In this book teachers will find an easy-to-understand discussion about the nature of science along with fun, inquiry-based activities to promote understanding of concepts with students. Current science education standards encourage science instruction that goes beyond teaching science as a body of knowledge; teachers must encourage their students to think like scientists by incorporating study of science processes and the characteristics of scientific knowledge (the nature of science) into the curriculum. Through use of personal stories and a friendly tone, author Randy Bell links familiar process skills (like observation, inference) to key tenets of the nature of science and shows teachers how to use student-centered activities to help children in grades 3-8 understand these important, yet abstract, concepts. Each chapter provides an introductory vignette and/or overview of the topic, detailed descriptions of activities, illustrations of concepts and practical aspects of the lesson, useful teaching tips, and reproducible science notebook assignments.