Thinking Skills Through Science combines the teaching of thinking skills and subject specific understanding. It consists of a series of science activities appropriate for key stage 3, which can also be adapted for older or younger pupils across a whole range of abilities
The activities link to QCA schemes of work and deal with the study of: cells, interdependence, energy, force and particles. Each of the 18 exemplars are reports of actual lessons and can readily be used in a variety of teaching situations.
The book is written and presented to make the teacher’s task easy, by providing photocopiable pupil pages. All exemplars are also provided on the accompanying CDRom for use via the school intranet or for your local adaptation and print out.
Thinking Skills Through Science links comfortably with CASE and generates CASE style cognitive conflict, but also moves on to develop specific thinking and learning skills. The thinking skills are those defined in the National Curriculum: information processing, enquiry, reasoning, creative thinking, evaluation, as well as sequencing and hypothesising.
It also sits well with the Science Strand of the Key Stage 3 Strategy. The authors and the series editor have played an influential role in this Strategy and have gone through the specific implementation challenges as well as the rewards of linking the better acquisition of science subject knowledge with the development of thinking and learning skills. This approach is now proven and has positive impact in all types of school. This methodology is right in the mainstream of science teaching and learning.
Exemplars are based on the now familiar format of the 3 part lesson – introduction, group work and plenary. Each covers: brief overview of the exemplar; pupils’ prior knowledge and skills; links to QCA scheme of work, thinking skills and key scientific ideas; lesson objectives (thinking skills AND science); context; preparation including classroom organisation and required resources; introduction to the lesson; group work (what you might see and hear); plenary – how to manage this part of the lesson and some possible outcomes; follow-up; useful references; teacher sheets and pupil sheets (which are also on the CDRom).
ISBN:1 899857 55 9
Published 2004
Editor: David Leat
Authors: Sue Duncan, Don McNiven & Chris Savory