Science Education Idea Exchange

  I have conducted many project-based lessons that last days to a few weeks. I implemented a couple of strategies to help manage the flow. Break-Down of Deadlines : The most important thing is to know the big checkpoints in the project. Start with the end in mind. When does everything need to be completed? Then, work backward based on the pace of your average students. Share these deadlines with students as a roadmap of their project and daily their goal for the end of the class. Even better still, share the deadlines with parents and guardians so they can help check in with their students. Roster of Progress : Write the deadlines you created into a spreadsheet or roster with all the students' names. If they have partners, group them on the progress monitoring sheet. When students complete each deadline, mark it on the sheet. Now, you see what students need additional support and how the class is doing with the progress. Photo by  Alexis Brown  on  Unsplash

This week's resource is on cellular respiration. The author  Ms.  J  Classroom  created a PDF with a claim-evidence-reasoning question about the relationship between exercise and cellular respiration. They follow the activity with a few review questions. What I like: A quick way to assess understanding of cellular respiration Answer key included Provides a practical application of what students are learning about in class Easy for a sub plan Download your copy today! Photo by  Clique Images  on  Unsplash

 I finished my products for the MS-PS2 series on Forces and Motion : MS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions Activity Bundle MS-PS2-4 Measuring Impacts (Relationship between Gravity and Mass) :  Students test out how impact craters change with objects of different masses. This can be as a class demonstration or a lab. At the end, students reflect on the relationship between gravity, mass, and the force of the different objects in a CER and conclusion questions. MS-PS2-5 Magnetic Field Activity :  Students look at magnet interactions when the poles are the same and different. Afterward, they apply their understanding in a CER over Maglev trains or toys. Newer materials for Forces and Motion are my vocabulary game,   note sheet , and a review game bundle . And, finally, I added more resources on one of my favorite topics: genetics. Genetics Review Game Bundle Who Am I? Game- Genetics

Before winter break is a hard time of year with classroom management, so I wanted to highlight a technique I learned in some of my school's PBiS professional development. The strategy uses "ICE" statements to redirect student behaviors. I- state your observation of the student's feelings as "I see that you are . . ." C- state the desired behavior as a " Can you . . ." E- acknowledge the challenge for the student by completing an " even though  . . ." Example: I see Trevor tearing his assignment into small pieces. "I see that you are frustrated. Can you tell me how I can help you complete it instead, even though it's challenging?" The benefit is you help acknowledge how a student feels and how their behavior is exhibiting it while offering a replacement. Photo by  Xia Yang  on  Unsplash

  Looking for something festive?  This resource  contains links to three different  holiday decorations: ornaments, a tree topper, and a garland of DNA! They are  absolutely cute   and  most  of the  items  are created  by  Evolution of a Science Teacher .   This  is another new store. Download your free copy  here ! Photo by  Josh Harrison  on  Unsplash

Here are the latest and greatest wrapping up the cells activities for MS-LS1 and the new activities for MS-PS2 activities. Cells MS-LS1-7 Fermentation Class Demonstration Lab : The fermentation demonstration lab uses yeast to demonstrate how the organism releases energy from sugar and creating carbon dioxide, similar to cellular respiration. The lab will be completed in one class period. Background in cellular respiration is best for the completion of the lab. MS-LS1-8 Five Senses Project : Students will take the role of teacher as they research how one of the five senses works with the nervous system and what happens when there is a disease. They will create a lesson with a worksheet and activity for their classmates to complete. Forces MS-PS2-1 Egg Carton Redesign using Newton's Third Law :  This eggcellent activity uses eggs to demonstrate Newton's Third Law of Motion. Students design an egg carton to protect the egg from a collision with the floor. After testing their desig...

I have seen a couple of parents and teachers using this online tool. It's a wheel of names for random selection. Type the names in the text box, and off you go!

 I found this note sheet   from Scientific Notation , another new and impressive store. They created a note sheet on chemical formulas and notation for compounds. What I love: Spots for students to doodle Eye-appealing Answer key included Easy to follow Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what other materials they create as their store grows. Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Maybe this is one of the few times you will see cells and mountains associated. Either way, I have put out products on both. Cells Who Am I? Cells Vocabulary Review Game All About Cells Lesson Plans and Review Games Bundle MS-LS1-1 Characteristics of Life Forensic Activity MS-LS1-2 Cells: Structure and Function Activities MS-LS1-3 Body System and Disease Project MS-LS1-4 Plant and Their Pollinators Activity for Adaptations MS-LS1-5 Plant Growth Factors Experiment (Acquired Traits) MS-LS1-6 Photosynthesis in Freshwater Plant Lab Mountains and Earth Science MS-ESS1-4: Mountain Range History Activity Students will look at three pieces of information on their mountain range (Himalayas, Rocky Mountains, and Andes) to try to guess the age of the mountains. Background information on Pangea and more recent plate movements is provided. Next, students sketch the location of their mountain range. Finally, students examine evidence and interpret its meaning. The evidence includes isotopes, fossils...

