Interested in Crazy Science at Center Parcs? Read a review of our experience in this post.
A step by step tutorial on how to print and create your own tabletop card game decks with card stock and a few simple tools.
Ideally, the taxonomic classification reflects evolutionary relationships among organisms. For example, it is accepted that all organisms included in the phylum Chordata descend from a common ances…
Meet the originator of the theory of evolution, a world-famous naturalist who introduced the ideas of mimicry, natural selection, and the survival of the fittest.
I love to have models that students can work with to help understand a concept. So much of what we do in AP Bio is too small to see--even with a microscope. We can talk about how these small things work, but I find it more meaningful if we can get our hands on it. We do complete the AP enzyme lab and get to experiment with what factors affect the rate of the enzyme catalyzed reaction of peroxidase with hydrogen peroxide and guaiacol. Fortunately, before the lab we did two activities to give them some concrete pictures of what is happening with enzymes. The first exercise we did involved using pool noodles as models of enzymes, substrate, and inhibitors (both competitive and allosteric). I got this idea from a blog post on We Teach High School and got the directions from Mr. Mohn's blog (Toucan Play That Game). Students use pool noodles to demonstrate what is happening in 4 different scenarios. Here is the document I put together for my students to use from those two blogs. I loved this activity. "Allosteric" sounds so esoteric, but when you can push a wedge of a pool noodle into another pool noodle and watch the active site change, it suddenly becomes real. I found the Need For Speed lab on Pinterest. I modified it to use in my classroom. After doing the activity this week, I've decided that I want to modify it even more. Since the students had already worked with competitive inhibitors with pool noodles, I think we can skip that part with the pennies and instead focus on changes in the rate of reaction when enzyme and substrate concentrations change.
In this KS1 algorithms activity pupils create crazy characters in order to learn about algorithms and sequencing instructions.
Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!
Your skin is the largest organ! Isn’t that crazy to think about? Have you ever wondered about what lies beneath your skin? What does it look like under there.. Well here’s a fun craft t…
Extending Grabber: You can find the lesson plan, 1-page project sheet, and more project ideas at STEM-Inventions.com
How cool is this? Kids of all ages will be impressed with this fun Plastic Milk Science Experiment. What will you make first?
Students in an AP Science class need to know how to write Free Response Questions (FRQs) which have special strategies unique to science.
When I was in High school chemistry class, I used to mug up the elements of Periodic table, I often try to imagine what the elements would be look like as in our regular life. [mainimage] Just because of the only reason that I couldn't be able to relate
Warning: I went a little crazy with hyperlinking. Once I started... I just couldn't stop. You've been warned. One of my goals for science is to make using our textbook more exciting. It's common knowledge that textbooks don't possess much of that "cool factor". I've always been a fan of Dinah Zike's Foldables, but until recently I hadn't quite figured out how (or when) to use them. Then, my wheels starting turning. As part of of plants chapter, I wanted my kiddos to be able to recognize the process of photosynthesis, but I didn't exactly have gobs of time to spend on it. I knew in my mind, I wanted my students to create some kind of photosynthesis foldable. After a few failed google searches, I decided to use my own noggin. Using an awesome foldable resource I snagged from Pinterest, I decided on a "Six Door" foldable. A Teacher's Treasure has several great options and ideas for foldables here. In the top three boxes, students listed the three things necessary for photosynthesis to occur: water, sunlight energy, and carbon dioxide. On two of the bottom flaps, we wrote what plants produce as a result of photosynthesis: oxygen and sugar. One of my students even suggested writing "produces" at the bottom to remember! Brilliant! Finally, in the last box we wrote the definition of photosynthesis. Not too shabby! On the inside of the flaps, using our books as a resource, students described what happened with sunlight, carbon, water ... and so on and so on. My kids loved it! It was probably because they got to fold, cut, and color. Oh well, I'll take it! I've been a follower of Eve's Science Notebooking blog for awhile, but it took my brilliant coworker to stumble upon her Flip and Flaps post for the lightbulb to turn on! As I mentioned earlier, I am always looking for ways to make the textbook seem "cool". Although, one student DID tell me that he took his book home every night to read... I'll assume he is the minority. So! After reading this post on Flip and Flaps, Erin (my brilliant coworker) and I put our heads together and whipped up some flippity flaps for the week! Using Microsoft Publisher as Eve suggested, I created a little interactive textbook activity for lesson four. I asked my students today what they thought and I received cheers! Let's keep in mind... they got to color and glue again. On the cover of the flip flap, I created a parts of the flower review based on this photo. On the inside, students sneakily had to reread the text to fill in the blank and answer various questions. I'm Learning So Much about Flowers! How DO plants grow? Erin (my brilliant coworker) recreated this leaves, stems, and roots flip flap for our kiddos to review the functions of each. Once again, my kids were in love with science (or their scissors, colors, and glue). Now, before I part for the evening I must inform everyone of something extremely important happening this weekend. The University of Missouri will be playing the kU jayhawks (yes, that is grammatically correct) at THE MIZZOU Arena this Saturday. There's only one thing I have to say: MIZZOU-RAH!
When it’s time to head back to school, I think about all of the expectations that must be taught. Some of those expectations are specific to how we use our science class time. Here are 4 anchor charts that accompany class discussions about our expectations. We can revisit these charts as often as needed throughout ... Read more
While observing your class gather materials for a science experiment, you notice a student kicking the heels of the boy in front of them. But because you’re in the good habit of letting misbehavior play out, you decide to watch a bit longer before ... Read more
Teach kids about the needs of seeds with this seed experiment that answers the question: "Do seeds need their seed coat to grow?"
