Science Education Idea Exchange

I am currently taking a course on accommodations, modifications, and assistive technology for my license and thought this resource was too cool not to share. I got it from the Teaching Channel and will share a couple of tools you can implement in the classroom for diverse learners: Photo by Daniel Ali on Unsplash YouTube - closed captioned feature can be turned on by clicking the "CC" button at the bottom. I use this even if I don't have a student who requires it. This is useful for ELL students as well as hearing impaired. Read-and-Write - students can highlight text and have it read to them through the Chrome Extension. Google Translate - Chrome Extension with many different languages so students can read in their first language.

This is another one of those posts that I'm not sure why I have not written about it before! As a new teacher, I did not have a PLC for the first few years. There were some ideas I was able to borrow from teachers in my building, but I had to create my curriculum. That's where Pinterest became a huge time saver! How it works: Add the Chrome extension - as long as a picture is on the website you would like to save, you can create a brand-new pin. Download the app to your phone- sift through already created pins when you have downtime to get inspired. Use the website - You can create new pins like you would with a browser extension and find existing pins. It's easier to organize your pins, send pins, and add collaborators on the website (in my opinion). You can check out my science board here for some ideas I love and have been inspired by. You will also notice some of my creations as well.

This year, I wanted to offer learning as it's own reward. I had originally created a binder of science-y extensions that students would look at when they're done. I learned quickly that it wasn't very effective. I was reading an article on differentiation and it suggested making extensions/anchor activities a requirement. I had an idea! I would create a tic-tac-toe board with options on activities related to our current topic. In my grade book, I have a "0" weight category for practice assignments, like checkpoints. My students did a great job with our first go! For our physics unit, I created the board below. I wanted to incorporate different types of activities like review games, vocabulary posters, links, and quick labs. To set one up for your classroom, choose activities for your tic-tac-toe board.  Create a tic-tac-toe board with titles, descriptions, a spot for their score, and your signature. Every student should receive one when you explain y...