The solar system is my favorite part of astronomy to teach. I enjoy getting past the big bang and stars portion of the unit, and discussing things closer to home. Since I teach high school, students generally already know some basics: the order of the planets, which ones are made
Are you taking grading home with you regularly? Do you feel overwhelmed just looking at the student turn-in basket? It’s time to streamline your grading, and I’m going to help you save hours of time! When I was a new teacher, I felt like I had to grade everything students
Hi teacher friend. I’ve been putting this blog post off for a long while…. cell organelles. Why? First off, this is not one of my favorite topics to teach. Yes, getting out the microscopes are a blast, but overall organelles are a really abstract topic for students. I’ve gone back
When the holidays or teacher appreciation week rolls around, many people start looking for teacher gift ideas. I’ve created a list below of gift ideas your science teacher will love! Yes, a mug or candy bar is nice (and always appreciated!) but these science-themed gifts are sure to please. (Note:
Gravity is such a fun topic to talk about with students. We experience it every day, and it impacts every aspect of our lives. It’s something we take for granted, and don’t think twice about. Let’s change that! I like discussing gravity at the beginning of my astronomy unit. We
Are you looking for ways to increase literacy to your science curriculum? I know what you are thinking…. we want our kids to be able to read and write well, but we don’t have time to add novel studies. I hear you. There is NO WAY I can squeeze an
This blog post is long overdue. Every time I put up a question box on instagram, I always have new teachers asking for classroom management tips. I’m here to share with you some tools to tuck into your toolbox, but I want to begin with this: Not every tip will
We’ve all been there. You are in the middle of teaching, and a student raises their hand. Expecting a question, you call on them, only to hear “can I go to the bathroom?” Ok… so the title of this blog post is slightly misleading. I’m not here to tell you
It’s back to school season here on the west coast! I like to change up what I do during the first week each year, because I get bored of using the same thing over and over. Generally, science teachers kick off the year with topics including lab safety, scientific method,
How are fireworks made? If you took chemistry in college, one of the labs you likely remember most is the famous flame test experiment. In this experiment, different unknown metals are burned and students will identify the metal based on the color of the flame. How does it work? Heating
What are station activities? I love love love using stations in my classroom. They are essentially student-led activities that are placed around the room. Students have a few minutes per station and rotate around the room to complete tasks. While they could be used as an introductory activity, I prefer
At the end of our DNA unit, we learn about DNA fingerprinting and how it is used in forensic science. This really hooks students- they feel like real crime scene investigators! I’ve compiled some teaching resources and general lab tips if you plan to teach about DNA fingerprinting and run
