BONES WRITING; EXPLORING PALEONTOLOGY AND THE WORLD OF SCIENCE

Research reveals with the implementation of No Child Left Behind science instruction in elementary classrooms has decreased. A 2006 report from the Center on Education Policy found seventy-one percent of the school districts in a Midwestern state had reduced elementary school instructional time in at least one subject. 59.1 percent of 164 teachers had decreased the amount of science instruction in their classroom to implement NCLB. 71.8% of those that decreased instruction were teaching only 31 to 90 minutes of science a week.

Bones Writing is an After School Outreach Program from Burpee Museum of Rockford, Illinois, home to the best preserved, most complete juvenile T rex. This program follows the Illinois Learning Standards for Science. At risk, educationally underserved children participated in inquiry based paleontology activities. They examined real dinosaur bones applying the Illinois Learning Standards for Science of Applications of Learning, Solving Problems, Communicating, Using Technology, Working on Teams, Making Connections, and Goal 11 of Inquiry and Design and Goal 12 of Concepts and Principals. Students need accumulated knowledge from prior experiences built over a number of years. Bones Writing provided such experiences. Students recorded hypothesis, observations, and conclusions. Paleontology provided opportunities for additional writing experiences in a nonthreatening environment. With Bones Writing, students received an additional 45 minutes of science after school with real dinosaur bones and fossils providing the high interest items to trigger interest in science. For these children, real was the critical component, working with real bones, not casts. This presentation reports the results of students experiencing science using the museum's equipment.