EDU-32800 Science Methods for the Elementary Teacher

Transform your classroom culture from one of passive knowledge consumption to one of active learning and student engagement. In this well-researched book, author Rebecca Stobaugh shares how to build a culture of thinking that emphasizes essential 21st century skills -- from critical thinking and problem-solving to teamwork and creativity. Gain 50 teacher-tested instructional strategies for nurturing students' cognitive abilities, and utilize the book's Take Action activities to help you put the student engagement strategies to work in your classroom. Use these teaching strategies to foster student engagement and cognitive skills: Gain an understanding of the concepts of critical thinking and cognitive engagement, as well as the relationship between the two. Study Bloom's revised taxonomy, the cognitive processes associated with its various levels, and how they relate to cognitive engagement in the classroom. Access 50 strategies for use in the classroom that will encourage the cognitive development of students and grow their critical thinking skills. Learn about three important aspects for sustaining classroom engagement -- movement, collaboration, and media literacy -- and how these connect with the 50 strategies. Utilize effective teaching strategies and new knowledge of critical thinking and cognitive skills to build a thinking culture in the classroom.

Thinking made visible: That' s what happens when elementary students record their thoughts in science notebooks. This practical guide shows how notebooks can become a tangible record of their emerging understanding of and proficiency in science. Students can use their notebooks to pose questions, write down observations, work through puzzling data, or think through new ideas. You can use them to ascertain each student' s strengths and challenges in participating in the academic work of science. Science Notebooks in Student-Centered Classrooms offers the following: * Specific guidance on how to start using notebooks-- or improve what you already do. Find out how to help students learn to organize information while also preserving their own voices and choices. Many of the samples are from actual student notebooks. * Advice on the best ways to use notebooks. Explore lessons, instructional routines, and assessment techniques that pair well with science notebooks. * Practical techniques. Discover how to use notebooks to assess student work and plan future lessons even as you integrate language arts and mathematics into your science class. * Blackline masters you can use at your discretion. These are provided in the appendix for organizational elements (such as a table of contents) and instruction (graphic organizers). Throughout, the book' s approach aligns with the vision in A Framework for K- 12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards, and current research about notebooks. You can be sure the strategies in this book really work because author Jessica Fries-Gaither is a veteran teacher who has personally tested every technique. She is also the author of the award-winning NSTA Kids books Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings and Exemplary Evidence: Scientists and Their Data. As she says in the book, science notebooks have the power " to engage students as active participants in the practice and learning of science."

 A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction   The achievement gap remains a stubborn problem for educators of culturally and linguistically diverse students. With the introduction of the rigorous Common Core State Standards, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement and facilitating deeper learning   Culturally responsive pedagogy has shown great promise in meeting this need, but many educators still struggle with its implementation. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.   The book includes:   Information on how one's culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten "key moves" to build students' learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection   With a firm understanding of these techniques and principles, teachers and instructional leaders will confidently reap the benefits of culturally responsive instruction. "An essential, compelling, and practical examination of the relationship between culture and cognition that will forever transform how we think about our role facilitating the learning of other people's children--and our own children! --LaShawn Routé Chatmon, Executive Director National Equity Project   "All students can and will learn at high levels when provided the type of instruction described in this book. This work calls us to action by mandating that we move beyond looking for student outcomes that rely heavily on the regurgitation of memorized facts to applying the information learned to new situations." --Kendra Ferguson, Chief of Schools Kipp Bay Area Schools, Oakland, CA

"Teachers in our district have been fans of Picture-Perfect Science for years, and it' s made a huge impact on how they fit science into their school day. We are so excited to do more of the same with these Picture-Perfect STEM books!" -- Chris Gibler, elementary instructional coach, Blue Springs School District in Missouri "This lively mix of picture books and engaging, standards-based STEM content will be a powerful tool to inspire STEM learning." -- Andrea Beaty, author of Ada Twist, Scientist; Rosie Revere, Engineer; and Iggy Peck, Architect For teachers eager to integrate STEM into their school day, Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons is an exciting development. This book' s 15 kid-friendly lessons convey how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics intersect in the real world. They embed reading-comprehension strategies that integrate the STEM subjects and English language arts through high-quality picture books. You' ll help your 3- 5 students engage in STEM activities while learning to read and reading to learn. This volume of Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons for the upper-elementary grades uses a remarkable variety of books to teach STEM concepts and reading comprehension strategies. For example, you can pique students' interest with The Inventor' s Secret; An Ambush of Tigers; and Trash to Treasure: A Kid' s Upcycling Guide to Trash. Then, through the accompanying lessons, you can teach ways to plan and carry out investigations; analyze and interpret data; and construct explanations and design solutions. Along the way, your students will invent toy cars, learn how scientists use technology to track individual animals within larger groups, figure out how to reduce plastic pollution, and tackle other real-world projects. Engaging fiction and nonfiction books plus 15 hands-on lessons add up to perfect ways to learn about the interdependence of the STEM areas. Along with these new lessons come the easy-to-use features that have made Picture-Perfect a bestselling series for more than a dozen years: - Fiction and nonfiction book pairs - Background reading, materials lists, student pages, and assessments for each lesson - Connections to science standards and the Common Core State Standards for both English language arts and mathematics. Picture-Perfect STEM is a powerful tool for guiding instruction. You' ll love how effective this book is, and your students will love learning about STEM.

