How to Teach Science to Elementary School Students
Teaching science to elementary-age students can sometimes be a challenge. You have to follow strict state standards in order to prepare students for the next grade level. Science becomes easier to teach once you are able to break it down into science categories. From there you can create lesson plans from each category. The real trick is creating an orderly outline of what to teach for the entire school year. It may be a challenge, but it's a fun and rewarding experience.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with Internet access
- Printer (optional)
- Lesson plan book
- Pen
- Science book
- Science materials
Instructions
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Determine the grade level you will be teaching. You will need to pull your state's standards from its website. These standards are the things your state requires your students to learn during the school year. To get to this website, you will need to visit your state government's home page, then find the Education section. From there you should find an area that has information on education standards.
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Look to see if the state science standards are broken up into different science categories. These categories should include: Life Science, Earth and Space Science and Physical Science. Your state may include or omit other science categories in the standards. Decide the order in which you wish to teach the categories throughout the school year.
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Take the first category you plan to teach and start creating lesson plans. The lesson plans do not have to be elaborate. They can be a general outline for now. Use the state science standards to help guide you through each category. The standards should list specific learning objectives under each category. So if you decided to teach Life Science first, the first subject under Life Science is cells. You will need to create a series of lesson plans about cells.
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Create the first lesson plan by stating the objective at the top of the page. Here is an example: "The learner will understand what a cell is and what it is composed of." With this, you have a direction to use. To teach elementary students what a cell is, follow the science book, read sections aloud, look for computer games about cells and consider having students construct a cell model. Elementary-age students will need lots of hands-on learning experiences.
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Continue making lesson plans by using the state science standards as your guide. You may want to complete as many lesson plans ahead of time as you can. This allows you to grab resources ahead of time, and gives you more time to prepare for the upcoming lessons.
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Incorporate computer software games, projects, field trips and guests speakers into the lesson plans. This is what makes science fun for kids. Less lecture time and more active projects helps when teaching science. The more interesting you can make science, the better you will be able to grab and hold your students' attention.
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Tips & Warnings
Attend science conferences and in-services opportunities to find new ideas.
Check with your school principal before performing potentially dangerous science projects.
