Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 3-5: Explore Before Explain

Book Synopsis: Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 3– 5 is a one-stop resource that will inspire you to reimagine how you teach science in elementary school. The book discusses two popular approaches for structuring your lessons: POE (Predict, Observe, and Explain) and 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). It also shows how simple shifts in the way you arrange and combine activities will help young students construct firsthand knowledge, while allowing you to put the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into practice. Like its popular counterpart for grades 6– 8, the book is designed as a complete self-guided tour.

It helps both novice teachers and classroom veterans to understand • Why sequence matters. A concise review of developmental psychology, neurosciences, cognitive science, and science education research explains why the order in which you structure your lessons is so critical. • What you need to do. An overview of important planning considerations covers becoming an “ explore-before-explain” teacher and designing 5E and POE instructional models. • How to do it. Ready-to-teach lessons use either a POE or 5E sequence to cover heat and temperature, magnetism, electric circuits, chemical changes, ecosystems, and earth processes. Detailed examples show how specific aspects of all three dimensions of the NGSS can translate into your classroom. • What to do next. Reflection questions will spark thinking throughout the sequencing process and help you develop the knowledge to adapt these concepts to your students’ needs.

Instructional Sequence Matters will give you both the rationale and the real-life examples to restructure the hands-on approaches you are now using. The result will be a sequence for science instruction that promotes long-lasting understanding for your third-, fourth-, or fifth-grade students.