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…
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…
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…
Teaching a Unit on Newton’s Laws of Motion Are you teaching a unit on Newton’s Laws of Motion as part of your MS- PS2–1 or MS- PS2–2? Are you struggling to come up with ideas to help students understand how the laws apply to their everyday life? My focus, during my two to three week unit…
12 Ways to Use Sort Cards in the Science Classroom Do you need some ways to use sort cards in the science room to get the students engaged while learning concepts? I used to believe that matching sort game cards were for the younger classes. Once I started using them with my middle school students,…
Build an Interactive Student Food Web! Are you looking for a fun way to teach food webs that is guaranteed to be engaging? Grab some scissors, some yarn, and some plant and animal food chain pages, from your chosen ecosystem, and turn your class into a giant, interactive student food web! Prepare to Build Your…
