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This was used in class today, it is great to see how dna works when learning about cells. This could be used in explore, explain, or elaborate portions of the 5E lesson. Make sure students don't eat it, hopefully they don't spill it, and make sure students are still paying attention even when squishing around the mixture.

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Straight from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA these lessons on earth and space science are great for students. It lets you choose the topic and grade you are looking for to get students thinking like scientists.

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STEM Lessons for Educators - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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Explore standards-aligned lessons from NASA-JPL in science, technology, engineering and math for students for grades K-12. Engage students in NASA missions exploring Earth and space.

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The PBS website has tons of great resources, lesson plans, and activities available for teachers to have when teaching about the nature of science. I found tons of great information that will engage students and get them excited to learn science.

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Nature Of Science Activities And Lessons | PBS LearningMedia

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Discover nature of science activities, lessons, and interactive resources for all grades, all aligned to state and national standards.

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This website has tons of great printable activities for students that are under the realm of life science. This source breaks them up in grade levels and also explains why the concept is important.

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JumpStart's free life science activities are great ways of bringing the fun back into learning. Make learning about life science a joyride for your kids by introducing them to JumpStart's fun life sciences activities for kids.

Free Life Science Activities for Different Grades

Life science is a vast subject and there is something new to learn at each grade. It is a subject that introduces kids to a wide range of concepts including genetics, cell biology, viruses and bacteria, organisms, ecology, energy, survival and much more. As kids move from one grade to the other, they are introduced to more complex life science concepts. Don't let this dissuade the younger learners from showing enthusiasm for the subject. The free life science activities have been designed to make learning about life science engaging and informative at the same time.

JumpStart has a large range of free and printable life science activities to choose from. Check out our extensive collection of these fun activities and print them out according to the needs of your kids!

Why is Life Science Important?

Science involves a lot of communication with other people.

Science develops patience and perseverance in kids.

It can help kids form a healthy dose of scepticism.

Science teaches kids about the world around them.

Science can spark in kids' minds that they, too, can help solve the world's big problems.

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JumpStart's free life science activities are great ways of bringing the fun back into learning. Make learning about life science a joyride for your kids by introducing them to JumpStart's fun life sciences activities for kids. Life science is a vast subject and there is something new to learn at each grade.

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This science page is great for lessons that are hands on and engaging for students. I saw particularly lots of great earth science lessons and activities. It could also be used for students to explore on their own.

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This website has tons of great resources for captivating students with butterfly science. I would love to get a real butterfly growing kit for our classroom and do a unit on butterflies and their life cycles.

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Butterfly Lesson Plans | Butterfly Life Cycle Curricula

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Tools to Help Teach Kids about Butterflies and Moths.

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This lesson plan is fun for teaching the unit on energy. This specific lesson focuses on magnets and has great activities included. This website has tins of other great science lessons for different topics and grade levels.

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Don't you love it when you have a good system going and get to leave work on time? I know I do! And, I'm sharing my secret with you! Each week of your school year can now be less of a stress for you because I am going to be sharing my lesson plans with you for free every week!! This series is for elementary science grades 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th since those are the grades I have curriculum for. I don't want you to miss out on a single free lesson plan, so make sure you sign up right now to get these sent straight to your inbox!!
If your school follows a different order of standards than I do, you can check out my elementary science scope and sequence to see which weeks line up with your school's scope. Here is your stress-free lesson plan for the week.

Standards Covered:
TEKS
2.6 (B) observe and identify how magnets are used in everyday life
NGSS 2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties. Guiding Question: How are magnets used in everyday life? The Lesson:
And now, for all the fun and engaging learning! Click the image to grab your printable lesson plan for the week. Click any image in the post to grab the whole lesson set that's ready to print and teach.

To make my life easier, I plan each each with the same structure. Students like the routine and it helps them know what to expect for each day of the week.
KWL
Each day of the week, students will walk in and get to work on their KWL. Each Monday, you will complete the first 2 columns. This will get students thinking about the topic and activate their schema. You will also be able to see some misconceptions they may have. Every other day this week students will add to their "Learned" column to record what they have learned so far. You can also let them add to the "Wonder" column through the week if they have new ideas that pop up.

Day one: Introduce the word wall (or key terms) for the week. Ask students what they think the words mean and let them know they will find out the real definitions this week! Create a chart on the board to record the word wall activities for the week.

Day two: Complete the second column of the word wall builder as a class. Ask students to give their new definitions of the word wall words based on what they read today.

Day three: Complete the last columns of the word wall builder as a class. Write the actual definitions of the word wall words and a have the students help you illustrate each word.

Have students record the word wall chart for the week into a word wall journal. They can record this on notebook paper, in their science notebook, or you can print the Word Wall Chart handout for them.

Add the key words from your reading to your classroom word wall, however you display your word wall.

A printable copy of a Word Wall Builder Chart is provided on the next page.

*You can use the four key terms, or use other words you would like to cover.
Monday
*KWL

*Pre-learning: Playing with Magnets

*Optional: Introduce Project
Tuesday
*Vocabulary Matching (2 terms)
Wednesday
*Lab: Magnet Investigation Races

*Vocabulary Matching (2 terms)
Thursday
*Output: Analyzing Data Activity
Friday
*Vocabulary Pages

If you have extra time in your week, or you need added enrichment, here is a look at the project for this lesson. These make a great starting point or guide for using project based learning into your science lessons.

If you have time left over any day of the week, you can play a couple of my favorite review games that prep students for state testing later on. Science Says and Diagram Draws are a fun way to make science words and science diagrams stick throughout the year. I love to play Science Says anytime we have extra time in class or my students just need a brain break.
You made it! The weekend is near!!
I hope this gives you some good ideas for a whole week of learning. My goal is to provide you with engaging lessons that are ready to go each week so you can spend far less time planning and prepping, and far more time spoiling yourself **because you deserve it!** Enjoy your weekend!!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR TEACHING SCIENCE

To make your teacher life even easier, I have put my lesson activities and materials into easy to use files. This saves all the time we spend scrolling and collecting lesson resources. Just print and add simple lab supplies! Or, go digital for NO PREP! No making copies, and the lab is virtual - Talk about saving your sanity.
Magnets Lesson Set
2nd Grade
Magnets DIGITAL Week of Learning
2nd Grade

Here is the lesson plan link again. And, don't forget to join the Science Newsletter so you never miss a planned week of learning!

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Week 11 Science Lessons: Energy (2nd Grade)

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Standards Covered: TEKS 2.6 (B) observe and identify how magnets are used in everyday life NGSS 2-PS1-1 Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties. Guiding Question: How are magnets used in everyday life? The Lesson: And now, for all the fun and engaging learning!

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This is a great video to show students as an introduction to the nature of science. It just dips into the topic but is great to get students engaged. If you pair this with edpuzzle to have questions as the video goes, it would be a great lesson introduction.

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Classroom Strategies for teaching nature of science

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Classroom Strategies for teaching nature of science

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This article focuses on teaching about current science topics and events, as well as the history of science, and scientific inquiry. It stresses the connection between science, technology, and society and lays out great information on conveying that information to students.

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Alberta Science Education Journal, Volume 38, Number 1, November 2006, Journal of the Science Education Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association-Wytze Brouwer, Editor

The main goals of science teaching are generally stated as content knowledge (concepts), cognitive skills (for example, designing experiments) and attitudes (for example, respect for evidence). Another historically important goal has been to teach students about the nature of science (NOS). NOS is not about specific science content but about matters applicable to science as a whole; for example, how scientific investigations are carried out, standards defining acceptable scientific explanation and the reliability of scientific knowledge.

