Menu
middle school students

Your Middle School Classroom

Science Scope

NSTA's peer-reviewed journal for middle level and junior high school science teachers

 Visit us

In the current issue:

Understanding how the different parts of a system interact is an important first step in trying to solve the complex problems facing our world today. We hope the activities in this issue of Science Scope will get your students’ gears turning as they explore how systems can lead to solutions both in the classroom and in the real world.

Featured articles:

Full Table of Contents

Science Scope is now available to NSTA members in a digital version. Same great content, but now NSTA members can read it on the computer as well as the Kindle Fire, Android tablet/phone, and iPad/iPhone. For more information, please go to our digital journals page. Questions? e-mail us at digitaljournals@nsta.org.

Student Competitions

Looking for ways to engage your students in the fun of science? NSTA-sponsored competitions encourage teamwork while tapping into their natural curiosity.

Learn more

NSTA Position Statements

NSTA has developed several position statements of particular interest to middle-level teachers:

All position statements

Grants and Fellowships

  • 2/1/2017 - 3/15/2017
    Braitmayer Foundation's K-12 Education Grants  More »
  • 2/1/2017 - 4/1/2017
    ACS-Hach Second Career Teacher Scholarship  More »
  • 2/1/2017 - 4/15/2017
    Charlotte Martin Foundation Grant  More »
  • 2/15/2017 - 9/1/2017
    Lois Lenski Covey Foundation Bookmobile Grants  More »

To see more science education events and programs, visit the NSTA calendar.

Freebies for Science Teachers

The staff of NSTA Reports has collected hundreds of free resources for you. Take a moment to browse the listings—we think you'll find something to reward the effort.

Resources and Opportunities for Your Middle School Classroom

Guidelines for Classroom Safety

This four-page document should be given to students at the beginning of the school year to help them understand their role in ensuring a safe and productive science experience.

Download Safety in the Science Classroom

Reward Yourself!

You could win a trip to the NSTA National Conference on Science Education. Apply for NSTA Teacher Awards to showcase your hard work! At the middle level, CPO Science, DuPont/Pioneer, PASCO, SeaWorld, Shell, and Vernier sponsor awards. In addition, the Mohling Aerospace Educator Award and the Maitland P. Simmons scholarships for new teachers have niches for the middle level science educator.

Take me there

Blick on Flicks

Prof. Jacob Clark Blickenstaff helps you turn the "bad science" in movies and TV into teachable science.

Take me there

NSTA New ScienceTeacher Academy

NSTA and the Amgen Foundation have launched the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, which will help to support and encourage middle and secondary school science educators in their first years of teaching.

Take me there

Need Help Selecting Resources?

NSTA Recommends®

Our panel of top-flight teachers and other outstanding science educators has designated the best available supplements for your science teaching.

Take me there

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12

Since 1973, NSTA and the Children's Book Council have compiled a yearly list of outstanding children's science trade books. The results from 1996 on are available online.

Take me there
Blick's Pick: Touching the sky

TV towers need to be tall to increase the range of their signals (though now, most folks in the US probably get their television signals through a wire coming into their homes). There must be a light at the top so that pilots recognize that the tower is there and can avoid it. That's also the reason for the red and white paint scheme. Shot with a drone, this video gives an impression of what it is like to climb to the top of a TV tower to change the light bulb. Wow. YouTube link | Archive