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In most
every job or profession that people do today – from the retail store manager
who tracks inventory with computer programs to technicians who draw blood for
lab work – science and technology play important roles.
For this reason,
everyone needs to have a firm understanding of science and technology to compete
in an ever-changing job market.
To illustrate the
importance of science to today’s elementary school students, here are some of
the "When I grow up I want to be…" professions that now require a
detailed knowledge of the same scientific concepts and tools that your child is
learning to use every day at school:
Auto mechanic –
Though there is still a lot of hands-on work with grease and goo, auto mechanics
now need a knowledge of technology to use many of the diagnostic tools (such as
computer programs and computer-generated graphs) to determine what is wrong with
your car and how best to fix it.
Police officer –
Behind the uniforms and fancy cars with shiny lights are people who use lots of
scientific reasoning skills to do their jobs. Police use deductive reasoning as
they gather facts and collect evidence for criminal cases and make accurate
decisions based on what they see, hear, smell or touch. They use charts, tables,
books and other facts to help make decisions and use computer technologies for
such tasks as DNA and fingerprint identification.
Clothing designer
– In the Winter Olympics, speed skaters wear clingy suits made of a
high-tech material designed to decrease wind resistance. The material was the
work of industrial researchers. However, it took designers with creative visions
of how that technology could be applied to enhance the performance of skaters
like American gold medallist Derek Parra.
Musician –
Although
musicians are traditionally thought of as creative and not scientific, many of
the skills they use are based in science. Musicians, particularly composers and
song writers, use creative ways to solve problems and organize or group items.
Many musicians use computer software to compose and edit their music. Others
(both in the recording studio and on stage) use computer software to enhance
their vocals and digitized music to add to the music performed on actual
instruments.
Science
during the elementary years
The goal of science
education today is to encourage students to go beyond memorization of facts to
develop the ability to understand, apply and communicate the concepts. Because
students learn best by doing, not just hearing and reading, science education
during the elementary years is active, "hands-on" learning that is
taught as part of all of the subject areas (language arts, math, history) so
that students can see the connections between science and other subjects.
Kindergarten
thru Grade
2 – From their first day in school, students will be involved in learning
to view the world scientifically. They will be encouraged to ask questions about
nature and to seek answers, collect things, count and measure things, make
observations, organize collections and observations, discuss findings, etc.
Getting into the spirit of science and liking science are what count most in the
primary grades.
Some of the varied
ways that science explorations are woven into the curriculum include:
-
Kindergartners
conduct a year-long study of the change of seasons, which involves observing
what is happening in the natural world through walks, collecting natural
objects for a hands-on classroom nature table, writing/illustrating a class
book on the change of seasons and creating charts that include their
predictions about when the first crocus will appear or major snowfall will
occur based on what they are observing.
-
First and second
graders take part in a detailed study of how things grow by helping plan,
plot, dig, plant and harvest a school garden.
Grades 3-5 –
As their ability to use tools to gather information and to reason scientifically
increases, students will be asked to use their skills to make more sophisticated
predictions about what will happen, to test answers and to come up with new
solutions for old problems in science. Some examples of the way science skills
are used in the upper elementary grades are:
-
Using common
cleaning solutions (such as Borax and baking soda, vinegar and soap powder),
students make predictions and experiment to come up with new ways of using
these chemicals (i.e., a combination of white glue, Borax, food coloring and
water yield homemade silly putty).
-
Using computer
software, fifth graders learn about the undersea environment and humpback
whales. During the course of this study, students learn to use
computer-based tools such as maps for navigation and charts and graphs to
collect and analyze information about what they are studying.
Helping your
child become scientifically literate
The natural world is a
wonderful place to learn about all sorts of scientific concepts. Here is a
sampling of books, websites and other resources that you and your child can use
to learn about science right in your own backyard. The librarian at your local
library can help guide you and your child to other books that suit your
child’s specific interests.
-
Janice van Cleave’s
Play and Find Out about Science: Easy Experiments for Young Children and
Janice
van Cleave’s Science Around the Year (Science for Every Kid Series)
by Janice Pratt van Cleave
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National Geographic
Animal Encyclopedia by
Jinny Johnson
-
DK Science
Encyclopedia (Revised
Edition) by DK Publishing – This includes fascinating facts, detailed
illustrations and eye-catching photographs on everything from atoms to zephyrs
and also shows how real scientists work.
Primary grades and up
-
I Took a Walk
Written and Illustrated by Henry Cole – A walk through the woods, across a
meadow and along a stream provides opportunities for readers to see all kinds of
events occurring around them in this lovely natural setting.
-
Pumpkin Circle: The
Story of a Garden by George Levenson
– How plants grow is shown through the amazing cycle of nature unfolding in a
backyard pumpkin patch.
Upper Elementary:
-
Girls Who Looked Under
Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists
by Jeannine Atkins – Easy-to-read biographies of six women whose interest in
nature began as young girls.
-
A Handful of Dirt
by Raymond Bial – A down-and-dirty tour through photographs of one of the
earth’s most precious resources.
All ages
-
Spectacular Spiders
by Linda Glaser – This book tells of a day in the life of a common garden
spider as she spins her web, hunts for prey and explores.
-
National Audubon
Society First Field Guide
– This series includes books with detailed photographs and descriptions on
such topics as wildflowers, birds, insects and rocks and minerals.
-
Cloud Dance
by Thomas Locker – One of a series of photographic books on natural topics by
Thomas Locker, this book includes beautiful illustrations and brief information
about clouds.
Web Links:
What is
science?
Although test tubes
and the Periodic Table play an important role in the study of science, the type
of reasoning you use daily (like taking stock of natural clues such as frost,
sun and rain before you choose what to wear) is just as important a part of this
study. The New York State Standards in Science and Technology (which help guide
what students learn in the classroom) include the following:
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Analysis, inquiry
and design –using scientific questioning and experimentation to develop
answers and come up with solutions.
-
Technology/information
systems – using a range of technologies (computers, calculators, etc…)
to access, understand and transfer information.
-
Science ideas –
understanding how scientific ideas and theories relate to our world and
other environments. This includes an understanding of the history of major
ideas in science.
-
Common themes –
teaching science in conjunction with other subject areas to help students
learn how they relate to one another.
-
Problem-solving
– using the knowledge of science and technology to make decisions and find
solutions to real-life problems.
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