Champions of Discovery 2025-26

Excellence in Elementary Science Teaching & Learning

The goal of this challenge is to show how you and your students explore & discover throughout the year. Select prompts that fit with what you are doing in class and have your students respond (drawings, writing in a journal, or up to you).

Do the challenges anytime, in any order!
Complete 4 or more
by February 27.

Fill out the teacher submission form with your reflections & examples of student work.

Just start. You are doing more than you think you are.
Take pictures of student work and see which categories that lesson fits into. I bet there will be more than one!
- Berkeley Elementary Teacher
explore science in daily life

Some ways I use science in my life are____________. 

I see science when (person)____________  does/makes (activity)__________.

I see science in my school when __________. That makes me wonder about ____________.

Discovery Phenomena

We are learning about ___________, and it makes me wonder__________________.

Right now, I think ___________ might be because ___________.

It reminds me of ___________.

meet a scientist

I met (or learned about) a scientist who studies ____________. It inspired me because ______________.

Something I have in common with the scientists is ______________.

This is what I look like when I am doing science (Draw or describe with words)

experience science outdoors

When we studied ____________ outside, I was surprised to find out ____________.

We learned about ____________. 

We decided to help make our community/school better by ____________ because ____________. 

collect scientific data

We counted or measured _______________ and learned that ______________________.

We gathered data about ____________. I was surprised to learn ____________.

This is what my data looks like 
(Draw or show your graph)

imagine your science future

One way science will be a part of my future is ___________.

My science hero is ___________ because ___________.

I can imagine becoming a scientist who studies ___________.

One way I will use science is ___________.

Printable Submission Form
Teacher Reflection & Student Examples
Online Submission Form
Teacher Reflection & Student Examples
Optional Resources:
Prompt Sheets in English & Spanish and Lesson Resources
The "Champion of Discovery fame" was a prize in itself!
A school board member sent me an email congratulating me. My principal gave me a shout out in her weekly newsletter and mentioned it at a PTA meeting.
- Oakland Elementary Teacher