Inspiring science in the early years: exploring good practice

Content: Cover page
 Halftitle page
 Title page
 Copyright page
 Praise for this book
 Contents
 List of figures and tables
 Notes on contributors
 The editors
 The authors
 Acknowledgements
 Preface
 1 Is science import ant in the early years? Lois Kelly
 Introduction
 What is science?
 Science in the early years
 How young children construct meaning
 Nurturing children's curiosity
 Exploring good practice
 References
 2 Developing budding scientists Kathleen Orlandi
 Encouragement to explore and investigate
 Uninterrupted thinking time
 Access to the world beyond the classroom. Provision for untidinessConclusion
 References
 3 The role of talk in developing scientific language in the early years
 Introduction
 How does the teacher help the child develop more precise language?
 How does the teacher support a child to refine their under standing of scientific concepts?
 How does the teacher ascertain the developing scientific under standing of young children in order to plan for next steps or potential lines of development?
 How can the teacher encourage the children to record their own ideas in a meaningful way?
 Case study: Humpty Dumpty and his wall. How can recounts develop scientific language?The plan-do-review of High/Scope
 The use of stories and storytelling, including traditional and classic stories
 The use of puppets in promoting exploratory talk
 References
 Resources
 4 Starting points to inspire science in the early years
 Creating the right environment
 Case study
 Starting points in every day science
 The power of stories
 Conclusion
 References
 5 How can continuous provision inspire early years science?
 Introduction
 What is continuous provision?
 Continuous provision supporting science learning. Why is play so important in learning science?What does continuous provision for science learning look like?
 Using areas of continuous provision to enhance early years science
 Opportune moments
 What is the role of the teacher/adult in enhancing science incontinuous provision?
 Meaningful conver sations that support sustained shared thinking
 How do the questions you ask help children with their sustained shared thinking?
 Conclusion
 References
 6 Inspiring early years science through role play
 Introduction
 What does role play offer?
 The role of the adult in promoting scientific learning. ConclusionReferences
 7 Exploring toys and other resources to inspire science in the early years
 Introduction
 The purpose of resources
 Using toys and other resources effect ively
 Toys for under standing the world
 Something to think about
 Messing about in science with balls
 Messing about with mud
 Messing about with magnets
 Conclusion
 References
 8 Using technology to inspire science in early years
 Introduction
 Technological innovation and expectations with young children
 Using technology to enhance early science skills.