Why teach children about the nature of science? Overall, it contributes to students' scientific literacy. Specifically, many good reasons can be given (Collins et al 2001). Teaching about the nature of science helps achieve the following:

· Helps science education offer value to all students, not just those pursuing a science career.

· Clarifies how classroom scientific inquiry is based on the work of scientists.

· Enlightens students about the inner workings of science (for example, how hypotheses are tested).

· Helps create citizens who can think critically about science-related discoveries (for example, critically evaluating the results of the tests of a new drug).

· Helps create citizens who can contribute intelligently to decisions about science-related issues (for example, genetically modified foods).

· Gives students insight into the difficulty of constructing reliable knowledge about the world.

· Helps students understand not only what we know but also how we know (for example, how the theory of plate tectonics became accepted in geology).

· Helps to explain and justify why science is considered a rational enterprise (for example, why we should give credence to a theory, such as natural selection).

Science teachers convey an image of the nature of science to students even if they do not do so explicitly. For example, teachers who have students carry out and write up all classroom experiments in the same way may erroneously convey to students that there is such a thing as the scientific method. This suggests that science teachers should (1) consciously teach about the nature of science and (2) convey an authentic notion of the nature of science when doing so.

Further, students will not necessarily develop an authentic notion of the nature of science simply by doing authentic science. For example, students will not necessarily better understand the role of evidence in scientific inquiry just by finding evidence to support their explanations. More realistically, the teacher needs to

· decide on appropriate nature of science goals,

· meaningfully intertwine NOS goals with other lesson goals (for example, knowledge and skills) and

· make the NOS goals explicit to students during the lesson.

(Gustafson and MacDonald 2005)
A consensus on the nature of science
What is an authentic notion of the nature of science? Disagreement among science educators, scientists and others on this question will likely persist, but teachers need some basis to work from, so a consensus among most critics would be useful. One such consensus is presented in the documents of Project 2061, a long-term initiative by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to promote scientific, technological and mathematical literacy.

The Project 2061 consensus on NOS is validated by the lengthy collaboration of over 400 scientists, engineers, science educators, philosophers of science and others who developed it. The result is found in Science for All Americans (AAAS 1989). The article's internal headings are useful for teacher knowledge and for teaching about NOS because they are framed as statements about NOS. The headings or statements are grouped under three categories:
Scientific worldview
·The world is understandable.

·Scientific ideas are subject to change.

·Scientific knowledge is durable.

·Science cannot provide complete answers to all questions.
Scientific inquiry
·Science demands evidence.

·Science is a blend of logic and imagination.

·Science explains and predicts.

·Scientists try to identify and avoid bias.

·Science is not authoritarian.
Scientific enterprise
·Science is a complex social activity.

·Science is organized into content disciplines and is conducted in various institutions.

·There are generally accepted ethical principles in the conduct of science.

·Scientists participate in public affairs both as specialists and as citizens (AAAS 1989).
Focusing on the nature of scientific inquiry
Because the recommended approach to teaching classroom science is scientific inquiry, it is useful to pay special attention to ideas about the nature of science relevant to scientific inquiry. The second section of the Project 2061 article on NOS specifically addresses scientific inquiry, and a close reading suggests a number of teachable ideas about NOS that expand on the more general statements made in the article headings. These ideas may need to be rephrased and/or simplified, depending on students' ages, abilities and backgrounds:
Scientific methods
·Scientists agree generally on what is a valid investigation but there is no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow.

·Scientists resolve the validity of scientific claims by referring to observations of phenomena.

·Scientists use their senses and instruments to gather accurate data through observations and measurements.

·Scientists gather data in both natural settings (forests) and under controlled conditions (in laboratory experiments).

·Scientific arguments follow the principles of logical reasoning (in how conclusions are inferred from evidence) (AAAS 1989).
Role and nature of hypotheses
·Formulating and testing hypotheses are fundamental scientific activities.

·Scientists use tentative hypotheses to seek, choose and interpret scientific data.

·To be useful, a hypothesis should be testable and should suggest what evidence would support it and what evidence would refute it (AAAS 1989).
Invention and discovery
·Inventing hypotheses and theories requires logic, close examination of evidence and creativity.

·Scientific discoveries require a combination of knowledge and creative insight (AAAS 1989).
Theoretical explanations
·Scientists produce knowledge by making observations of phenomena and inventing theoretical explanations to make sense of them.

·Theoretical explanations should use or be consistent with currently accepted scientific principles.

·Theoretical explanations must be logically sound and incorporate a substantial body of valid observations.

·Theoretical explanations often gain acceptance by showing relationships among phenomena that previously seemed unrelated.

·Theoretical explanations should have predictive power and should fit both known observations and additional observations not used in formulating the theories (AAAS 1989).
Bias and authority
·Biases may influence the choices, recording, reporting and interpreting of scientific data.

·Scientists are alert to bias in their own work but objectivity may not always be achieved.

·It is appropriate in science to turn to knowledgeable people as sources of information and opinion, however, no scientists are believed to have special access to the truth and there are no pre-established conclusions that must be reached (AAAS 1989).
Theory change
·New scientific theories may encounter opposition from the scientific community in the short run; however, in the long run, theories are judged by their results.

·When a scientist proposes a new theory that explains more phenomena or answers more questions than a previous theory, the new theory eventually becomes established in its place (AAAS 1989).
Strategy one: Scientific inquiry
Many important ideas about the nature of science can be explicitly taught within the context of scientific inquiry (Gustafson and MacDonald 2005):

· While scientists agree generally on what constitutes a valid investigation, there is no fixed method or set of steps that they always follow. Student groups compare and find differences in how they conducted an investigation into light and shadows, but also note similarities; for example, each group tried to control the same variables.

· Scientists use their senses and instruments to gather accurate data through observations and measurements. Students provide examples of observations and measurements they made during their investigation, and the role played by instruments (for example, using a thermometer to track the temperature of melting ice cubes).

· Scientists gather data in both natural settings and under controlled (laboratory) conditions. Students describe how an uncontrolled investigation (for example, observing different shapes of leaves on trees) differs from a controlled investigation that they engaged in (for example, testing leaves for chlorophyll).

· Biases may influence the recording, interpreting and reporting of scientific data. Students give examples of where they tried to explain results that contradicted their existing ideas (for example, insisting that an ammeter registered different amounts of current in a circuit before and after a bulb when all other groups found the amount of current to be the same).

· Scientific arguments must adhere to the principles of logical reasoning. Students outline how their conclusions about the connection between bird beak shape and type of food were inferred from the evidence that they gathered during a simulation activity.

· The validity of scientific claims is eventually resolved by referring to observations of phenomena. Students resolve a debate over the result of a test by repeating it (for example, using iodine to determine if cornstarch is part of a mystery mixture of three white powders).

· To be useful, a hypothesis should be testable and should suggest what evidence would support it and what evidence would refute it. Students frame a hypothesis using an If ... then ... format so they can test it (for example, "If the mineral fizzes when acid is dripped on it, then it is a carbonate").

