Why hands-on learning matters in science

A knowledge board, a child examining a geode, and a hand holding a geode in front of colorful geode art illustrate personalized learning through hands-on science exploration.

Science should be more than just reading about concepts—it should be something students can see, touch, and explore. When students actively engage with science through hands-on activities, technology, and even literature connections, they develop not only essential science skills, but also deeper understanding and lasting curiosity.

Bringing science to life: Hands-on activities

Perhaps the most effective way to engage students in science is to combine a high-quality curriculum with an interactive teaching style to make it experiential. In my classroom, we use the Amplify CKLA Geology unit to dive into earth science concepts. While these strategies can be applied across grade levels and scientific topics, the following is an example from my fourth-grade classroom’s geology lessons:

  • Examining geodes: Students predict what they will find inside before breaking geodes open. Then they analyze the crystal structures, connecting their observations to Amplify CKLA’s science concepts.
  • Writing about Earth’s layers: After learning about the Earth’s structure, students reinforce their understanding by writing creative descriptions or short stories from the perspective of different layers.
  • Diagramming volcanoes and the rock cycle: Drawing detailed diagrams, students visualize how rocks change over time and how volcanic eruptions shape the Earth’s surface.

Connecting literacy skills to science skills

Incorporating literature deepens students’ understanding of science. I use a mix of trade books and digital resources to bring concepts to life through storytelling and informational texts. These books help students connect scientific ideas with real-world applications, fostering both literacy and science skills.

Literacy skills like reading comprehension and critical thinking are key to understanding complex scientific ideas. When students dive into science-related materials, they practice making sense of data, thinking critically about evidence, and building arguments. These practices boost students’ overall literacy, expanding their vocabulary, sparking their curiosity, and developing their media literacy.

Digital resources for students: Exploring science with Google Earth

To further engage students, I integrate Google Earth into our lesson plans. This allows them to explore real-world scientific phenomena—such as geological formations, ecosystems, and weather patterns—making abstract concepts more tangible. Students love zooming in on famous landscapes, discussing how they were formed, and identifying scientific features. This interactive approach using relevant digital tools helps make science feel relevant and exciting.

Final thoughts: The power of engagement in science

By combining hands-on activities, literature, and technology, I’ve helped my students develop a genuine curiosity about science. As the school year progresses, they ask more questions, make deeper connections, and take ownership of their learning.

Engaging students in science doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to be meaningful. By making learning interactive, Amplify (through Amplify CKLA and Amplify Science) helps students connect with scientific concepts in meaningful ways. I encourage other educators to bring Amplify’s lessons to life with interactive approaches that spark wonder and excitement in young scientists.

Explore more

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  • Looking for inspiration? Watch Teacher Connections, a video series featuring practical advice and tools straight from fellow educators—our very own Amplify Ambassadors.
  • Dive into our podcast hub to hear from top thought leaders and educators and uncover cross-disciplinary insights to support your instruction.

Science or literacy instruction? You don’t have to choose!

We often think of literacy and science as academic opposites. (“Physics for Poets,” anyone?)

But scientists can’t do their jobs without reading, writing, listening, and communicating. 

That’s why thoughtful science instruction is literacy-rich science instruction.

Language and literacy in science education: why it makes sense

All scientists use literacy skills in order to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the natural world. They use oral and written explanations and arguments to share their ideas. Scientists rely on claims, evidence, and reasoning—just like anyone who needs to communicate or convince.

“Science needs literacy, and literacy needs content. So these two subjects are a natural fit,” says Rebecca Abbott, professional learning lead for the Learning Design Group at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science.

They’re a natural fit—and when they converge, they enhance each other. 

Science and literacy integration helps students:

  • Understand that reading and communicating are crucial to science.
  • Develop ways of thinking that support the scientific approach. 
  • Refine sense-making skills that are key to both disciplines.
  • Find a great reason to read—that is, to keep up with the latest scientific studies and discoveries!

Look ahead at the standards that guide instruction in grades 6–8. You’ll see that in several ways and places, literacy and science are integrated. That is, certain Common Core ELA standards intersect with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). 

To cite just a few examples, the Common Core requires students to be able to:

  • Cite text evidence to support analysis of science/technical texts. (RST6-8.1)
  • Follow a multistep procedure. (as in an experiment) (RST6-8.3)
  • Integrate quantitative information expressed both in words and visually. (RST6-8.7)

But we can start earlier than that. And we should. So what about science and literacy in the elementary classroom? Grades K–5 provide the opportunity to lay the groundwork for those skills—even for teachers not fully grounded in science instruction. 

