Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry

By Brian Campbell and Lori Fulton

Book Overview

From Galileo to scientists working on cloning, notebooks have been used to document scientific discovery. Science notebooks are also effective tools in the classroom. They make science experiences more meaningful and authentic for students as they observe, record, and reflect on what they've learned. For time-strapped teachers, notebooks offer a natural way to integrate science and language arts. Brian Campbell and Lori Fulton spent four years investigating the use of science notebooks by students, teachers, and practicing scientists. This book not only details what they learned, it serves as a ready resource of strategies and methods for teachers to incorporate science notebooks into their school day. Along the way, the book intersperses additional help: Classroom vignettes demonstrate how science notebooks actually function in class. Student samples allow readers to see student entries at a variety of levels. Thinking points throughout link ideas presented in the book to practice and philosophical beliefs. Connections to standards--both the National Science Education Standards and the Standards for the English Language Arts - reinforce the rationale for using science notebooks to develop scientific concepts AND literacy. Use science notebooks and watch as your students write as scientists do, share their thinking, support their ideas with evidence, and improve their literacy through reading, writing, and speaking.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0325005680
• ISBN13: 9780325005683
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

How-To implement in your classroom... TOMORROW

Don't I wish all professional development books were written like this? Clear, concise, with easy to implement instructions for how to actually DO IT in your classroom. It's a short book... a quick read, and much extraneous waxing on how effective this technique is has been omitted to keep it simple. I appreciate how the authors are sensitive to a need for most of us to follow "the standards," unlike most of these manuals, particularly in Language Arts where the authors prefer to tell us to "not worry about it." Instead, Campbell and Fulton explain how to use science notebooks to teach inquiry science while still covering content. I wish all books were as straight and to-the-point. I am using science notebooks for homeschool, and although Campbell and Fulton describe the use of notebooks in a traditional classroom setting, I recommend this book for alternative educators because the techniques that they outline are flexible enough to take out of the classroom without any or barely any need for adaptation.

Super Book

I love Science Notebooks. I wanted to do a notebook this year with more inquiry type investigations. This resource helped me to figure out what I wanted the kids to record and how to organize it. It is easy-to-read and understand.

Great book by a great teacher

AWESOME book by a great teacher, for great teachers. GET IT NOW

Science Notebooks is a great book!!!

Brian Campbell was my 5th grade teacher also, and he is a great teacher and a great person. When he taught science, we had to log things into our science notebooks, and sometimes we had to draw what we looked at. We would record our observations, questions, thoughts, and the results of our tests. Mr. Campbell used some entries from his previous students and put them into this book. Science Notebooks will show you what science notebooks should look like, and it will help teachers teach science to their students.

This book is awesome!!! :-)

Brian Campbell was my fifth grade teacher. He worked long and hard gathering information from STUDENT NOTEBOOKS! This is not just any old book, this is THE BOOK! If you are looking for some inside information on science notebooks look nowhere else because you have found the book! This book is for teachers young and old. SO what are you waiting for?!? Go out and buy this book now!