If you knew how to grade papers faster, you’d be able to leave school on a Friday afternoon with an empty bag! I’m dreaming, right? Can anyone actually do that? I can. I haven’t graded one assignment outside of school hours in 5 years. Never. Not one. Look, during school hours, I work hard. ButContinue reading “How to Grade Papers Faster”
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Women in Science – Rosalind Franklin
Since March is Women in History month, let’s celebrate some women in science. Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist who worked with x-ray crystallography to lay the foundation of Watson and Crick’s knowledge of the structure of DNA. In the early 1950s, Franklin worked with Maurice Wilkins on x-ray crystallography at King’s College. X-ray crystallographyContinue reading “Women in Science – Rosalind Franklin”
Amazing Animal of the Week – Lava Lizards!
This week’s Amazing Animal of the Week are the lava lizards of the Galapagos. Lava lizards range in size from 2-4 inches plus tail. Males are more colorful and have a crest of spined scales running down the length of the body. Females have a cheek patch of salmon to red when they reach reproductiveContinue reading “Amazing Animal of the Week – Lava Lizards!”
Space Rocks – A mini-unit about meteorites
Meteorites and impacts are fascinating. My students love them. Here are some lesson plans I use to engage my students in learning. Impact Lesson Plans Instead of calling this unit my “Geoscience” unit, I call it my Meteorite unit. Kids are instantly more engaged and curious. Here are some pieces I like to include: EngagingContinue reading “Space Rocks – A mini-unit about meteorites”
Tech Tuesday – Use Doctopus to Save Time!
Have you heard of Doctopus? It’s a great Google extension that can save you a ton of time grading papers. Here’s how to use Doctopus to save you grading time! Create an assignment in Google Classroom. Create a rubric in Google Sheets. The rubric can be as elaborate as you want but three rules mustContinue reading “Tech Tuesday – Use Doctopus to Save Time!”
Free Atomic Structure Interactive Notes
I’m offering my atomic structure interactive notes for free! It’s a 14 slide Google Slide resource with drag and drop features to help my students learn about atomic structure. The slide show includes: atomic structure protons, neutrons, electrons atomic number, atomic mass, mass number isotopes drawing an atom Why am I offering this for free?Continue reading “Free Atomic Structure Interactive Notes”
Why are glaciers blue?
Glaciers store almost 70% of the fresh water in the world and cover 10% of land area on Earth. If all of earth’s glaciers melted, the ocean level would increase 230 feet worldwide. 97% of the glaciers in the United States are in Alaska. Glaciers are beautiful, fragile environments, but do you know why glaciersContinue reading “Why are glaciers blue?”
Amazing Animal of the Week – Death Valley Pupfish
The Death Valley pupfish is a small species of fish found only in Death Valley. What makes the Death Valley pupfish this week’s amazing animal of the week is that they live in water that is 4 times more salty than even the ocean and can live in water that ranges in temperature from 32-116Continue reading “Amazing Animal of the Week – Death Valley Pupfish”
More engagement strategies for distance learning
Do you need more engagement strategies of your distance learning students? Are your remote students paying attention during class? Or are they, like mine, creeping their cameras up so all you can see is their ceiling? Are your students, like mine, unable to answer simple questions when called on (i.e. “What letter should we useContinue reading “More engagement strategies for distance learning”
Activities for Middle School Science Classrooms for March
Ah! It’s almost spring! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some sunny days, budding trees, and melting snow! In my classroom, I like to change things up a bit, sort of do some spring cleaning. Here are some resources you can use in your middle school science classroom this March. Saint Patrick’sContinue reading “Activities for Middle School Science Classrooms for March”