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Hello Melinda, 

I truly think that science is everywhere, and believe that finding a balance on teaching content that is necessary for standardized exams , but implementing in new fun and educating forms allows the student to retain the information better. I have recenlty been seeing activites for STEM, and all of them seem fun and educational, maybe you could look into STEM activities. 

Hi Melinda!

I, too, should graduate in 2024 with a certification to become an ESL teacher. Although I have little experience in the classroom setting, where I'm not a student, I'd say a good way to teach science to students is by incorporating a lot of hands-on activities. Another thing that could help is using manipulatives and providing visuals for your students. This can be really beneficial to your future ELL students! 

Science is part of our lives every day.  Cooking food to eat, driving in our car, washing our clothes, brushing our teeth, coloring a picture, and watching birds fly are just a few examples.  Linking science to everyday life is a great way to engage students and inspire them to want to explore and learn more.  Science can be tied into ELA lessons by reading books on science topics.  It can be tied into math with experiments that measure or maybe a fun lesson on cooking.  Understanding how plants grow and why we have to care for our environment is important for everyone. Learning about cooking, cleaning, and growing plants not only teaches important life skills for all children, it also opens up potential careers for some. They could go to culinary school or become an environmental engineer helping plan landscapes or reforestation projects.  I wish science could have more time in classrooms but I know we have to teach for the tests, unfortunately.  Hopefully, you can find at least 30 minutes 3-4 times a week to focus on science and then also build on it by linking it to other subjects as well.  Perhaps you can talk to the art teacher about adding conversations about science in art by mixing colors and discussing the different mediums and how they work.  In PE the students should have some health topics and perhaps you can connect those lessons with topics in the classroom.  Even music can include science with a lesson on understanding tone and sound waves.

Hi Melinda, 

I agree completly with what others have stated in this thread. I also think that any and all vocabulary taught to ESL students would be helpful for them in the long term. While I agree, you should aim to teach them so that they can pass these tests, any time available to build vocabulary is worth it. There are a lot of animals that have specific verbs that can futher faciliate students language aciquistion. Perhaps merging science books into some language arts classes would be appropriate if one does not have a lot of time to specifically devote to science. I think the best answer for how much time would be however much you can manage without taking away from other core skills. 

Melinda,

I think many teachers, particularly in elementary education, are feeling weighed down by this question as well. They are wondering how it is possible to find the perfect balance between preparation for standardized testing and teaching real science. Obviously, standardized testing is important in today's educational atmosphere. However, science is a relevant subject that can be applied and connected to so many facets for our students. I would start by encouraging the incorporation of science as much as you can, in healthy doses for your students. One of the reasons I believe that science is so important is because it molds and shapes a way of thinking that is important in life overall. Science is a subject that allows us to structure lessons in a way that fosters student independence, flexible thinking, problem-solving, critical thinking, formulation of questions, and so much more. Of course, these are all skills that students should have to apply in various academic and personal activities, including taking a standardized test. When taking a test, students need to feel confident in navigating questions and should have strategies/skill sets that enable them to tackle questions and answers. I 100% believe that science is more than just teaching facts; it is about thinking outside the box, brainstorming, asking questions, thinking critically, and finding answers. They NEED to do these things when taking a test as well. I think what students can learn in science can be a big booster in helping them achieve other academic goals. To directly answer your question, I would just focus your lesson planning around activities and engagements that revolve around building those skillsets, not just teaching the facts and informational knowledge. Of course, those things are crucial and extremely important! I just think it is most beneficial for students to do that, while also building skills for standardized testing as well!

Hi Melinda,

I am also graduating in May 2024. Thank you for posting this form. I have read some of the replies and I am a bit more confident in my future journey. 

Hello Melinda, you are months away from Graduation. when it comes to teaching science, use a lot of repetition and keep it as simple as you can. Make songs if you have to, I know a lot of science until today because my 4th grade teacher used a lot of songs for science. If you ever plan doing hands on, know time will fly by very fast and during the instructions part so start your students with small hands-on experiences and then add a little more on the following. It's all on trial and error every time. 

This is a very valid question as we feel pressure to 'teach to the test'. While science may not be tested, it is still extremely valuable for your students to receive science education. Especially for ELLs, learning content vocabulary is crucial for learning and understanding English. Science can be integrated with other subjects such as reading and math, so maybe you find time 3 days a week to integrate science with one of those subjects! Best of luck!