A Special(ist) Approach to Elementary Science

Fourth graders are experimenting with pinwheel turbines during science. They are testing two methods to generate energy, wind power and hydropower. They make guesses – hypothesize. Then they work in small groups through timed experiments. This is science, as a specialist class, in elementary school.

Mitch Huerd, elementary science specialist, is guiding students as they consider the essential question: How can we generate energy with renewable resources?

They hypothesize with a neighbor: "I think __ will make the pinwheel spin the fastest because __."

While sharing responses, Layla raises her hand to share. Scarlett shares next, starting with, "Layla has a good point, but I think the opposite will happen because..."

They show respect in sharing differing ideas. It’s a robust discussion. Finally, it’s time to experiment. There’s wind. There’s water. It’s all a little noisy – and maybe a little messy. Judging from the smiles, it’s also pretty fun. The groups record results before coming back together on the rug to write what they did, and the results, on the whiteboard.

A group of girls - Zoey, Georgia, Rylie and Riley – talk over each other, eager to share their opinions about science. They all like the hands-on experiments.

“We get to make something cool and have fun while doing it,” says one. “It lets us discover new things.”

Science has been a specialist class, similar to art, music and physical education, at the elementary level since the fall of 2023. It’s a model created to give needed time and attention to science learning. Last summer, the science competencies were refined giving more focus to “minds on, hands on” science learning. The pieces have come together to help nurture scientists of the future.

Science taught by scientists

Mitch’s interest in teaching science started during his own elementary school experience when he had a dedicated science specialist. He originally trained as an elementary teacher, second grade, but knew immediately when he saw this science specialist role that it was for him.

“There is limited time for science in a general classroom,” he says. His interest in science and elementary learning is a perfect fit for this model.

Most elementary teachers are passionate about and focused on teaching reading and math – the foundational skills students need. Often, the teaching of those skills mean science takes a back seat. Finding an elementary teacher that is passionate about science and having dedicated time set aside for science can be unusual. It makes a difference for science teaching and learning.

“Now, I have this whole room that everything in here is made just for science,” says Mitch. “All these materials are for me to give to the kids, let them try all these different things. I think that has really helped them be interested in science and understand what science really is. It gives them that foundational knowledge.”

Harly Lentz is a science specialist teaching 5^th and 6^th graders at Westwood. He has his bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a STEM certificate. He’s always been interested in integrating STEM into the classroom.

“This role was something I really wasn’t expecting to end up in,” says Harly. “I was expecting to just be a classroom teacher and then kind of have that science focus. This job seems to be kind of the perfect fit.”

Harly wasn’t always a science person, but that changed in high school.

“That piece of getting kids engaged in science early on—and hopefully they like it—that’s kind of how I ended up here,” says Harly. “If a teacher doesn’t love teaching science, they’re not going to go as deep.”

Harly will finish a master’s program in science education this spring.

I’m constantly learning and bringing that into the classroom—things like energy, food systems, environmental regulation. I think having a dedicated science teacher—someone who says, ‘Science is my jam’—makes a difference for my students. Harly Lentz, science specialist 

Minds on, hands on

Pair science taught by passionate scientists with an approach that focuses on “minds on, hands on” learning and the conditions are ripe for science engagement.

“I think it [minds on, hands on] is about connecting the ‘why’ behind what we’re doing,” says Harly.

Having the thinking about science really match the activity is a difference maker.

“Kids always ask, ‘When are we going to blow stuff up?’ or ‘Are we doing elephant toothpaste?’ Those are hands-on, but there’s no real connection to content—you already know what’s going to happen.

My professor used to say, ‘That’s an activity, not an experiment,’” says Harly. “So, we try to build investigations where students don’t know the answer yet and have to figure it out.”

In 6th grade, Harly’s students start with plate tectonics—how plates interact to create volcanoes and earthquakes.

“We do a graham cracker and frosting lab to model Earth’s layers and plate movement—like two graham crackers pushing together for continental plates,” says Harly.

In 5th grade, there is more hands-on work. One unit is an egg drop—students design a device to protect an egg, connecting to velocity and mass. In the matter unit, students observe materials—texture, shape, color—and then measured things like temperature and volume.

They also do an experiment on evaporation—comparing covered versus uncovered water, different materials, heat versus room temperature. That experiment is tied to an engineering problem: If we had a fishbowl in the classroom, what would we need to consider? Twice, the experiment has led to fish in the classroom.

“They died both times—mass casualties,” says Harly. “I still have the aquarium, though. Kids have made things to put in it—a crocheted shark, little animals—so now it’s more decorative.”

Mitch’s students, while younger, are also making discoveries through their thinking and action. The fourth grader’s pinwheels tied to discussions about renewable energy and how coal and oil are a limited supply. Third graders are exploring sun, moon and shadows using shadow puppet plays.

“Students pick anything related to science they want to teach us about [for the puppet play]… and video record it all by themselves,” says Mitch.

Lessons often involve student-driven projects, such as creating and recording their own presentations.

Competencies gain complexity

The science competencies are the same for all grades. There are three: Modeling; Investigating; Claim, Evidence, Reasoning. The concepts gain complexity as students grow.

“We focus on modeling… claim, evidence, and reasoning… and how we investigate. It’s not as much for them to know the exact vocabulary and content,” says Mitch about fourth grade. “Now, at this age, it's more about knowing how we can ask questions about things we don't know…and make observations.”

In 5^th grade, there is suddenly a lot more to cover.

“We see them twice a week,” says Harly. “Suddenly, science demands more of their attention and focus. They have to break that perception of, ‘Oh, this isn’t just another specialist like phy. ed or music or art.’”

The content gets harder. A student might be ‘proficient’ with a competency in 5th grade, then with harder content in 6th grade, they might move back to ‘in progress.’

“I tell them all the time: ‘Beginning’ or ‘in progress’ at this point in the year—you’re on track,” says Harly. “They want a letter grade, and I have to explain that’s not how this works. We use language like ‘beginning,’ ‘in progress,’ and ‘proficient,’ and we show examples: ‘This is what beginning looks like, this is in progress, this is proficient.’ That helps them understand where we’re going with their learning.”

The skills they are building will serve them throughout their education – and life.

“We really want to work on having the kids work on key skills they can carry through...all the way up to high school,” says Mitch. “It’s not me telling them the answers - they all find it themselves. We can make the mistake and learn something new.”

While it’s always important for the scientist to connect the science to the real world, connecting science to the lives of students is often the most rewarding.

Mitch recalls a second grader dragging her dad into the room during a family event at school. Pulling on his arm, she said, ‘Dad, Dad, look.’ She was pointing at posters in the back of the room that show different types of scientists and the work they do. She was pointing at one and saying, ‘Dad, that's what you do!’ He is an archaeologist.

“I just love that she wanted to show her dad, this is something about you,” says Mitch. “Those connections to home are such a great inspiration for me, like a full circle moment.”