ABSTRACT
Supporting children’s sensemaking in science requires teachers to engage in complex science instruction yet few examples exist of elementary teachers supporting their students in such work. In this chapter, the authors highlight how the practices of science can be used to support young children’s sensemaking in science. The authors provide a rich, empirically based description of how an experienced teacher leveraged the science practices and children’s talk as a way to help first graders make sense of science concepts. Evidence from her practice reveals how engaging young children in science investigations enabled the teacher to centralize her students and their thinking and illustrates how very young children can engage in science sensemaking.
