Using SuperScience in the Classroom

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Below you’ll find information on every feature, column, and special issue that appears in SuperScience throughout the year, along with ways you can incorporate the magazine into your curriculum.

NEWSBLASTS

• Three to four short news stories appear in each issue. These are divided as evenly as possible into life, earth, and physical science stories so as to cover a wide range of topics. 

In the classroom: Science news stories are selected and written to be of high student interest. Use this section to ease students into longer articles. It is also a way to incorporate current events in science into your curriculum.

SUPERSCIENCE MYSTERY

• This read-aloud play features a mystery in which students have to perform an experiment to determine the culprit. This “who-dun-it” feature can either be read by students independently or read aloud as a class.

In the classroom: This feature offers strong language arts and science-as-inquiry connections. It can be used to help students develop 21st century skills like creative thinking and cooperation. For a fun class activity, have students read the play aloud, or act it out, and solve the mystery as a class.

FEATURE ARTICLES

• Each issue of SuperScience contains 2 to 3 feature articles. These are divided into life, earth, and physical science stories in order to cover a wide range of topics.
• The features vary in length from 2 to 4 pages so struggling readers and high achievers alike can find an article that suits their abilities.
• Each feature includes a Web Connection, which guides readers to extra issue-related content and links on SuperScience’s Web site. One article per issue features digital package on our Web site, which includes whiteboard-ready activities and video links.
• SuperScience feature articles often include sidebars, diagrams, maps, timelines or other peripherals to help students develop a more in-depth understanding a topic’s more-difficult or interesting concepts.

In the classroom: These stories vary widely in subject matter, so how you work them into your class will also vary. Check the teacher’s edition and Web site for corresponding lesson plans, activity ideas, resources, and skills pages.

QUICK QUIZ

Each issue of SuperScience includes a Quick Quiz that accompanies one feature. This box includes 3 multiple-choice questions.

In the classroom: Use this section to evaluate comprehension.

Bonus Activity: Ask students to write their own comprehension questions for the other features and swap with a partner.

HANDS-ON EXPERIMENT

Every issue of SuperScience includes two hands-on activities related to two feature articles. This activity calls for only inexpensive, easy-to-find materials. Each activity relates to the feature article directly preceding it.

In the classroom: Reinforce lessons from the related feature with the issue’s hands-on activity. It teaches scientific inquiry and critical thinking. The hands-on activities are designed to be conducted by your students, but most can be turned into a teaching demo if that better suits your classroom needs.

COOL SCIENCE JOBS

• This page highlights the career of a person in a science industry to get students thinking about whether a science career is in their future. Its Q&A format breaks content into digestible chunks so readers get a complete understanding of what the job entails. The expert interviewed always gives readers tips for what skills they’ll need if they decide to pursue the featured career. It also gives students an idea a jobs’ pros and cons and often how much could earn annually in the featured profession.

In the classroom: Cut out these pages as they appear in the magazine and make a science-careers bulletin board. By the end of the year, you’ll have a wide range of careers to inspire students—and expand their notion of what a “scientist” looks like.

Bonus Activity: Have students work in groups to summarize the facts of the featured careers. Ask them to note whether or not the career interests them and if so, why.

THE BACK PAGE

This Back Page typically includes a vocabulary-building exercise (such as crossword puzzle, fill-in-the-blank puzzle, or word search), a mystery photo, and a column called You Asked. You Asked features one student-submitted question, which is answered by SuperScience editors.

In the classroom:

• Have students solve the mystery photo and complete the vocabulary puzzle alone or in groups.
• Encourage students to write in with their own questions. You Asked provides a good chance to teach letter-writing skills. Or, use it as a tool to promote class discussion. 

SPECIAL ISSUES

Earth Day: SuperScience’s Earth Day issue celebrates the planet and highlights issues involving environmental science and conservation. It serves to inform and inspire students.

WEB SITE: www.scholastic.com/superscience

Don’t miss extra teaching resources on SuperScience’s Web site! It includes issue-related links, a downloadable teacher’s edition, a skills page archive, and more.