Getting out the microscopes is one of the best parts of teaching biology. I love hearing the ooh’s and aah’s when they finally get the specimen into focus. But if you’ve taught biology before you know it can also be one of the most exhausting units- constantly running around the
Understanding why cells are so small Why are cells so small? And why are we made of so many? It seems like it would be easier to be made of 100 or even 1,000 cells instead of trillions. One of the reasons we teach students that cells are small is
Movies is often much more engaging than lecturing to your students. Having students actually see extinction happening in the documentary Racing Extinction is much more powerful than me talking about it. While I don’t usually show full length movies in my classroom (more often clips), they can be a great
Halloween is coming up, and it is always a fun time to do some science experiments. I always try and find an experiment that fits my content area and ensures students are learning a concept they would have to learn in my class anyway. For example, elephant toothpaste in a
Why Teach Air Pollution Air pollution is a topic that fits into almost all science content areas. Teach biology? You teach the water and carbon cycles. Environmental science? Climate change and smog. Earth and space science? Layers of the atmosphere and ozone. Chemistry? Water + CO2 = carbonic acid. (Side
I currently live in Phoenix, AZ, which is the 6th largest city in the United States. Considering our large population size and desert climate, we have a huge problem with heat. In the summer it is not uncommon for the temperature to stay above 100F all night. It can be
I love teaching about population growth (ecology is one of my favorite subjects to teach). This topic truly leads to so many rich classroom discussions! Pose some questions at your students and see what their thoughts are: Should we monitor wildlife populations, or just late nature take it’s course? Do we
I’m currently two weeks into school, have 140ish students, and have already learned their names. I’m not here to brag… it took work. You might be thinking “Wow! She is so good with names!” but that can’t be further from the truth. I am one of those people that if
At the beginning of every school year I can bet that you review the scientific method. While there isn’t necessarily a specific set of steps that we follow in all branches of science, we want our students to be able to use inquiry and think through the scientific process. One
It’s summertime and you FINALLY have time to sit down and read a book! It seems like during the school year I lay down at night, grab a book, and fall asleep after 2 pages. I love to read, but teaching is exhausting and I just can’t get much reading
The State Superintendent for Public Instruction in Arizona is up for re-election soon, and that means updating state standards to support voters and lobbyists. In a recent draft of updated science standards, the word “evolution” was removed, as well as the big bang theory. Naturally, science teachers are pretty upset.
We live in the world of technology and instant streaming. It’s amazing that we can see and talk to people on the other side of the world with almost no delay. I recently came across a couple of live streaming websites where your students can observe nature and wildlife from
