Come along on a tour of the wonderful world of birds and their beaks. This book is the story of a child and two grown-up friends on a jaunt across their yard, in a park, past a pond, and through the pages of a photo album. Like them, you’ll find you can figure out what birds eat by the shape of their bills—and why some have beaks like straws, pouches, or even daggers. Also like them, you’ll have all kinds of questions about amazing birds—from house finches to hummingbirds to great blue herons—that use their own built-in tools for eating. Rounding out the story are five kid-friendly activities and background information parents and teachers can use.

The Beaks of Birds

Children's Books

Konicek-Moran, Richard

Animals

NSTA Kids

Where do rotten apples go after they fall off the tree? Does the temperature of the wood affect the heat of the fire? Can you make water boil faster? How large a mirror do you need to see your whole body? This second volume of 15 mystery stories examines more science concepts and reinforces the value of learning science through inquiry. Each mystery presents opportunities for students to create questions, form hypotheses, test their ideas, and come up with explanations. Focused on concepts such as weather and climate, thermodynamics, interdependency of living things, adaptation, life cycles, properties of matter, reflection and refraction, and chemical bonds, these mysteries draw students into the stories by grounding them in experiences students are familiar with, providing them with the foundation for classroom discussion and inquiry. These stories are bound to reveal the wonderful ideas all students have, give them the confidence to explore their own thinking, and provide opportunities for them to do science rather than have science done to them. Page Keeley, NSTA President 2008-09

More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry Based Science Teaching

Science & Math

Science for Kids

Natl Science Teachers Assn

In the fourth book of this award-winning series, author Richard Konicek-Moran explores 15 new mysteries children and adults encounter in their daily lives. Relating the mysteries to experiences familiar to elementary and middle school students "Party Meltdown" examines ice cubes melting at different rates; "Baking Bread" explores the importance of yeast; "Stuck!" uses a playground sliding board to explore properties of friction the stories show how science is part of everyday life and initiate inquiry-based learning by leaving each mystery open-ended. Students identify the problem to be solved, formulate questions, form hypotheses, test their ideas, and come up with possible explanations. The mysteries cover science concepts such as periodic motion, thermodynamics, temperature and energy, and sound and sound transmission. Students may read and discuss the stories in small groups or take turns reading the stories aloud for whole-class discussions. Each story also includes strategies for teaching the lessons to younger students, lists of related ideas from the National Science Education Standards, and related books and journals that can be used to continue the discussion. The author also includes a chapter on using the stories to emphasize the importance of both science and literacy.

Yet More Everyday Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching

NSTA Press

What are the odds that a meteor will hit your house? Do you actually get more sunlight from Daylight Saving Time? Where do puddles go? By presenting everyday mysteries like these, this book will motivate your students to carry out hands-on science investigations and actually care about the results. These 19 open-ended mysteries focus exclusively on Earth and space science, including astronomy, energy, climate, and geology. The stories come with lists of science concepts to explore, grade-appropriate strategies for using them, and explanations of how the lessons align with national standards. They also relieve you of the tiring work of designing inquiry lessons from scratch.

Everyday Earth and Space Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (Everyday Science Mysteries)

Astronomy & Space Science

What can make a ball roll faster? Does the temperature of wood affect the heat of a fire? How can old-fashioned tin can telephones teach today s students about sound and technology? By presenting everyday mysteries like these, this book will motivate your students to carry out hands-on science investigations and actually care about the results. The 21 open-ended mysteries focus exclusively on physical science, including motion, friction, temperature, forces, and sound. The stories come with lists of science concepts to explore, grade-appropriate strategies for using them, and explanations of how the lessons align with national standards. They also relieve you of the tiring work of designing inquiry lessons from scratch.

Everyday Physical Science Mysteries: Stories for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

What do you get when you bring together two of NSTA’s bestselling authors to ponder ways to deepen students’ conceptual understanding of science? A fascinating combination of deep thinking about science teaching, field-tested strategies you can use in your classroom immediately, and personal vignettes all educators can relate to and apply themselves. Teaching for Conceptual Understanding in Science is by Richard Konicek-Moran, a researcher and professor who wrote the Everyday Science Mysteries series, and Page Keeley, a practitioner and teacher educator who writes the Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series. Written in an appealing, conversational style, this new book <ul>
<li>explores where science education has been and where it’s going; 
</li> <li>emphasizes how knowing the history and nature of science can help you engage in teaching for conceptual understanding and conceptual change; 
</li> <li>stresses the importance of formative assessment as a pathway to conceptual change; and </li> <li>provides a bridge between research and practice.</li> </ul>
This is the kind of thought-provoking book that can truly change the way you teach. Whether you read each chapter in sequence or start by browsing the topics in the vignettes, Konicek-Moran and Keeley will make you think―really think―about the major goal of science education in the 21st century: to help students understand science at the conceptual level so they can see its connections to other fields, other concepts, and their own lives.

Teaching for Conceptual Understanding in Science

Keeley, Page

Corwin

This informative guide draws readers in with the twin charms of rich illustrations and an engaging narrative. Six kid-friendly activities and background information for parents and teachers complement the text.

From Flower to Fruit

Science, Nature & How It Works

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Books by Konicek-Moran, Richard