Thinking Strategies for Science : Grades 5-12

"Berman provides helpful, guided, step-by-step procedures for new and seasoned teachers to review and reassess their methods for teaching students how to collect, organize, and analyze new ideas."
―Jean Eames, Chemistry and Biology Teacher
Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland, OR

"This book presents strategies to engage students in making meaning out of prior knowledge, texts, and specific content."
―Nancy T. Davis, Associate Professor of Middle and Secondary Education
Florida State University

A blueprint for science lessons that develop students′ higher-level thinking skills!

This inspiring look at teaching science presents a specific and creative approach designed to cultivate and strengthen students′ critical thinking skills. The author provides interactive techniques and a variety of activities that involve student reflection, brainstorming, and verbal, visual, and analytical skills.

This second edition of Catch Them Thinking in Science offers easy-to-use strategies for cooperative learning and provides sample units of study that align with national science standards. The revised edition includes updated research, a new section on designing your own science activities, an expanded discussion of assessment methods, and an assortment of handy reproducibles to use with lesson plans. With the research-based rationale behind each activity and strategy, teachers will be able to help students:

• Make their thinking visible through graphic organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, and matrices
• Gather, process, analyze, and apply information throughout the science curriculum
• Increase their comprehension by working in cooperative learning groups

Designed to promote the development of lifelong thinking and learning skills, this practical resource offers teachers powerful techniques for engaging students and advancing their achievements in science.

Sally Berman specializes in teaching educators how to use practical strategies that expand student teamwork, cognition, metacognition, and self-evaluation skills. She developed and tested many of her ideas during her 30 years of teaching science in a large Chicago-area high school. Berman regularly presents at workshops and conferences and has taught graduate courses for SkyLight Professional Development in conjunction with St. Xavier University and Cumberland University.