Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2 Review

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Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2 ReviewBuilding Foundations for Scientific Understanding is a newly released collection of 41 thorough, brilliantly organized, and fascinating lesson plans, covering scientific ideas appropriate for grades K-2. It is suitable for classrooms, learning co-ops, homeschooling, and more. I am using it as a tool in homeschooling my 7 year old twin daughters.
I think this book is best described to homeschoolers as a living book about how to teach science. Dr. Nebel (who has a long career in teaching college level environmental science) is clearly passionate about his subject - science is his life's work. It seems that the goal of this curriculum is not just to have the child read a book and pass a test, but to encourage people to become scientists - thinkers who actually use scientific knowledge in their own lives.
Dr. Nebel's approach is systematic, yet flexible.
He compares science to math - Just as you would generally introduce addition before calculus, BFSU introduces foundational ideas first. This allows the child (and the parent, at least in my case!) to develop a good appreciation for and understanding of the terminology involved, as well as encouraging them to relate to how the concept fits into the real world.
At the same time, there is flexibility built in to the lesson plans.
The 41 lessons are divided into 4 different threads:
* The Nature of Matter
* Life Science
* Physical Science
* Earth and Space Science.
Each thread is carefully developed in a logical manner, with every lesson building on the foundation laid by the ones that came before. Unlike many homeschool science curricula, however, with BFSU you do not concentrate on a single thread at a time, but rather you can interweave the threads as appropriate.
This way of organizing gives you flexibility within a framework. At any given time you can select a thread to work on based on student interests, weather or seasonal conditions, etc. At the same time, however, lesson notes alert you if there are any topics from other threads that should be completed before attempting the new lesson. This ensures that you have maximum flexibility to select your lessons, while also ensuring that you and your children will have the necessary background experience to fully understand and relate to each new lesson.
The book begins with two introductory chapters that explore in depth the educational approach that BFSU uses.
* Chapter 1: Teaching According to How Children Learn
* Chapter 2: Guiding Students to Think
These chapters highlight the deficiencies of the "teach, test, forget" approach. They also explore the limitations of the purely "hands on" approach that provides many activities to perform, yet does not adequately convey how or why the concepts actually work. Instead, BFSU argues that it is better for long term understanding and retention if we provide context for what is being learned, if we build on what was learned previously, if we encourage reflection on what we do or do not know, (encouraging asking questions to fill in the gaps), and if we connect the learning to real life.
These chapters also explore how to find joy in learning, and how to encourage self-motivated learning, as well as how to use guided questioning and discussion as tools to assist children in constructing a firm understanding of the concepts introduced.
After that, the 41 lessons are presented. Each lesson has details about:
* exactly what concepts the lesson addresses
* how much time the activities and discussions will likely entail
* if there is any required background from other threads
* materials needed
* "teachable moments"- suggestions for introducing the lesson in a natural way that sparks the child's interest
* methods and procedures for conducting the lesson
* questions/discussion/activities for reviewing, reinforcing, expanding, and assessing the learning
* notes to parents on integrating each lesson's concepts into everyday life.
* connections to other topics and notes on how the concepts can be used in higher levels
* lists of children's books on the topic of the lesson (usually non-fiction selections available from your library)
My children and I have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons we have undertaken thus far, and are looking forward to the lessons to come!Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2 OverviewThis is The most comprehensive science curriculum for beginning learners that you will find anywhere* Here are 41 lesson plans that cover all major areas of science. * Lessons are laid out as stepping stones that build knowledge and understanding logically and systematically.* Child-centered, hands-on activities at the core of all lessons bring children to observe, think, and reason.* Interest is maintained and learning is solidified by constantly connecting lessons with children's real-world experience* Skills of inquiry become habits of mind as they are used throughout.* Lessons integrate reading, writing, geography, and other subjects.* Standards, including developing a broader, supportive community of science learners come about as natural by-products of learning science in an organized way.Particular background or experience is not required. Instructions include guiding students to question, observe, think, interpret, and draw rational conclusions in addition to performing the activity. Teachers can learn along with their students and be exceptional role models in doing so. Need for special materials is minimized. Personal, on line, support is available free of charge (see front matter).

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