Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms

Download or read book Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms written by Norman G. Lederman and published by Allyn & Bacon. This book was released on 2004 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solidly based on the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy, this new elementary science methods text immerses students into the context of classroom instruction through the authors' unique approach using The Teaching Cycle.The text is divided into three major sections or clusters of chapters: Goals of Science Instruction, Setting the Stage, and The Teaching Cycle. The first two sections provide the theoretical and practical foundations for instruction, while the third section provides content.Section I presents an overall view of science as a way of knowing and eventually develops an argument for why science should be included in the curriculum at all. Section II emphasizes the importance of connecting lessons and avoiding the tendency to present individual science lessons in isolation.The major content chapters comprising Section III--The Teaching Cycle (Life/Environmental Science, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science)--each incorporate the traditional topics of methods courses, e.g., demonstrations, laboratories, classroom management, assessment, developmental psychology, etc. concepts and themes common to national reforms.