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.

I love using phenomena in my lesson plans!  I have heard it called similar names  like  discrepant events, anchors, and engagement  to name a few . In my search for ideas, I found this website,  The Wonder of Science . They have done all the hard work of gathering videos and ideas . Their website is categorized by age and type of science. They even have created a master list of the website phenomena. Pair this with my freebie  NGSS lesson planning template  and you're ready  to go ! Photo by  Alex  on  Unsplash

DewWool is a newer store with many free online resources! I found the " Root Structure " diagram and thought it was too good not to share.  This is for you if you need resources for students to label structures. (It also includes math and elementary education resources.) The resources appear to be simple and easy to use. One downfall, because it's free, is there are advertisements. I know this was a concern with the last school I worked at students: viewing unapproved materials via popup ads. Photo by  おにぎり  on  Unsplash

Blooket feels like Quizziz in that you can assign or host a game. There are libraries of games already created, or you can create our review questions for students. What makes it stand out is there are different game mode options to keep it novel for students.  Sign up for free and start creating your review games.

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!

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!

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.

 I was reminiscing the other day about activities I loved. One that came to mind was a pom-pom natural selection activity I did with my students. I found it! Two educators from the University of Pennsylvania created this worksheet . My favorite part was the simulation. I think my students would have agreed. They actively gathered data on different types of predators and adaptations of the prey. I didn't follow the directions to a tee, but the point was made. Photo by Eliza Diamond on Unsplash Check out this free online resource!

I heard about Figm a as a site to replace jamboard  from the Teaching Channel . I love learning about new tools, especially free ones. I could sign up for a free account, which limits me to three projects. Upon setting up my account, I was prompted with the following: I decided to check out the Whiteboard features. What I like about it: ease of use layout collaborative timer (not startling when it goes off!) music: relaxing, upbeat, etc. Paid features: voting more storage My overall thoughts: It would be worth trying the free account to see if it's a great fit for your classroom. I love the idea of students working while reminders are on the board. This website would work great for how I operate. I would have expectations, a to-do list, and a timer to help students focus and manage student behaviors.

I saw a video on Facebook about creating Google Slides from a YouTube  video. I was intrigued.  Brisk is a Chrome Extension that has free and paid portions. Because I'm just curious, I signed up for the free account. Below is what the first screen looked like. I tried the "AI Presentation Maker" and the one little task I completed blew me away. I told it to make a rubric for a specific science standard and it created one within seconds. It is not perfect, but with editing, it could be ready-to-go. What a time saver! I am excited to check out some of the other features on this.

 I heard of another fantastic resource for graphics to spruce up your backgrounds and classrooms: Pixabay . Like Unsplash, there are royalty free images available. It works similarly and allows you to download the image and provide credit. Check out my example below! Image by  Pete Linforth  from  Pixabay

 I have been using Canva  for a couple years and while I was subbing, I was reminded of how awesome this website is! Even students love it. With a free subscription, you can create presentations, videos, images and more! There are templates available for educators. When you're done, you can download or share your creation. A membership is currently running just under $15/month. It would be a worthwhile investment if the free subscription was not enough, but there is already so much available!

One tool that offers a free introduction to try is Educreations . It allows you to create and share videos with your students. It is user-friendly and now has the capability to be shared on Google Classroom and Remind. This is especially ideal for a flipped and self-paced classrooms, as well as distance learning. The drawback is there is not too much storage on the free version, maybe a couple videos at most.

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash Through EdPuzzle, I found this free course that you can learn about self-paced classroom through the organization Modern Classrooms . I am excited to learn more ideas to reach every learner in my classroom! (Plus, I think they give you a certificate for completing the two hour course.)

 I would occasionally find use Google Forms to differentiate assessment or provide choices for students. For Example, growing up I love the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and have created some for my students. Creating a branching Google Form allows you to do that. Here are instructions on how to do so: 1. Have your information already created for the branching Form and open a blank Google Form. 2. Type your first question in and offer two or more solutions for the students to pick form.  3. Click the three dots at the bottom of the question and select "Go to section based on answer". 4. Click on the button that looks like an equals sign twice to add two new sections that will correspond to your question number one answer. 5. Next to your original question answers, there is an option to direct the students to a specific section based on their answer.  6. For each answer, select the correct section students should be directed to from their answer. 7. Add a questio...

 I found this website many years ago and was recently reminded of it. EdHeads has a few free simulations dealing with STEM topics, like simple machines. They are currently working on expanding their resources, so they are definitely worth following!

 I was wasting time online this afternoon and discovered some activities and past events from the National Wildlife Federation . They would be a great resource to begin projects in the classroom that are ecology-focused and all about helping our students learn about the local area.  They have an upcoming event in May featuring gardening with and for local flora and fauna. Photo by  Erda Estremera  on  Unsplash

I am a huge fan of project-based learning! As a result, I create lots of rubrics. Sometimes I write them myself and other times, I like to find premade ones to help me clarify the assessment piece. A co-worker in Colorado introduced me to Rubistar  years back. It's free and pretty user-friendly. They have several premade categories and criteria, but you can alter them to fit your needs. The website is old, but don't let that throw you off.

 I love to create breakout rooms for my students (as you may have noticed from my Teachers Pay Teachers page). To create your own: To get me started, I have used the template from Breakout.edu . I just discovered they have many more resources. To find pre-created resources: Search Facebook for groups- I belong to a science group that is no longer active, but you can still find resources for free Breakout.edu- requires paid membership after 14 days Teachers Pay Teachers Others? Share in the comments below

I recently completed a class on Learner's Edge . The class was over the STEM Shift. The price was right and the class flexible. I earned college credit for $200 less than other options I found online. I highly recommend it if you need extra CEUs, like I did. Other and free online resources I have found are through: EdPuzzle (under "Resources") Learning for Justice What tools do you use to earn CEUs?