Science: An Elementary Teacher’s Guide

This book serves as a guide for elementary teachers to effectively teach science in their classrooms. It is also intended to provide elementary education majors with the science background they need for their qualifying exams. Each chapter will provide adequate background explanations so the teacher can understand the fundamentals of the topic, as well as specific ideas and resources for teaching the concepts to different elementary age groups.

This book was written for and by elementary education majors. The original Contributors were the Spring 2016 BIO 3300 students of Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College in Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and Uvalde, Texas. They decided as a class to write a better textbook for teaching elementary science than what was currently available, hoping to improve science teaching in as many classrooms as possible by providing an excellent resource for existing and future teachers. Editing of the book continued in Fall 2016, and the book was officially adopted for Spring 2017, with a plan of ongoing improvement.

Science is an integral part of the learning process. It is a process by which new knowledge is gained, as well as a body of information about a subject, like the environment or light. Learning scientific knowledge early in life provides students a base for further study as they grow older and gain more knowledge. If they learn the processes involved with science, such as observation, hypothesis testing, and critical thinking, they will be positioned to enjoy a greater amount of success in life and contribute to solving future problems.