Science Education Idea Exchange

 I am passionate about children and their safety. The Exodus Road  is an organization that helps to free men, women, and mostly children from sex slavery. For November and December, I will be trying to raise 450 euros for the cause and will be donating all proceeds for this and next month from my Teachers Pay Teachers store to the cause. Please help spread the word about this amazing organization!

 I just found a free URL shortener I wanted to share: tinyurl.com. Normally, I use a Google add-on, but the one I had been using has been compromised. 😐 I believe this is one of the more popular ones, but I could be wrong. If you're not familiar, this is a great tool that you can use to shorten long web addresses. It makes it easier to get students to a site and saves on space. A word of caution: the website does include advertisements, so be wary of encouraging students to use this tool.

 I must be in an organization mood because I wanted to write another strategy that I use to keep my classroom organized: file folders! I discovered early on that the simpler you keep things, the better. I labeled folders for every class period (and would place them in separate parts of the room to prevent students from turning in papers to the wrong class). I have never separated late work, missing work, and on-time work. I'm a bit too type A for my grading not to get done as soon as possible.  Photo by  Maksym Kaharlytskyi  on  Unsplash Benefits of this system: 1. I rarely was accused of losing papers because students placed it in the folder and I would grade them from the folder. (When things were done being graded, I had magazine holders for each class period to pass back at the beginning of the next class period.) 2. Students had an easy place to turn papers in. 3. Students were given a little more privacy on what they handed in versus a bin. 4. I could take...

 I am not good at blogging consistently, but man is life busy! Anyway, knowing that life is busy, I decided to share what I have ready for guest teachers in my classroom. The template can be downloaded for free from my Teachers Pay Teachers site. It's here to serve as a reminder of important things to include and hopefully make this crazy season a little more restful for you.

 I published an escape room with a Halloween theme last night. I know this has been a tough year, so I'm hoping this will help soften the blow for kids. You can find it here .

 I would love to get honest feedback for my created lesson plans. If you are interested in getting one of the lesson plans or unit plans I have created, please comment below. I will send you the materials for FREE if you will leave an honest review on my Teachers Pay Teachers account.

In case you have not heard: Teachers Pay Teachers is hosting a back to school sale. I am joining in the festivities and you can find my lesson plans and escape puzzle rooms here .

In case you haven't heard, Teachers Pay Teachers is offering an option to turn PDFs into digital worksheets that students can edit. I am in the process of turning all of my student worksheets into digital worksheets. Depending on your school situation in the fall, you will have options, because you already have enough to worry about. 

I am sorry that it's been a while since my last post. We are in the process of moving and I have a little. It's busy! I finished my lesson plans on cellular respiration for NGSS in middle school. You can check it out here . The lesson plan bundle includes a couple labs, graphic organizers, and activities to help students understand the function of cellular respiration.

I hope you'll forgive all of the videos I have been posting. We are in the middle of selling our house and moving. I was wondering about how to make my banner a little more exciting with new fonts and stumbled upon this video. There are many fonts available with just the click of a button. Mind blown!

My school was adapting PBiS and looking for an easy way to recognize our students. We discovered that there are many tools that can be used to generate certificates automatically. We have linked it to the Google Forms and Sheets. The first three minutes of the video below are on how to set up the Google Form. At about 3:50, he begins to show you how to use AutoCrat to make magic happen.

I am kind of obsessed with this and wanted to share more resources and places to get you started, if you're interested. I have made a few more templates that can be downloaded from my TPT store by clicking here . I'll admit, they are nothing like the resources you can find created by other people. Please follow me and leave honest feedback, if you do. :) As for other resources, I found a Facebook group called Bitmoji Craze for Educators . There are many ideas shared and some free templates and how-to instructions. Check it out!

Bitmoji Classroom is a newer phenomenon that teachers are sprucing up materials they share with their students. It utilizes Google Classroom and Google Slides. The video below is a great tutorial on how to make one and he includes free templates. I have made one for an art teacher friend and it is available for free on my Teachers Pay Teachers site. A preview is below.

