NSTA Article Review

This article helped me get a better understanding of incorporating kinetic and potential energy
into my classroom. The article helped teach the concept by providing a framework and
practical examples for understanding how energy works. It showed a real-world example of
modeling the energy in the classroom and demonstrating how it can be used. This read
provided educational resources that enhance comprehension in the learning process for
modeling energy.

It also discussed how the energies can be transferred. Modeling the different types of energy
is a good way to be able to teach science to children. In the article, it stated how to engage,
explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate in the science classroom. Overall, the article shows
how to model energy for students in the classroom with hands-on activities, interactive, and
age-appropriate to be able to engage students in understanding modeling energy.

After reading this article, I had a few possible ideas for teaching activities. One is to build a
roller coaster. This can be done in any grade with materials around the house or classroom.
This can show different types of motion and different speeds. Another teaching activity that
came to mind while reading this is having the students bring in toys that can move in different
directions. This will help to engage the students and still model different types of motion. The
last teaching activity I would consider for my kindergarten students would be building ramps.
This could be used to also show the different types of motion and different speeds.

One misconception that I had was that modeling energy in a kindergarten classroom could be
too complex for them to understand. However, this journal article showed me how to modify
it with appropriate simplifications and hands-on activities. Another misconception that I had
was the amount of ways to have interactive and engaging activities for kindergarten students
to be able to meet their developmental needs. These will allow students to understand beyond
the comprehension. However, this article showed me how to be able to engage students with
hands-on activities and age-appropriate content for modeling energy.

Reference

Carone, D., Perkins, A., & Scott, C. (n.d.). Modeling energy.

NSTA. https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-januaryfebruary-
2023/modeling-energy