Elementary Science Instructional Time

8 Replies to “Elementary Science Instructional Time”

1. Hi Lucy, I immensely enjoyed this article; it was very insightful! Much like you, I think students’ learning is severely hindered by the lack of time allotted for teachers to teach their subject. As you mention in this post, of course, there is not much a teacher can do about this situation, as they must yield to a board that may unfairly determine the time needed for science education. But, considering how instrumental science is in teaching children how to investigate and conduct research, hearing that it is getting short shrift makes me feel upset. As the attached article mentions, not much attention is given to the subject by the schools governing the schools, leading to outdated curricula. One solution for teachers here is to maximize learning time: look at how long experiments take and do as much prep as you can beforehand so your class can get rolling.
   As a child who grew up with time dedicated to science classes and not having them combined with any other subjects, I feel that it allowed me to focus on science for a certain amount of time. Typically, all experiments we conducted could be finished within forty to fifty hours, even an hour-and ten-minute block, as I got older.

2. Hi Lucy, I believe it’s crucial to find ways to prioritize this topic within the constraints of the classroom. While standardized testing and the push for improved reading and math scores have contributed to this imbalance, it’s essential to recognize the value of social studies and science instruction in developing critical thinking skills and background knowledge. In class, we have learned about the challenges of finding time for science amidst competing priorities. However, by integrating science into cross-curricular activities and incorporating hands-on experiments, it will be possible to provide students with meaningful science experiences. Despite the ongoing challenges, it’s imperative to advocate for a balanced curriculum that includes all core subjects to ensure students’ holistic development. Time remains a finite resource, but with creativity and dedication, science education can prioritized in classrooms.

3. Hi Lucy, I love the topic that you chose. I actually do work in an elementary school so I can see first hand how limited our science/social studies instructional periods are. However, my team of first grade teachers noticed the lack of time and we actively find ways to incorporate science/social studies throughout other lessons. For example. this week students were learning about the relationship between the Sun and the Earth. A topic like this requires you to introduce the sun and earth as individuals and then you can have the students make the connection. Obviously, when introducing a new topic 35-40 minutes is not enough time. Therefore, we decided that our reading block for the week would be filled with read alouds/books about the Sun and the Earth. This way, students can still work on their reading while learning about science. It has proven to be an excellent use of time management.

4. Hi Lucy, I think this is a great discussion topic! I think there are definitely some ways teachers can work in a little more time dedicated to science outside the allotted time periods. One way I think this could be done would be giving kids the option to read more scientific or science related books during individual reading time or assignments if they are not already focused on something specific. In daily/weekly routines like a morning meeting there could be just 5-10 minutes dedicated to a fact/concept, a theme for the week, or even students sharing something they are interested in or did research about to share with the class. Outdoor activities and time spent outside can be so valuable and really help strengthen observation skills which are an important skill for not only science but life in general. Teachers can spend 5 minutes introducing an app or website they could use at home where they could do scientific simulations or activities that are both fun and teaching them something and can also even get their families involved. Lastly, if a teacher is sending out weekly emails/info to students and/or parents they could include fun experiments the students could perform at home and encourage them in some way to come back and share with just the teacher or their peers what they may have experimented with and learned.

5. Hi Lucy, thank you for providing an extension to our classroom discussion. instructional time for science and social studies or any other subjects besides ELA and math is so important for future generations, the community, and society. Studies have show that less instructional time for science and other subjects affect test scores in reading and math.
   “Studies have demonstrated that having a broader wealth of general background knowledge is linked to better reading-comprehension abilities. It’s easier for a reader to understand a book or an article if they already have some grounding in what it’s about” (Schwartz, 2024). This quote relates to what Dr. Stohr does this with our class. She goes over the content with us prior to us reading and learning the material. I find it helpful.
   Some ways I can prioritize science in my classroom that are within a teacher’s control is to incorporate science and social studies as much as possible into ELA and math. Use measurement when possible, sorting and categorizing for each subject. Although as the article mentions, science is a hands on activity and reading about it only goes so far. Brianna, thank you for sharing how you and other teacher incorporated science and social studies with reading. Keep advocating for more science and social studies time since it’s linked to better reading-comprehension. I loved Caroline’s idea about sending fun experiments home for the students to complete. The best thing is when students are having fun and learning something new without even realizing it because it’s enjoyable!

6. Thank you for bringing up such an interesting topic Lucy! I do think the amount of time that teachers get to teach science hinders students’ science learning. I think that while there is not much that can be done to change the amount of time they get for science, there are other ways that teachers can incorporate science into their curriculum. One example of this is through picking books for student book clubs and read alouds that are science related. As we saw in the book talk assignment, there are tons of options for these, that are actually fun for students to read along with teaching them about science concepts.
   I remember from elementary school that my homework was often to write or draw an entry in my “noticing book,” basically a book where I wrote about things I observed, learned, or did in the day. I think this is another way to incorporate science for younger children, as it is teaching them to be good observers, and be paying attention to the world around them. I often chose to do the crayon-leaf prints in my noticing book, or to draw pictures from outside, both of which are incorporating science.
   While increasing the time allotted for science is necessary, I think through bringing it into other subjects can increase the amount of science learning happening in the classroom.

7. Hi Lucy! I’m glad you posted about elementary science instructional time. Instructional time for science and social studies is neglected in the school systems today. While substitute teaching, I often see schedules with only 20-30 minutes dedicated to science or social studies daily. Some teachers even have to focus on science for a few weeks and then switch to social studies for the next few weeks because of how far down this content is on the list of importance according to the standards. This puts students and teachers in a tough position because students will likely forget what they learned three weeks ago about a science topic and then the teacher will likely have to reteach that topic before moving on to the next. Students need science instruction in elementary school to learn skills like investigating and reasoning. As a teacher, I could try to prioritize science in my classroom with a strong emphasis on read-aloud. Spending time during allotted language arts time to read books that relate to science could be a great way to interweave these important topics into everyday learning. Even just exposing them to different aspects of science like the weather, plants and animals, etc. through read-alouds would be beneficial to students who need that science content.

8. Hi Lucy,
   I enjoyed reading about science instruction time in elementary classrooms. I really wish there was a perfect solution to breaking up subject matters. I think back to school days and how long they felt, but when you start thinking of every expectation for elementary students it becomes slightly overwhelming. I think the previous class discussion we had of incorporating the science material into reading and other parts of learning. I am interested in learning more about how to incorporate science, social studies or other subjects into other parts of the classroom. I think learning to use the science notebook as been very important and something I will incorporate into my classroom. Using books, creative writing and other writing/reading material we can focus on our science studies and learning new techniques.

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