This guest blog post was written by my friend Becca over at Science Rocks! She is a terrific teacher with a lot of experience working with ELL students in her science classroom and I collaborated with her in writing this post. I think her ideas are full of fantastic tips for teachers who teach English Language […]
Today we mixed! Students were given 8 different mixtures to make in class. They had to decided if the mixtures were solutions or not. If something dissolved, it was a solution. I would say the kids had fun doing this. Of course, it wouldn't be safe if we didn't wear our goggles to do this experiment! :) We also learned ANOTHER song! I told the kids we would sing a new song for every topic they learned this year...little did I know, I would become a songwriter! There just aren't too many songs out there about mixtures and solutions...in fact, I don't think there are any at all! So, here you go, the mixtures and solutions rap song! Enjoy! I love my job! Mrs. M
I created an energy transformation card sort activity for my middle school science class. It allows students to organize their knowledge by matching
Ever wondered how to do the cabbage juice science experiment? It's fun and easy to do with kids when talking about acids and bases.
This package has everything you need for the perfect interdisciplinary unit! Outline, expectations for each portion, and rubrics, rubrics, rubrics!!! Students choose an animal to research. They create a diorama (Math and Science classes), research the animal and native land (Social Studies and E...
Kids will love this simple center of gravity activity! Make craft sticks balance in crazy ways by adding weights. Fun science!
10 genius Science and STEM Activities that use craft sticks to inspire learning in elementary with budget friendly Popsicle Sticks.
Are you feeling as 'done' as I am? Those last weeks of middle school are killer. Here are some of my favorite ideas for the last week (or two) of middle school science. These are time tested, student approved, still learning activities that include opportunities for review, collaborative work, critical thinking, and perhaps the most important-- student buy-in and FUN! Best of luck and may the odds be ever in your favor! 1. Pringles Ringle Challenge: This takes about a half an hour. I do this on one of my last days with my 8th graders. A good time is ALWAYS had. Here are some pictures. A great lesson in physics! 2. Kahoot: In 8th grade I do a kahoot that has questions from ALL of middle school science. It takes a while to make, but it's totally worth it and I re-use it every year. If you want to look at mine, my username is MrsReichley, and my end of year game is called 8H Trivia. 3. Blow up a watermelon! This is my last day of school activity with my 8th graders before they graduate from middle school. I make each of the 3 homerooms a team, and each team gets a watermelon and a ton of rubber bands. Make sure students wear safety goggles for this one. Students work as a team adding rubber bands to the middle section of the watermelon until the pressure of the rubber bands snaps the watermelon in half. Always a good time. 4. Survival Activities: Students LOOOOOVE these. I highly recommend doing the Ocean Survival first, then later the Zombie Apocalypse Survival. The Zombie Survival is more complex, but after the Ocean Survival, students are more motivated to listen and pay attention to the details. These can be activities where students work as individuals, or as groups. Great critical thinking skills! I run these with adults and with students as young as 12. You can't NOT be pulled into these. Survival Activities These activities will have your ENTIRE class engaged. I haven't met a person yet who wasn't. Have a great end of the school year! I hope some of these ideas are useful! Crazy.Science.Lady
I am obsessed with escape rooms! They are so much fun! I wish that I could do one every day. On my spring break trip to Atlanta I was able to do three in one day and it was super exhilarating! Before my state test I decided that I wanted to do a fun review game for my kids and decided to try my hand at an escape room. It took a lot of trial and error, but it was a MASSIVE success. I decided to share my escape room plans with you as best as I can in case you want to try something similar in your classroom. Step 1: The days leading up to the escape room I rolled a suitcase around with me (You will see why) Step 2: I broke the students into four groups Step 3: I created a newspaper article that informed students that I was taking over the world and handed one out to each group. Newspaper Generator Step four: I hid a card in my miniature file cabinet that said, "Don't just stand there in limbo, take a look in the classroom window." Step five: The first set of clues to decipher that opened the Word Lock was hidden behind a book in the window. Figurative Language Word Lock Clues Step six: Inside of Lock #1was the POV clues POV Directional Lock Step seven: Inside of Lock #2 was a set of UV flashlights and 4 pieces of seemingly blank paper. Once the UV lights were turned on students will find a number on each of their pieces of paper. This opened the lockbox. Step eight: Inside the lock box was four ziplock bags with puzzle pieces and a short story for each of the groups. The students need to read the short story and then put together their puzzle. One of the puzzles will have the correct symbol answer written in UV pen, the other three will be distractors with penalties. Symbolism Door Lock Clues Step nine: Each group will get a reading passage with multiple choice questions. Once they finish the passages, if they answered the questions correctly they will get their groups number to contribute to the final lock box. Reading Passages Lock Box Step ten: Students open the suitcase and thwart my takeover! Some pictures of my students completing the tasks Supplies I used (Click on the pictures) (3 boxes)
I admit it.I hate clutter. I don’t like it in my house. I don’t like it in my classroom. It distracts me, and really makes me a bit crazy. My school system focuses a lot on creating anc…
We are going into week 2 of our new school year and I am looking forward to getting my new class. Besides setting rules and expectations, I am hoping to foster a positive classroom vibe to really make our year successful! This one of the activities I am planning this week. Students go around and find people who fit each category. I usually make a rule that you can only have each persons name ONCE! This encourages more conversations and mingling among the kids. Click the pic below to download the file. There is two versions included - the one pictured and another, more generic version. I hope you can use it and your students enjoy getting to know each other :)
► What we did at Sahm-I-Am Practice these frequently: Quizlet M1 (These will help with the test, but are not everything on the test) ...
