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PRI MARY SCI ENCE 118 May/June 2011

How often do you read an article in a publication and wonder if you could ‘write like that’? We would like to encourage you to write for us and over the next

couple of pages we have provided two short pieces to show you just what a good article and a good review could have in them – in teaching terms a WAGOLL (i.e. what a good one looks like)!

The article has been written for the purpose of illustrating a good example, but is also representative of the type of content we encourage in Primary Science: practical and active, with images. We also accept more research-based articles, but the focus has to be on ‘impact’ on the people, both adults and children, involved. Obviously there are guidelines for writing for any publication, and those for PS are available for everyone to read on the ASE’s website (www.ase.org.uk/journals/primary-science/submissions). The idea here, is simply to exemplify it in practice, which may help you ‘see’ how the guidelines translate into a finished article.

Reviewing a new publication and writing a review piece is an excellent way to start writing for a journal, as reviews are shorter in length and can feel less daunting!

Each issue of Primary Science focuses on a theme, as well as including other more general articles. Themes coming up include planning for creativity, as well as doing science with very little money and making good use of all those free resources. On page 2 of the journal, you will find a list of all the themes currently planned. If you have any ideas you might like to write about for these themes we would be pleased to hear from you. But if you feel the urge to write, it doesn’t have to be with a particular ‘theme’ in mind: interesting and useful articles are always welcome.

One final word… if you want help with writing an article, or have an idea of a website, resource or publication you would like review, but aren’t sure how to get started, then please contact either the editor or the reviews editor and we would be delighted to support you through the process.

Editor: taramawby@btinternet.comReviews Editor: sarahearle@tiscali.co.uk

Writing for Primary Science

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Activities that are simple to set up, requiring no complex apparatus, and that work well

Diagrams that are simple and easy to follow. Your sketches may be redrawn to make them clearer

Refer readers to previous issues of the journal; don’t forget to reference it correctly at the end of the article

A good way to ensure that teachers will try it out themselves, and therefore ‘be scientific’ in the way the activity is approached

Send photos separately as high-resolution jpg files; don’t embed them in the text but indicate where you want them, and any diagrams, to go

Figure 1 The tipping ruler

Figure 2 What will happen?

Tales of the unexpected

Alan Peacock suggests some science activities that arouse children’s curiosity

Most teachers and trainees know that if children are curious about

something they are more likely to engage with an activity, ask questions and generally get more out of it. Yet, while ‘being curious’ is an attitude we all seek to foster in children, there is not all that much good advice on how to arouse children’s curiosity.

One approach that does work, however, is to present children with experiences in which things happen that are wholly unexpected. If they are asked to say what they think will happen before they have the experience, when they see something that confounds their prediction they are usually ‘hooked’ on finding out what’s going on or why it didn’t do what they imagined. So starting a topic or an activity with something of this kind is guaranteed to get them focused on problem-solving. Here are a few tried-and-tested examples that have been proven to work.

The tipping rulerBalance a metre ruler or a long, symmetrical stick across the index fingers of two hands – the effect is better

Key words:Enquiry skillsThinking skillsObservation

Choose from the list of key words, to make searching for the article easier when on line. The list of words can be found on the ASE website: www.ase.org.uk/journals/primary-science/submissions

Subtitle that explains what the article is about

Snappy title to arouse readers’ interest

Make a point about how this will help the reader with their science teaching

Explain why it works, with evidence if appropriate

if your fingers are different distances from the ends of the stick (Figure 1). Tell the children that you are going to move your fingers together slowly until they touch, and ask them what they think will happen.

Most people predict that the ruler will tip over towards the finger closer to the centre. In fact, this never happens; try it yourself! Your fingers always meet in the middle, and the stick balances, no matter where you place your fingers originally. I would give you the explanation, but it’s better to get your children thinking and talking about why this happens, and why the finger nearer the centre ‘won’t move’.

Burning the candle at both endsCut the wax away from the bottom end of a candle, so that you have a wick at both ends. Push a long needle through the centre of the candle and balance it between two glasses so it can move freely (see PSR 100 for a full description of this activity). Tell the children you are going to light both wicks at the same time; ask them what they expect to happen (Figure 2). Again, try it yourself – you will probably be surprised!