· Scientific theories should be logically sound, incorporate a substantial body of valid observations, and use or be consistent with currently accepted scientific principles. Students explain how their theory (for example, their explanation for why a hot air balloon ascends to the ceiling of the room) meets the above three criteria.
Strategy two: History of science
Teachers can also address NOS goals through familiarizing students with the history of science. Current science textbooks generally present summaries of up-to-date scientific ideas, often without reference to their historical development. Students may be left with the erroneous impression that scientific knowledge is a collection of unchanging facts requiring little or no justification. Because the history of science shows how scientific ideas change over time, studying it can help students better understand how we know as well as what we know. Studying the history of science is particularly useful in helping students understand the nature of scientific theories, because many historical accounts focus on the creation and testing of new theories (Gustafson and MacDonald 2005):

· Scientific knowledge is generated by making observations and inventing theoretical explanations to make sense of them. Students are familiarized with the story of how Fleming realized penicillin's antibiotic properties when he observed that colonies of bacteria in a Petri dish stopped growing where mould existed.

· Theoretical explanations often gain acceptance by showing relationships among phenomena that previously seemed unrelated. Students are familiarized with the story of how the theory of plate tectonics came to be accepted as an explanation for such diverse phenomena as earthquakes, volcanoes, fold mountains, seafloor spreading and oceanic trenches.

· Theories are validated by their predictive power. Students are familiarized with the story of how the astronomer Leverrier used anomalies in Uranus's orbit to predict where to find the then unknown planet Neptune in the night sky.

· New scientific theories may encounter strong opposition in the short run, but in the long run they are judged by their results. Students are familiarized with the story of how Wegener's idea of continental drift was rejected then later accepted.

· New theories arise when they explain more or answer more questions than previous theories. Students are familiarized with the story of how Darwin's theory of natural selection replaced Lamarck's theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics as the explanation for adaptation (for example, the long neck of the giraffe).
Strategy three: Current science-related events and issues
A third strategy for teaching about the nature of science concerns science in the news. Almost daily, the media contain stories of science-related events and issues that include references to the nature of science, though those references are often only implicit. For example, Norris and Phillips (2003, 234) state that "Texts contain expression of the wide range of degrees of doubt and certainty applied to statements in science" and discuss whether it is a factual assertion or a tentative hypothesis that there is an ocean beneath the frozen crust of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

The January 20, 2006, issue of the Edmonton Journal includes the following three headlines and accompanying news stories:

· "United States the next front in city company's cold war" (This article was about marketing Alberta-developed COLD-fX in the United States.)

· "Wandering whales worry scientists" (This article was about the possible connection between disruption to right whale migration patterns by shipping routes and military sonar testing.)

· "Winds delay Pluto mission launch" (This article was about the unmanned U.S. spacecraft soon to be sent on a nine-year voyage to Pluto.)

Below are some examples of how each could be used to teach about the nature of science.

· Scientists gather data under controlled conditions. Claims about the effectiveness of COLD-fX are based on controlled clinical trials in Canada and the US. In the Canadian trials, COLD-fX dramatically reduced the incidence and frequency of recurrent colds. The American results showed that COLD-fX dramatically reduced respiratory infections in elderly patients.

· Scientists generally agree on what is a valid investigation, but there is no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow. Scientists agree that testing new drugs such as COLD-fX should involve double-blind testing, where neither the subject nor the experimenter knows which substance is the drug and which is the placebo. Students could be asked to design and participate in a double-blind study themselves (for example, which of three unknown cleaning products works the best).

· Science produces knowledge by making observations of phenomena and inventing theoretical explanations to make sense of them. Right whale migration patterns have been disrupted and scientists are trying to explain why.

· Theoretical explanations should use or be consistent with currently accepted scientific principles. Current scientific knowledge about the effects of sonar transmissions and ship movements on aquatic life will inform an explanation incorporating these two factors.

· Theoretical explanations should have predictive power and should fit both known observations and additional observations not used in formulating the theories. One test for a sonar/shipping explanation for disruption to whale migration could be to stop the sonar transmissions and change the shipping lanes and monitor the effects. The related prediction would be that, once the effects of these two factors are eliminated, the whales will gradually return to their traditional patterns.

· Scientists resolve the validity of scientific claims by referring to observations of phenomena. Pluto raises many questions among space scientists because of its distance and anomalous characteristics; for example, Pluto resembles neither the rocky inner planets nor the outer gas giants. The Pluto space probe has the potential to make observations that may help answer many questions.
A final word: Science, technology and society
When teaching about the nature of science, it is important to keep in mind that science, technology and society are interconnected. For example:

· Social factors influence which scientific research projects get government funding.

· Decisions about science-related social issues are partially informed by scientific knowledge.

· Technological successes, such as more powerful telescopes, advance scientific knowledge.

· Science helps to explain technological failures such as the crash of the Columbia space shuttle.

· Technological innovations, such as the automobile, influence social change (for example, an automobile culture gives rise to freeways, service stations and suburban shopping malls and fast food outlets).

· A technological link to the testing of three white mystery powders relates to the importance, synthesis and use of indicators in chemistry in general (students can actually make and use their own red cabbage solution indicator to distinguish acids from bases).

· A social link to the story of Fleming and penicillin relates to how, for centuries prior to Fleming's "discovery," indigenous people in North America made and applied a paste of mouldy corn to prevent the infection of wounds. Students could discuss the role of social factors in the recognition of what constitutes a scientific discovery.

Often, then, an authentic portrayal of NOS can be extended to include investigation and discussion of technological and societal links. Important for teachers is that students understand what is called science, how science happens and the degree of trust we should place in scientific knowledge. This understanding will assist students to know the world and their place within it, to ask important questions about the world and to think critically about how the world should be.
References
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 1989. Science for All Americans. Project 2061. New York: Oxford University Press. Also available at www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/online/chap1.htm (accessed September 15, 2006).

Collins, S., J. Osborne, M. Ratcliffe, R. Millar and R. Duschl. 2001. "What 'Ideas-About Science' Should Be Taught in School Science? A Delphi Study of the Expert Community." Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, St. Louis, Mo.

Gustafson, B., and D. MacDonald. 2005. A Conceptual Approach to Teaching Children About Science, Technology, and Society. Edmonton, Alta.: Ripon Press.

Norris, S., and L. Phillips. 2003. "How Literacy in its Fundamental Sense Is Central to Scientific Literacy." Science Education 87, no. 2: 224-40.
Dougal MacDonald and Brenda Gustafson are with the faculty of education (elementary science), the University of Alberta.

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Three Classroom Strategies for Teaching about the Nature of Science

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Alberta Science Education Journal, Volume 38, Number 1, November 2006, Journal of the Science Education Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association-Wytze Brouwer, Editor The main goals of science teaching are generally stated as content knowledge (concepts), cognitive skills (for example, designing experiments) and attitudes (for example, respect for evidence).

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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This webstie provided by the NOAA has many great resources for teaching life science. There are multitudes of lessons with grade levels ranging from K-8th.

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Article on project based learning in physics

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Article on project based learning in physics

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Projects are important “real-world” physics modules, modern physics and everyday life problems can be integrated into the science curriculum. Examples of projects that
were worked out are presented. Many of these examples span into high school, but lots of good information can still be used at the elementary school level from this article.

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Article to help teach the nature of science.

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Article to help teach the nature of science.

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This article super helpful in strategies for teaching the nature of science for elementary students. This can be used for all different grades and includes day-to-day breakdowns.

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This book goes through great details of units and chapters on different ways to teach science. The unit on life science has all different things inside to teach from. The full version of the book costs $15 but I would definitely consider paying that because of all the great information included in this book.

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What activities might a teacher use to help children explore the life cycle of butterflies? What does a science teacher need to conduct a "leaf safari" for students? Where can children safely enjoy hands-on experience with life in an estuary? Selecting resources to teach elementary school science can be confusing and difficult, but few decisions have greater impact on the effectiveness of science teaching.

