ABSTRACT

This fully updated third edition brings science subject knowledge and pedagogy together to support, inform and inspire those training to teach primary science.

Written in a clear and accessible way, Teaching Primary Science provides comprehensive coverage of a wide range of science themes. With a brand new chapter on STEM education, additional guidance on where to find the best resources, and increased emphasis on assessment, story-telling and problem-solving, this book shows how science can offer children pleasure and intellectual satisfaction and help them to develop sound scientific minds.

Key features include:

  • Ideas for practice exemplify how you can help children to acquire and use scientific knowledge to satisfy their curiosity about how the natural world works.

  • Something to think about scenarios help to extend and develop your own understanding of key ideas.

  • Examples of classroom situations, dialogues and stories help you see how theory is applied to practice and support you in reflecting on the best methods for teaching.

  • Global Dimension sections offer starting points for discussion and research into how scientific ideas can be positively applied and used to evaluate the impact of human activity on the natural world.

  • Talk Skills and Science Discussion sections enable you to develop children’s scientific knowledge and verbal reasoning skills.

part 1|126 pages

Theory and Practice

chapter Chapter 1|10 pages

The Pleasure of Finding things out

chapter Chapter 2|14 pages

Views of Science Learning

chapter Chapter 3|11 pages

Organising how Children Learn Science

chapter Chapter 4|10 pages

Scientific Understanding and Mental Models

chapter Chapter 5|9 pages

Talk for Learning in Science

chapter Chapter 6|15 pages

Scientific Enquiry and the Passionately Curious

chapter Chapter 7|17 pages

Planning and Assessing Children’s Science Learning

chapter Chapter 8|12 pages

Learning Outside the Classroom

chapter Chapter 10|15 pages

The Origins of Scientific Knowledge

part 2|272 pages

Subject Knowledge and Ideas for Practice

chapter Chapter 11|28 pages

The Earth and Beyond

chapter Chapter 12|24 pages

Energy and the Well-Being of the Planet

chapter Chapter 13|22 pages

Interdependence

chapter Chapter 14|22 pages

Diversity

chapter Chapter 15|25 pages

Adaptation and Evolution

chapter Chapter 16|23 pages

Health and Well-Being

chapter Chapter 17|22 pages

The Particle Nature of Materials

chapter Chapter 18|20 pages

Changing Materials

chapter Chapter 19|20 pages

Electricity and Magnetism

chapter Chapter 20|22 pages

Forces and Motion

chapter Chapter 21|21 pages

Light

chapter Chapter 22|19 pages

Sound