P2R's are a concept I created for encouraging active reading for my students based on other ideas and research I have seen. Here's an example in the works below: As students are completing the preview and read section, I circulate to help answer any questions. It is a great way to help students with words they don't know without them raising their hands and feeling embarrassed, especially since I require them to list at least one word. This is a natural way to differentiate to your readers as well. The review section can be tailored however you see fit. I've included graphs, calculations, big-picture short answer questions to name a few. I believe it's important to get students reading!

Wizer.Me  is a free resource for teachers to create their own worksheets and share them with students, either on Google Classroom or by a link with a code. There are several worksheets created by other teachers that you can duplicate. The worksheets can have matching, tables, multiple-choice questions just to name a few. (Think of it as a prettier Google Form.) It will even grade the worksheet for you!

Just a quick and simple tutorial on how to put a table of contents into your Google Docs that has links to leap to sections. 1. Under "Insert", click "Table of contents" and choose the option with the blue lines if you want links or the option on the left if you want a table of contents with page numbers only. 2. To create headings that will appear in the table of contents, click on "Normal Text" and choose heading 1. If you want subheadings, choose heading 2. 3. After you have created your headings, you will need to refresh the table of contents. Unforunately, you do need to update it every time.

I am excited to announce the completion of my lesson plan bundle on photosynthesis on my Teachers Pay Teachers store! (Below are some clipart examples from the bundle.) In it, you'll find two labs, a WebQuest, kinesthetic activity, critical thinking question to assess understanding, and a goofy game to get students scrambling to find pieces of photosynthesis. My eventual plan is to finish up the MS-LS1 and have a unit plan ready to go for the next school year.  The lesson plans can be adapted to student learning at home- save for the labs, when students would need supplies like plant seeds and test tubes.

Having students partner up quickly can be a challenge. At my store, you can download this freebie  to help facilitate partner work by giving students a choice. At the same time, you can mix-it-up for the students so they work with different people in the classroom. I learned about this technique from a former administrator and it worked pretty well. There can be hiccups with shy, new, or absent students, so be mindful of your class culture before beginning.

I think Jamboard might be my favorite collaborative response tool. It was created by Google, so if your students use Google Classroom, it has many features they are familiar with already. In real-time, groups of students/teachers can edit a screen. You can add text, pictures, and scribbles. Once the group is done, the board can be saved and downloaded. I used this to generate class ideas and would project it on the board as students were working. With distance learning, this could be a useful tool for students to outline a project plan of attack. I have not figured out a way to track who creates what. I wish there was an edit history like Docs, Sheets, and Slides, but there is not. If you have found either of these things, please let me know.

Padlet  is a free online resource that students can post answers, links, and pictures to a teacher-created question. The teacher creates the Padlet by choosing a background, choosing a posting format, and writing the topic for students. When the Padlet is ready, it can be shared with students on Google Classroom or by providing the link. Some things to be aware of: posts are anonymous, so students may get into mischief the number of Padlets on the free account is limited Since it's real-time editing, it may be overwhelming for some students to view

Mentimeter  is a free teacher resource that allows you to survey a group and create real-time data. The teacher poses a question and posts the code for students to use to cast their votes on a cellphone or other wifi-enabled device. I used it for classroom management at the beginning of the year. I would ask students to list attributes that make a great classmate. I set it up to create a word cloud of their responses and would tell them that this would be our class contract with one another. It is definitely eye-catching for students. Some downsides to this is that there is no way to tell who gave what response. Also, the free account has a limited number of surveys you can create and save. (A workaround is to delete old surveys when you don't need them.)

Many Teachers Pay Teachers will be throwing sales tomorrow and Wednesday on their products, including myself. All my materials will be 20% off. Click here to check it out!

