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Hello, i am currently a teacher candidate in my third year at Penn State, I have always been very interested in elementary science education. I have had the opportunity to observe in a few varying schools, and I have been disappointed in the lack of science in the lower elementary grades. After seeing the scripted lesson plans that some of my host teachers had, they expressed how hard it can be to break from that. My question is what are some helpful tips on implementing science into a scripted lesson other than reading a book? 

Hi, Lacey.

i am a senior undergraduate student at Florida International University.  The Teaching Science in Elementary Schools curriculum teaches hands-on experiments, the 5E model, and Inquiry.  Definitely not a workbook and reading type of curriculum.  In my opinion, all classes should be this diverse in teaching, especially to bring in the three learning styles.

I hope this helps you.  Look up The 5 E's in Science Education.  And, remember that you can create your own lessons.  That's what i'm counting on!

I am also a student in college and have been in many different classrooms in which I saw teachers using scripted lessons. Since joining NSTA, I have learned and seen many different ways to make science more fun and engaging for students, in which they can learn at a deeper level. I've found, personally, that it's better for the students and for the teacher if they lesson is written, instead of scripted. Through this I am able to personalize the lesson to the group of students that I am working with and make it specific for their learning needs. As the last reply mentioned, the 5E model, inquiry-based, and hands-on experiments are great for engaging students and support them in higher thinking.

Hi Lacey. 

Throughout most of my observations I have witnessed teachers use textbooks/workbooks in order to teach concepts to their students. Many students do not understand topics through this approach and as a teacher candidate I have learned that there are other ways of teaching concepts. The 5 E’s model helped me develop lessons that would have felt dull and transformed them into captivating lessons. Letting students come up with solutions through inquiry is an effective approach as well. The hands-on experiments are also helpful but this is not always do-able because it is costly and is not applicable for every lesson. Teachers must educate themselves on the topics so that they can expand on these ideas. 

In elementary math and language arts are pushed very hard, but science is just as important. Science can be incorportated when teaching any other subject. Cross-curicular lessons help students develop important and meaningful connections in their learning. Science and math can easily go together. Mathematics can actually benefit from being paired with science; giving meaning to abstract numbers.