Educators will find a wealth of information and expert guidance to meet this need in Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. A completely revised edition of the best-selling resource guide Science for Children: Resources for Teachers, this new book is an annotated guide to hands-on, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and sources of help in teaching science from kindergarten through sixth grade. (Companion volumes for middle and high school are planned.)

The guide annotates about 350 curriculum packages, describing the activities involved and what students learn. Each annotation lists recommended grade levels, accompanying materials and kits or suggested equipment, and ordering information.

These 400 entries were reviewed by both educators and scientists to ensure that they are accurate and current and offer students the opportunity to:

Ask questions and find their own answers.

Experiment productively.

Develop patience, persistence, and confidence in their own ability to solve real problems.

The entries in the curriculum section are grouped by scientific area-Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Multidisciplinary and Applied Science-and by type-core materials, supplementary materials, and science activity books. Additionally, a section of references for teachers provides annotated listings of books about science and teaching, directories and guides to science trade books, and magazines that will help teachers enhance their students' science education.

Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science also lists by region and state about 600 science centers, museums, and zoos where teachers can take students for interactive science experiences. Annotations highlight almost 300 facilities that make significant efforts to help teachers.

Another section describes more than 100 organizations from which teachers can obtain more resources. And a section on publishers and suppliers give names and addresses of sources for materials.

The guide will be invaluable to teachers, principals, administrators, teacher trainers, science curriculum specialists, and advocates of hands-on science teaching, and it will be of interest to parent-teacher organizations and parents.

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Read "Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science" at NAP.edu

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What activities might a teacher use to help children explore the life cycle of butterflies? What does a science teacher need to conduct a "leaf safari" for students? Where can children safely enjoy hands-on experience with life in an estuary?

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This website has tons of great ways to incorporate literature into the life science unit. It includes adaptations and different grade levels and topics inside of life science.

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Must-Have Life Science Books for Your Elementary Classroom — The Science Penguin

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These are my favorite trade books to help you teach life science concepts like adaptations, traits, ecosystems, food chains, and life cycles in your elementary classroom. The links included are affiliate links to Amazon. 5th Grade Ocean Life Science Unit How to Survive as a Shark Surprising Sharks In One Tidepool If Sharks Disappeared Shark ... Read more

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This website has many ideas for space activities. There are many crafts and ideas to get students hands on and making things.

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What kid doesn't dream about being an astronaut one day and visiting the stars? All future astronauts and rocket scientists will love these fun and free space activities for kids. It's time to blast off into learning-just in time for the release of Disney's new movie Lightyear!

1. Construct a spinning solar system.

This fun pinwheel galaxy is perfect for teaching the orbit of the sun. All you need is a paper plate, colored construction paper, pebbles, and black and silver craft paint.

Learn more: Books and Giggles

2. Create a space-themed board game.

This planets board game is a fun way to learn and practice facts about the planets in our solar system. Kids roll a die and work their way around the path to the finish line. This activity comes with free downloadable planet cards.

Learn more: Inspiration Laboratories

3. Make a balloon-powered space rover.

This clever craft simulates the tiny rover (just a couple of inches high) that NASA built to explore the surface of an asteroid and take pictures.

Learn more: Space Place

4. Make yarn-wrapped planets.

This simple activity will help young students understand the relative size of the planets as well as help them build fine motor skills as they wrap cardboard discs with different colors of yarn.

Learn more: And Next Comes L

5. Craft a DIY sundial.

Help your students build their scientific observation skills. This simple sundial will teach them to tell time by tracking the sun's movement across the sky.

Learn more: Green Kid Crafts

6. Make a model solar system.

This is one of those classic space activities for kids that everyone should try at least once. There are hundreds of ways to make one; find options at the link.

Learn more: Gift of Curiosity

7. Snack on the moon phases.

What goes better with Oreos than a glass of milk? How about a little bit of moon science! We love lessons you can eat when you're finished, don't you?

Learn more: Science Bob

8. Use geoboards to map constellations.

Geoboards are such a cool classroom tool, and you can use them for so many things-like making constellations. Get free printable patterns below.

Learn more: School Time Snippets

9. Create an astronaut training center.

Space activities like this one for kids encourage them to use their imaginations while they learn. Get lots of cool ideas for stocking your astronaut training center at the link.

Learn more: Early Learning Ideas

10. Propel a rocket into space.

Color the free printable rocket templates, then mount them to straw launchers and send them soaring!

Learn more: Buggy and Buddy

11. Play a solar system flash-card game.

Use these free printable planet flash cards and repurpose an old Hedbanz set. No game set? Just tape them to kids' foreheads instead!

Learn more: Simple Everyday Mom

12. Find out why the moon has craters.

This clever science demo simulates the action that formed the moon's craters. All you need is flour, baby oil, and some small rocks.

Learn more: I Can Teach My Child!

13. Assemble marshmallow constellations.

Here's some more yummy science to try! Use toothpicks to connect the marshmallow "stars" to form constellations.

Learn more: Play Teach Repeat

14. Play with galaxy play dough.

This gorgeous DIY galaxy play dough is so much fun to play with while you read a book or watch a documentary about space. Learn how it's made at the link.

Learn more: Days of a Domestic Dad

15. Launch a bottle rocket.

This is another one of those classic space activities for kids you simply have to try. Visit the link for the full how-to.

Learn more: Wikihow

16. Model planets from clay.

There's no better way to get to know the individual planets than to model them from clay. Try using foam balls in the center so you don't need quite so much clay for each one.

Learn more: 3 Dinosaurs

17. Build a LEGO moon rover.

Aspiring engineers will love this STEM challenge! Set a series of parameters their creations must meet, then put them to the test.

Learn more: Adventures in Mommydom

18. Light up the constellations.

First, make your own LED light magnets, then use them to map out all your favorite constellations.

Learn more: Buggy and Buddy

19. Design a space lander.

The challenge? Design a space lander that allows two passengers to land safely on the planet's surface, using only some very basic materials. This one will really get them thinking.

Learn more: Vivify STEM

20. Join the NASA Kids' Club.

What better place to find space activities for kids than NASA? Their Kids' Club is full of games, videos, activities, and much more, and it's all free.

Learn more: NASA Kids' Club

21. Put the planets in order.

Round up all the balls in your house (and a handful of pom-poms for asteroids). Lay them out in order with their relative sizes as a guide.

Learn more: Inspiration Laboratories

22. Craft a moon-phases toy.

This cool little DIY toy demonstrates the phases of the moon. It's a snap to make with a couple of clear plastic cups and some construction paper.

Learn more: Happy Tot Shelf

23. Shine a constellation flashlight.

Turn a flashlight into a star projector by poking holes into black construction paper. Take it into a dark room and let it shine!

Learn more: Handmade Charlotte

24. Recycle cardboard tubes into space shuttles.

During its heyday, the space shuttle was the most sophisticated spaceship around. Help kids learn about it by building little models from cardboard tubes.

Learn more: A Little Pinch of Perfect

25. Eat a fruity solar system.

Snack on the solar system as you learn! This activity combines a healthy snack with space fun.

Learn more: Me and B Make Tea

26. Assemble a constellation luminary.

How pretty is this little constellations luminary? Get the free printable and learn how to put it together at the link.

Learn more: Red Ted Art

27. Melt crayons into planet suncatchers.

Round up some old crayons and use their shavings to make pretty planet suncatchers to bright up your windows.

Learn more: i.d.e.a. Museum

28. Learn how planets orbit the sun.

This quick demo is a good way to introduce the concept of orbits to little learners, using a pie plate, some play dough, and a ball or marble.

