I don’t have enough time in my day. Between planning, lab set up, lab clean up, and grading, my “free time” is basically zero. If there’s any way I can save a little time, I’ll do it. We had to switch to digital assessments in March 2020 because of the pandemic, and making them self-gradingContinue reading “Create Self-Grading Quizzes”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Summer Activities for Middle School Science
The days are getting longer and warmer, and the students are getting more distracted. Ah! It must be close to summer break! Are you still trying to hold their attention? Here are some summer-themed activities for middle school science. Summer themed science activities Embrace the summer but don’t let go of the science! Hands onContinue reading “Summer Activities for Middle School Science”
Free Genetics Assessment
One way to save yourself a ton of time in the classroom is to use self-grading assessments. Google Forms makes it easy for you. Here is a free genetics assessment for you to try in your middle school classroom! This assessment contains 50 multiple choice questions including: Also included is a detailed explanation ofContinue reading “Free Genetics Assessment”
Symbiosis Resources for Middle Schoolers
Organisms in ecosystems interact in many different ways and understanding these relationships is the focus of Next Generation Science Standards MS-LS2-1 (Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem) and MS-LS2-2 (Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organismsContinue reading “Symbiosis Resources for Middle Schoolers”
Earth Day Activities for Middle Schoolers
Earth Day has been celebrated for 51 years and I always make a point of including it in my middle school curriculum. Here are some Earth Day activities for your middle schoolers: Plant a tree. If your school property has room, buy a few seedlings from a local nursery and have students plant them. (BetterContinue reading “Earth Day Activities for Middle Schoolers”
10 ways to celebrate National Park Week in your middle school classroom
It’s National Park Week! Celebrate the United States National Parks every day, but especially from April 17-25 during National Park Week. Here are 10 great ways you can celebrate National Park Week in your middle school classroom: If your school is near a National Park, volunteer. There are opportunities for middle school children (with writtenContinue reading “10 ways to celebrate National Park Week in your middle school classroom”
The Ice Cream Lab
Today was the day for everyone’s favorite lab of the year – the ice cream lab! What is the Ice Cream Lab? The ice cream lab is a fantastic, fun, super-engaging way to teach freezing point depression and phase change. Give students a large ziploc bag, a small ziploc bag, a bunch of ice, someContinue reading “The Ice Cream Lab”
Amazing Animal of the Week – Cicadas 2021
2021 may be the year of the cicadas. A huge population of cicadas have been living underground since 2004 and are scheduled to emerge within the next few weeks! Cicadas 2021! What are cicadas? Cicadas are a group of 3000 different known insect species around the world. The oldest cicada fossils are nearly 300 millionContinue reading “Amazing Animal of the Week – Cicadas 2021”
Stoichiometry Basics for Middle School
In middle school, a fundamental understanding of the basics of stoichiometry can help lay the foundation for chemistry in later years. When I teach stoichiometry basics in my middle school classroom, I start with very basic chemical formulas and incremental increase the complexity as students achieve and demonstrate mastery at each level. I use taskContinue reading “Stoichiometry Basics for Middle School”
Women in Science – Rachel Carson
March is Women in History Month, and Rachel Carson was certainly an impactful woman in history as well as in science. Her book Silent Spring brought awareness of environmental issues to the masses and laid the groundwork for the modern environmental movement. Silent Spring was written in 1962. It warned people of the dangers of chemical pesticides,Continue reading “Women in Science – Rachel Carson”