The National Science Education Standards Science as Inquiry Standard states middle school “students should develop general abilities, such as systematic observation, making accurate measurements, and identifying and controlling variables.” The Standards acknowledge this can be challenging for students. Resources highlighted below focus on helping learners acquire knowledge of variables in scientific inquiry.

Environmental Inquiry: Tips for […]

The National Science Education Standards Life Science Content Standard mentions that fossils indicate extinct species and contribute to an understanding of evolution and diversity. The Earth and Space Sciences Content Standard tells us they provide clues about past environments. But what is a fossil? How does it form? The processes can be complex. An understanding […]

A tangram is a set of seven pieces that all fit together to form a square. The fun — and the spatial orientation challenge — is to rearrange the five right triangles, the square, and the parallelogram to form a variety of shapes. An optional challenge is to find the area of each piece and […]