Learn more: Gift of Curiosity

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28 Out-of-This-World Space Activities for Kids

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What kid doesn't dream about being an astronaut one day and visiting the stars? All future astronauts and rocket scientists will love these fun and free space activities for kids. It's time to blast off into learning-just in time for the release of Disney's new movie Lightyear!

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Teachers Work Station Nature of Science teaching ideas

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Teachers Work Station Nature of Science teaching ideas

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This resource gives activities and day-to-day ideas when teaching the unit on natural science. This would be especially helpful for grades 3-5.

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I am so excited to get these lesson plans rolling! Each week of your school year can now be stress free because I am going to be sharing my lesson plans with you for free every week!! This will be for elementary science grades 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th since those are the grades I have curriculum for. I don't want you to miss out on a single free lesson plan, so make sure you sign up right now to get these sent straight to your inbox!!

Now, for the biggest week of the school year. Back to School! I like to start with community building and real learning right from day one. This first week of school is a great opportunity to introduce your students to science while introducing your new scientists to each other. Each day of this week has activities built-in for establishing procedures and routines, getting students set up in your classroom, getting to know each other activities, and nature of science learning. You can take a peek at this week lesson plan ( click to download the pdf), and then read all about this first week of school.

Since this lesson is not based on a typical concept standard like the other weeks of the year, this lesson set is the only one that is a different weekly layout than the others. Every other week will follow a set flow of activities for each day. I like this system so my kids know what to expect each day, and it makes planning soooo much easier. Depending on your science block timeframe, you may decide to pick and choose activities from this lesson plan to better fit your schedule. You can also spread this out to cover 2-3 weeks if that is how your school's scope and sequence is set up.

Monday

First day of school! This is an exciting day for everyone, and an important day. My top two biggest focuses on the first day (and first week) is to get everyone settled and make them feel like they belong here. As students walk in your classroom, stand at the doorway and find a fun way to greet each student. Some fun ways to greet kids as they enter your room are:

-high fives

-hugs

-fist bumps

-elbow bumps,

-hand shakes

-waves (pandemic year approved)

-and, always add a big welcoming smile.

Have any easy way for students to find where to sit as they walk in. A name tag or name tent on their desk works well if you have their seating arrangement planned out already. Make a note on the board that says "1. Find your name tag and take a seat. 2. See if you can answer Monday's question on your Science Starters paper." Make sure to have the Science Starters sitting on their desks, or you can hand them out as they walk in. This establishes the routine of coming in and getting to work on Science Starters every day. You have very easily just set up your first expectation.

When everyone has had time to settle in and answer Monday's question, welcome everyone to your class and let them know how excited you are to get to know them and share some fun Science with them this year. Let them know where they will store their Science Starters each day. Hand out any materials you have for them (including their interactive science notebooks). Let them know how these materials will be used and stored. Set the expectations for the year.

Now, it's time to introduce some learning and show your students how fun Science can be! For this first Science lab demo of the year, I love to do glowing foam explosions. I enjoy watching them as an adult, and kids flip out to watch it. You can make this in a soda bottle or in a volcano (made from modeling clay). Either way is exciting to watch! I like to have a cookie tray under this to catch the foam. This is an elephant toothpaste style explosion, so it should not fly out. The liquid and tray can be hot after this demo, so be careful of that.

Now that we have some Science going, this is a great time to introduce the Word Wall Builder Chart. Talk to them about the process of how we will think about words before we learn them and work through the first column of your chart for the week. I love Word Wall Builder Charts because it guides students through using critical thinking for each word and gives them daily exposure to the words, making them stick better in their memory. The Word Wall Builder Chart can be an anchor chart or on a board in your classroom, but it can also be printed as a student sheet. Students can collect these in the back of their interactive notebook or in a folder. I added a pic of my chart below done on chart paper. I used sticky notes so I didn't have to recreated the chart every week.

Tuesday

This will be the first of weekly informational texts you provide your students with this year. Because of this, I like to read the informational text as a class. Step one of a gradual release to students: Guide students through the process you would like them to use when reading. Think about how they will define the key words. Will they highlight them? Do you want them to define the words as they read, or after they read? Walk them through step by step. Think out loud for them. As you progress through the year, you may want to keep a group of students who need extra help for a longer scaffolding process.

I like to provide students with a way to process and use the information they read so they can better retain that information. I create a themed graphic organizer for each text that doubles as visual notetaking or note doodles or coloring notes. They use what they read or learned to complete the graphic organizer.

While reading, they defined the three key terms. These key terms give students a guide for writing a summary about what they have read. This is a second way they interact with the reading and process the information. Informational texts are not a tell-all of the concept because I want them to experience the standard to really learn it. The real learning will come through the other activities. Informational texts are there to give students a base knowledge to prep them for labs and activities.

Using their new knowledge of the key terms, you can complete column 2 "context clues "of the word wall chart. When stored in their notebooks or folders, Word Wall Builder Charts become a great reference point for homework help or studying.

Name Tents make the perfect community building activity to end the day. Students will fill out the 3 sides of the tent, assemble it, and then allow them to talk to classmates about what they put on their name tents. These can be used the rest of the week if students fold them and put them in a folder.

Wednesday

Today will be the first anchor chart of the year. Each regular week will have one anchor chart, but this week has three. Since this week covers the basics of science, these anchor charts will be a great reference for the rest of the year. Free classroom decor!! Anchor charts can be created on chart paper using the printable version as a guide. Have students follow along by creating their own or filling out a printable version in their interactive notebook. Anchor charts are the perfect student input for interactive science notebooks. I provide moveable pieces for each anchor chart that can be added to make these more fun and interactive for their notebooks. Today's anchor chart will introduce Science Tools. This is the first activity for the interactive science notebook, so take your time to explain your expectations and procedures for their notebooks. Plan out your storage plan for the ISN ahead of time so they have a place to put them. I like to have a crate at the edge of each table with dividers for each class (if departmentalized). Here is a simple anchor chart I have drawn up for this day. If the thought of drawing stressed you out, use the printable versions and save yourself even more time.

I like to set up the notebooks so that the two activities are on opposite pages from each other. Both the input and the output can be seen together across from each other. This makes a great reference point for completing work, homework, or studying for tests. On the creative side of their notebook, they will add the toolbox pieces that can open to store the tool cards. Another option for this one is to have them complete the tool chart where they can add their own illustration for each tool. Having your science tools set up around the room for students to explore and see in person will make this even more meaningful.

To finish up the day, have students start working on the Back to School Scientist (All About Me Craft). This is a really fun way for students to think of themselves as a scientist and share more about themselves. They will work on these the rest of the week and you can display them in the hall or on the classroom wall so everyone can get to know each other better. This activity is sent to you when you sign up for my Elementary Science Newsletter of lesson plans and resources sent right to you!

Thursday

Today will be the second anchor chart of the week: Science Safety Rules. This is extremely important to cover. If time didn't allow for this whole week of learning for your class, today's lesson would be the one to pick for the week. Science Safety may not sound like a huge deal for elementary science, but there are supplies we use that could cause harm if not handled properly. I always suggest doing a teacher demo for the labs that are too dangerous for this age group, such as boiling water or anything using a hot plate. Knowing how important science safety is will help them stay safe during these demos. Other times, there may be substances you don't want them tasting, ingesting, or breathing in. Plus, it builds a respect for the science lab that will keep them safe in the upper grades. I have always found science safety rules to be a really simple behavior deterrent. Kids love labs. When I see behaviors in class that would not be good for a lab, I let them know that if they can't follow rules in regular class times, then I cannot trust them to be safe in the lab later this week. It works every time!

