Why Teach Science in the Primary Grades?
Children come to school with a limited view of the world around them. They know their
home, their play area, their classroom, and places they routinely go with their parents, but they don’t
really look and observe the world around them until they are taught to look deeply at what might be
there.
Using nature teaches a child to explore what might be outside, to look for what he might miss,
and to actually seek the world around them. Let’s use insects as an example. You can show pictures
of insects and explain to the children how many legs and other characteristics they have, what they eat,
etc. It may be interesting to some, and many may retain part of what you are teaching. Some will be
busy looking around the room, some will be fidgeting, and some will be talking about something
entirely different. You as a teacher can change the whole outlook of teaching. What a huge
excitement in learning it can be if the teacher has a surprise that day and brings in an insect to observe
while the teacher is talking about it! The kids can form a circle to watch the insect eat; count the legs
and see what shape they form; look at the eyes and watch how they move; see the antennae and talk
about how they are used; they can look at the shape of the mouth and watch it move; or they can
observe how protective coloring or camouflage works by placing a leaf with the insect. In my class we
look at the insect with a magnifier, so you can also teach about magnifying glasses or microscopes as
we will often do in my class. After the circle of learning I will put the insect in the science corner for
the children to observe in their own time. You might be surprised how many will just go to observe
the insect during their free time.
Now, I like to carry the lesson even further. I will have the children give me the facts they
have learned and I record them on the whiteboard. They will then draw a picture of the insect and
write one fact they learned. All of our staff will assist me in helping the children talk about what is in
their drawing, and what they would like to write about their picture. We will write what they say on
a separate piece of paper for each child, and then the children will transpose the words on to their
own paper. For this exercise I will routinely use paper that has a space on the top for their picture,
and the lines for the text underneath. After we are all finished, I ask the kids to come up and explain
their picture to their entire class so they all have an opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts.
This lesson can then be used as a beginning reading exercise with an experience story that will
hold the child’s interest because it is their own thoughts on the paper! The child has started to learn
sentence structure, each word has a specific way to be written, and they learn how to record their
experiences and facts. I certainly do not expect their handwriting to be perfect as that will come with
practice. This opens the door to reading, verbalizing, writing sentences, sharing observations, and
using the child’s creative ideas. It also assists them in remembering facts as they say the sentence, it is
repeated to them, written by a staff member, transposed by the child, and then read to their friends. I
believe that this is a beneficial way to practice their handwriting as they copy what was written for
them.
Next we may do an art project using the insect. It might be a drawing, a craft, or a sculptural
project. I feel that art should be creative and not dependent upon the teacher’s experiences or ideas. I
will often discuss the project, and then put a series of materials on the table for the children to
choose. For example our insect project might make use of pipe cleaners, pom-poms, wiggly eyes, and
glue. The children will choose how many of each item to use, the color, etc. We will then remember
our observations about the insect as a group with regard to the correct number of legs, body parts, etc.
but, I want the finished project to be the colors and contain the items the child selects. We do not
share our expectations with the child, but encourage their creativity and thought process. I do not
want our art projects to reproduce an object the way I saw it, but I want it to make use of the child’s
mental and physical acuity. These types of projects can really succeed in developing small muscle
control.
I can promise if you start the children thinking about what may be outside, don’t be surprised
if when they go out for recess or to play at home that they are suddenly more excited about their
surroundings. They will begin to do more than just run on the playground, or swing on the swings.
Be prepared for us to host a multitude of interesting creatures to learn and write about in our class.
Science has suddenly become fun! When you have fostered the interest in the outdoors and science
you can start each child producing their own science book. I use a folder that each child will create
their own cover, and I will keep them throughout the year before sending them home. Hopefully you
will be amazed at what they have learned and the increased level of curiosity and knowledge for each
child.
I feel that we as teachers have too often gotten in the habit of expecting cookie cutter thinking
in reading, science and art. Often we buy patterns for the kids to color or paint, or have them all
draw the same thing so the parents will be pleased at how good they look. I believe that we are not
encouraging free thinking or creativity as the best scientists and engineers need to be able to think
outside of the box. Without this skill they will not develop the creative ideas to make the important
discoveries.
Miss Gail