Teachers raved when NSTA Press published Picture-Perfect Science Lessons .* They loved its lively mix of kid-magnet books, Standards-based science content and ready-to-teach lessons. So what could be more perfect? More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons! This volume offers 15 new lessons that combine picture books and inquiry to develop students' interest in science and reading. The sequel follows the winning formula that made the first book an NSTA best seller. The lessons, following the 5E instructional model developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) cover a variety of science content-- physical science, life science, and Earth and Space Science. They include reproducible student pages and assessments. They feature embedded reading-comprehension strategies. And they make students yearn to learn from such engaging fiction and nonfiction books as Diary of a Worm, Sunshine On My Shoulders, How Big is a Foot? and Leo Cockroach, Toy Tester. The authors know how important it is for time-starved teachers to integrate science and reading in a natural way and how students with reading troubles can use an extra nudge to get engaged in science texts. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons is the perfect supplement to your science program-- and the perfect way to help students develop a love of reading and learning about science. *Teachers weren' t the only ones raving! Picture-Perfect won the Distinguished Achievement Award for Teacher Resource Books from the Association of Educational Publishers.

For teachers eager to integrate STEM into their school day, Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons is an exciting development. This book's 15 kid-friendly lessons convey how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics intersect in the real world. They embed reading-comprehension strategies that integrate the STEM subjects and English language arts through high-quality picture books. You'll help your K-2 students engage in STEM activities while learning to read and reading to learn. Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons, K-2 draws on diverse and attention-grabbing books such as The Handiest Things in the World, The Day the Crayons Came Home, and I Wanna Iguana. The lessons will lead your students to ask questions and define problems; obtain, evaluate, and communicate information; and engage in argument from evidence. Along the way, students invent a handy backpack, design their own process for recycling crayons, and build a model habitat for an imaginary pet. Through these lessons and activities, all young students, including reluctant scientists and struggling readers, will quickly find themselves absorbed in STEM-related discovery. Along with these new lessons come the easy-to-use features that have made Picture-Perfect a bestselling series for more than a dozen years: Fiction and nonfiction book pairs Background reading, materials lists, student pages, and assessments for each lesson Connections to science standards and the Common Core State Standards for both English language arts and mathematics. Picture-Perfect STEM is a powerful tool for guiding instruction. You'll love how effective this book is, and your students will love learning about STEM.

Winner of the Gold EXCEL Award from Association Media & Publishing! "The number one compliment we hear from teachers is that the lessons are complete and ready to take back to their classrooms and use." --Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry, coauthors of the Picture-Perfect Science Lessons series Since the debut of the Picture-Perfect Science books and workshops more than 10 years ago, authors Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry have learned one thing for certain: Elementary school teachers are constantly clamoring for even more ways to engage children in reading and science through picture books! To meet that demand, the 15 all-new lessons in Even More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons bring you: * Even more convenience: You can cover reading and science content simultaneously and save time with ready-to-use student pages and assessments. * Even more confidence in your own expertise: You get relevant science concepts and reading comprehension strategies to keep your teaching on track. * Even more ways to entice even reading-phobic children: Each lesson makes students yearn to learn science from such captivating fiction and nonfiction picture books.