For the anchor chart, you can create this in class with your students on chart paper and have them copy it in their notebook. To save on time, I always provide a printable version students can complete and glue in their notebook with an optional interactive overlay. The printable versions can be used by you to fill them out on a projector screen if you don't want to make the large option every time.

With the anchor chart on the teacher input side of the interactive notebook, students can draw and label their safe science lab on the right side. I have a lab table image they can glue in to draw around, but a blank page works just as well.

Now that we have some science safety knowledge, its time to treat the class to a lab! The Water Absorption Lab is perfect for this. It works quickly enough to see results by the second day. I just grab the cheapest white flowers I can find in the garden department. We cut the roots off of one set, and leave the roots intact for the other. We add some water with food coloring to each and see how much roots affect water absorption. Friday will be focused on the Scientific Method, and this is a great start for working through that.

This is a good day to complete the final two columns of the Word Wall Builder Chart. Give students the actual definition (which can always be found on the Vocabulary Activity Pages).

Close today by working on the All About Me Scientist Craft, if time allows.

Friday

The Scientific Method anchor chart will finish up our intro to science week. Like with the other anchor charts this week, there are a couple options in the lesson set to choose from. Either will get the concept covered. For the student output of this interactive science notebook activity, students will plan their own experiment! They will have fun with this, and you can just let them see what they come up with. I like to give them a notebook sized lab report that is set up for them to fill in the blanks.

And, then its time for part 2 of the lab! Students will observe and record the results of their experiment. This is the first lab of the year, so work through the conclusion portion of the lab with the class. Model your thoughts to show them your expectations for a conclusion in a lab report. Extending this out to check again after the weekend, would give a new look on roots. This is where you will see the plant with no roots start to wilt and maybe even die. This would show that although plants can absorb water without roots, it is not enough to sustain it over a longer period of time.

If time allows, students can complete the vocabulary activity pages. These could be given earlier in the week or for homework. Each week's lesson will always include these vocabulary activities, so students can process each word in a variety of ways.

Finish up the week by completing and sharing the All About Me Scientist Craft. Post these around the room or in the hall so everyone can get to know each other.

Last step: Go home and relax, you deserve it!! It's Friday and I already have your next week planned for you, too. 😉
Lesson Plan Q&A
Q: Where can I find all of the activities and printables?

A: All activites and printables for this week of learning (except the All About Me Scientist Craft)can be found in the Nature of Science Complete Lesson Set. Detailed Instructions and Lesson Plans are also included in the complete lessons set.

Q: Can this be purchased with a school purchase order?

Yes. I have these posted in my Teachers Pay Teachers store which is set up for using a purchase order as a form of payment.

Q: Is there a way to buy the full year of the complete weeks of learning in a bundle and save?

A: The Mega Bundles include the full year of learning PLUS extra resources for adding more literacy into your science block, test prep, and more! The EVERYTHING 4th Grade MEGA Bundle and the EVERYTHING 5th Grade MEGA Bundle both have everything you need for a year of learning. They are also updated as needed to meet changing standards and new research in teaching methods.

Q: What standards do the Complete Lesson Sets and Mega Bundles cover?

A: Each lesson is written to cover both the TEKS and the NGSS standards when applicable. Some lessons may be solely TEKS or NGSS when they don't match up for a grade level. Most of the time TEKS have a few more standards in a year than the NGSS.

I hope this gives you some good ideas for the first week of school. My goal is to provide you with engaging lessons that are ready to go each week so you can spend far less time planning and prepping, and far more time spoiling yourself **because you deserve it!**

Recommended Resources for Teaching Science

To make your teacher life even easier, I have put my lesson activities and materials into easy to use files. This saves all the time we spend scrolling and collecting lesson resources. Just print and add simple lab supplies! Or, go digital for NO PREP! No making copies, and the lab is virtual - Talk about saving your sanity.
EVERYTHING 4th Grade MEGA Bundle
4th Grade
EVERYTHING 5th Grade MEGA Bundle
5th Grade

Here is the lesson plan link again. And, don't forget to join the Science Newsletter so you never miss a planned week of learning!

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Week 1 Science Lessons: Nature of Science (3rd - 5th)

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I am so excited to get these lesson plans rolling! Each week of your school year can now be stress free because I am going to be sharing my lesson plans with you for free every week!! This will be for elementary science grades 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th since those are the grades I have curriculum for.

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Discovery channel made this website full of virtual field trips. Students can explore these on their own or as a whole class. Depending on the unit, you can choose different places around the world to explore!

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Join us for our Virtual Field Trips or watch them on-demand after their premieres. Each no-cost Virtual Field Trip comes with a companion guide packed with standards-aligned, hands-on learning activities! Select one of the options below to register.

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Take students beyond the classroom and into some of the world's most iconic locations with virtual field trips. Learn more!

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These foldables are great examples of the many types that can be used in science instruction.

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A simple yet good example of a method to incorporate a foldable into earth science

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This website lays out 50 different methods of teachignt oget students engaged in science learning. From role play and virtual labs, to science fairs and songs there are tons of good strategies to use to help students stay engaged and interested in science when teaching lessons.

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Student engagement and understanding of materials is given more emphasis in today's education over spoon feeding the facts.

Therefore, using black-boards or the typical lecture methods are not adequate to teach science and other related subjects.

Many scholars and researchers have proposed advanced ideas and they claim that virtual teaching scenarios or simulations can help to build a better understanding of subjects amongst students.

More than just conveying facts or findings in science, students will love to explore the world of science. These innovative teaching methods in science can substitute the typical teaching techniques to achieve the goal.

1. Hands on Learning:

This is the best teaching method invented so far that involves the active participation of students to experience scientific concepts than to just have an audience view.

Schools are promoting the use of low cost apparatus in classrooms to helps students to have hands on learning experience. It can be a string telephone to teach about sound and communication, matchstick mecanno to teach 3D structures, notched pencil to teach rotation motion or anything similar.

2. Story Telling

Students love to hear stories and therefore, storytelling is one of the best ways to get their attention in class.

Teacher can explain the facts of biology or the laws of physics in the form of stories. This is a mental organizer as human brains can remember stories than just plain facts. Some teachers present the whole concept as a story while some others use a story to open and end the session.

3. Role Play

This innovative method is becoming an integral part of science education as students can intellectually and physically involve through activities while learning a new concept.

Activities can be organized in classroom sessions where a group of students can take the role of atoms or molecules to study a chemical reaction or they can represent a scientist group to demonstrate the particular scientist's laws.

4. Sports Based Learning

This is an interesting approach to learn problem-solving in physics or a stepwise method to study complex chemical reactions.

A game of football or cricket helps them to learn about the percentage, average or probability which can find its use in physics problems. Sports are mostly played in teams which also promote the importance of teamwork that helps them to synchronize better in group projects.

5. Visual clues

Using visual clues easily supplements auditory information and students can easily connect better with ideas.

The multi-sensory experiences improve their understanding and memorization. This includes drawings, diagrams, and pictures to assist theory and setting up examples to show its application side.

The sequence of lab procedures can be better taught using pictures with words approach.

6. Instructional Conversations

Building instructional conversations is a key method to teach science vocabulary. Let them talk in between the lectures about the experience they had with an application related to the topic of discussion.

This promotes their dialogue construction in science as they communicate using scientific and technical terms. Make this a classroom strategy to help students to easily learn science vocabulary.

