Science Education Idea Exchange

Generation Genius  is a website funded by the NSTA. The science materials cost $225/year. The website looks comprehensive in terms of resources and reminds me of PBS Kids. It offers videos, activities, readings, and assessments on different topics. I am too cheap to sign up for it now, but you can try it out for free for a month to see if it's a good fit for you.

Note Sheets 1.  Atoms, Structures, and Bonds Vocabulary Note Sheet 2.  Parts of a Cell Vocabulary Note Sheet Reviewing Lab Safety: Who Am I? Game- Lab Tools The classic "Who Am I?" game has 18 cards that cover common laboratory tools to review at the beginning of the year or midyear (see list below). Simply print the secured PDF with cards and instructions and play! (Definitions are not included and the game assumes students have learned the terms already.) This has been bundled  with one of my older resources on lab safety in a "Choose Your Own Story" format. It can be found here . Earth's Atmosphere  1. 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 ayers of the atmosphere, air masses, weather, types of fronts, the Goldilocks Principle, greenhouse gases, and convection currents. 2. Who Am I? Game 3. Bundle of Above Review Games Coming soon. . . more Earth Science resources!

 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

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...

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...

 I am working on completing activities for all of the NGSS PS1 standards, so stay tuned! For now, here is a new one that I created: MS-PS1-4: Phase Change Models for States of Matter S tudents create a model drawing of phase changes for a pure chemical. There are two templates to make the states of matter models. It can be printed or designed into a slide presentation (instructions included). This activity assumes they already know about atoms, states of matter, and thermal energy. The activity included is no-prep. Simply upload or print the materials and go! Included are: Teacher's guide with suggested chemicals and chemical boiling/melting points (secured PDFs) Graphing Model Template and instructions (secured PDF) Drawing Model Template and instructions (secured PDF) Standards/Objectives: ✅NGSS: MS-PS1-4 In the life science camp, I ha ve my  Genetics Vocabulary Note Sheet . The genetics note sheet has key terms for beginning a heredity unit. Students color and label informa...

I have a few atoms and physical science based products that are new to my store. 1.  MS-PS1-1: Atomic Structure Activity- Building Molecules This activity would serve best as an introduction to atoms and matter. Day one consists of students learning how atoms bond to form molecules using the premade model. On day two, students create their model to make an assigned molecule. In a pinch, day one could be a print-and-go activity. Students could cut apart their atoms in class to save prep time. Standards/Objectives: ✅NGSS: MS-PS1-1 This product includes the following activities: ⚪Looking at patterns ⚪Creating molecules ⚪Creating molecule models 2.  MS-PS1-2 Poisonous Pee Chemical Reaction Lab Students examine whether chemicals are safe to use as a cleaner on toilets to learn about chemical reactions. Their task is to help OSHA determine what cleaners are safe for a fictitious school to use and what should be investigated further. Background knowledge of chemical reactions is best...

  I have two new ecology that I posted last month! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/MS-LS2-Ecology-Unit-Lesson-Plans-12001210 This MS-LS 2 ecology package is all the lesson plans for ecosystems and populations at a discounted rate! The bundle includes a student packet ready for printing (color and black-and-white), answer keys, teacher printouts for activities, lesson assessments, unit assessments, phenomena, labs, materials lists, extended projects, and more! The topics covered (click for individual lesson plans): Resource Availability & Carrying Capacity Symbiotic Relationships: Competition, Predator/Prey, Mutualism Cycling Matter & Energy Abiotic and Biotic Influences Conservation and Methods to Maintain Biodiversity The lesson plans for approximately 32 days are detailed and could be copy and pasted to share with your administration. ***Most lessons can easily be adapted to distance learning and homeschooling. Standards/Objectives: ✅NGSS: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, ...

