In a self-contained classroom for students who are deaf, students use American Sign Language to describe how water dripped, streamed, and flowed through the sieves they had constructed themselves from recycled aluminum foil pie pans and plastic cups and bowls. The skills list is translated from English into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Burmese, so all parents can understand what their children are learning, and share what they know with other members of their families. We created EEC, a nonprofit organization, to develop materials for classrooms and offer training for teachers, administrators, and parents. One of our programs is Playtime is Science. We hope some of the things we have learned will help you think of ways to make your own school more equitable.
Every child has the scientist's sense of wonder and awe.
It is important to build on children's curiosity and provide activities that help them construct knowledge of the physical world. We recommend activities that combine the scientific process with familiar, real-world materials. This helps children see science as integral to daily life, not as something outside themselves. Teachers often need help understanding how much science they do know from everyday experiences. We demonstrate that the materials for inquiry-based science can be familiar objects already found in the classroom and that trial and error are a critical part of science learning.