Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2 (Paperback)

by Bernard J Nebel PhD (Author)
Key Phrases: higher levels, amazing body, construction forces, Content Standard, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, Children's Press (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
By receiving this comprehensive groundwork, I gained a newfound confidence enabling me to pass on the information to my children. -- Mary Soto, Hayes, VA

I have never seen an approach (especially to science) that is so well thought-out, so reasonable, so do-able, so inspirational. -- April Duritza, lunablog.net

This material far surpasses any other material I have come across (and I frequently do a lot of digging and research for my lesson plans). -- D. Schmidt, Kansas City, MO

Product Description


This is The most comprehensive science curriculum for beginning learners that you will find anywhere

* Here are 41 lesson plans that cover all major areas of science.


* Lessons are laid out as stepping stones that build knowledge and understanding logically and systematically.


* Child-centered, hands-on activities at the core of all lessons bring children to observe, think, and reason.


* Interest is maintained and learning is solidified by constantly connecting lessons with children's real-world experience


* Skills of inquiry become habits of mind as they are used throughout.


* Lessons integrate reading, writing, geography, and other subjects.


* Standards, including developing a broader, supportive community of science learners come about as natural by-products of learning science in an organized way.


Particular background or experience is not required. Instructions include guiding students to question, observe, think, interpret, and draw rational conclusions in addition to performing the activity. Teachers can learn along with their students and be exceptional role models in doing so. Need for special materials is minimized. Personal, on line, support is available free of charge (see front matter).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Outskirts Press (November 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1432706101
• ISBN-13: 978-1432706104
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #219,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best elementary science curriculum I have found, February 5, 2008

By	April P. Duritza - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding is a newly released collection of 41 thorough, brilliantly organized, and fascinating lesson plans, covering scientific ideas appropriate for grades K-2. It is suitable for classrooms, learning co-ops, homeschooling, and more. I am using it as a tool in homeschooling my 7 year old twin daughters.

I think this book is best described to homeschoolers as a living book about how to teach science. Dr. Nebel (who has a long career in teaching college level environmental science) is clearly passionate about his subject - science is his life's work. It seems that the goal of this curriculum is not just to have the child read a book and pass a test, but to encourage people to become scientists - thinkers who actually use scientific knowledge in their own lives.

Dr. Nebel's approach is systematic, yet flexible.

He compares science to math - Just as you would generally introduce addition before calculus, BFSU introduces foundational ideas first. This allows the child (and the parent, at least in my case!) to develop a good appreciation for and understanding of the terminology involved, as well as encouraging them to relate to how the concept fits into the real world.

At the same time, there is flexibility built in to the lesson plans.

The 41 lessons are divided into 4 different threads:

* The Nature of Matter
* Life Science
* Physical Science
* Earth and Space Science.

Each thread is carefully developed in a logical manner, with every lesson building on the foundation laid by the ones that came before. Unlike many homeschool science curricula, however, with BFSU you do not concentrate on a single thread at a time, but rather you can interweave the threads as appropriate.

This way of organizing gives you flexibility within a framework. At any given time you can select a thread to work on based on student interests, weather or seasonal conditions, etc. At the same time, however, lesson notes alert you if there are any topics from other threads that should be completed before attempting the new lesson. This ensures that you have maximum flexibility to select your lessons, while also ensuring that you and your children will have the necessary background experience to fully understand and relate to each new lesson.

The book begins with two introductory chapters that explore in depth the educational approach that BFSU uses.

* Chapter 1: Teaching According to How Children Learn
* Chapter 2: Guiding Students to Think

These chapters highlight the deficiencies of the "teach, test, forget" approach. They also explore the limitations of the purely "hands on" approach that provides many activities to perform, yet does not adequately convey how or why the concepts actually work. Instead, BFSU argues that it is better for long term understanding and retention if we provide context for what is being learned, if we build on what was learned previously, if we encourage reflection on what we do or do not know, (encouraging asking questions to fill in the gaps), and if we connect the learning to real life.

These chapters also explore how to find joy in learning, and how to encourage self-motivated learning, as well as how to use guided questioning and discussion as tools to assist children in constructing a firm understanding of the concepts introduced.