7. Science Text Cards

This is an innovative teaching method to convey the science facts in an easy and organized way. In this activity, statements related to science concepts are written on index cards.

Students can work individually, pairs or in groups to sort the cards based on the given format. The formats include true/false,agree/disagree, matching pairs, classification, sequencing and more.

8. Word Games

This is a creative strategy to help elementary students to experience the language of science. Hangman, Pictionary, Dingbats, Bingo, Scrabble, Odd One Out, Charades, Trivial Pursuit etc. are the common games.

Playing these games using scientific terms helps the students to work closely with different hard to understand words and use them fluently in their subject.

9. Graphic Organizers

This teaching approach is helpful for students to interact with science in a more organized and structured way. Teachers can use different types of templates to represent the data according to the topic that is being handled.

A typical format for graphic organizer contains a central point from which different branches are formed and there may be sub-branches in certain cases. Arrows are used to point the direction or sequence of a process.

10. Word Parts

This teaching strategy is followed by teachers to educate the basics of science to elementary students. While introducing new scientific terms, they can reinforce the structure of words.

Students are asked to identify and understand prefix, suffix, and base word, and to relate their meanings. For example, metamorphosis - meta (large), morph (change), osis (process); photosynthesis - photo (light), synth (make), isis (process).

11. Social media

The different social media platforms can be used wisely to teach science to make the science classrooms more interesting and engaging. For instance, students can be asked to follow scientists in Twitter and share his/her new thoughts and findings in class or to use Feedly for improving the content of their research projects.

Students can also use Vine to document and to share science videos, Pinterest account for sharing images for research projects or writing prompts or WordPress class account for peer-to-peer learning.

12. Virtual science labs

There are many virtual science labs available online for free and therefore, this approach almost gives hands on experience of learning the subject without much expense.

Detailed diagrams, illustrations or close up pictures allow students to virtually get inside a plant or animal part without actually doing it. Dissections in biology can be studied thoughtfully with a virtual hands-on sensation without the problem of odour and similarly, experiment a chemical reaction without burns.

13. Word walls

Science word walls in classrooms can stimulate the interest of students in the subject and an opportunity for them to illustrate different concepts. In an advanced technique, a more in-depth understanding of different scientific terms can be made possible with pictures that accompany the words.

This is also an option to help them better understand words with multiple meanings. Teachers can design creative word walls or ask students to contribute to the idea weekly or monthly.

14. Thinking Maps

This is an ideal way to visually represent different thought processes which help to organize the science education with a better flow. There are different types of thinking maps available which can be chosen wisely to represent the particular topic.

This includes bridge maps to teach relation between ideas, brace maps to break larger objects into smaller parts, flow maps to show sequence of events, multi-flow maps to show effects or causes of an event, tree maps to classify objects or ideas and more.

15. Mini anchor charts

These interesting charts are a great idea to give a detailed overview or explanation of a science topic. Teachers use it to interactively teach areas such as scientific methods, types of energy, plant life cycle, states of matter, mixtures and solutions, force & motion and more.

To make the whole idea interesting, the teacher brings variations such as black and white charts, colored ones; fill in the blank models, and full-page anchor charts for large classrooms.

16. Crossover Learning

In this teaching method, students are given opportunity to learn in multiple settings such as inside the classroom, museums, field trips or clubs.

Teachers can use this method effectively by proposing a question in class, taking students to informal settings to find answers and then, going back to classrooms to discuss and share the findings. This way, learners can record, link, recall and share their diverse learning events to explore the topic and get a deeper level understanding.

17. Argue with Science

Learning through argumentation gives students a widened thinking to contrasting ideas which in turn deepen their understanding.

They can refine ideas with others and engage with open-ended questions, and re-state observations or remarks in a more scientific language. Teachers can also guide them in their approach and share the intellectual expertise with them.

18. Context-Based Learning

In this method, students are given the opportunity to create context and explore ideas from them. They interact with surroundings, hold conversations with subject experts, make relevant notes and attempt to modify the nearby objects.

The context can be understood in detail by exploring the world around. This gradually helps them to interpret new information from the context and relate to what they already know.

19. Computational thinking

This is an advanced technique to improve thinking and problem-solving skills. The method comprises decomposition i.e. breaking large problems into small units and pattern recognition-related problems to the ones which were already solved successfully in the past.

Computational thinking skills also cover algorithms-step by step approach to reach a solution; abstraction-neglecting unimportant details and debugging-refining these steps.

20. Remote labs

Learning by doing is an unparalleled approach to teach science and this is made a reality with remote labs. Students are given access to authentic scientific tools and opportunities to control remote lab experiments.

This would enhance their inquiry skills and conceptual understanding and also, the students can learn and explore with motivation.

21. Embodied Learning

In this approach, mind and body of the students work together to explore science. The physical feedback, as well as the resultant actions, will reinforce their learning process.

This idea is well supported by today's technology such as visual systems that track movement or wearable sensors to collect physical and biological data.

22. Science museums

Give opportunity to students to visit a science museum as part of the learning process. This gives them access to innovative resources and they can visualize data they learned in class.

They can have a look at the real work of scientists which improves their urge to learn about it further. Regular visits to museums make learning science more engaging and interesting.

23. Projects

This can be an individual activity or group activity which helps students to showcase the application side of what they learnt through theory.

This method involves choosing the idea, building a plan, executing the plan and finally evaluating it. When students pass through these stages, they can improve their skills to express ideas, problem solving, overcoming the challenges, team work and self assessment.

24. Multimedia Approach

This method is a blend of text, audio, animation, video, still images or interactivity content forms to teach diverse difficult to understand concepts in science.

The educator can convey vast information using advanced media, devices and techniques, and involve a wide range of activities to provide a meaningful learning experience.

25. ICT Enabled Learning

ICT refers to the use of Information and Communications Technology to teach the scientific ideas that promotes open source learning.

In order to make the accessing, storing, transmitting, and manipulation of information more easy, this approach integrates telecommunications, computers and relevant enterprise software, storage, middleware, and audio-visual systems required to handle the topic.

26. Video clips

This teaching technique makes use of instructional video clips available online or in libraries to show and teach a new concept.

The evolution of a process can be conveyed better with animation videos. It can also be videos of demonstration of an idea or an application side of a theory or an interview with a scientist, tutorial by a subject expert and more.

27. Power Points

Instead of the conventional talk and chalk methods, teachers now include power point presentations in their classroom sessions to make it more interesting.

They connect the computers to projectors to address a larger classroom and include interesting slides with diagrams and flow charts to make the teaching more interactive.

28. Mini-labs

Mini-labs allow students to take part in hands-on activities inside the classrooms to illustrate a concept. This makes classroom sessions more fun, engaging and memorable.

Students can attempt to mock-up day/night with a globe and flashlight, build circuits, test for conductivity and magnetism, produce mixtures and solutions or model the formation of sedimentary rock and more.

29. Science Fair

Schools should conduct science fairs as part of their teaching strategy to promote students interest in the subject as well as to evaluate their level of understanding.

In this competition, students are given a time frame to answer a question or perform a task through a range of experiments and research. They showcase the output in the form of reports, display board, or as models.

30. Research books

The teacher can promote the use of research books in classrooms rather than just text books and lecture notes. Students are asked to do a research on whatever topic is covered in class by means of libraries, websites or by talking with experts.

This can include the extended information of their syllabus and their findings with diagrams and charts to emphasize it. They can share their research books with classmates too.

31. Documented Problem Solving

In this method, the teacher insists students record their thought process when solving a problem. They are asked to explain their reasoning for reaching the particular solution rather than simply presenting a solution.

