5 ways to get elementary school students interested in science

Curiosity and wonder are at the heart of science. Curiosity is essential to the development of a scientific mind, as it inspires us to ask questions about how the world works. For this reason, it makes perfect sense to adopt this same approach when teaching science and technology in the classroom.

Fostering students’ curiosity and interest in science before moving on to experiments and hands-on activities is a good practice. If students are not intellectually engaged in the first place, these types of activities are likely to have a limited impact. Here are a few ways to spark curiosity in the classroom:

• Ask your students questions like: What do you think this object is? How do you think it works? What do you think will happen if we change this?
• Have your students develop hypotheses.
• Ask your students to describe what surprises them about a scientific concept or to share a surprising science fact with the class.
• Encourage your students to ask questions; there is no such thing as a stupid question!
• Etc.

Seasonal changes in weather (e.g., temperature, light, and precipitation) and environmental conditions are excellent opportunities for approaching elementary level science topics. As you explore these transformations, encourage students to ask questions and make observations to spark their curiosity. Special events and national days are also great excuses to talk about science and technology with your class.
You can use a calendar to keep track of important science-related dates. Here are just a few examples:

• National Science Reading Day, September 21
• World Space Week, October 4–10
• World Science Day for Peace and Development, November 10
• World Water Day, March 22
• Earth Day, April 22
• World Bee Day, May 20
• World Ocean Day, June 8

This way, you can draw inspiration from the season or date for class activities and discussions, no matter what grade you teach, all year long. Here are a few examples:

• Fall topics: why leaves change colour, the autumn equinox, the time change, sunlight, the wind, etc.
• Winter topics: the cold, the winter solstice, hibernation, snow and ice, the science of winter sports, Christmas, etc.
• Spring topics: the spring equinox, the parts of the flower, photosynthesis, rain, germinating seeds, etc.
• Summer topics: the heat, the summer solstice, building a sundial, solar panels, sunscreen, the life cycle of a plant, making paper airplanes, etc.

Reading can be a fantastic way to get students interested in science. Often, science enthusiasts say that it was an inspiring book that sparked their love for the topic in the first place. You could read articles about science together as a class, or encourage students to read science-themed comics or a biography of an inspiring famous scientist. Alloprof even has a list of science-themed book recommendations for elementary school students that you can use as inspiration or to share with your students’ parents.

Making science and technology education fun is a great strategy for getting—and keeping—students interested in the subject. Here are a few ways to do this:

• Hold a competition or give challenges to your students when they are building prototypes. Examples: the race car that travels the fastest or the farthest, the highest tower made of salvaged material, the boat that floats with the most weight inside, the best paper plane, the best strategy to keep an egg from breaking when it hits the ground, etc.
• Play science trivia or science Jeopardy
• Play science-themed board games, either by borrowing them from a library or by asking students to bring in games from home. Examples: Nature Challenge, Women in Science, Pandemic, Timeline: Inventions, Stellar, Nunami, CardLine: Dinosaurs
• Invite students to talk about science video games they know in class, or recommend that they try some, for example, by borrowing them from the library. Here are a few examples: Beyond Blue, Microscopya, Sid the Science Kid.

To break down preconceived notions about science and technology, you can remind students that these topics are at the heart of our daily lives. Virtually any phenomenon or occurrence can be examined through a scientific lens. You can also demystify the scientific method[1]  by debunking the myth of the genius who has an epiphany or works alone in a secret lab. Scientific advances are the product of collaborative work and sometimes even the contribution of everyday people. Science also progresses through doubt and a non-linear process of questioning.
 
If students see science as something complex or beyond their abilities, it can be helpful to talk to them about science-heavy jobs that deconstruct the stereotypes of nerds in white lab coats. Here are some examples of jobs that require a background in science:

• App or video game designer
• Scientific cartoonist
• Sports scientist
• Astrobiologist (they look for life beyond Earth!)
• Science teacher!