Evaluating Engineering Designs for 6th Grade Science
By the time your sixth grade science class reaches the engineering design unit, they are usually ready to move beyond simple building tasks. They have likely spent weeks tinkering with structures, but this is the moment where we ask them to stop building and start... read more
Teaching 6th Grade Science with Newton’s Third Law and Collisions
The most common mistake students make when we first talk about forces is assuming that the bigger object in a collision feels less impact than the smaller one. They look at a truck hitting a bicycle and assume the truck barely felt a thing, while the bike took the... read more
Teaching 6th grade science students about gravitational attraction
When we get to our unit on forces in 6th grade science, students often arrive with the stubborn misconception that gravity is a property only massive planets have, or that it is somehow turned off for objects floating in orbit. It is a common hurdle to overcome... read more
Helping 6th Grade Science Students Understand Plant Photosynthesis
When you teach photosynthesis to 6th grade science students, you almost always run into a specific, stubborn misconception. Many students arrive at the topic firmly convinced that plants get their mass from the soil. They see a tree and assume it is eating dirt the... read more