So, I've been busy getting my beginning of the year science units together. I start the year off in science the same way I start everything else off--by teaching routines and expectations! We start science on the very first day of school! Day 1: What is Science? I ask the kids what they think "science" is and I record their answers on a chart paper. Be prepared for some pretty funny answers! Then I read What is Science by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. I love this book--it is colorful and fun and really gets kids thinking about science and the world in general! Then, with their minds buzzing with possiblities, we add more ideas to our list. Then I introduce our science notebooks. I tell the kids that these are very special notebooks that will help us ask questions about science; make predictions; record observations and data about investigations; and explain their thinking about what they have learned. I hand out the Science Notebook Expectations and we go over them one by one. Then I show the kids how to glue the expectations in their notebooks--focusing on how to turn one page at a time and how to use glue appropriately...