 Deepen scientific understanding with formative assessment!   Only by knowing what your students are thinking can you design learning opportunities that deepen content mastery and meet their individual needs. In this highly engaging resource, internationally respected expert Page Keeley shares 50 new techniques to pinpoint student understanding before, during, and after instruction. In addition to promoting best practices in the classroom, the techniques shared here support learning and link instruction to the Next Generation Science Standards. These flexible assessments can be used with any science curriculum, along with   Practical strategies for  using the techniques throughout the instruction cycle Considerations for implementation and suggestions for modification An explanation of how each technique promotes learning Examples of how the techniques can be used in different content areas   An expert in the field of K-12 science education, Page Keeley is the former president of the National Science Teachers Association, a current Board Member of the National Science Education Leadership Association, and has seventeen best-selling books.  "Science Formative Assessment, Volume 2 contains a wealth of tools that encourage students to engage in practices such as scientific argumentation and discourse. By emphasizing the alignment of the FACT with Science and Engineering Practices, Keeley provides multiple ways for teachers to monitor more than the disciplinary core ideas being taught." -- Susan German, Science Teacher Hallsville R-IV School District, MO "Teachers everywhere are spending a lot of time and energy looking for ways to increase student achievement. Well, the answer is not a big secret, nor is it expensive. Fortunately, Page Keeley has an answer. Improved performance lies in using formative assessments as an integral aspect of a lesson. In this book, Keeley shows how 50 formative assessments can lead to greater student success in science." --Douglas Llewellyn, Professor St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY Other Books from Corwin and Page Keeley:  Keeley, Science Formative Assessment ISBN: 9781412941808  Keeley, Math Formative Assessment ISBN: 9781412968126  Keeley, Science Curriculum Topic Study  ISBN: 9781412908924

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Formative assessment informs the design of learning opportunities that take students from their existing ideas of science to the scientific ideas and practices that support conceptual understanding. Page Keeley, a nationally known expert in science education, wrote Science Formative Assessment to help educators weave formative assessment into daily instruction and learning. In the second edition, the author provides many new examples, links the strategies to current research as well as the Framework for K-12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards, and even shows how these same techniques can be used across other disciplines. Teachers will appreciate 75 formative assessment classroom techniques (FACTs) that include: Descriptions of how each FACT promotes learning and informs instruction Charts linking K-12 core concepts and scientific practices to the 75 FACTs Implementation guidance, such as required materials and student grouping Modifications for different learners and grade spans Links to use in other content areas, including a brief example Use Science Formative Assessment with any science curriculum or state standards to improve and enhance teaching and learning in K-12 science classrooms.

If you're new to formative assessment probes, you'll love the latest book in the bestselling Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series. Authors Page Keeley and Laura Tucker give you 32 engaging questions, or probes, that can reveal what your students already know-or think they know-about core Earth and environmental science concepts. Armed with those insights, you can use the probes' teacher notes to adjust your approach and present the science in grade-appropriate ways so students will learn the content accurately. If you're among the thousands of educators who love the Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series and crave probes specifically about Earth and environmental science, you're in luck. The probes are organized into four sections: land and water; water cycle, weather, and climate; Earth history, weathering and erosion, and plate tectonics; and natural resources, pollution, and human impact. The 10th book in this wildly popular, award-winning series offers field-tested teacher materials that provide science background and link to national standards, including the Next Generation Science Standards. The new probes are short, ready to reproduce, and easy to use. Why wait? It's time to help your students demystify why the ocean is salty, how old the Earth is, and which direction water swirls when it goes down the drain.

Using the probes as diagnostic tools that identify and analyze students' preconceptions, teachers can easily move students from where they are in their current thinking to where they need to be to achieve scientific understanding. Each probe is supported by extensive Teacher Notes.

If you and your students can't get enough of a good thing, Volume 2 of Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science is just what you need. The book offers 39 new formative assessment probes, this time with a focus on electric charge, electric current, and magnets and electromagnetism. It can help you do everything from demystify electromagnetic fields to explain the real reason balloons stick to the wall after you rub them on your hair. Like the other eight wildly popular books in the full series, Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 2: Provides a collection of engaging questions, or formative assessment probes. Each probe in this volume is designed to uncover what students know-or think they know-about electric or magnetic phenomena or identify misunderstandings they may develop during instruction. Offers field-tested teacher materials that provide "best answers" along with distracters designed to reveal misconceptions that students commonly hold. Is easy to use by time-starved teachers like you. The new probes are short, easy-to-administer activities that come ready to reproduce. In addition to explaining the science content, the teacher materials note links to national standards and suggest grade-appropriate ways to present material so students will learn it accurately. By helping you detect and then make sound instructional decisions to address students' misconceptions, this new volume has the potential to transform your teaching.

Have you been wondering how well your students understand engineering and technology concepts? Have you been wishing for formative assessment tools in both English and Spanish? If so, this is the book for you. Like the other 11 books in the bestselling Uncovering Student Ideas series, Uncovering Student Ideas About Engineering and Technology does the following: * Brings you engaging questions, also known as formative assessment probes. The book' s 32 probes are designed to uncover what students know-- or think they know-- about what technology and engineering are, how to define related problems, and how to design and test solutions. The probes will help you uncover students' current thinking about everything from the purpose of technology to who can become an engineer to how an engineering design process works. * Offers field-tested teacher materials that provide best answers along with distracters designed to reveal preconceptions and misunderstandings that students commonly hold. Since the content is explained in clear, everyday language, even engineering and technology novices can grasp and teach it effectively. * Is convenient even for time-starved teachers like you. The new probes are short, easy-to-administer activities that come ready to reproduce for speakers of both English and Spanish. In addition to explaining the engineering and technology content, the teacher materials note links to A Framework for K- 12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards and suggest grade-appropriate ways to present material so students will learn it accurately. Uncovering Student Ideas About Engineering and Technology has the potential to help you take an important first step in teaching for understanding-- and perhaps transform your teaching about STEM-related topics.

