Owl pellets are really fun to dissect during ecology. One concern voiced by some colleague is this- most students have already dissected owl pellets in elementary or middle school. By the time they get to high school biology, should we do it again? What are they really taking away from
The beginning of the school year for chemistry teachers means… #1: atomic structure, and #2: how to read the periodic table. Looking for some fresh ideas? Here is a list of resources you can use to introduce and explore the periodic table. 1. ORGANIZING A STORE: Before diving into the
As a biology teacher, when I introduce the characteristics of life at the beginning of the year we discuss the term homeostasis. Students seem to remember the term for about a week, and it vanishes from their memory. When we could circle back to the term during cells (when observing
US teachers- are you tired of reviewing the metric system every year? Multiple times a year? It’s almost as if students completely forget the difference between a meter and a centimeter every summer. The first week of school I dive right into content… I don’t waste days doing icebreakers, going
At the beginning of the year, it’s good to review graphing and make your expectations clear on what you expect when students turn in a graph. Title? Clearly labeled X and Y axes? Proper scale? Key? Nearly drawn bars? If you teach physical science, this is pretty critical.
Bell work… Bell ringers… Do-nows… Warm ups. Whatever you call them, it is important to have some sort of routine at the beginning of the class period. Your day will run so much smoother when students walk into class and know what to begin working on without being told. I
I’m a big fan of changing out bulletin board decor with each unit. It can be as simple as changing out some anchor charts or reference posters to match what you are currently teaching. But if you want to take it one step further, try making your bulletin boards interactive!
Are you teaching a new science class for the first time? Are you overwhelmed with what lab supplies you will need and how to spend (or save) your budget? I’ve taught biology for many years, and compiled a list of 20 must-have items to get you started. Some materials can
Protein synthesis is not one of my favorite biology topics to teach. It can be a big enough struggle to get students understanding all those A’s, U’s, C’s, and G’s, and then even MORE of a struggle to get them understanding the bigger picture on how that code translates to
As a scientist and person who greatly appreciates the natural world, I love visiting national parks. They are spectacular places! You can weave them into science units such as: Biomes Population dynamics (How are population sizes naturally regulated in areas with no hunting? Yellowstone wolves are a great example!) Landforms
When you were a kid did you ever read the “choose your own ending” books? You would read and then it would give you two scenarios and you could choose how you wanted the story to continue? I always liken those to dichotomous keys when introducing them to students. You
While I’m not a fan of making students memorize anything on the periodic table, the more familiar they are with it the easier it is for them to use. Do I expect them to know the atomic number of carbon is 6? No, but it’s helpful if they know the