I had first heard of Legends of Learning when I was on a curriculum selection committee for my school. It looked like lots of fun and they had many games for students to play to learn. Don't get me wrong, CoolMathGames is popular, but not always the high caliber learning we're looking for. I noticed recently that they have free demo games. They're easy to use and there are some gems! To get started, do a web search using their name and the subject you're looking for. (I have not found a way to search their website directly.) If you happen to figure it out, please share in the comments below. :)

I recently learned about this free online tool called " Boom Cards ". They are interactive questions for students about whatever topic you'd like. I have an example below created by another author. By Ratelis Science The questions are sorting and matching. You can make your own or find pre-created ones. In some cases, you can find free sets to use. Better still, you can assign it to students on Google Classroom. (In some ways, this reminds me of Quizlet.) Just another amazing and free online tool!

I used this to create class projects that students are assigned different pieces of a larger topic. This is an easy way to share out what they have found. It can easily be adapted to PowerPoint as well. I have a quick video with an example below.

I found this awesome activity here and modified it for my classroom. It is one of my favorite ways to review because it requires so little to prepare and one material while engaging the whole class. I change the rules a little to allow the person who starts with, in my case a red blood cell, to choose what direction they want to pass it around the circle. Since I teach middle school, I make it a little more competitive by having the person up sit down if they don't answer the question in time. We play until there are only two left! (To engage those sitting down, I ask them to come up with review questions by looking through their books, notes, and study guides.)

I am amazed that I did not discover this earlier: there are many free graphics you can use to spice up your worksheets and lessons! To find them, use a search term, select "free", and "clipart". You might be surprised at what you can find. Some of my favorites are listed here. Please check them out! Creative Clips Science Girl Lessons Empty Jar Illustrations Just Draw Clipart ThinkingCaterpillars

I cannot take credit for this, but I learned in a seminar about 3D learning a way to write "I can" statements for students using the NGSS language. It is a pretty slick formula! I can  SEP  about  DCI  BY  CC . Science and engineering practices are almost the "why" we do it. The disciplinary core ideas are what we are learning. Finally, the crosscutting concepts are how we learn about the scientific concept. I put these into my lesson plans, in my slides, and in student note packets/worksheets. (Administrators love it!)

I have created another lesson plan bundle on my Teachers Pay Teachers for the NGSS standard  MS-LS1-4 . The preview of some of the table of contents is shown below. In the bundle, I have included stations and a note sheet for your students to record what they have learned. Toward the end, there is a simulation game that your students will examine herding behavior in white-tail deer. There are a couple opportunities for assessment of understanding. Original deer made by Empty Jar Illustrations

Since I have been creating materials for my Teachers Pay Teachers, I have been on the lookout for amazing pictures and graphics. Unsplash  is a free website that you can use the images in your classroom or items you sell online. There are sooo many talented artists! Down below is just one example. Photo by  Alexander Andrews  on  Unsplash

I am excited to announce that I will be hosting a sale on my Teachers Pay Teachers site! On Monday and Tuesday, all of my products will be 10% off! Here are a couple new products that I have added within the last week that will be included: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Self-Care-Puzzle-Escape-Room-5498046 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Early-Elementary-Animal-Scavenger-Hunt-5483036

Grammarly  turned out to be a useful tool. I was skeptical because of all of the advertisements. It was a student that convinced me to give it a try. I appreciated it most when drafting school emails to parents. I always want to be professional. It allowed me to do so by flagging things I should check in my writing and providing feedback on my tone. It can also be added to Safari!

I love TabCloud! Summary : Chrome Extension that will save and name your webpages. I am the type of person that will have several tabs open as I work on projects. Rarely do I finish the project before I need to walk away from my computer. By using TabCloud, I was able to easily save all the pages I had open before I leave. I could even have groups of tabs from different projects saved. For example, I am working on my STEM class. I would have a STEM Tab Cloud. I would also be working on 7th grade science. My second TabCloud would be cells. You get the idea.

