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Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2
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).
408 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 16, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2020
This is a great text for helping teachers and parents build a very strong science curriculum for elementary age children. A few caveats:
The author insists that each of the 4 threads of science be taught intertwined. (Look at the suggested flow chart and try not to laugh.) I can see parents and teachers getting unnecessarily bogged down in constructing a flow of lessons. No matter how I worked it, I could not achieve a flow that didn't involve a lot of gear switching. It doesn't have to be so complicated. I don't think it's detrimental to go through the book thread by thread, building upon the lessons in each thread, completing one thread per quarter. You can easily refer to the other threads, and recall of information is really helpful for children to build and maintain connections.
This is not an open and go curriculum. The threads vary in ease of lessons and some threads are less explicitly planned out than others. Thread A "nature of matter" was excellent, and in my opinion, the strongest portion. The life science thread was just OK. The latter doesn't have much of a concrete plan beyond a collection of skeletons, book lists, and discussion questions. Some parents will need more guidance. If you try to stretch the book, say, 20 lessons per year, over the 1st and second grade, you will have to put in even more planning to round it out.
It would be helpful to have lab sheet templates for notes, written responses, and sketches in the appendix, but I have a feeling that the author would contest that such would violate a constructivist approach. Nebel just suggests keeping a science notebook and "making books." You can find fun templates online. I think these help kids process and express what they learn in a more manageable way.
The author was at times tone deaf to what is age appropriate. See the "Baloney Detection Kit" in chapter 2, which expounds upon the different kinds of "fallacious" thinking in science. Too abstract for 5-8 year olds. I would suggest instead a quality, age-appropriate book on the scientific method--fundamental and easy for children to grasp. Another example: Nebel suggests discussion questions, such as this one, in the B-4 life science thread: "Does anything live forever? With Q and A discussion guide students to the conclusion that the answer is NO.....If any children are upset by the eventuality of their own death, assure them that they have the prospect of living at least ten times longer than they have thus far." Again, the book is for children K-2. I found a few other examples like this through the book.
Lastly, some text formatting would go a long way to make this book more accessible to more teachers/parent educators.
The author insists that each of the 4 threads of science be taught intertwined. (Look at the suggested flow chart and try not to laugh.) I can see parents and teachers getting unnecessarily bogged down in constructing a flow of lessons. No matter how I worked it, I could not achieve a flow that didn't involve a lot of gear switching. It doesn't have to be so complicated. I don't think it's detrimental to go through the book thread by thread, building upon the lessons in each thread, completing one thread per quarter. You can easily refer to the other threads, and recall of information is really helpful for children to build and maintain connections.
This is not an open and go curriculum. The threads vary in ease of lessons and some threads are less explicitly planned out than others. Thread A "nature of matter" was excellent, and in my opinion, the strongest portion. The life science thread was just OK. The latter doesn't have much of a concrete plan beyond a collection of skeletons, book lists, and discussion questions. Some parents will need more guidance. If you try to stretch the book, say, 20 lessons per year, over the 1st and second grade, you will have to put in even more planning to round it out.
It would be helpful to have lab sheet templates for notes, written responses, and sketches in the appendix, but I have a feeling that the author would contest that such would violate a constructivist approach. Nebel just suggests keeping a science notebook and "making books." You can find fun templates online. I think these help kids process and express what they learn in a more manageable way.
The author was at times tone deaf to what is age appropriate. See the "Baloney Detection Kit" in chapter 2, which expounds upon the different kinds of "fallacious" thinking in science. Too abstract for 5-8 year olds. I would suggest instead a quality, age-appropriate book on the scientific method--fundamental and easy for children to grasp. Another example: Nebel suggests discussion questions, such as this one, in the B-4 life science thread: "Does anything live forever? With Q and A discussion guide students to the conclusion that the answer is NO.....If any children are upset by the eventuality of their own death, assure them that they have the prospect of living at least ten times longer than they have thus far." Again, the book is for children K-2. I found a few other examples like this through the book.
Lastly, some text formatting would go a long way to make this book more accessible to more teachers/parent educators.
April 19, 2014
This is a great science text for parents or teachers to tackle with young children. Frankly it is quite complex the way the author links all the stands of science and weaves them together. But I have found that by doing a few of the activities in each strand of the flow chart and then switching to the next strand to do a few from there, it is fairly easy to make a strong science curriculum that makes sence to children. If you followed one strand all the way through I think you would quickly loose your children in the he depth of it all. I know children are capable of understanding quite advanced science concepts but they also need to be able to reflect and see/touch in order to fully grasp a concept.
For younger children 3-6 work slowly though the beginning sections of each strand, repeating and extending excersizes that they like. For older children 6-12 feel free to delve deeply into just one strand at a time.
The book overall has great information and is well worth the price to own as a reference for further ideas or as a core to flesh out. The book itself would only last a year as a stand alone curriculum and the ideas are worthy of longer and deeper study or revisiting activities.
For younger children 3-6 work slowly though the beginning sections of each strand, repeating and extending excersizes that they like. For older children 6-12 feel free to delve deeply into just one strand at a time.
The book overall has great information and is well worth the price to own as a reference for further ideas or as a core to flesh out. The book itself would only last a year as a stand alone curriculum and the ideas are worthy of longer and deeper study or revisiting activities.
October 31, 2009
Excellent book to guide the study of science for young elementary students.
It rightfully assumes that little kids can understand a whole lot more than grown ups think they can. It also guides you in the order to present lessons, but with a great deal of wiggle room, making it quite easy to follow the interests of the child and/or line certain lessons up with real events. (For example, I made sure the lesson on seasons ended up at a solstice....)
I wish there was a book more suited to home use, instead of classroom use, but it is easily adapted. I would also prefer if the writing involved fewer paragraphs and more bulleted lists or charts, but that's probably the tech writer in me talking.
I hope a grade 3-5 edition comes out soon!
It rightfully assumes that little kids can understand a whole lot more than grown ups think they can. It also guides you in the order to present lessons, but with a great deal of wiggle room, making it quite easy to follow the interests of the child and/or line certain lessons up with real events. (For example, I made sure the lesson on seasons ended up at a solstice....)
I wish there was a book more suited to home use, instead of classroom use, but it is easily adapted. I would also prefer if the writing involved fewer paragraphs and more bulleted lists or charts, but that's probably the tech writer in me talking.
I hope a grade 3-5 edition comes out soon!
November 25, 2024
Exceptional. Well organized. Thorough. Comprehensive. Don't get me wrong. I love dinos, nocturnal animals, and volcanoes with the best of the. But at some point you have to talk to your kids about less flashy topics like solids, liquids, and gases. Finding a science curriculum that isn't just a bunch of piecemealed topics or incredibly shallow saved my sanity. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews