Must-Have Student Handouts For an Organized Year in Science We can’t assume that students come into science class with all the learning tools they need. What must-have student handouts can you provide on the first day of school to set students up for success? Most students are visual learners, so I like to provide tangible…
Personalized Project-Based Learning Through Choice Boards Do your students groan when you assign a new project because they find it stressful or boring? What would happen if you used personalized project-based learning with choice boards? I was surprised when my students kept thanking me over and over when I first utilized choice boards several years…
How to Help Students Succeed in Science Class Are your students unsure how they can succeed in science class? Do they constantly ask how they can get an A in your class? We often assume that students have the tools to succeed in science class, but science is a completely different type of class than…
Back to School Essentials: Middle School Science Teacher Starter Kit What’s in a middle school science teacher starter kit? Tons of saved time! How nice would it be to have 25 middle school science teacher ready-to-go resources to start the year?? Let’s go through what is included! #1 Science Teacher Lesson Planner My lesson planner is…
Dealing With Students Who Are Reluctant To Learn At some point in our teaching careers, we all encounter students who are reluctant to learn for various reasons. These students can be challenging as they may become disruptive in class. I’ve put together a brainstorm of methods that I’ve used throughout the years to help engage…
What Students Should Know Leaving Middle School Science Besides all of the concepts that we need to cover, what do students need to know leaving middle school science? What Students Should Know Leaving Middle School Science Updated May, 2024 Of course, we want our students to be good citizens and independent workers, but what else?…
Using Coloring Pages in Middle School Science Do you need relaxing, calming activities for your science classroom that still focuses on concepts? Is the noise level climbing in your classroom? Using coloring pages in middle school science may seem a bit unconventional, but it is a powerful tool! Let’s look at how incorporating concept based…
How to Have a Positive Relationship with Parents Keeping a positive relationship with parents of your students is probably the most difficult part of teaching. One upset parent can cause you to have unnecessary anxiety and stress and make it difficult to focus on your class. After teaching for over 35 years, and dealing with…
Use Backwards Lesson Planning to Create Science Labs Do you struggle with balancing time during labs and hands-on activities? Have you tried backwards lesson planning to create your science labs? I have mentioned this method in several of my blog posts, but I thought it would be helpful to focus only on this method to…
Mistakes I Made as a New Middle School Science Teacher If I could go back and correct the mistakes I made as a new middle school science teacher, I’m sure my 30+ year teaching journey would have been much smoother! I’m going to be transparent and tell you some of my biggest mistakes with the…
