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Main page » Coursebooks » Only for teachers » Teaching Primary Science: Promoting Enjoyment & Developing Understanding


Teaching Primary Science: Promoting Enjoyment & Developing Understanding

 

Primary Science: Promoting positive attitudes to conceptual learningis a full colour, core textbook to support, inform and inspire anyone training to teach Science at primary level.

This book is a new kind of text linking subject knowledge and pedagogy in one package, rather than treating them as separate entities. The text aims to encourage trainee teachers to teach scientific concepts in contexts which will inspire the children to look at the world in new and intriguing ways, rather than presenting it as a list of facts and definitions. Encouraging critical reflection and offering practical support, this book will help trainee teachers to overcome negative attitudes to Science.

The two part structure of the book first presents insights into the nature of science and science education, exploring issues such as the value and purpose of teaching Science in the primary school and the value of scientific enquiry. It then moves on to cover subject knowledge, relating it to pedagogy.

Key features of the text:

Reflective questions prior at the start of each chapter 
Boxes including case studies, short biographies, models of good practice, anecdotes and short reviews of research literature 
Stop and think feature 
Discussion points 
Glossary of key terms 
Going further...

 

Table of Contents

 

Contents

List of photos, illustrations and tables

Guided tour

Preface

Acknowledgements

Publisher's acknowledgements

Part 1 Theory and practice

Chapter 1 The pleasure of finding things out The pleasure of finding things out

Children's attitudes to science

Insights into effective science teaching

The pleasure of finding things out

Storytelling and teaching

Summary

Further reading

Chapter 2 Organising how children learn science

A three-stage framework for learning science

Outline of the three-stage framework

An example of the three-stage framework

How the framework supports a storytelling approach

Summary

Chapter 3 Scientific understanding and mental models

Mental models and understanding

Talk underpins mental modelling

Learning to talk about the world in new ways

Behind every concept is a fascinating story

Summary

Further reading

Chapter 4 Talk for learning in science

The importance of talk for learning of science

Exploratory talk and its ground rules

Dialogic teaching and children's ideas

Talking points: a strategy to promote effective talk

Summary

Further reading

Chapter 5 Scientific enquiry and the passionately curious

Science and discovery: what can we expect of children?

The outcomes of scientific enquiry

Scientific enquiry and its link to narrative

Scientific skills and attitudes

Types of scientific enquiry

Choosing contexts for scientific enquiry

Summary

Further reading

Chapter 6 Planning and assessing children's science learning

The nature of formative assessment

The nature of summative assessment

Planning children's science learning

Planning the exploratory stage: choosing strategies to elicit children's ideas

Planning the re-describing stage: choosing strategies to help children make sense of the scientific view

Planning the application stage: choosing strategies to promote the usefulness of the scientific view

Some class management issues

Summary

Further reading and useful resources

Websites

Chapter 7 The origins of scientific knowledge

The nature of scientific knowledge

Early scientific theories

Christianity's influence on the development of science

Galileo's influence on the development of science

The new age of science

Summary

Further reading

Part 2 Subject knowledge and ideas for practice

Overview

Chapter 8 The Earth and beyond

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

A close-up view of the stars

How the universe was created

The structure of the solar system

Experiences related to the Earth, Moon and Sun

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Moon craters – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Phases of the Moon – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 9 Energy and the well-being of the planet

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Understanding energy

Types of energy

Energy sources

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Wind energy – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Global warming – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 10 Interdependence

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Growth in green plants

Feeding relationships

Decomposers – nature's recyclers

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Food chains – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Decomposers – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 11 Diversity

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

The characteristics shared by all living things

Life cycles

Why there is variation in the same species

Classification helps make sense of a complex world

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Living and non-living – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Diversity amongst vertebrates – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 12 Adaptation and evolution

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Darwin's theory of natural selection

Survival of the fittest and adaptation

Adaptation in flowering plants

Adaptation in animals

Effects of changing habitats

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Teeth and beaks – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Body colours and patterns – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 13 Health and well-being

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Animal growth

Animal nutrition – the digestive system

The cardiovascular system

Keeping healthy

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Healthy eating – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Benefits of exercise – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 14 The particle nature of materials

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Properties of materials

The particle model of matter

Reversible and physical changes

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Ice and water – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Melting icebergs – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 15 Changing materials

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Elements, compounds and mixtures

The periodic table

The formation of materials

Spectacular chemical reactions

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Making new materials – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Burning and pollution – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Chapter 16 Electricity and magnetism

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Static electricity

Electrical circuits

The mysteries of voltage explained

Electrical resistance

Links between magnetism and electricity

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Electric circuits – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Series and parallel circuits – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 17 Forces and motion

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

Relationship between force and motion

Gravity and weight

Air resistance

Floating and sinking

Friction

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Friction – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: Air resistance – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Chapter 18 Light

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

The nature of light

How living things sense light

The language of light

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Shadows – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: How bees see the world – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

Chapter 19 Sound

Part 1: Subject knowledge

Historical context

The nature of sound

Acoustics

Hearing sounds

Summary

Part 2: Ideas for practice

Topic: Detecting sound – Age group: Lower primary

Topic: How vibrations create sound – Age group: Upper primary

Information and teaching resources

Websites

References

Glossary

Index

 




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