I love to walk around my Classroom as I provide instruction. I learned early on that this was important to minimizing off-task behaviors. There are a couple tools available on the market that work with your slides presentations. One popular tool is Pear Deck . I'll be honest and say that I'm not as big of a fan. I know there are benefits by being able to add questions for students to respond to and controlling their screens. I just found it time consuming for my purposes. Instead, I use the Google Chrome Extension Remote for Slides. It's a very simple tool that allows you to use your phone or tablet to progress through the Slides as you walk around your classroom. Basically, it allows you to have a remote. If you're interested, search the Chrome Store and they have a video walking you through what it looks like.

Summary: Create videos that students watch and are asked questions as they view the video. Advantages:  EdPuzzle communicates with Google Classroom and can be assigned to students through it.  Students can watch videos at their own pace.  The video will pause if the students click off the screen. There are several videos already created by other teachers that you can modify and save to fit your needs. Helps with e-Learning since you can create an interactive lesson for your students. Collaborating with other teachers in your building is easy. Disadvantages: I have not figured out how to record their scores for the videos, if that is something you are interested in. Use: 1. Create your account and search for videos on whatever topic you're interested in. (You can also upload your own video to start from scratch.) 2. When you select a video, you have the option to edit, copy, assign, or share. Editing- allows you to modify the video to your needs ...

Book Creator  is a free website for teachers to use with their students. Summary : Create digital books for projects by sharing a code to join the teacher's online library. Strengths: It's free and intuitive. Rarely did students have questions on how to use the website. Limitations : There are limited numbers of books that you can make. It was not enough for me to have  every student make a book. I offered it as an option to create projects. Set-up: 1. Sign in. 2. Share the code with students. Students will be prompted to choose a book format. From there, they can add pictures, text, and backgrounds.

A few years ago, I heard a speaker talk about the importance of class culture by using humor. I implemented brain breaks that year and it was a hit! There are a couple options: 1. GoNoodle 2. YouTube Videos GoNoodle is a fun website that offers free videos to get students up and moving or calm and relaxed. My students did not get into it too much because I think they felt they were too cool to dance around. But, maybe you can get it to work for your classroom. My brain breaks evolved into silly YouTube videos. I started off the year with a few that I found and eventually, my students were submitting videos. It was a moment of pride when their video was viewed in class. Students talked about our brain breaks on evaluation forms, with their parents, and with their peers. It was a big hit! By having students submit videos, I was able to preview them and create a list for later use. I would remind students that videos could not contain anything with foul language, racist, religio...

I created lesson plans for the MS-LS1-3  on my Teachers Pay Teachers. I start the objective off with a couple phenomenon over things I think students will find to be crazy: regeneration and beating heart cells. My hope is that both will help students to make connections between cells and the body systems they create. The lesson plans continue on with a web quest (answer key is provided to teachers) to help students learn the terminology and examples of each of the levels of organization. Finally, there are two assessments to check student understanding. The first is called a critical thinking question. I ask an open-ended question that students can research. The question is not easy enough that they can simply Google the answer. They have to formulate a response based on what we learned in class and what they can find online.  The second assessment is a project completed over an assigned disease or disorder. Students find it fascinating to talk about what can go wrong w...

I am a terrible drawer. I have no skill and my students get a kick out of my attempts. That's when our school's librarian came to the rescue. AutoDraw  is a website that you do your best on the screen and it predicts what you're attempting to draw. For example, I attempted to draw a beautiful dog. At the top of the screen, you can see its automated guesses. When you click on the guess, it updates your image. You can change the color, add text, and add more than one drawing to the screen. Even better still, you can download your drawings as a PNG file.

If you have not heard of Screencastify, you're in for a treat! Summary : Screencastify allows to record your voice, computer screen, and face while making free videos that upload to your Google Drive. You can add it to your Google Chrome by searching the App Store. There's a little bit of set-up before your initial use. Go through step-by-step to get started. Use: You can jump past the first minute if you do not need help going through the permissions.