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Through my internship, I have found out that many teachers schedule insufficient time for science. Even with this scheduled time, many teachers let other things run into this time and science gets push into the next day over and over again. I know that science is not a commonly tested subject, but how do we make it important enough to teachers, so that they do not use "science time" for other things?

Try to incorporate science into other subjects so that it does not get pushed out of the way. When reading a book you will find science in it someplace!! Try to incorporate a quick activity in science that relates to the book and your curriculum. Turn math problems into something to measure or calculate in science. I know this takes work and a lot of planning but it is worth it!

I have also seen this happen. What you can possibly do is integrate it with other subjects. I know at times it can be a little over whelming but i have seen other teachers do this. It works.

I am a student at Florida International University (FIU) and I am currently enrolled in the education program. I am finding effective ways to incorporate science into the curriculum. I have also witnessed many teachers leave science instruction out of their daily instruction. I have realized that teachers find it difficult to incorporate science due to the high demands of other subjects. However, there are many ways to incorporate science into instruction through other subjects. Many subjects already have relationships with science. For instance, teaching data collecting and analyzing could be taught using math and science methods. During instruction, you could mention to students how math and science relate through data collecting and analyzing. An example of a lesson would be for students to survey reaction times of chemical changes and making a bar graph of their findings. For incorporating reading and writing, have students do research on a specific science concept and have the students write about their findings. These are just a few of the many ways a teacher could incorporate science in the classroom.

I agree with you. At the school that I am student teaching at, science is taught with math and social studies. The time for math supersedes the time I see spent on social studies and science. I think math is very important, but social studies and science should not be left out. There has to be lots of integration of all three subjects simultaneously so that students receive equal exposure to all 3 of them and at the same times mastering the common core requirements needed.

At the school where I am student teaching, teachers have an hour to teach science everyday. The school also has a science lab where they go every two weeks to perform experiments that pertain to the main lesson at the time. However, I have noticed in the grade level where I am at, the teachers don't really know how to teach science in a way that is engaging to students. Everyday, the students come to whole group, listen to the teacher lecture, and take notes for the whole hour.

I am a student teacher right now and my school is also plagued with the same problem. According to the schedule Science should get about 45 minutes each day. In reality they get Science once a week, if I teach it. We do have a Science lab, but the day my students are scheduled is when the Science teacher has her professional development course, so she is not there. I am in a testing grade, so Science has been requested by the principal at times to take the backburner, because the students need to meet the standards for Math. I agree with the suggestions of integration, but how does one go about bringing up the issue as a whole. I understand that Math and Language Arts is the focus of most testing, but that shouldn't mean that courses like Science and Social Studies get pushed to the curb. My concern is that at some point students will be tested over these subjects, and they will have no prior knowledge or experience of the subject to fall back on because there was "never time for it".

Just recently, we went on a 'Rock Hunt' outdoors and students filled out a log describing the rock that they found. Students were required to describe the shape, color, texture, size, etc. of the rock. This particular lesson really helped students with critical thinking, descriptive words, writing, and so much more! Fun! :-)

I completely agree! Science seems to be one of those subjects that gets easily forgotten about in the craziness of the classroom. The class I am student teaching in now rarely gets to science. It's really a shame because the students would really benefit from all of the hands-on activities that science allows. It is also beneficial because science is all around us. I think it would be helpful for teachers to incorporate science into the "core" subjects like language arts and math. You could do a shared reading on the water cycle; or similar activities. In math you could try to balance chemical equations (for the higher grades). I think we need to make a better, and more consistent, effort at making sure science instruction is included in the daily schedule and not allow ourselves to keep pushing it to the "back burner".

I am student teaching and have the same issue. My cooperating teacher and I have talked about this. It all comes down to classroom management. We thought about how to fix it and thought about taking another subject out and alternate days with science.

I am currently a pre-service teacher. Through my last semester of classes before student teaching, I am enrolled in a science methods class. My professor is so passionate about science and integrating other subjects INTO science rather than squeezing science in when you can. Rather than focusing on literacy or math alone, integrating literacy and math into science is a great way to make sure you hit all you need to, and even more of the science content you wouldn't get to otherwise. My professor just modeled to our class how to set up a year long plan. Her integration of all the core subjects into science (as well as social studies) really inspired me. When you bring literacy and math into other subjects rather than the other way around every so often, you are giving meaning to the core content they are learning. Rather than just writing without a fun, yet defined purpose, a writing assignment could be writing a persuasive letter to a scientist about researching more about what the kids are learning about in class. Math, such as measurement, is everywhere in science. By integrating core subjects into science, not only do you give that content a purpose, but it could be easier to hook students on new or reviewed content because of what they had done with it before..."Remember when we measured...well in math today we are doing something similar!" After realizing that integrating core subjects into science makes it more interesting and fun for the kids, putting together integrated units shouldn't be any harder than putting together a not-so-fun unit. I couldn't imagine any other way to teach my future classroom than through fully integrated units.

Hi, I have been completing filed hours for my major and I noticed the past year that teachers use science instructional time for other subjects like reading and math. I had to interview my host teacher for my filed assignment and she explained to me that she only etches science/social studies every other week. Her main focus was teaching math because the students were struggling with that subject. I have learned from my science course that teachers can integrate math and reading with science. It sucks that teachers are only focusing on concept the students are getting tested on. Students are being left behind because of it.

Hello, I also am enrolled in a science methods course and my teacher recommends breaking down lessons into 30 minute chunks since science is usually the subject to get cut when other subjects go long.

As a student teacher, I have also seen science be the first subject moved or cut when things get busy. I think as a teacher it is important to find a schedule that works for you. I have seen science taught once a week for 2.5 hours. I have also seen science taught in two week blocks: (4 days/week, for 1 hour/day), then two weeks of no science. I don’t think either is better. I will say there are benefits to having a large block of time for science. Although when you have a larger time block, it frequently gets cut into. I also think integrating science into other subjects can help.

I agree with you. As a student teacher in a first grade classroom, they spend about a hour on Reading, Math, and Writing. When it is time for Science which is scheduled at the end of the day they only spend about 15 minutes going over a few science terms. The students feel overwhelmed because the teacher rushes in a science lesson right before the bell rings and as the students are packing up to go home. I really think that Science should be given the same amount of time as other subjects so that students will not struggle with it in the future.

I agree with the posts and replies to this question. I am student teaching in a kindergarten class and I have yet to see any science. I love the idea of integrating it in other subjects because that's a great way for students to see that now every subject has to stand on its own. By integrating the subjects it may feel less disconnected and get students more involved with various activities.

Integration is key when teaching science, in my opinion. With such a stress placed on meeting standards, it makes it easier to mix it in with other things so there is time!