On Monday, December 2nd, and Tuesday, December 3rd, there will be a sitewide sale for Teachers Pay Teachers! You will save 20% on all the items in my store and others. If you use the following code, you will save an additional 5%: cyber24 

One of the best things about being a substitute teacher is seeing how others organize their classroom. In October, I covered for a teacher and love how she handles seating charts! She has a binder with tabs for each class period. Directly underneath is a layout of the tables in her room. She has the names of the students written on tiny sticky notes. This is great because it's easy to:  Make quick changes to a seating chart when you inevitably put two students together that do not promote a good learning community. Arrange students when it's time for a new seating chart. No typing in names or moving it around on a computer before printing it off. It looks much crisper than a handwritten seating chart, too. Photo by Christina Victoria Craft on Unsplash

Photo by Philipp Pilz on Unsplash In a search for new items, I found this worksheet on carrying capacity and limiting factors by Growing New Scientists . Kirsten has many accomplishments, so I recommend this product and others in their store! The worksheet is available in three different formats: Word, PDF, and online. It has two parts to help students review abiotic and biotic factors and carrying capacity. What I love: Three different formats to make it fit your needs Answer key included to take out the guesswork Questions of a variety of styles to tap into what students know The worksheet is easy to follow and understand for students Download your free resource and check it out!

Here are the new additions since my last post: 1. Ecology Escape Puzzle Room This puzzle escape room would be great as a review or a day there is a sub in the classroom. Topics covered are food webs, food chains. energy pyramids, abiotic versus biotic factors, limiting factors, carrying capacity, and symbiotic relationships. Hints for the clues are all printable and distractors are included. The instructions tells you how the clues are solved, the code, and where it leads to next. 2. States of Matter Vocabulary Note Sheet The states of matter note sheet has key terms for a unit on phase changes, thermal energy definitions of states of matter, and molecule movement. Pair this with your favorite reading, presentation, or video for students to summarize the key terms and concepts. (Background information is not included.) 3. Plate Tectonic Review Games Bundle This bundle includes two activities over plate tectonics to help students review vocabulary terms on plate motion and concepts. The...

I have been subbing for a year in a few different schools and age groups. My favorite is the middle school teachers who are prepared for a guest in the room. They all tend to have some variation of my list below: 1. Lesson plans 2. Emergency procedures 3. Rosters/seating charts with pictures: Include any special information, like if the student has band lessons during class. 4. Important contact information, like admin (grade-level, if applicable), attendance, tech department 5. Hall passes: when are they issued, how are they issued 6. Supervision or other duties 7. Do you share your room during your plan? Bonus points for the teachers that put it in a clearly labeled binder. It's a lot of work, but it makes it easier for me to run another teacher's classroom successfully. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

  This week's freebie is a practice of identifying physical and chemical changes by Mudds Science . The resource can be downloaded from their store here . This is a simple activity with a PowerPoint slide with 12 pictures. The answer key goes into great depth about the reasoning for each. I like this resource for the details in the photos and explanations. Furthermore, the more practice you can find on this topic, the better! My students have always struggled with this topic. Photo by Joshua Newton on Unsplash

 I have been busy, but it took me awhile before I posted some new products. Here they are: Christmas Escape Puzzle Room Celebrate Christmas and the winter in style! This escaped room is designed with four different codes (numerical, letter, and directional) hidden in puzzles and visual clues that lead to matching Christmas presents with their missing tags. The students are told they are Santa's elves on Christmas Eve. Bundles Autumn Holiday Escape Puzzle Rooms: Halloween & Thanksgiving Cells & Genetics Escape Puzzle Rooms Rock and Rock Cycle Note Sheet The rocks note sheet has key terms for a unit on rocks, types of rocks (metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary), and the rock cycle. Pair this with your favorite reading, presentation, or video for students to summarize the key terms and concepts. (Background information is not included.) Who am I? Plate Tectonics Vocabulary Game The classic "Who Am I?" game has 22 cards that cover vocabulary terms associated with pl...

Enchanted Learning is an old website that I relied on as a new teacher years ago. I cannot believe they still have it up and running! The nice thing is that you can create worksheets from the website and it includes answer keys. The downside is that it won't be pretty without time and effort.

Photo by Trnava University on Unsplash This week's freebie is from a newer TPT author named Hannah Carroll . They created a Google Form that provides examples of experiments. The student identifies the dependent and independent variables and other parts of an experiment . It can be downloaded to your Drive here . What I love about it: You can modify it to your needs The answer key is built-in Great examples for a quick check

Here are a couple of the latest additions! Thanksgiving Escape Puzzle Room Celebrate Thanksgiving and the fall in style! This escaped room is designed with four different codes (numerical, letter, and directional) hidden in puzzles and visual clues that lead to a hint to where the cooked turkey has been stashed. Students are setting up for their family to come over for Thanksgiving. The clues and distractors are in PDF format to be printed off and distributed around a room with minimal additional work on your part. The instructions tells you how the clues are solved, the code, and where it leads to next. Genetics Punnett Square Inheritance Logic Puzzle This print-and-go logic puzzle allows students to practice understanding inheritance patterns and vocabulary by sorting three people and their phenotypes. They should have prior exposure to the terms hybrid, purebred, homozygous, and heterozygous. The types of inheritance reviewed are single Mendelian, incomplete, and codominance. The se...

Students missing class is inevitable. Being organized will help save time, effort, and frustration. My solution was to have an absent/extra bin in my classroom. Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash The set-up: A large crate that can hold hanging files 5 or more laminated sheets with absent information (Ideas listed below) 6 Labeled folders with the days of the week and " Older " Laminated Sheet with "Absent/Extra Classwork" in large font Wet erase marker How to do it: In my first class, I have a trustworthy student with neat handwriting who fills out the form using the wet-erase marker. The completed form is placed in the corresponding hanging folder along with the worksheets . I clean off the form for the next day so it can dry overnight. Any worksheets left over are placed in the "Older" folder. Laminated Absent Information Form: There are many options on Teachers Pay Teachers that can be downloaded or you can create your own. Information to inc...