Cultivate Curiosity K-2

Start the year by making your classroom a place that encourages curiosity and invites questions! Set-up a science station with some interesting critters, substances, and/or materials. Provide students with time each day to explore, make observations, and ask questions. Record these on a chart or bulletin board near the science station. Your chart can be as simple as the one below. Use class discussion time (science talks) for students to share their ideas, questions, prior knowledge, local knowledge, and funds of knowledge. AVOID the urge to tell students the "correct explanation" or read it in a book. Also accept everyday kid talk as opposed to vocabulary. The goal is to establish that curiosity and questions are valued. As a bonus, you will learn more about your students' interests, out-of-school experiences, and language proficiency. 

Bulletin board to post what students notice about phenomena and what questions they have