Forums

What do you consider is the hardest science topic to teach elementary school students?

I think its going to depend on what grade you are talking about and how the topic is taught. No matter the grade it is vital to make as much of the topics as concrete as possible. Even kinder can understand that sound make vibrations if you can show it to them, but you have to allow them to experience it in a way they can understand it.

I think that the hardest topic to teach to elementary students is anything that is smaller than what they can see with their naked eyes. For example, my students struggled when learning about atoms because they could not grasp the concept that their desks were made of trillions (or more) atoms. My students have also struggled with learning about cells in plants and animals. Although we used a microscope to view both plant and animal cells, my students did not seem to fully understand what a cell is or the fact that they are made of cells. Although I do not think that most elementary students are developmentally ready to fully understand atoms and cells, I support inducing such topics to students so that they are challenged to critically think about what is happening outside of their own vision or world from a young age.