This lesson focuses specifically on teaching concepts of speed and its impact on energy, as well as providing a basic introduction to potential and kinetic energy to fourth-grade students. "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") 4-PS3-1 states that students should be able "to use evidence to construct an explanation…

This article describes how using a variety of differentiation strategies, such as listening to stories, visualizing scenarios, and performing tactile activities, can help fourth-grade students to conceive of and express examples of energy transfer.

The inclusion of engineering in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a key component of K-12 science learning has provided both opportunities and challenges for elementary teachers. One challenge is integrating the design thinking processes that undergird engineering with core science concepts and current issues facing scientists and…

Design thinking--a human-centered approach to problem solving--is a process by which K-12 teachers engage students in solving relevant issues that occur in their schools. In this article, the authors describe a project in which fourth-graders used design thinking to solve an unexpected issue related to a much-anticipated class project. The project…

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosis and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States for both men and women. The etiologies of many different types of lung cancer can be linked to risk factors that can be prevented, such as chronic tobacco smoking. Lung cancer is significantly more prevalent among…

The activity presented in this article is an engaging engineering challenge that has been conducted with third- through fifth-grade students in school classrooms and during after-school programs. This article describes the hands-on activity as appropriate for fifth graders that supports the "Next Generation Science Standards." This…

This article describes a project that integrates English Language Arts (ELA) and coding into environmental science. For this project, students researched science content about human impact on the environment, communicated their findings through a traditionally formatted narrative story, and then used a coding program called Scratch to create an…

In an increasingly digital world, the elementary school students of today who learn to program will be positioned to re-imagine and build the future. As educators, it is essential to consider how such an important skill is made accessible for a diverse range of students, including those diagnosed with learning disabilities. In this article, the…

With a belief in the need for a reform in education that prepares students for life, work, and citizenship in a globalized economy, leaders were determined to connect students across the district, state, country, and globe in global collaborative STEM projects. These projects were aligned to the standards but also afforded students the opportunity…

Creating a culturally responsive (Ladson-Billings 1995) or culturally sustaining (Paris 2012) learning environment requires teachers making connections to students' experiences outside of school, allowing them to draw on what González, Moll, and Amanti (2006) refer to as students' "funds of knowledge," or the values, interests, and…

Using the practices in three-dimensional learning means that a classroom community of students working alongside the teacher identifies questions and debates how to make progress. Students should see each step of their work as addressing goals they have set. This article explores a strategy developed by researchers and teachers for supporting…

The integrated STEM activity described in this article incorporated two investigations that sought to develop children's understanding of fair-testing: (1) the first parachutes: how does the angle of a parachute frame affect the speed of descent?; and (2) modern parachutes: how does the size of the parachute canopy affect the speed of descent?…

This article describes a lesson in which fourth-grade students create a habitat for terrapins while reducing erosion. A client and their needs were presented to the students: The city purchased a piece of shoreline on the bay previously owned by a private company. The company had started to develop the land, exposing soil up to the water's edge.…

Most students have never had the opportunity to interact with amphibians. Field trips students list as most memorable are usually their outdoor experiences and interactions with living creatures. Apart from being memorable, field trips need to be meaningful and provide students with authentic learning experiences. Field trips allow students to…

Human-made pollution is a large and complex problem that has harmful effects on communities and ecosystems. Understanding these impacts is essential, but it can be daunting when many types of chemical pollution are difficult to conceptualize, especially for elementary school students. Something every student can understand, however, is trash.…