The mind-building lessons and activities in this 112-page book teach topics and skills drawn from state and national science standards to prepare students for more advanced science courses and new assessments that measure reasoning, reading comprehension, and writing in science.

Students read lessons that include a variety of charts, tables, and graphs. Then they answer critical thinking questions to improve their understanding of the science concepts and develop their reading comprehension, inferential and deductive thinking skills. Students can't just scan the story for answers—they must carefully analyze and synthesize the information from the text, charts, tables, and graphs to explain and support their answers.

Many questions in this book ask students to use complete sentences to explain their thinking. The ability to express their thoughts—supported by evidence—in writing, is not only important in science assessment, it is essential when communicating with other people in school and work. It also promotes better understanding of the concepts being studied. The questions in Science Detective® Beginning are modeled after questions found on science assessments but require more critical thinking. There is a growing trend to evaluate responses to open-ended questions in the context of logical reasoning, and many science students score poorly on these test items. The carefully designed questions in this book will not only develop thinking, reading, and writing skills, but will also familiarize your students with questions found on contemporary science assessments.

Teaching Support
Includes teacher and student introductions, a chart of topics and key ideas to help select activities, and detailed answers.

Concepts covered in Science Detective® Beginning include:

Physical Science:
Physical Properties: Observing, Measuring
Change of Phase
States/Classification of Matter
Position, Distance, Motion
Pushing, Pulling Forces
Sound, Hearing, Force
Light: Reflection, Refraction
Heat: Sources, Conduction
Electricity, Circuits/Symbols
Magnetism, Electromagnetism

Life Science:
Animals, Plants, Environment
Instincts, Behavior
Plant, Animal Cells
Plant Structure, Function, Survival
Animals, Plants, Energy
Animal Needs, Behavior
The Five Senses, Survival
Life Cycles: Plants, Animals
Heredity
Environment, Change

Earth Science:
Earth Science, Earth Materials
Minerals, Soils, Rocks
Objects in the Sky/The Sun
Changes to Earth's Surface
Atmosphere, Weather
Measuring Temperature, Air Pressure, Humidity
Motion of Objects in the Universe