Have you been wanting to learn more about what your students know (or think they know) about major concepts in matter and energy? Have you been wishing for formative assessment tools in both English and Spanish? Then this is the book you' ve been waiting for. Like the other 10 books in the bestselling Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series, Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 3 does the following: * Presents engaging questions, also known as formative assessment probes. The 32 probes in this book are designed to uncover what students know-- or think they know-- about the concept of matter and particle model of matter; properties of matter; classifying matter, chemical properties, and chemical reactions; and nuclear processes and energy. The probes will help you uncover students' existing beliefs about everything from a particle model of matter to ways of describing energy. * Offers field-tested teacher materials that provide the best answers along with distracters designed to reveal conceptual misunderstandings that students commonly hold. Since the content is explained in clear, everyday language, teachers can improve their own understanding of the science they teach. * Is convenient and saves you time. The probes are short, easy-to-administer activities for speakers of both English and Spanish that come ready to reproduce. In addition to explaining the science content, the teacher materials include connections to A Framework for K- 12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards, provide summaries of the research on students' ideas, and suggest grade-appropriate instructional methods for addressing students' ideas. Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 3 has the potential to help you transform your teaching. As the authors write in the book' s introduction, " When teachers take the time to uncover [existing] ideas, understand where they came from, and make instructional decisions that will help students give up their strongly held ideas in favor of scientific ways of thinking, they are taking an important first step in teaching for conceptual understanding."

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What ideas do young children bring to their science learning, and how does their thinking change as they engage in "science talk"? Find out using the 25 field-tested probes in the newest volume of Page Keeley's bestselling Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series, the first targeted to grades K-2. This teacher-friendly book is: Tailored to your needs. The content is geared specifically for the primary grades, with an emphasis on simple vocabulary as well as drawing and speaking (instead of writing). The format of the student pages uses minimal text and includes visual representations of familiar objects, phenomena, or ideas. Focused on making your lessons more effective. The assessment probes engage youngsters and encourage "science talk" while letting you identify students' preconceptions before beginning a lesson or monitor their progress as they develop new scientific explanations. Applicable to a range of science concepts. This volume offers 8 life science probes, 11 physical science probes, and 6 Earth and space science probes that target K-2 disciplinary core ideas. Ready to use. The book provides grade-appropriate reproducible pages for your students and detailed teacher notes for you, including clear and concise explanations, relevant research, suggestions for instruction, and connections to national standards. Uncovering Student Ideas in Primary Science is an invaluable resource for classroom and preservice teachers and professional development providers. This age-appropriate book will help you teach more effectively by starting with students' ideas and adapting instruction to support conceptual change.

4 Volume set in print.

v. 1. 25 formative assessment probes / by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin -- v. 2. 25 more formative assessment probes / by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Joyce Tugel -- v. 3. Another 25 formative assessment probes / by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Chad Dorsey -- v. 4. 25 new formative assessment probes / by Page Keeley and Joyce Tugel.

The popular features from Volume 1 are all here. The field-tested probes are short, easy to administer, and ready to reproduce. Teacher materials explain science content and suggest grade-appropriate ways to present information. But Volume 2 covers more life science and Earth and space science probes. Volume 2 also suggests ways to embed the probes throughout your instruction, not just when starting a unit or topic.

You don't have to become a mind reader to understand the ideas young students bring to science class. This collection will help you draw out and then recognize what students know-or think they know-about the natural world. What Are They Thinking? is a compendium of 30 "Formative Assessment Probes" columns from NSTA's elementary journal Science and Children. Each chapter provides: A sample formative assessment probe: a set of interesting questions that root out commonly held, often-mistaken ideas. Geared to elementary students, probe topics range from why you can see the Moon in the daytime to where water goes when it evaporates to what is or isn't a rock. Your students' answers to each probe will help you take a step back and figure out how to guide them from where they are conceptually to where they need to be. Accompanying teacher notes: easy-to-grasp explanations and advice that tell you how to encourage evidence-based discussion and then monitor students' understanding. A bonus feature: a set of study group questions written especially for this compendium by award-winning author Page Keeley. So forget about acquiring psychic powers. Instead, turn to What Are They Thinking? to transform both your teaching and your students' learning about science.