This kind of documented problem solving helps them to have a deeper understanding of their process and gives an option for self-analysis.

32. Science kit

This is one of the innovative methods of teaching scienceto kids and adults alike. Let it be physical science, life science, or earth science, teachers are now making use of science kits to help students have an engaging educational experience.

They can conduct small experiments with guided instructions to identify rock specimens, to watch out for insect metamorphosis or demonstrate chemistry reactions.

33. Science stations

This is a fun, quick and engaging way to teach science that promotes student-led learning. Science stations support differentiated learning that lets students immerse themselves in topics, experience science to the fullest and then reflect back on their learning.

There will be multiple stations built with different learning styles and students can research, explore, watch, read, write, assess and illustrate the science concepts.

34. Observation stations

More than just the textbook assignments that have limitations in exploring the topic, these advanced observation stations help students to build up their research, observation, and creativity.

This includes activities that help them to have an understanding of a specific concept using 5 to 6 stations with varied options. The activities include determining mass using a triple beam balance or testing objects to find out their electrical conductivity and magnetism and a lot more.

35. Peer-to-Peer Teaching

Students take the role of teaching each other that promotes excitement learning science. In Peer-to-Peer Teaching approach, they are really engaged in the content by discussing scientific topics, generating questions and working in teams to explore new information.

Some of the activities involved in this approach include buzz groups, solution groups, and critic groups.

36. Science movies

Teachers take initiatives to take them for science movies in theatres or in school halls that clearly showcase the application side of scientific concepts.

More than just entertaining them, many science movies captivate their attention and illustrate diverse science concepts in the real world. Science and nature-focused documentaries is one of the best ways to introduce science to kids than spoon feeding them with text book content.

37. Science games for kids

Kids always love to play and that is why smart teachers introduce science to them with interesting games. They can learn more about science and technology with fun.

A wide range of games are available online that showcase the concepts of animals, plants, space, forces, light, sounds, magnets, electricity, weather and gases. There are games with multiple levels and passing each level teaches a new concept and illustrates scientific experiments.

38. Science songs

This is another creative teaching method to help kids to learn about the science world with fun. Teachers can make use of the interesting science songs available online or create one to introduce the basics of astronomy, biology, botany, physical science and earth science with fun.

Science Is Real, Meet the Elements, The Star Song and Motion Song are a few among the popular science songs available online.

39. Science Exhibition

Encourage your students to take part in science exhibitions as part of school level or inter-school level competitions. This is a great opportunity to bring out their creativity in science and design an application based on a scientific concept.

Develop this inquisitiveness and creative mindset in students right from the elementary classes to help them to grow up as science enthusiasts.

40. Mobile apps for Science

A number of mobile apps are available online for elementary, middle school and high school students as well as for those undergoing advanced studies. Today's kids are tech savvies and they love to learn science using their gadgets.

The advanced mobile apps built with innovative features in fact turn students into scientists. This lets them hold science in their hands and explore it with just a few taps. The popular apps in the category include Human Body, Cozmic Zoom, Earth Primer, Video Science, Science360, NASA GLOBE Observer and a lot more.

41. Field trips

In the middle of boring classroom sessions, take your students out for field trips to experience science while learning. Go to an aquarium, a nature center, a scientist's home or visit a pet store.

You can also spend some time with the students in the bird park or simply go on a nature walk to experience the science around while learning new concepts.

42. Science clubs

Set up science clubs in your schools or community, which is an ideal approach to STEM education that assimilates high quality hands-on instruction.

This is the right place for science enthusiasts to share and discuss new happenings in the science world and to connect innovative ideas to what they actually learned.

43. Reward discovery

Right from the elementary classes, teachers should support, guide and inspire students to discover the wonders of science.

With an inquisitive mindset, there are a lot to discover from the science world we are living in. Also, reward them for the small discoveries they make and let them share and present it in class.

44. Interactive science journals

This is an advanced version of lecture notes in which students express the information they learnt into different templates and elicit their own responses.

Students can use this technique effectively to have a deeper connection to their learning and this activity promotes their higher level thinking. They can be creative with their notebooks using pictures, charts and comments, thus, building an encompassing resource for future reference.

45. Science at home

Like scientists say, science starts from home. Encourage your students to discover science at home from elementary classes itself. Ask them to find out a specific science concept application at home as assignments and let them discover science on the go.

There are fun science activities at home that involve parents and kids such as measuring Earth's circumference with a shadow, creating under water fireworks with chemistry, building a balloon powered toy car and a lot more.

46. Flipped Classroom

In this innovative teaching technique, students are asked to go through video instructions or tutorials in the initial stage, i.e. digital learning.

The second stage will be in classrooms where they involve in challenging tasks and assignments based on the information gathered through video assets. This flipped learning frees up class time for activities such as hands-on labs, guided practice or online simulations.

47. Guided Discovery Problems

Understanding science is more than just knowing some facts and the guided discovery problems method makes it possible. This technique can be integrated into the lecture, lab and field courses.

It refers to understanding science step-by-step through the discovery process and involves the collection and processing of data, debugging and explaining it through intriguing puzzles, structured hands-on activities and right presentation of information.

The conceptually difficult or counter-intuitive topics are better handled with this approach.

48. Fishbone

This is a visual tool for organizing critical thinking which is a good approach for problem solving in science. The fishbone diagram helps to teach students about the root causes leading to a problem and quantifying the relationship between the effect and cause. This is more effective when teaching a group. In this diagram approach, the head of the fish represents the change, the ribs show the reason and riblets have the supportive evidence.

49. Science Quiz

Include a quiz as a part of your classroom sessions when teaching science. This can be done as a whole class activity by splitting the group into 4 or more sets. The questions can include the application of the theory taught in class. Students can discuss and share ideas to find the solution within the stipulated time frame. This teaching approach helps students to think from different angles and sometimes, to think out of the box.

50. Build your model

This can be a challenging task given to students as part of science education. Models are the building blocks of science which are used to explain the diverse aspects of real world.

Ask your students to build their own model using the scientific knowledge they have acquired and you can provide supportive guidance.

Students will be creative in making models and designing their own imaginative means of testing them. This is the right approach to find the scientist in them.

The new era teachers and science enthusiasts have come up with many innovative teaching methods in science and the listed ones are just a few among them.

We live in a scientific world and the advanced teaching strategies are helping students to discover and explore science every day.

Other than the listed methods, teachers looking for advanced techniques can also try group discussion, case studies, laboratory experiments, seminar, outdoor teaching, creative illustrations, crafts, dramatization, and interactive lecture demonstrations to help students to experience the beauty of science.

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50 Innovative Teaching Methods in Science | Edsys

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More than just conveying the facts or findings in science, students will love to explore the world of science. These innovative teaching methods in science can substitute the typical teaching techniques to achieve the goal.

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This website has many good resources for teaching astronomy and about outer space. It includes activities and PowerPoints, and offers many different topics to choose from.

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This is related to mystery science, but these videos are made to inspire students to ask questions and have discussions about science topics.

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Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

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Mystery Science offers open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science. The hook, visuals, and activity have all been prepared for you. Less prep, more learning.

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This website has great resources and videos for teaching science. There's mini lessons aligned with standards and hands on activities for students.

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Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

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Mystery Science offers open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science. The hook, visuals, and activity have all been prepared for you. Less prep, more learning.

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edpuzzle is used to insert questions to videos you want to share with your class. This encourages students to stay engaged and can be used to challenge students, or be used for easy recall information.

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!