The benefit to teaching foundational science knowledge

I’ve written often about my love for project-based, inquiry instruction in the middle school science classroom. Letting students explore and discover in the same way scientists do, by asking questions and experimenting, is definitely a rewarding and highly valuable way for students to engage in the science curriculum. But, I want to argue in this post that there is a time and place for setting the foundation with direct instruction of basic science knowledge.

I have several lessons and units that I incorporate into my teaching year which only barely address the middle school science standards and can only minimally be called “inquiry-based.” But, I keep them in my line-up and afford them precious academic time because I believe these lessons provide students with foundational science knowledge they need in order to grasp the larger concepts. I know that with the move towards NGSS, some of these lessons don’t find their way into the standard curriculum anymore but here’s the thing… those middle school lessons void of foundational content are counting on students having already received the information in the K-5 years. And although elementary science education is seeing an upsurge, it’s still not given enough room at the table to really fill the gaps needed in middle school science.

“...although elementary science education is seeing an upsurge, it’s still not given enough room at the table to really fill the gaps needed in middle school science.”

Here are 4 units I leave in my line-up to provide foundational science concepts…

1. Mitosis and Meiosis

Though not directly addressed in the middle school science standards, I usually include a short mini-unit on mitosis and meiosis in between my cells and genetics units. I don’t focus on the vocabulary or ask my students to specifically identify the different phases (you can read more about that here), but I do want them to understand the processes and outcomes. What is the end result of each process? What is the purpose? I feel strongly that by gaining a very basic understanding of mitosis and meiosis, the students are better able to understand how genetic traits are passed down from one generation to the next. You can take a look at my mitosis/ meiosis mini-unit here.

2. Newton’s Laws of Motion

The Next Generation Science Standards for middle school don’t specifically address all of Newton’s Laws of Motion. There is a standard that addresses the 3rd law as students look at the effect of colliding objects, and a standard that asks students to investigate the outcome of forces on objects (which ties to Newton’s 1st and 2nd laws of motion). Despite this, I have seen many curriculum programs skip over any direct instruction of Newton’s laws and jump right into investigations. This is an area where I think students benefit from the direct instruction of the 3 laws, prior to and along with the investigations. I love to have discussions with my students about what the Laws really mean and if they think the laws are actually applicable (which leads to our understanding of Earth’s invisible forces such as gravity and friction). While I do include a lot of investigation in my forces and motion unit, and it ultimately does address several standards, I also include space for direct instruction of Newton’s Laws of Motion.

3. The Metric System

There are exactly zero middle school science standards that focus on the metric system and yet, if we are being true to the nature of science, students should be using the metric system in their data collection. In reality, the metric system is meant to be covered in 3-5th grade math (where it is part of the standards) but it doesn’t usually get a lot of focus or done with science applications in mind. As a result, I find that many of my middle school students come to me without working knowledge of the metric system. And, as I like to have students complete their measurements and data collection in metrics, I feel it’s important to devote the time to an explicit study of the system. You can read more about my metric system unit here.

4. Atoms and the Periodic Table

In theory, students enter into middle school having covered the parts of the atom and the periodic table in 4th or 5th grade, but I find this is rarely the case. I also find that students have a better understanding of how molecules are formed and atomic bonds are made (the middle school science standards) if they understand the atom and the periodic table. So, even though it is not directly addressed in the middle school science standards and even though I should expect students to enter into middle school with this foundational knowledge, I nearly always add in a unit on these basics. You can check out the atoms unit here.

Are there any science skills or knowledge you feel can’t be left out of your teaching year? Let me know in the comments!