Blog

I was reflecting on my cell phone the other day… yes, this really is my cell phone – from 1996.  This was the first cell phone I owned when I was just starting my teaching career. At...

Are you home with your kids during this dangerous cold snap?  Are you looking for things for them to do to keep them engaged and entertained and yet be encouraging their scientific thinking?  Try some of these...

We know that student discourse and communication play a huge role in our science standards.  When you consider the science and engineering practices – many of them require that students engage in discourse.  “Asking questions and defining...

5…4…3…2…1! Hands up! The room fills with claps, hugs and high fives.  Is it a hockey game? A basketball game? A wrestling match? No, it is a Paper Roller Coaster competition. Wait, what? For the past two...

Teachers are aware that the new science standards are three-dimensional in nature.  Each standard is made up of a disciplinary core idea, a science and engineering practice, and a crosscutting concept. The disciplinary core idea (DCI) is...

Elementary teachers are likely familiar with the use of mentor texts with their students to help strength and deepen understanding within a variety of ELA standards.  But, have you considered how those same mentor texts can be...

As we embark on another academic year – this year takes on a new perspective as this is the year full implementation of the new Iowa Science standards is expected in our schools. (remembering that middle school...

We’ve all been there – we desperately want our students to be successful and so we have become masters at “being helpful” in the science classroom.  We see students forgetting directions, not recording data correctly, getting the...

With so many resources to look through and little to no time to actually peruse them, it is easy to overlook some valuable websites that can assist teachers in the implementation of the new science standards.  One...