Circle Time is Science Time

As I began skimming this column certain words and phrases jumped out at me. The first one was "science talks". I think there is no better way to process our science learning than to talk abo... See More

As I began skimming this column certain words and phrases jumped out at me. The first one was "science talks". I think there is no better way to process our science learning than to talk about it with someone else. This can be a rehearsal for writing or it can be a time to reflect or revise one 's thinking. The next thing I noticed was "productive questions" Productive questions ask students to ponder their answer...find an answer within themselves. Productive questions can be attention-focusing questions, counting and/or measuring questions, problem-posing questions and more. The Teach & Tell activity is one I love and I did a variation of it in my Morining Meeting every morning with 5th and 6th graders, so this is not just applicable to young children . in this activity students bring in natural objects to share with the rest of the class. I particularly like the way Peggy handles one child disagreeing with another child's statement..bringing it back to what scientists do. I think this is an excellent article for every preschool teacher to read and implement. I would if I was in the classroom.