Despite their name, Wisconsin Fast Plants (members of the cabbage and mustard family) are used by teachers all over the United States -- because they are ideally suited to short semesters, youthful impatience, and small spaces. This spiral-bound lab book demonstrates all aspects of plant growth and development, while teaching scientific investigation. Activities focus on points in the plant's life cycle, variation and inheritance concepts, and environmental factors. A Science Exploration Flowchart in each activity stresses important process skills.
Observing the adventures of slime molds, breeding spiders, and pickling your own cabbage are just a few of the great ideas that fill this book about using recyclable containers to learn about science and the environment.
With age-appropriate, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and sound teaching practices, middle school science can capture the interest and energy of adolescent students and expand their understanding of the world around them. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science, developed by the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), is a valuable tool for identifying and selecting effective science curriculum materials that will engage students in grades 6 through 8. The volume describes more than 400 curriculum titles that are aligned with the National Science Education Standards. This completely new guide follows on the success of Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science, the first in the NSRC series of annotated guides to hands-on, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and other resources for science teachers. The curriculum materials in the new guide are grouped in five chapters by scientific areaâ€"Physical Science, Life Science, Environmental Science, Earth and Space Science, and Multidisciplinary and Applied Science. They are also grouped by typeâ€"core materials, supplementary units, and science activity books. Each annotation of curriculum material includes a recommended grade level, a description of the activities involved and of what students can be expected to learn, a list of accompanying materials, a reading level, and ordering information. The curriculum materials included in this book were selected by panels of teachers and scientists using evaluation criteria developed for the guide. The criteria reflect and incorporate goals and principles of the National Science Education Standards. The annotations designate the specific content standards on which these curriculum pieces focus. In addition to the curriculum chapters, the guide contains six chapters of diverse resources that are directly relevant to middle school science. Among these is a chapter on educational software and multimedia programs, chapters on books about science and teaching, directories and guides to science trade books, and periodicals for teachers and students. Another section features institutional resources. One chapter lists about 600 science centers, museums, and zoos where teachers can take middle school students for interactive science experiences. Another chapter describes nearly 140 professional associations and U.S. government agencies that offer resources and assistance. Authoritative, extensive, and thoroughly indexedâ€"and the only guide of its kindâ€"Resources for Teaching Middle School Science will be the most used book on the shelf for science teachers, school administrators, teacher trainers, science curriculum specialists, advocates of hands-on science teaching, and concerned parents.
The subject of this volume is the reproductive biology of plants. A steadily growing interest in this field is the result of at least two factors, as pointed out with great foresight by one of the driving forces in the field, H.E Linskens (Linskens 1964): most of the food consumed by humans takes the form of plant reproductive parts, and molecular biology now provides pow erful tools for investigating and manipulating plant reproductive systems. Molecular biology and the allied discipline of biotechnology are solidly represented in the papers in this book. The editors of Angiosperm Pollen and Ovules believe that the chapters herein contain some of the most excit ing findings of contemporary biology, and hope that the readers of this book will share their enthusiasm. The editors express sincere and grateful thanks for help from Carla Frova, Enrico Pe, and especially to Giorgio Binelli, all of the University of Milan. Without these three tireless and enthusiastic individuals it would not have been possible to maintain the apparently effortless proceeding of this congress. We thank also the organizing committee and the organizations that generously provided financial support (both listed below). Finally, we extend thanks to M. Cresti, D. Charlesworth, D. Hess, E Hoekstra, R. Bruce Knox, J.P. Mascarenhas, M.E. Nasrallah, P.L. Pfahler, A. Snow, and M.T.M. Willemse for chairing sessions.