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Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project from a course that ran between 2007 and 2010 and fully described in this book chapter. The student-created resources have been preserved here for posterity. Link under 'toolbox' for printer-friendly versions of the exercises. Click on handouts to print full resolution versions. Please see Wikieducator's disclaimer, our safety statement, and the Creative Commons licensing in English and in legalese.

Core idea format

The ideas posted here will be designed as inexpensive 30-minute hands-on programs to supplement other teaching methods in the elementary classroom. Ideally, each program can be run from non-perishable consumables and durable goods that can fit in a small box that will sit on a shelf until needed. The materials should be free, cheap, or common items that might be expected to be on hand in a typical classroom. These constraints are designed to provide a set of programs that can be pulled off the shelf at a moment's notice and, once created, will require minimal additional preparation on the part of busy teachers.

More expansive program ideas are also most welcome.

All of the content should meet the definition of science and should not attempt to advance particular political or religious points of view.

Adding your own page; it may be helpful to print this or open a new window

To write a new WikiEducator article for biology in elementary schools, come up with a short but informative title and enter it in the box below. Choose wisely, once you first edit your page it is difficult to change the title and the page can only be deleted by an administrator. Verify that the name is not already in use by typing it in here and hitting 'search':

 

If your page name is not already in use, type in the next box and hit the button. The first line of your new page should be this:
<!----Congratulations; you have a new page; please go down to the bottom and save it----> ;.

Once the page is established, you can link it to the others in Biology in elementary schools by following the steps below.

1. Go back to the main [list of ideas] and add your new title in alphabetical order under teaching ideas in same format as the others.
2. Click the save button at the bottom left of the edit page. This creates a hot link to your new blank page; click the new hotlink to view your page.
3. Add your own contents after reviewing the creative commons licensing).
4. Save the new page!

Your idea can easily be edited, so feel free to start with a rough draft. You can edit and refine it, others can do the same, and you can improve on their ideas. If you have comments or suggestions but would rather not edit another person's page, feel free to open a discussion on their page by selecting the appropriate tab at the top of the article. As you are becoming familiar with this online software, it may be helpful to type in word processing software and paste your spell-checked version in here. If you choose to edit directly in the Wiki, you could consider installing a Google bar with a built-in spell checker.

Have a look at the example page to see what a new blank page should look like, and the termite trails page to see an example draft of one teaching idea. Your own examples should provide more material for us all to look at and try.

Format details

Use of a consistent format will make the programs more user friendly. The list of headings below establishes a framework and is intended to streamline the writing and use of the material. Wikipedia has a simple cheat sheet to help with basic text formatting. The Scouting Wiki has a nice summary of editing tips. Here is an additional site that helps with formatting and specifically text wrapping and creating bulleted and numbered lists. Wikia also has an excellent tutorial page.

Handouts

Not all handout formats are supported. Link to this page to see one way to prepare a handout for upload.

Vermont's Grade expectations

Science

Vermont's Grade expectations for math: Algebra Statistics Geometry and measurement Number and operations