Active Experiences for Active Children Science

"What can I do tomorrow?" teachers ask. "I've run out of ideas. And I don't mean just another silly activity. I need something that will keep children involved and lead to successful learning." Grounded in John Dewey's philosophy that all genuine education comes through experience, but that not all experiences are equally educative,Active Experiences for Active Children: Scienceanswers teachers' questions about what to do tomorrow and on into the school year. Both pre- and in-service teachers will find this book useful. It is suitable as a text, or a supplemental text, for early childhood courses in community colleges and four-year college programs. The experiences in this book would provide a basis for a series of workshops or short courses in science for children. There are numerous activity books available. These, however, present isolated science activities that are often meaningless to children and void of any real content or learning.Active Experiences for Active Children: Scienceoffers teachers an integrated approach to planning science learning for young children. Its practicality will also be ideal for teachers who desire the best for young children but have limited training or formal preparation for teaching science. Professionals working in childcare, Head Start, or other early childhood settings will find thatActive Experiences for Active Children: Sciencesupports their growth and understanding of how to put theory into practice. ORGANIZATION This book is the third in a series of books designed to illustrate how to plan and implement meaningful, thematic experiences that truly educate young children instead of just keeping them busy. Teachers are given guides to planning and implementing curriculum that will lead to children's academic success using developmentally appropriate methods for teaching science. Active Experiences for Active Children: Scienceconsists of clear, concise, and usable guides for planning meaningful science content and teaching strategies for children in childcare, preschool, Head Start, or other early educational programs. Experiences are expanded into the early primary grades. The experiences in this book lead to successful science learning because they Are grounded in children's interests and needs in their here-and-now world. Have integrity in terms of content key to science learning. Involve children in group work, investigations, and projects. Have continuity. One experience builds on another, forming a complete, coherent, integrated learning curriculum for young children as well as connecting the early childhood setting to children's homes and communities. Provide time and opportunity for children to think and reflect on their experiences. Contain a large number of resources (books, Web sites, magazines, audios, and visuals) for both teachers and children. The first five chapters describe the foundation for planning and implementing experiential science learning. These offer pre- and in-service teachers of young children an overview of theory and research based upon Dewey, the constructivist view of children's learning, and the latest guidelines proposed for the science curriculum. The first chapter illustrates how theories of learning and teaching can be put into practice. This is followed by two chapters on indoor and outdoor environments for science. Next the book considers the importance of building home-school connections for science learning. Finally, chapter 5 reviews research and theory and discusses science content, methodology, and teaching strategies. Next, chapters based upon content suggested by the Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the National Science Education Standards are presented. There are eight experiences based upon the content, areas. These guides include sections for the teacher and for the children. The sectionSeefeldt, Carol is the author of 'Active Experiences for Active Children Science', published 2001 under ISBN 9780130834331 and ISBN 0130834335.