Writing an article

Try not to suggest activities that you haven’t tried: readers want to know these work so will try them for themselves

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The box and balloonTake a large cardboard box, and place a brick inside it, close to one side. Close the box. Attach a helium balloon to the opposite edge of the box. Take the box into the classroom and place it on the edge of a table with the brick side over the table and the balloon side hanging out (Figure 3). Ask

the children what will happen when you cut the string of the balloon. Most children imagine that the balloon is holding up the box, so they usually say it will tip and fall. When you cut the string and the box doesn’t fall, they have to come up with a theory as to why and suggest how to test their theory.

Bobbing raisinsTake a glass of sparkling water or coke, or dissolve a seltzer tablet in water. Add a few raisins to the glass and ask the children what they see. The raisins will soon start to rise to the surface and then drop back to the bottom (Figure 4). Ask the children to explain their observation and to predict what other liquids will allow the same to happen.

carbonated water (or any fizzy canned drink)

glass or beaker

raisins

How do these fit in to my science scheme?Each of these simple ‘starter’ activities links to some aspect of the science curriculum – in these four cases, they are to do with friction, melting, gravity and the behaviour of gas bubbles. They all depend on careful observation, prediction and testing of their own ideas, if the children are to resolve their dilemmas. There are many more activities like these that you may come across; when you do, why not share them with others through this journal?

Reference

Editorial Board (2007) ‘Top 20’ primary science activities. Primary Science Review, 100, i–viiii.

Figure 4 Bobbing raisins

Alan Peacock is an honorary research fellow at the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, and a previous editor of Primary Science. Email: a.peacock@exeter.ac.uk

Examples of the way to manage this in the classroom, either structures or key questions to ask, help others to try it for themselves

Add captions to your images as sometimes they cannot appear directly in line with the text to which they relate

Mention how the activity relates to the science curriculum and how you would manage it in the classroom

Encourage readers to contribute to the journal: it is teachers’ own ideas that are most valued by other teachers

Include relevant references following the Harvard (author–date) referencing system

Include a description of yourself and your position. If you wish your email to be published, then include that too.

Break up text with subheadings

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The bug book and bug bottle

Hugh Danks

110 pp. £10.98New York: Workman Publishing, 2009ISBN 978 0 7611 4889 0

An illustrated field guide and activity book for age 8+

This kit for keen ‘bug-hunters’ includes: a ‘bug’ book with information on where to find invertebrates, how to identify them and a number of activities; a bottle for collecting them in; a single-page identification chart; a journal for drawing and recording details of finds; and a small magnifying glass.

The book is organised into sections based on where various bugs can be found. This feature, and the pocket-sized nature of the book, mean that it could easily be taken on trips to hunt for bugs in particular habitats. There are hints on how to put bugs into the collecting jar safely, and lots of reminders about making sure

Writing a book review

that the bugs and their habitats are not damaged.

The pages of the book devoted to individual species all show a coloured drawing of the bug, details of its appearance and food, and further notes relating, for example, to interesting features of its life cycle or sounds that it can make. These pages are interspersed with more general features such as ‘social insects’ and ‘bugs at night’.

The main problem with the kit is that it has not been sufficiently adapted for the UK audience. The American vocabulary (ladybug for ladybird, flashlight for torch, and so forth) would not be terribly confusing for most children, particularly if read with an adult, and the book lends itself to children exploring with adults rather than alone. However, some of the bugs identified in the book, such as the cicada and the tiger swallowtail butterfly, are not found in Britain! I would consider this a major issue, particularly as the book is marketed as a field guide with an emphasis on the excitement of looking for real organisms in their natural habitat.

As a concept, I think the pack works well for families or small groups on outings looking to explore the small invertebrates around us. However, it would be difficult for children to use the pack independently as the language is rather technical in places, and adults would need to oversee the experiments described at the end of the book. The main drawback is the fact that the animals featured are not all indigenous to the UK.

Nicky WallisTeacher, Beach Babies Nursery

The image will be added by the executive editor when setting out the text

Write between 200 and 400 words clearly and concisely, but in an easily readable style

Provide accurate details: title, author/editor, page number and price, publisher, date, ISBN

A helpful, short description of what the resource is

First explain what the resource is in a bit more detail, including what it contains

Explain what is good about the resource, including its organisation

Do you have any criticisms? Give reasons / examples from the text

Highlight safety issues

Provide an idea of who the resource is for and how it could be used

Finish with an overall comment

Give examples from the text to give the reader a feel for the level of the resource

Don’t forget your name and your school/occupation!