After that, the 41 lessons are presented. Each lesson has details about:

* exactly what concepts the lesson addresses
* how much time the activities and discussions will likely entail
* if there is any required background from other threads
* materials needed
* "teachable moments"- suggestions for introducing the lesson in a natural way that sparks the child's interest
* methods and procedures for conducting the lesson
* questions/discussion/activities for reviewing, reinforcing, expanding, and assessing the learning
* notes to parents on integrating each lesson's concepts into everyday life.
* connections to other topics and notes on how the concepts can be used in higher levels
* lists of children's books on the topic of the lesson (usually non-fiction selections available from your library)

My children and I have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons we have undertaken thus far, and are looking forward to the lessons to come!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nebel Doesn't Underestimate Children, April 30, 2008

By	Lydia M. Netzer "lostcheerio" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Learning science in kindergarten is a privilege that most public school students do not enjoy. Teachers have enough to do teaching them to read and do math and stand in line and answer to bells and wait their turn to speak and print their names properly and wait for paste and line up their crayons in a row. Ironically, the kids probably get more science education in preschool when they do themed unit weeks like weather week or ocean week than they do in the early elementary grades.

That's the kind of science little kids get, when they do get it: topical stuff. Let's learn about fish. Let's learn about plants. We'll learn about fish this week and plants next week, but we're not going to learn about what connects fish to plants or how the sun is connected to both fish and plants, because little kids don't typically get trusted with that kind of information. They aren't asked to see the big picture, draw lines between their thematic units, understand science as a whole, as a system of interconnected disciplines. A privileged first-grader who's getting a bigger-than-average helping of science is going to know the names of the planets and how bees make honey and that their eyes allow them to see, but that's where it stops. I can't honestly say that I've ever seen a whole-world approach to teaching science to young children until I saw Dr. Nebel's books.

His first book was a how-to manual addressing all aspects of elementary education, not just science. As an elementary level homeschool curriculum, it doesn't provide a box of workbooks, but teaches a philosophy of teaching and learning. It's called "Nebel's Elementary Education: Creating a Tapestry of Learning." Here's a summary, from the web site:

***This single book (8 1/2 x 11, 450 pages) contains approaches and actual subject matter for delivering the entirety of a superior K-5 education. It describes not only WHAT to teach, but also HOW to teach it using hundreds of hands-on activities, and much more.

Most distinctive is the organization. Typical elementary curricula consist of an array of stand-alone units, which kids readily forget, confuse, and from which they never gain a full picture. In sharp contrast, Nebel lays out each subject (K-5) as a seamless continuum of lessons integrating different subjects along the way. Simultaneously, Nebel shows you how to guide your children along this pathway in a way that builds logically and systematically toward a broad, comprehensive, holistic understanding. The result is achievement of knowledge, skills, understanding, and problem-solving ability that will provide a solid foundation for all further learning.

The book is in total harmony with modern research concerning the most effective and efficient teaching techniques that bring children to become joyful, self-motivated learners. In short, this book may be considered a breakthrough in translating theory-what leads to the most effective and efficient learning-into a practical curriculum addressing all subjects.***

His new book focuses just on science, and is called Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2. I can't think of a reason why five-year-olds cannot begin to learn and understand science in context, just like they can start learning history at this age, not that they get that in public school either. Homeschoolers have a special opportunity to start their children on the right path in science education, and Dr. Nebel can help.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring a child to love the process of learning, December 6, 2007

By	D. Keene - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Nebel's Elementary Education: Creating a Tapestry of Learning

Note that I created a link here to another of Dr. Nebel's educational books for you to check out, also.

This latest book is laid out in easy-to-follow specific lesson plans. It is a valuable tool for parents who are home-schooling or who just want to share the joy of learning with their child, and it's a valuable resource for teachers, as well.

Once a child experiences the excitement of learning something that interests them, there's no stopping their zest for learning more! Leading a child to think for themself and "get" that learning can be engaging and fun is a key component of Dr. Nebel's approach. Once that seed is planted and takes root, further growth is ensured!

This book is terrific for parents and educators alike.

Dr. Nebel also has an on-line email newsgroup so people who are using his books can network with him and each other to share experiences, ask questions and make suggestions.