A problem-based learning activity focusing on the human impact on the environment and the importance of sustainable development is presented. The activity revolves around a mysterious island where the civilization is on the blink of extinction, prompting students to investigate how human behavior, ecosystems, resources, and natural balance…

The Next Generation Science Standards call for the integration of science and engineering. Often, the introduction of engineering activities occurs after instruction in the science content. That is, engineering is used as a way for students to elaborate on science ideas that have already been explored. However, using only this sequence of…

Elementary, middle-level, and high school science teachers commonly find their students have misconceptions about heat and temperature. Unfortunately, student misconceptions are difficult to modify or change and can prevent students from learning the accurate scientific explanation. In order to improve our students' understanding of heat and…

This article highlights a core lesson that has been used in a number of Lincoln Park Zoo educational programs. The lesson teaches students to conduct an ethological, or animal behavior, study on a bird. This study can be implemented in a variety of outdoor settings, including a park, schoolyard, or zoo. Using an ethogram, students will practice…

We developed a predator-prey activity with eighth-grade students in which they used wolf spiders ("Lycosa carolinensis"), house crickets ("Acheta domestica"), and abiotic factors to address how (1) adaptations in predators and prey shape their interaction and (2) abiotic factors modify the interaction between predators and…

Science teachers need specific strategies to develop writing skills along with science content. Fortunately, research has demonstrated that science-teaching methodology can accomplish both the teaching of science content and various language skills, including writing. A technique suitable for and utilized by science teachers is the "mode…

The United States is currently experiencing its worst man-made environmental disaster, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is severe in its impact, but it is only one of several global oil spill disasters in history. Students can utilize the technology of Google Earth to explore the spatial and temporal distribution of…

"Why are the seas blue?" is a huge question that may reach far beyond the middle school level. However, our objective is to bring "simple" tools into the classroom to explain science without tampering with its essence and complexity. The experiment described in this article is only concerned with teaching the subject of absorption as related to…

The ocean provides humanity with many services and goods, including clean air, minerals, and food. Sustainable use and management of our marine resources are important to ensure that these resources are available for future generations. The turn-based activity presented in this article teaches students the challenges of managing a sustainable…

To find out about the microscopic life in the valuable estuary environment, it is usually necessary to be near the water. This dry lab offers an alternative, using authentic data and a simulation of plankton sampling. From the types of organisms found in the sample, middle school students can infer relationships in the biological and physical…

Students in life science classes need an introduction to biomes, including an introduction to the concept, key biotic and abiotic features of biomes, and geographic locations of biomes. In this activity, students in seventh- and eighth-grade science classes used a directed exploratory Internet activity to learn about biomes. The author tested…

This article presents an activity in which students pool their knowledge and creativity to make a song presenting what they have learned in a unit on the rock cycle. This highly motivating, integrated performance assessment incorporates multiple intelligences, reinforces learning, and is a student favorite in the elementary and middle grades.

According to the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council 1996), students in the middle school years should progress in studying life science from examining individual organisms to recognizing patterns in ecosystems and developing an understanding about the cellular dimensions of living systems. Students should broaden the…

Presents a multidisciplinary unit on natural dyes designed to take advantage of the natural curiosity of middle school students. Discusses history of dyes, natural dyes, preparation of dyes, and the dyeing process. (JRH)

Presents a demonstration to show the formation of images in the retina in normal vision, in farsightedness, and in nearsightedness using only a 35mm slide projector. (MKR)