Category Archives: Uncategorized

Building Resilience in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Grit

Grit—the perseverance and passion to achieve long-term goals—is a critical skill that helps students succeed, both in school and in life. But if you’ve been teaching for a while, you may have noticed that students today seem to give up more easily when things get tough. Building resilience in the classroom might be the ultimateContinue reading “Building Resilience in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Grit”

Freebies for Earth Science Teachers!

Teaching is hard, even with all of the materials provided to you. Even the best text book or canned curriculum needs filling out – bellringers, review activities, practice worksheets, assessments, cloze notes. In hindsight, I wish I had spent those Saturday mornings when I was a new(er) teacher with my kids, watching cartoons or playingContinue reading “Freebies for Earth Science Teachers!”

Differentiation in middle school science

In my middle school classes, I have a range of abilities from 4th grade through 11th. On top of that, I have fast workers and slow workers – some students are done with an assignment in 5 minutes and others are done in 55. My middle schoolers also have a wide range of interests –Continue reading “Differentiation in middle school science”

New Winter Themed resources for Middle School Science

Welcome to winter! Whether you’re (like me) already on your third snowfall of the season or (like our southern friends) finally breaking out the sweaters, the hygge lifestyle takes over all of us this time of year. Some ways to bring the cozy into your classroom include updating your classroom decor – I added aContinue reading “New Winter Themed resources for Middle School Science”

Teaching the Science Behind Changing Seasons

Giuliana was a bright seventh grader when we met. She loved science and was curious about everything. I remember wishing her a Happy Solstice early on a December morning and she made a comment about how it was going to get warmer now. I agreed, but added, “Of course it’s going to get colder firstContinue reading “Teaching the Science Behind Changing Seasons”

Black Friday Cyber Monday Sale

  From November 25-December 2, 2024 only, EVERY purchase at the JustAddH2OSchool store will receive a coupon good for $3 in free merchandise! How to get your free merchandise: Shop at https://justaddh2oschool.com/shop/ any time between November 25 and December 2 and make any purchase. After you checkout, open your email and get the code forContinue reading “Black Friday Cyber Monday Sale”

Balancing Equations with Poker Chips

The challenge of balancing equations If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to convey the concept of balancing chemical equations to your students, you’re not alone. Balancing equations is a fundamental skill in chemistry, but it can be a challenging one for middle school students to grasp. Enter poker chips—a simple, colorful, and effective tool thatContinue reading “Balancing Equations with Poker Chips”

New Halloween Activities for Middle School

Hello, fellow science teachers! With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to add a little spooky flair to your science lessons. Integrating Halloween-themed activities into your middle school science curriculum can captivate your students’ imaginations and make learning even more fun. From eerie experiments to ghoulish games, there are countless ways toContinue reading “New Halloween Activities for Middle School”

Use autumn leaves to teach about decomposition

A lot of what we teach in middle school science – carbon cycle, soil formation, recycling of matter, nitrogen cycle – relates to decomposition. Autumn present the perfect opportunity. Use your autumn leaves to teach about decomposition and get your students hooked with the real world applications. Autumn leaves Decomposition in autumn leaves is aContinue reading “Use autumn leaves to teach about decomposition”