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Lab Ideas for Teaching Density

Density can be such a fun concept to teach! There are so many lab options to choose from. My recommendation: do a minimum of two density labs. Introduce one lab BEFORE you teach what density is, and allow students to discuss why some objects sink, why some float, and how

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Twitter Science Bulletin Board

I posted a picture of my latest bulletin board on facebook and instagram and got a lot of positive feedback. Many people reached out asking for a copy to make their own, so I’ve uploaded it for FREE to my TpT store! I’ve included 2 versions: a non-editable PDF that

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Build Your Own Cladogram

(Want to save this blog post for later? Click here to repin!) Cladograms are my favorite part of the classification and taxonomy unit. They are relatively simple for students to grasp and are great for visual learners. While they can be easy to read, sometimes students struggle once you ask

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Teaching the Characteristics of Life

Living? Nonliving? Dormant? Dead? Even though teaching living vs. nonliving seems very elementary, you’d be surprised by how often high school students get confused when you throw examples at them. It makes me think of this 90’s “J-E-L-L-O it’s alive!” commercial: But in all seriousness….Teaching characteristics of life is a

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Class finished 5 minutes early…. now what?

As much as we would love to have our lessons end 30 seconds before the bell rings, it rarely happens. Even if it does work out perfectly in 1st hour, 2nd hour is a completely different group of students and the lesson might require more or less time. It sometimes

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Rock and Fossil Classification Labs

If you couldn’t already tell by the name of my blog and TpT store, I really enjoy looking at and collecting rocks and fossils. My house and classroom are full of them! Many kids might tell you rocks are stupid, but you’d be surprised how interested they get when you

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Blood Type Pedigree Lab

This is one lab that you don’t want to miss! It’s easy, the materials are inexpensive (you probably already have them at home), and it ties together multiple concepts. Winner!In this lab, students will analyze a pedigree of a fictitious family. In the introduction, students read that “Jon and Sue

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Hey ELL Teacher, YOU MATTER!

Teaching English language learner (ELL) students is not for the faint of heart. In my teaching career, I have always had ELL students trickled throughout my classes. This year is the first year that I have had a biology class made up of entirely all ELL students. They vary in

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The dog days of April testing…

It’s April. Sigh. If you live in the US, you are likely experiencing testing season. Between ACT, SAT, and state exams, it seems like the entire month is taken. Kids are burned out and teachers just want to start teaching again. Students have to be quiet when they finish testing

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