in generations of children, both animals that are growing and changing.

Perhaps we will be inspired to create school yard habitats so children can observe animals in nature every day.

Peggy

Published: May-27-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

May25

Science talk

One misconception about science is that discoveries or new ideas are “discovered” then agreed upon by scientists in a complete form. Talking to children about the process of scientific inquiry as they do an activity may help them appreciate the long, exploratory, route to being certain in science. Foster discussion by letting children know it is okay to disagree about what you think might happen.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
These children are pointing to answer the question, “What shape bubble will you make with a square bubble wand?" and they are comfortable disagreeing with their neighbors.

As you do science with young children, include comments about science, such as these, in the discussion:

  • I hear more than one answer. That’s how science is, people don’t always agree. We can try this and find out.
  • Observations may not be the same. What do you see?
  • Sharing your information about what you see is what scientists do.
  • Yes, we can look in a book. Scientists research what people have learned already.

Here are two resources that explain how science talk is part of the process of science:

A good visual explanation of how science works is available from the Understanding Science website. See "The real process of science" showing the nonlinear paths in doing science.

For more about talk in science teaching, view a slideshow by Karen Worth of the Educational Development Center, Inc., Science Talk and Science Writing: A View from the Classroom, at the 2008 Literacy Institute.  The Inquiry Diagram (slide six) is another clarifying diagram about the process of scientific inquiry.

Some students may need repeated encouragement to talk freely; others may need a reminder to listen. Listening to my students helps me find out what they know about science.

Peggy

Published: May-25-09 | 4 Comments | 72 Links to this post

Mar17

How can we make time to teach science in preK-2 classrooms?

Observing the life cycle of an insect can include measuring growth and weight, counting calendar days and reading fiction, non-fiction, and writing poetry and descriptions—all ways to integrate science with other subjects in elementary school. Many skills and much information, such as, learning about the continents and names of land forms, how to read or make a map, learning what are natural resources, understanding weather vocabulary, how to describe parts of a whole, using pictures to check for meaning, using graphic organizers, re-telling a story or event using the beginning-middle-ending format, recognizing that letters are symbols for sounds, comparing story traditions of own and other cultures, asking and answering questions, using graphs, charts, and signs to acquire information, and using prior knowledge to predict meaning and make sense of texts are all skills that can be taught during science activities as well as during the reading, math, and social studies time periods.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
From NSTA The Early Years Blog
Whew! Children learn so much in the early childhood school years and it all seems to connect.

What kinds of lesson plans do you teach which integrate science with social studies, math, and language arts?

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Published: Mar-17-09 | 2 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Feb07

Planting peas--who will help students record the growth?

I’m wondering what crops your class grows—Peas? Collards? Cilantro? Zinnias? Marigolds?

Planting peas on President’s Day has been the first item on my planting list for many years, and is the topic of the Early Years column in the February 2009 issue of Science and Children.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog
In USDA Plant Hardiness temperature zone 7a (see map), February is the earliest time I can plant this cool-weather crop. But this year with temperatures varying from 21*F to 51*F in the same week, I’m never sure if the children will be able to plant on days that I’m at their school. Results have been mixed. One year we had enough pea pods for every child to try one. They loved the crunch! Another year every pea shoot was eaten to a stub, perhaps by voles? Then there was the year there was so little rain and not enough human water-ers that the pea plants were stunted and produced only a few pods.

 

One of the joys for teachers who have one class is being able to develop a close relationship, and to be there for all the teachable moments. As a “push-in” science teacher, I’m not in the class the next day so I can’t immediately follow up on the spider that was found behind the blocks, or assist the children’s daily observations of a pea seed sprouting in a bag. (But I do get to fine-tune my teaching by trying it out on many classrooms with different populations and different curriculums.) The Fall 2008 issue of The Science Educator (Volume 17, Issue 2) discusses how the Center for Science Education at Education Development Center, Inc. invited researchers and practitioners to come together to think about the best models for teaching science in elementary schools—by the classroom teacher, by a science specialist, or a mixture of those arrangements. As scientists do, they first talked to define their terms, to better communicate with each other. This research is exciting because whenever education researchers mix it up there will be new information for teachers to use in the classrooms as we work towards using the best practices.

 

One way to share the results of seed sprouting is to have a brief class observation and drawing time every day. Date the drawings and encourage students to write or dictate their descriptions. Posting the drawings outside the classroom lets others follow the progress of your class’s discoveries.

Peggy
Published: Feb-07-09 | 0 Comments | 38 Links to this post

Dec26

Request for resources for guiding teachers to become more inquiry based in their teaching

The NSTA Elementary Science List had an interesting query last week:

Steve Geresy asked if anyone has any great books on Early Learning Inquiry that have concrete examples for teachers to guide them through the process of becoming more inquiry based in their teaching.

 

Here’s a short, and by no means exhaustive, list of my favorites—what are yours?

Worms, Shadows, and Whirlpools by Sharon Grollman and Karen Worth (2003, Heinemann) because it includes "In the Classroom" stories with observations by real teachers who may not have science backgrounds but are implementing inquiry in their classrooms and writing about it.

 

What Is A Scientist? by Barbara Lehn, with wonderful photos by Carol Krauss (1999, Millbrook Press), a children’s book rather than a teacher resource book, but I use it that way to help teachers learn about what science is and use it for explaining early childhood science to the families. Teachers and children can read it together to learn about the science they may already be doing. It’s a good introduction to early childhood science, and a reminder to us all that children are very capable and we teachers do not have to tell the children what they see, understand, guess, or wonder about, but to give the children time and permission to voice their thoughts.

 

Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method, Over 100 hands-on science experiments for children by Sally Stenhouse Kneidel (1993, Fulcrum Publishing) has an excellent chapter on the scientific method, is especially good for in depth study, and the chapter on equipment is very helpful. It has detailed instructions on finding and maintaining small animals in captivity and good ideas for opportunities to observe. The experiments are directed toward elementary school age children.

 

Guppies, Bubbles and Vibrating Objects, A creative approach to the teaching of science to very young children by John McGavack Jr. and Donald P. LaSalle (1969, The John Day Company) is an oldie but goodie resource for its valuable discussion on teaching science to young children as well as many activities and experiments. Sections titled “How to begin”, “Why do it this way?” and “How to do it” are good guides, and include valuable modeling of teacher-student dialogs.  I find that teachers, who know how to use open-ended questions and how to listen to children in all other aspects of classroom learning, somehow change when they begin a science activity and start telling information. (There are so many interesting facts and ideas about the world that I am sympathetic to (sometimes guilty of!) this failing but we must allow time for children to think for themselves.)

 

Please add to this list and tell what you like about the resources.

Peggy

Published: Dec-26-08 | 2 Comments | 131 Links to this post

Dec08

Invertebrates in the classroom

Children often do not think of invertebrates as animals. If we can train ourselves to talk about insects and other invertebrates not as “bugs” but as “small animals” we’ll help children make that connection. Visiting small animals, such as isopods (aka roly-polies or pill bugs) and slugs, allow observations to build into a body of knowledge.

From NSTA The Early Years Blog

Shrieks of delight let me know that a slug is on the move, and hearing excited consultation with the classroom’s confident “wrangler” tells me that the children have it under control.

Peggy

Published: Dec-08-08 | 1 Comment | 50 Links to this post

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