How true is this in your school?

[SmartKidShow]

Hello,

I was visiting a K-5 school in California not to long ago and I was told by a 5th grade teacher that they were lucky to get an hour of science a week for grades K-4 then cram all the science into the students when they reached 5th grade. Is this true in most schools?


Just curious,

Robert

[coco2]

Whoa! I am a K-4 Science teacher at a Catholic school, 30 minutes a day. I am trying to get the teachers to agree to letting me teach 50 min. classes 3 times a week instead of every day. Doing inquiries and not finishing them or trying to pick up where we left off the previous day is maddening! I don't see how they can be meeting the national standards with teaching science an only an hour a week. No wonder USA is trailing so far behind in science.

[dsmms]

Hello,

I was visiting a K-5 school in California not to long ago and I was told by a 5th grade teacher that they were lucky to get an hour of science a week for grades K-4 then cram all the science into the students when they reached 5th grade. Is this true in most schools?


Just curious,

Robert

This was true for us not that long ago. But times are changing, and K-5 teachers are required to teach it now. This is true for social studies as well. I found that my biggest challenge is that the text books are written to far above the grade level. I spent a great deal of time finding information at my students level. It eats up so much time just trying to prepare. No wonder, teachers are having such a difficult time getting it in!

[Just ducky]

This was true for us not that long ago. But times are changing, and K-5 teachers are required to teach it now. This is true for social studies as well. I found that my biggest challenge is that the text books are written to far above the grade level. I spent a great deal of time finding information at my students level. It eats up so much time just trying to prepare. No wonder, teachers are having such a difficult time getting it in!

Did you find a particular source that you liked for appropriate grade level material? I teach fourth grade and it looks like I will be teaching science to all of the grade level students beginning in October. I hate our science book and do not think that it is really written at an understandable level. I have some ideas of what I would like to see done, but don't want to have to spend a small percentage of my paycheck to achieve what is needed. Suggestions??

[ms.jodi]

It is maddening to me that people focus so heavily on reading and don't see that science is not only a great subject for teaching expository reading skills, but incorporates math as well, and is often what many kids find very interesting if it is taught right! I love teaching science!

[hweber]

I love teaching science too. Hands on - we get to play a lot while teaching. Let the kids explore your topics. AIMS is a good source of stuff.

[Just ducky]

AIMS is a good source of stuff.

I just went to this site and was sooooo impressed. I definitely will be checking it out further in the near future. Thanks for the information!!!

[hweber]

your welcome! I love that site.

[davergrl]

we use kits instead of books in my district for science. what i find challenging...is that we are supposed to teach a minimum of 1 hour for math...1 hr for writing, at least 1 hour for reading...etc...there just isn't enough time in the day for us to get everything done. Now, they haven't been concerned about science until this year because this year, we start getting state tested in science!

[teacher5]

Just wait and see what happens. As you get closer to the state science test, you will get test prep books or be told to get sample copies and use them with your students. Part of this test will definitely be science reading comprehension. You will be told to do "less" of another subject for awhile so you can focus on preparing the kids for the test. Part of the test should also be a manipulative section. You will at some point find out what the topic or similar questions will be and you will practice with you kids and of course, do less social studies or something else. If you can get a copy of the old Silver Burdett Science Centennial series from 1988 or there about, you will find the pictures to be excellent, and the readability to be perfect for the average and even low average 5th grader, but the interest hold all. I have held onto these books and they work wonders expecially when I teach about invertebrates and vertebrates. See if you can find a copy on a used book website. Good luck!

[SmartKidShow]

I perform a magician that travels around the country performing academic programs for elementary schools. Many times I go into schools wanting to show people more but there is never a chance. I LOVE getting to show students how much fun science is. Some of my resource material that I use is a series called Teaching Science with Toys. I think you all may enjoy this series as it has many experiments for different grade levels.

Robert

[BuBerry3]

I try to fit science in each day, but in the mornings we have math, science and social studies. Our science is also taught from a kit which I think is great because it is definitely hands on. My problem has been the several hours it takes to prepare for a 40 minutes lesson (that often doesn't get all the way complete)

[coco2]

It also takes me hours to prepare for science. The school only allows me 30 min lessons daily and I cannot get anything done in that time period. It is so frustrating.