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As the end of the year begins to close in on us, I was wondering what went really well in your classroom that you would like to share with others, and remember to do again next year. Kathy

Participating in the local regional science fair with students from all over the area. It is amazing the exciting ideas students come up with for a science fair project. They never seem to run out of the ability to think of something new!!

I incorporated two of the picture perfect science lessons into my science methods courses. They were PERFECT for modeling the 5 Es and integrating literature.

This was not directly incorporated into a classroom, but it was simulated in my science methods class. We were able to create workshops designed around a certain theme and each station within that workshop explored an element of that topic. For example, my group had the topic of trees, the first station dealt with the structure of trees, the second station explored leaves, and the third station engaged students in the study of trees through the different seasons. I think workshops are a great idea to incorporate into any science classroom.

With the end of the Space Shuttle Program this summer, I devoted my entire Astronomy Unit to the history of space exploration. It was pretty great...can't wait to make it better.

Marea, I think your choice was intentional and well thought out. I would love to know more about what you did in your unit. then maybe we could offer suggestions.It is often difficult to help students understand some of these concepts as they are often so abstract I am also wondering if others had some ideas they used in elementary classrooms around this topic. KAthy

I started a robotics club which has been really interesting because the students are self-directed (they know so much more than I do!). I also had a group of kids build underwater ROVs called Sea Perch. The Sea Perch kits are available at http://www.seaperch.org/index. You can write a short grant to have them send you kits and equipment. We'll be field testing them in a couple of weeks at the high school pool.