Methods for Teaching Elementary School Science
As American students' ranking in scientific knowledge stagnates internationally, teachers are under more pressure to improve the outcomes of their lesson plans. States' departments of education revise and publish guidelines for science standards. Using a variety of methods for teaching science allows teachers to keep students interested in learning. Students who enjoy learning the material are more likely to retain and explore their knowledge. Explore these methods for ways to bring more variation to your elementary school science lessons.
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Demonstrations
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Science lends itself to visual learning. You can illustrate most scientific concepts to students through demonstrations. For example, concepts such as density can be demonstrated visually by layering colored liquids of different densities in a clear glass. Students see the phenomenon at work and ask questions about how it works. Demonstrations provide a concrete starting point that help students ground their understanding of a concept or principle.
Small Groups
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Dividing students into small groups to work on science worksheets allows students to practice the theoretical skills they learned during instruction. Small group structures allow students to help answer and discuss questions among themselves. The groups help students feel more comfortable exploring the skill in questions, such as distinguishing between solids, liquids and gasses.
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Presentations
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The presentation method requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of an assigned topic by teaching the rest of the class about the topic. You can assign topics of exploration to either individual students or to small groups. The students then research the topic and create visual aids. For example, a student assigned to present on the factors that affect the pitch of a sound could create a chart that shows as a string gets shorter, the pitch gets higher. Presentations allow students to master the knowledge by requiring them to teach it to other students.
Science Fair
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Hosting an in-class science fair allows students to think creatively about science. Students direct their own projects and experience first-hand how to conduct a scientific experiment. Help students develop their ideas and offer suggestions for how they should record the results. At the end of the science fair, students build displays to show off their projects. Students present on their questions, methods and results to demonstrate their understanding.
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References
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