Students in kindergarten are still expanding their vocabularies. Scientific vocabulary develops with experience, which kindergarten students do not yet have. While challenging, the lack of scientific vocabulary should not stop students from learning science. According to the National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment, scientific exploration begins with asking scientific questions. For example, teachers can ask, "How are fish different from chickens?" In shaping their answers, kindergarten students begin to observe the world differently. They can use those observations to create and answer their own questions.
Keeping kindergarten students engaged is no easy task. Yet student learning increases when they become engaged with classroom activities, according to an article published in "School Psychology Review."
In "All Aboard For Kindergarten Science Teacher Manual Science and Scientists Unit 1," the authors suggest that the engagement process begins when teachers first propose a scientific question and then encourage students to examine how the question pertains directly to them. The engagement process continues when students participate in classroom activities that support the original question.
Finding creative ways to encourage scientific engagement presents another challenge. Kindergarten children rely not on reason and knowledge, but rather imagination and play. In "Creative Activities for Young Children," author Mary Mayesky suggests exploiting those two attributes. Creative dramatics allow children to act out scientific principles. In a lesson about weather, one student can assume the role of wind while another student assumes the role of a cloud.
Conducting scientific experiments helps students understand how scientific principles relate to the world around them. Kindergarten students have difficulty with the process and logic of scientific experimentation. The National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment suggests that you simplify experiments. For instance, a discussion about evaporation can be accompanied by an experiment in which students observe the effect of using hand sanitizer.