It's time for back-to-school safety! This booklet is a print-and-go activity (or simply upload to a student portal as a PDF) for lab safety. Students read through and make choices on how to be safe in the lab. When they make incorrect choices, they come to a "Reteaching" page that describes the lab safety rule. Students are congratulated on acting safely when they have successfully navigated the lab scenario. This could be used as an introduction to safety protocols, but would likely be better used as a review activity at the beginning of the school year. This product includes the following safety rules: ⚪disposal of solids ⚪no food or drink in lab ⚪entering the lab ⚪broken glassware disposal ⚪retrieving heated glassware ⚪hot glassware & cold water ⚪chemical contamination (replacing excess into the original container) ⚪chipped/cracked glassware ⚪smelling chemicals ⚪safety goggles ⚪cutting with scalpels  

I saw this awesome idea years ago and unfortunately cannot remember where. (If you know, please comment with the links below!) During lessons about forces and friction, have students design the sole of a shoe!   Photo by Ox Street on Unsplash First, have students create sketches of ideas for the sole textures they want to try. Then, on a cardboard shoe cutout, have students cut pieces of foam and glue them to the bottom of the cutout. They can measure the friction created by dragging their shoe by a spring scale across the floor or table. Just a plain cardboard shoe could serve as a control. Ask students to consider what applications for shoes would high friction work best and where would less friction be better.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash  I know I dreaded being gone last minute and not having something that could be done by a guest teacher. Now that I am a guest teacher, I appreciate when teachers are organized and allow me to teach a mini lesson. With this in mind, I thought about 11 different units/categories I taught in middle school. I create stand alone lesson plans for each that don't require too many materials and background knowledge to complete. You can find it here .

Photo by Julia Maior on Unsplash A few years back, I took a class from the University of Lincoln put on by the Groundwater Foundation . One of the presenters introduced us to her crumpled paper activity. Sadly, I don't remember the specifics but I will outline what I remember below. This activity provides a neat explanation of runoff. Materials: washable markers spray bottle with water paper Procedure:  In a small group, crumple a piece of paper. Color various regions on the crumpled paper:  city dump- red neighborhood that uses fertilizers  (etc) Take the spray bottle and saturate the paper so the markers run. Discuss observations: how does runoff lead to pollution of rivers and groundwater?  

I found my students struggled with technical and procedural writing. Many years ago, I adapted an activity my elementary school teacher had us complete: write a procedure for an alien on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ! Hilarity ensued as my teacher acted as if she had never done it before. It was engaging and powerful. Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash When I had my students try this, they had to explain how to sharpen a pencil . They were frustrated when I started acting out their procedures, but the point was made: procedures need to be detailed so someone else can carry them out.

 With the upcoming solar eclipse, I wanted to create an activity to help students understand the occurrence. You can download this FREE resource here . Essentially, students work in small groups to create working models of a solar eclipse using the engineering process of design, evaluate, and improve. I am hoping I will get the chance to observe the eclipse this year!

2023 flew by and I didn't post anything, but that doesn't mean things weren't happening! We moved and I started subbing while I have munchkins. I am excited to announce that I have created a genetics puzzle escape room  on my Teachers Pay Teachers. It is active as of yesterday and is a great review tool or could be used when you have a guest teacher.  I have another puzzle room in the works. Stay tuned!  

This is a free resource in my store  that is designed to introduce the NGSS earth science standard number three for middle school.  Students work in small groups to create a visual representation of where water on earth is found and what types of water are used for drinking water. Photo by  Erda Estremera  on  Unsplash

 I finished creating my Crazy Creature Traits for the NGSS standard MS-LS3-2 on variation amongst asexual and sexual organisms. As a result, I was also able to create a discounted  bundle with both projects over the standard.

  Photo by  Triana Nana  on  Unsplash I am just really enjoying using the poor weather outside to create! My latest creation is using slime recipes to teach students about mutations and their impacts on organisms, especially asexual organisms. It can be found here .

I am joining Teachers Pay Teachers to have a sale next week! All items in my store will be discounted.  

 Howdy strangers! Life has definitely been busy, so I have been missing in action. I'm proud to announce that I have finished my lesson plans for middle school life science 2-1. I wrote a simulation for looking at wolf and deer populations in different scenarios. It was time-consuming but well worth it. You can find the simulation alone or the f ull lesson plans on my Teachers Pay Teachers.