Unlock the wonder in each of your students through inquiry-based science! Are you both fascinated and baffled by inquiry-based science? Do you want to tap the strength of inquiry-based science to help your students build deeper understandings? Do you want to use inquiry-based science to foster high-quality instruction across the educational board? This guide provides clear and simple explanations for engaging students in meaningful and hands-on, minds-on ways of understanding science. Eight Essentials of Inquiry-Based Science, K-8 breaks each essential into sample lessons that include sample data, discussion questions, and tools such as graphic organizers and analogies. Hammerman draws on more than 20 years experience in the fields of science instruction and professional development to address basic and complex principles related to inquiry, including: How to discuss data, information, models, graphics, and experiences How to interact with one another to strengthen knowledge and skills How to extend learning through guided or open-inquiry investigations and research How to apply new learning and research-based best practices for improving student achievementWhen you harness the immense power of inquiry-based learning, you can fully discover the inquisitive nature of each of your students!

In today’s standards-based educational climate, teachers are challenged to create meaningful learning experiences while meeting specific goals and accountability targets. In her essential new book, Elizabeth Hammerman brings more than 20 years as a science educator and consultant to help teachers connect all of the critical elements of first-rate curriculum and instruction. With this simple, straight-on guide, teachers can analyze their existing curriculum and instruction against a rubric of indicators of critical characteristics, related standards, concept development, and teaching strategies to develop students’ scientific literacy at the highest levels. Every chapter is packed with charts, sample lesson ideas, reflection and discussion prompts, and more, to help teachers expand their capacity for success. Hammerman describes what exceptional teaching looks like in the classroom and provides practical, teacher-friendly strategies to make it happen. This research-based resource will help teachers: • Reinforce understanding of standards-based concepts and inquiry • Add new content, methods, and strategies for instruction and assessment • Create rich learning environments • Maximize instructional time • Ask probing questions and sharpen discussion • Include technology • Gather classroom evidence of student achievement to inform instruction Through a new, clear vision for high quality science teaching, this book gives teachers everything they need to deliver meaningful science instruction and ensure student success and achievement.

"Proven to be one of the most powerful tools for promoting effective learning, formative assessment enables teachers to capture evidence of student thinking and learning and use that information to adjust instruction. In this concise resource, science educator Elizabeth Hammerman clearly outlines the formative assessment process and provides practical strategies for embedding assessments into the Kئ8 standards-based science curriculum. This research-based book demonstrates how student-centered assessment helps students assume more responsibility for what they learn and how they learn. Teachers can use the various models of formative assessments to monitor student progress and evaluate learning. The author guides readers through discussions, "thought and reflection" activities, analyses of assessment techniques, and applications to classroom practice. Ideal for teachers and science and curriculum specialists, this user-friendly resource provides all the necessary tools to: assess student understanding using observation checklists, questioning strategies, notebooks, reports, graphic organizers, projects, and performance tasks; differentiate science instruction to reach all learners; use rubrics as a means of discovering student strengths and weaknesses; collect student data to inform instructional decisions. With this easy-to-implement guide, any teacher can effectively use formative assessment strategies to enhance instruction and increase student achievement in science."--Publisher's website.

Helping Students Who Struggle With Math and Science builds on the social nature of learning to provide useful suggestions for reaching reluctant learners. It is based on the assumption that instruction that focuses on students' interests and builds on collaborative and differentiated learning will allow students to move from believing they "can't do mathematics or science" to a feeling of genuine achievement and confidence.

Early Literacy Instruction: Teaching Reading and Writing in Today's Primary Grades, 2/e Different from many other books on the market, this introduction to early childhood literacy provides rudimentary and specific aspects of early literacy assessment and develops meaningful strategies for catching struggling young readers before they fall through the cracks. KEY TOPICS: Replete with authentic, first-person classroom descriptions, this introduction to emergent childhood literacy is built upon a five-part literacy instruction framework that is both comprehensive and practical. Each of the five components of the framework--teacher read-alouds, word study instruction, independent reading practice, guided reading instruction and writing workshop--is thoroughly developed in separate chapter discussions. MARKET: For pre-service and practicing elementary school and early childhood educators and literacy counselors.

Ideal for preservice and inservice teachers, this user-friendly resource demonstrates how to use formative assessments to guide instruction and evaluate student learning in standards-based science.