You don’t need test tubes and beakers to foster meaningful science engagement. Everyday life events, like a neighborhood walk, cooking dinner, and casual conversations with teachers and caregivers, can all spark scientific curiosity. Read on to learn how to organically support children’s natural curiosity, and build lifelong science skills in the process!

We are pleased to announce the release of “Past and Present,” 12 brand-new articles on how everyday life has changed over time. Last fall, we removed a set of PebbleGo Social Studies articles about life in the past because they no longer met our standards for inclusivity. This new set of texts covers a range of engaging, standards-aligned topics, from clothing to transportation to games and fun in the past and present.

It’s that time of year when school is out for summer! That is, unless you are teaching this summer. Many educators, myself included, teach some type of programming in the summertime. Below are some of my favorite tips for using PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next to help you and your students succeed this summer school season!

How do you introduce informational text features to students? When talking about informational text with your class, you might point out captions, or talk about paragraph structure. With online articles, you might show students how to tap on a word to find its pronunciation or definition. As you model informational text features to students, there are differences in both online and offline reading materials to consider.

For the voracious readers out there, it may be no surprise that curiosity and literacy go hand in hand. After all, books allow children a way to explore the unknown, to answer their questions about the world, and imagine fantastical possibilities for themselves. By supporting young children’s curiosity and wonder, educators and caregivers are also supporting a child’s desire to read – even before they can actually do so on their own!

We felt it was important that biographies of historical figures reflecting a wide range of backgrounds should be included in PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next, regardless of whether or not an image was available for them. It is with this idea in mind that going forward, we will utilize a basic template silhouette in place of an actual portrait or photograph. In doing so, we hope to give students the opportunity to learn about historical figures, no matter their background.

Young children are naturally curious about the world around them. They ask questions and have a strong desire to learn. It is crucial that parents, family members, and educators foster children’s curiosity and encourage them to keep asking questions as they grow up. Nurturing students' intellectual curiosity can support critical thinking, help boost academic performance, and prepare them for success in the classroom and beyond. 

Where can you go to find engaging, standards-aligned resources? Capstone Connect has you covered if you’re teaching elementary school this year. With this platform, you can easily find and share “just right” resources with each of your students. I’ve had the chance to use Connect with elementary readers. I can’t wait to share some of the reasons I think you’ll love these resources, too.

Adults must be able to think critically in order to make good decisions about personal, professional, and civic affairs. How do we get adults who can do this? By raising students who can think critically! These students will grow up able to use the critical thinking skills they learned in school to make good decisions throughout their adult lives.