Are you looking for ways to increase literacy to your science curriculum? I know what you are thinking…. we want our kids to be able to read and write well, but we don’t have time to add novel studies. I hear you. There is NO WAY I can squeeze an
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.
Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) can be so fun and rewarding. They are some of my favorite students to work with. They tend to be hard working and driven. (You may want to check out my blog post with 10 tips for teaching ELLs in the science classroom). The main
Writing out CLEAR and DESCRIPTIVE scientific procedures is hard for students. It takes practice! Many teachers start off with a fun activity like how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Students will likely forget some important steps! This Youtube version made me smile: Anywho, it’s important for students
As teachers we want our students to increase their reading comprehension skills. I’ve found that most of my students don’t mind reading when you give them an interesting piece of text. If you assign textbook reading the moans will follow (and honestly, as adults we don’t love to read textbooks
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
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
If you read my blog post on recommended summer science reads, you saw my confession that I’m not generally a big non-fiction reader. I love to read, but fiction is my go-to. As I was compiling a science book list for students and teachers, I kept seeing and getting recommended
Card sorts are one of my favorite tried-and-true ways to formatively assess my students. I use them all the time!1. You can use them at the beginning of a lesson to check for prior knowledge2. You can use them in the middle of a lesson as a checkpoint for the
One of my favorite case studies to examine with students is the tragedy that occurred at Lake Nyos. Located in Camaroon, Africa, Lake Nyos is a lake that formed in a volcanic crater. While villagers thought the volcano was dormant, it was slowly releasing carbon dioxide into the lake. One
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
