Science Education Idea Exchange

MS-ESS3-2: Natural Disaster Forecasting Activity Students make predictions about natural disasters. They will research the one they choose, gather data points, and forecast the next likely location. If possible, they will connect with a professional of their chosen natural disaster as they engineer solutions and map predictions. I have been taking some time to make my products more user friendly and add resources to make them helpful, so a little slower on the new products. :)

Here's another great resource for the emergency absence.  Kristin Consorti  created a lesson plan on creating a  Natural Disaster Survival Kit . They are an ELA teacher, so it encourages writing and lists the standards covered by the lesson.  The lesson plans are easy to follow and are print-and-go. Not to mention, the topic is engaging for students. Included is a way to score the project and clear guidelines for students.  Download your copy today! Photo by  Raychel Sanner  on  Unsplash

ESS2-6 Coriolis Effect Activity In this Coriolis Effect activity, students go through three stations to simulate the impact of uneven heating and the Earth's rotation. They create a map to synthesize their learning. At the end, students complete a claim-evidence-reasoning over ocean currents. ( Included in the  ESS2 Bundle ) Ecology and Biome Note Sheet The cell parts note sheet has key terms for a unit on ecology. Topics include levels of organization in an ecosystem, abiotic versus biotic factors, representations of energy flow (trophic pyramid, food web, and food chain), and biomes. 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? Ecology and Biome Vocabulary Review Game The classic "Who Am I?" game has 28 cards that cover common terms in ecology and biomes (see list below). Simply print the secured PDF with cards and instructions and play! (Definitions...

 I have been working on the NGSS standards for middle school on Earth's Systems and have almost finished! Here's what I have been putting together so far: MS-ESS2-2: Weathering and Erosion Shores (Geologic Processes) In this activity, students examine the geologic process of weathering and erosion on a beach. They model two types of weathering, research, and sort cards on types of weathering to determine rates of geological processes. The final piece is a CER over whether this process is rapid or gradual. MS-ESS2-3: Pangea Puzzle, Fossils, and Plate Movement Activity Students will examine plate movement since Pangea using the placement of fossils and the shape of landmasses. First, they will attempt to piece together Pangea. With research, they will make predictions and draw the placement of current plate boundaries and plate tectonics. A claim-evidence-reasoning is used to assess understanding of the objective. MS-ESS2-4: Mini-Water Cycle Activity Students build and draw model...

Many years ago, I worked at a small school with a limited budget. I tried to be creative in making my classes engaging and limiting my spending. In came the shake table. Sadly, I cannot find the original website that inspired it, but it served my students well. Here's how it is made:  Materials thin rubber bands (4) flat piece of cardboard (stage) larger cardboard lid/box marbles/balls (~12) Steps Grab a cardboard box lid or cut a box so it is no taller than four inches. (In these pictures, I used a large cereal box.) Cut a flat piece of cardboard to serve as the stage. It must be a couple of inches smaller in length and width than your box lid. On the four corners of the stage, punch a hole.  Punch holes on four corners of the box toward the top lip. Cut all four rubber bands open. Tie a large knot at the end of one rubber band and feed the rubber band through a hole in the box so the knot is on the outside. Pull the rubber band through the corresponding hole in the stage and...

With the holidays, more time was spent with family, but the first MS-ESS2 activity is active, and the next is underway. Over two class periods, students learn about the movement of salt on Earth's surface. They start with a small demonstration of saltwater evaporation, complete research on the cycle, and create a model. The final assessment is a CER over how salt moves from one location to another.

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 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.

 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...

The freebie I found today is from a veteran seller, Sandy's Science . They created an activity surrounding layers of the earth. Included in this limited-time download is: a crossword, charts, and labeling worksheet. Photo by NASA on Unsplash What I love: This is high quality! the layout is appealing with graphics and text there are answer keys included black-and-white and color versions are available an online version of the crossword helpful hints for the teacher (such as printing layout) The seller has told me this resource will be free for a limited time. Check it out!

Here's another up-and-coming duo: Squeeze for Thoughts! They create worksheets in both Spanish and English! I admit my Spanish is barely passable, but I would love to help my ELL students as much as possible! (I've lived in another country where English was not the first language.) Photo by Mark Tegethoff on Unsplash I love their Moon phases worksheets. The worksheets are available for free and are of high quality. An answer key is included for your use ( English version / Spanish version ). It looks like they have already created many resources. If you like their resources, leave a review and follow their store!

Students will practice converting units and finding ratios to engineer a working model of a solar eclipse . During the project, students will research solar eclipses, make calculations, brainstorm, build, and test their designs. This product includes the following activities: ⚪Research ⚪Calculations ⚪ Brainstorm ⚪Design ⚪Build & Test ⚪Redesign ⚪Critical Thinking Question

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?  

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

After months of work, I finally completed another lesson plan bundle with the idea of project-based learning and engineering in mind.  Check it out !

I have created a YouTube channel so my students can revisit videos we have seen in class.  They are sorted by life science, physical science, and earth science.  The target audience is middle schoolers.  Check it out!

I decided to compile a list of free apps that I use in my classroom on the iPad Mini. General Classroom Use: BrainPOP: quick videos on various topics with quizzes at the end YouTube: so many videos. . .  KeyNote: PowerPoint equivalent for iPad Doceri: Drawing and notes tool Educreations: Drawing and notes tool that has a website.  Videos you create can be emailed and shared online Science 360: Current news articles and videos with an eye catching display ClassDojo: Allows teachers to track student behaviors and generate reports Earth Science: QuakeFeed: Shows current earthquakes on globe with magnitude EarthNow: Shows current statistics for the globe such as temperature and ocean surface salinity Planets: Current locations of planets and constellat...

I was inspired to create foldables for my 6th graders on the carbon and nitrogen cycles after viewing one created by the blog " The Inspired Classroom ".  She had created a much cuter one for the water cycle.  Please forgive my pictures, descriptions, and handwriting. :)     If you would like a free copy of the nitrogen foldable or carbon foldable , you can find it at My Teachers Pay Teachers.