Blog
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Science Instruction Outside of the Classroom
Let’s Take It Outside Re-energize student (and educator) interest throughout the school year with a change of scenery and take students outdoors for science lessons! What better subject than science for teaching outside of the classroom? Benefits of Learning Outdoors Science is the study of the natural world, so there are many opportunities for teachers…
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Using Science to Launch a New School Year with Parents: Leveraging Inquiry for Back to School Night (BTS) & Open House
Back to School Night & Open House: Setting the Stage for Science Success Whether your school holds Back to School Night before school starts or an Open House several weeks into the school year, incorporating a fun, inquiry-based science activity into your event can be a memorable and exciting experience for both students and parents.…
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FOSS Summer Leadership Institute
Did you know that FOSS offers professional learning opportunities to enhance your science lessons? The 2023 FOSS Summer Leadership Institute, held just outside Portland, OR, focused on transforming professional learning. Each attendee developed a professional learning plan for the upcoming year, that implements FOSS curriculum in new, exciting ways. Helping make the event a huge…
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Getting Ready for a New School Year with Science: Tips for Teachers
What’s the goal? Most elementary educators start the school year with 1) classroom rules, 2) English instruction, and 3) math instruction. This can be disengaging for everyone involved and leave science on the sideline. One of the best ways to avoid disengagement from the start of the school year is to begin classroom management on…
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Building the Future with STEM Education
Can you imagine society without science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)? These fields form the foundation for many aspects of human civilization, so it’s hard to fathom humanity without STEM. Even if we just consider a specific area of STEM – like energy, or infrastructure – it’s difficult to imagine society working without it. Electrical…
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Phenomena-Based Instruction: Inspiring Young Scientists
Phenomena in a science class are like oases in a desert: absolutely essential, beautifully vibrant, and rich with creative growth and potential, but unfortunately too uncommon, infrequent, and far apart. Real-world phenomena illustrate scientific principles with remarkable effectiveness, because they help students see why science matters and how it works. Local, relevant phenomena-based teaching engages…
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Promoting Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through Active Science
Research proves that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is essential to student success, both in school and in life. We know that time and resources to teach active investigations and SEL practices are limited, but we have good news. There’s a specific way to teach science and engineering that provides an ideal context to convey SEL…
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How to Find More Time for PreK-5 Science
As science education becomes increasingly vital, elementary educators find themselves struggling to make time for teaching science during an average school day. While the complexities of this problem will require solutions from school and district leaders, we can at least offer a few convenient ideas that educators can start implementing right now. Treat Anything Like…