Integrating literacy and science: Challenges and solutions

How to integrate science and literacy? 

Abbott acknowledges that science and literacy integration can seem challenging for educators. She notes that many elementary schools understandably prioritize ELA and require substantial literacy blocks. The common mindset: “If I teach literacy, I don’t have much time for science.” 

The solution? A mindset shift from “either/or” to “both/and.” 

What does that look like? Well, what if we were simply to combine literacy and science? What if, for example, we dedicate some of those literacy blocks to reading science-related texts? 

Unfortunately, that approach—while a fine activity—doesn’t meet the larger goals. It’s incidental, so it doesn’t get students engaged in deep knowledge- and vocabulary-building over time. And it doesn’t get students deeply involved in figuring out a scientific phenomenon. 

A “both/and” approach doesn’t just connect science and literacy—it prioritizes them both at the same time, so that they reinforce each other. 

A literacy-rich science classroom 

In an ideal scenario, a school or system could make a top-down change so that literacy is infused into subjects across the school day.

But there are other ways to “use literacy in the service of science,” says Abbott. For example, students in an elementary science classroom could explore why it’s daytime where they are but night somewhere else. As they build explanations, they can consider the word “because” and its relationship to the concept of cause and effect. 

Similarly, elementary students can learn new vocabulary in service of scientific concepts. In this video, you’ll see kids using Amplify Science learn the word “disperse” as they learn how seeds travel.

And all along, they’re communicating, using evidence-based argumentation, and building background knowledge through text. 

For the teacher, it’s less about delivering scientific information and more about helping students use and develop literacy skills to figure science out. 

Amplify Science is designed to deliver exactly that experience. Read this brochure to find out more about literacy-rich science instruction.

Connecting science and literacy: The power of language

We’ve talked about how scientists need literacy skills in order to be scientists. They can’t do their jobs without reading, writing, listening, and communicating.

Our recent webinar Science Connections: Science and Literacy explored this intersection from a broader level: the power of language in the science classroom.

How can science teachers remove language barriers to make sure all students are able to access prior knowledge—and acquire more? And how can teachers leverage language to create optimal learning conditions for their science students? Why should they?

Let’s find out what webinar co-hosts Eric Cross and Susan Gomez Zwiep, Ph.D., had to say!

Language and science sense-making

Contrary to stereotype, scientists aren’t just loners in labs. Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator at BSCS Science Learning, credits a colleague with this pearl: “If I’m just doing science myself, and not talking to anybody, that’s not science. That’s just me in my head.”

So science teachers need to give students every possible opportunity to get out of their heads. And if language is a barrier—whether students are learning English, or challenged by science vocab—teachers can help remove it.

This principle is especially important in the context of phenomena-based learning, says Gomez Zwiep. “Rather than telling students ideas, and then proving those ideas correct by showing them a phenomenon, we show them the phenomena and engage them in science sense-making to develop that understanding,” she says. “Language is central to science sense-making and communicating that sense-making.”

Students also bring their prior knowledge to scientific sense-making. And, as Gomez Zwiep points out, prior knowledge is often embedded in the language a student uses at home, or just their own non-scientific vernacular. “I have to use that when I first engage with the phenomenon,” she says. “Otherwise, I’m limiting the resources that kids bring to the learning environment.”

Language in a “safe” science classroom

“If I had to learn science in my second language, I would be struggling with not only everyday vocabulary, but also content-specific vocabulary,” says Eric Cross, host of Amplify’s Science Connections podcast. “You would never actually know what I knew or what I was bringing to the table.”

The goal is to create an environment where students feel comfortable exploring, using whatever language is accessible to them, and then guiding them to conclusions—and precise scientific language. “A classroom requires trust. It requires relationship building,” says Gomez Zwiep. “If a student is worried about saying something a particular way, that’s where all their cognitive energy is going instead of actually talking about the science.”

The key? Put scientific ideas first, and the language will come. “We used to wait until kids had English in order to learn science. And now we’re starting to see that language emerges from learning experiences,” says Gomez Zwiep. “So it’s a product of learning, not a prerequisite.”

Literacy in your science classroom

You can integrate science and literacy right away, starting with free science and literacy lesson samples from Amplify Science.

Explore more:

Amplify Science

Science blogs

Science Connections podcast episodes