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Has anyone discovered whether it is easier or harder to incorporate science throughout all subject areas/activities with the younger elementary grades as opposed to the older grades? I feel as if you can relate anything to science easily with the little ones, but when wanting to incorporate science with the upper elementary grades you have to have a meaningful purpose behind doing so. Is this true?
I am taking the course "Teaching Science" and don't know yet what grade I will teach as a new teacher in the future. I am a little scared to take on the older grades because I am afraid I won't know how to incorporate science in a meaningful way.
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I am working on my teaching certification as well but I spent a year in a 4th grade classroom as an aide, a year in a 5th grade classroom as an aide, and I’ve been able to do some substitute teaching from kindergarten to 5th grade. I think what you’ll find as you get to know your class and what their interests are, is that the ideas on how to make science meaningful to students will jump out at you. Even as a substitute teacher teaching science, I’ve found that there are usually a couple of students in the classroom that are really interested in the topic and they help make connections for you that you can build on to get the rest of the class involved. Fifth graders hopefully have had more life experiences than a first grader which should actually give them more background knowledge to help them relate to science. I think if you feel comfortable relating science to the early elementary grades, you’ll be great in the upper grades as well.
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I was wondering this same question. I am hoping you can always make what the students are learning relevant to their lives, no matter their age.
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I am working on my certification to be a middle school social studies teacher, but took a methods of science course last semester. I completely agree that it is easy to incorporate science in the younger grades, but I also found it easy to incorporate it in the older grades as well. I had to integrate science into a lesson on the Civil War for 5th graders and with a little imagination and thinking I found a great way to incorporate science into the lesson! I think with the right resources and some creative thinking, science is available for everyone, young and old. Don't forget there is always Pinterest with great creative ways to integrate lessons!
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I am a preservice teacher currently enrolled in Methods of Teaching Science and I have found that science can be incorporated into almost any subject. To incorporate Reading/Writing, students can complete a science investigation and then write a reflection or research the topic before and read articles. To incorporate math, give the students a formula they will need to use in order to complete the investigation. To incorporate Social Studies you can relate your investigation to a social problem, such as pollution.
Hope this helps! :)
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Hello, I have to say that your initial point made me smile, because I thought this was going to say the opposite. I am working towards finishing my degree in elementary and secondary education. Throughout that time, I have done a lot of field experience in upper elementary. This semester, I was placed in a K class. The amount of work that I had to go through to bring my lessons to more basic concepts was strenuous. I feel that it is difficult in younger grades, because science is so full of procedure and guidelines, and this is hard for the little ones to fully grasp. However, I have grown to really enjoy their innate curiosity and how that motivates them to explore.
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