Customer Reviews

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms

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This book is a set of guidelines about how to teach science, grades K-8, with a very clear discussion of goals (help students to think in terms of scientific theories, teach students to collect data, get students to reflect on scientific principles, and get all students to participate) with many examples of lessons. The goal of the book is to make the results of a National Research Council study on science teaching accessible for teachers. The book is clear and easy to ready, with sample lessons, and useful discussions. What makes the book especially valuable is that the discussion of student thought processes applies well to ALL grades from K to 12! For both new and experienced teachers struggling with how to help students understand basic concepts in science, this book is enormously helpful, and easy reading. Even though the examples feature activities for grades K-8, the authors discuss issues relating to helping students learn to think about matter in terms of particles acting on an atomic scale, and also about evolution. This book would be a valuable tool for any secondary science teacher.

Has great case studies that really set the bar high. Also, I like how it builds on previous studies, but brings fresh perspectives. I really like how they deal with "children's misconceptions" as something positive and a step towards building understanding of the world.

This book flies through current research with interesting classroom case studies. Dialogue between teachers and students are shared illustrating how theory is put into practice. Each chapter is roughly 20-30 pages long of readable, engaging material that provides an introductory view of elementary science education. It is not a comprehensive text and would not be suitable as a stand-alone textbook for a course without supplementary reading material.