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The link below explains a new way of looking at "how to do science". Science teaching now looks at a more cyclical approach to inquiry as opposed to the traditional "Scientific Method". As I did research for my sabbatical, two of my mentors had told me about the shift away from the traditional cook book style of the Scientific Method.
The following link has resources to integrate the nature and process of science into your teaching at grades K-2.
Berkeley: Understanding Science (The K-2 Teacher's Lounge)
To begin the study of science in a primary classroom, I think that it is important to build the student's concept about what science is, what scientists are, and what scientists do. An effective way to introduce these concepts is through Thinking Maps. Check out how the first grade teacher in the site below introduced these concepts:
I appreciate how a traditional circle map was traded in for an illustration of Albert Einstein. Some of these descriptors can be transferred to a tree map with the following categories (and more items added):
This tree map can then naturally transition into a study of 1) What Scientists do (steps of the process of research and inquiry), and 2) Tools Scientists Use.
Being curious and asking questions about the world around you are two important aspects of being like a scientist.
The following site has a clear explanation of how to think and write like a scientist:
As the anchor chart suggests, integrating writing like a scientist with the study of non-fiction text features is the perfect way to spend more time on these concepts.
I found the following anchor chart about predictions which helped me to have a better understanding of how to
teach it to young children:
It would be more clear to the students to present this information in a bridge map.
Little hands don't need to be writing down all the steps that are taken in a science experiment, lab, or inquiry. In kindergarten and first grade, the students should follow along with what the teacher is recording on chart paper, and spend their time drawing and labeling illustrations of their observation, filling in simple graphs of their results, and talking about the conclusions that the class made. Here are few samples of teacher created charts:
The chart below was found at http://www.helloliteracy.blogspot.com
I like the way the following chart shows the scientific process:
The above chart was found at : https://chartchums.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/charting-science-writing/
Students need to know that there are many ways to make and record observations.
The Brain Pop Jr. video below introduces Making Observations:
As teachers are helping guide students through the process of inquiry, it is important to
ask the right kinds of questions. Here are a few examples:
The Brain Pop Jr. Video below goes through the process of the Scientific Method:
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