States of matter is a topic that is covered in middle school, and reviewed again in high school chemistry with more depth. I’ve compiled some resources to help you teach this concept! Take a peek! FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL 1. I created this powerpoint when I taught phase changes to my
If you want to introduce the CER method to students or have them practice periodically, using video clips is a fun way to go. (If you aren’t familiar with the CER method, check out this blog post on ways you can use it in your classroom). I prefer short video clips because
Do you love college basketball? I grew up in Tucson, AZ and UofA basketball was all we watched in March. It is really fun to incorporate some sort of science themed tournament in your classroom during March. Here are some ideas to get you started! MARCH MAMMAL MADNESSThis lesson is
Valentine’s day is almost here! One fun activity to try is an oh-so-romantic-science-themed speed dating lesson. I’ve tried it with my students multiple times and they really enjoyed it. I even hung up red twinkle lights and put candy conversation hearts and flowers out on the tables (gotta set the
The water cycle is taught starting in elementary school. It seems like in high school biology when I get to the biogeochemical cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) the water cycle gets glossed over because we assume the students know it and it’s too basic. But water is vital to
When I was in college taking education courses I had 2 professors who harped on rubrics. Their logic was that rubrics placed students into a box and didn’t allow for any flexibility and creative thinking. I left college thinking rubrics were a terrible way to assess students. Fast forward to
Group work. Love it? Or bane of your existence? Have you ever assigned a group assignment and had any of these problems? Students spend more time socializing than working. One or two students do the majority of the work. By the end of the project the quality of work turned
Viewing stomata is a fun one-day lab during your photosynthesis or plant unit. The first time I had students do this lab, I got out razor blades (I know) and tried to have students cut off thin slices of the leaf. Needless to say it didn’t work out terribly well.
It’s December! Fa la la la la! I love the holiday season and I love giving my students some fun holiday themed lessons that tie into science. Below you will find a list of fun activities that you can do in the month of December. Note: even if you have
Looking for some new ideas and activities to teach cladograms and phylogenetic trees? Check out this list below of fun activities and interactive websites. 1. Cladogram Construction: This free activity from Carolina Biological is nice and simple- a great way to introduce cladograms to your students. It has students construct
If you haven’t used small student whiteboards in your classroom, I promise you, you are missing out. As soon as the whiteboards come out, I have automatic buy-in from students. Students love writing on them, and as a teacher I love them because they are great for visual learners, and
Do your students struggle to learn vocabulary for your class? Science can be very vocabulary heavy and sometimes there is no way around it. It’s even more frustrating when you have to teach two different words that mean the same thing, because you aren’t sure which will show up on