ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the representation of nature of science (NOS) in 50 elementary science trade books and focuses on trade books due to their prevalent use in elementary science instruction. It also examines the books within a framework that aligns with a view of NOS advocated for in the US reform documents and identifies instances of both explicit and implicit references. After presenting analysis and results, this chapter provides research-based recommendations for improving the use of science trade books for effective NOS instruction. The chapter shows that explicit and informed references to NOS in only analyzed trade books. Investigation into the relation between the context of the book and quality of references to NOS found that all of the books that addressed NOS, either implicitly or explicitly addressed some component of human activity in science. The chapter describes several findings related to teaching NOS with trade books.
