A book and Web site experience from the National Academy of SciencesGet the Books
A curious look at Women's Adventures in Science  
Parent-Teacher Guide
Introduction
Leading an Adventure
Exploring the Context
Using the Science Labs
Parent-Teacher Guide Leading an Adventure

Before you use this site in your classroom (or at home), here are some suggestions for making sure that the activities you plan are a success.

Plan Ahead

  • Read and reflect—will my kids enjoy this adventure?
  • Do it yourself—practice runs make all the difference!
  • What do you hope kids will get out of the experience?
  • How will you know if they achieve that goal?
  • How will you get started?

Consider the Female Focus

  • What would make this activity especially interesting and engaging for girls?
  • How can you make the activity creative and collaborative?

Guide the Work

  • Encourage students to make predictions about what they will see, hear, and feel.
  • Make sure students log observations with care. Have students practice their observational skills beforehand.
  • Show students how to collect the data in a systematic way. Again, practice this skill with students before beginning the investigation.
  • Encourage students to explain their thinking. Even if they believe they understand something, they will learn a lot by defending their thought process.

Take the Next Step

  • Plan the next adventure by considering the questions that arose.
  • Change a variable or model something new.
  • Conduct more research.

Make It Public

  • Give students the opportunity to publicly share and defend their research. Audience participation and feedback challenges students to be clear and careful and validates their work.
  • Create a "Wondering Wall" for each science investigation you do. Put up a big sheet of paper then collect and celebrate student questions throughout the investigation.

Make a Difference

  • Ask the students, "How can what you learned be used to make the world a better place?"

Helpful Questions

Real scientists ask questions about the world that intrigue them, and they set out to explore these questions. Kids are great at being curious. Teachers and parents can tap into this curiosity by asking questions that get kids thinking like scientists:
  • Why is that question important to you?
  • What do we know about that subject already? Let’s brainstorm!
  • What do you think the answer might be? Why do you think that?
  • How do you think we could study it?
  • What do you think will happen if we try that? Why?
  • What have you found out so far? Do you trust that? What could have gone wrong?
  • How can we try another test to see if we get similar findings?
  • What have we learned?
  • Who needs to know about our findings?
  • How can we use what you have learned to make the world a better place?

When students engage in asking questions, making predictions, collecting and analyzing data, changing variables, drawing conclusions, and describing implications, they are doing the work of real scientists.