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
Since I started teaching, I always got my students trained pretty quickly to start working on bellwork when they came in to class. It is a great way for them to have a few minutes to settle down, remember what we learned the previous day, and also gives me time
I just finished my 10th year of teaching and to say it wasn’t my best is an understatement. I had a rough group of students this year, was feeling teacher burn-out, and was just getting negative. Throw in all the school shootings and changing political climate and it was hard
Earlier this month I had the incredible opportunity to get a behind the scenes tour of NASA (I’m still pinching myself). It was amazing! I can’t claim to have been a NASA nerd since birth… it wasn’t until I was in high school that I picked up the book October