Launching Learners in Science, PreK-5

This valuable handbook is packed with examples, questions, stories, and thought-provoking ideas linked to NSES to help teachers give students a strong start in science achievement.

Kerry C. Williams and George E. Veomett describe the principles of and requirements for the active learning of science and identify key ingredients for students and their development as young scientists. Educators will find examples, questions, and stories inviting them to construct meaning from the text. Based largely on the High/Scope preschool project as adapted for primary students, the book connects to research on cognitive and neural development and motivational theory from the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, and from the teaching experiences of the authors. Based on the perspective that the teaching of science is about three things: knowing content, knowing children, and teachers knowing themselves as teachers and learners, this handbook invites educators to think about what it means to teach science in a way that will make a lasting difference in children's lives.

"Has a brilliantly effective, yet conversational style that engages the reader, offers content that is easy to grasp, and makes sense to all beginning and veteran teachers seeking to understand constructive pedagogy. Not a how to do book, rather a how to think book that provides solid information about thought processes and approaches to learning."