This article discusses the four forms of identifying similarities and differences: comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies and how these strategies can be used in an elementary classroom.

Selected resources provide three web-based activities to complement science lessons in an issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The free, online magazine for Grades K-5 teachers explores the essential principles of climate literacy.

Expressing understanding in multiple and varied ways helps build understanding and reveal possible gaps or misconceptions. This activity supports learners to use multiple forms of expression to show data collection, data analysis, and a claim (or hypothesis) that answers a focus question.Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

Bubbles in the bathtub is a quick, easy, and anonymous way to find out what all students are thinking. You can use this activity for predictions, reflections, brainstorming ideas for future investigations, exit tickets, and more.

Different and varied perspectives leads to richer science and better inquiry. This activity helps provide varied ways for learners to express questions, ideas, and understanding. As a result, it provides opportunities for all students, including those reticent to speak in whole-group settings, to share insights and inform class thinking.Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

Classroom practice has shown that this "Graffiti Wall" is a highly effective strategy that encourages multiple voices, and helps ideas to spread across groups of students and classes.

Data are simply information that is gathered. Evidence is when those data are used in support of an argument or claim. This activity helps students build the cognitive link between data and using that data as evidence to support a claim.Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

Collaborative learning is influenced by the quality of interactions, both among students and between teacher and students. Use this activity with students to co-create norms that foster a safe, welcoming, and productive environment for science inquiry learning.

Teachers consistently point out that students have difficulty differentiating opinion from data. This guided activity uses small group work and whole group conversation, guided by teachers, to build student skills in identifying the differences.Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

Science is better when everyone contributes at least one idea. In this activity, students will practice contributing and hearing ideas from everyone in the class. Students will reflect on the impact of hearing others' ideas on their thinking as scientists.

Peer feedback is a powerful tool. Learners report their own work improved when they received feedack and, especially, when they reviewed peer work and gave targeted feedback to others.

Lesson plan and activity packet of self-affirmation activities for coaches and teachers to use with students. Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

Providing and modeling using sentence frames and starters empowers learners to engage in productive, inquiry-based conversations and collaboration. Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

This activity supports all learners to use tools such as digital read aloud to self-check what they have written in text, and to make revisions based on their evaluation of that read aloud.Created as part of the OASIS Coaching Support research study at CAST.

In this project, students will start by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of existing activity trackers and determining the variables that affect the accuracy of these trackers. Students will then conduct interviews with people who wear activity trackers or wear a tracker themselves for a week to determine the pros, cons, and accuracies of the trackers. Then, codes and algorithms will be used to determine what should count as the threshold for a step to achieve maximum tracker accuracy by using Sparkfun Inventor's Kit, Raspberry Pi, and Linux.

Research shows that Wise and Mastery Oriented feedback are effective in promoting learner motivation and persistence, especially when faced with setbacks.

Wild Ride is an activity that can be used with students, but was used in the introductory workshop as a way to engage teachers in an initial engineering design activity and to reflect on the experience as a student and as a teacher.

In this learning experience, the students will analyze multiple primary source documents as well as secondary information sources to understand this watershed event in Virginia and US History. The three men who will be studied in this experience ran away from their slave-holding captors and made their way to Fort Monroe. Upon arrival, military leadership at the fort claimed that the run-aways were enemy contraband and therefore could be confiscated by the Union forces. They were declared free through this war-time loophole and when the news spread, many other African Americans would soon start coming to Fort Monroe to claim their freedom as well.  Students begin by examining the records of enslaved people who ran away “to the enemy” (Union forces). Finally, students will use a Cost/Benefit analysis chart to guide their analysis of secondary information sources and develop an understanding of the concepts of resistance and a working knowledge of the event of Mallory, Baker, and Townsend sparking one of the first blows to the system of slavery.