If you are looking for a general science curriculum for your middle school homeschooler, this course should be at the top of your list. Teens will love the simple experiments included.

If you are like me you HATE lecturing. I simply cannot find the strength every class to get in front of students and blab on while...

Need a fun lab for teaching cellular respiration? Make BARF-in-a-BAG to learn about cellular respiration via fermentation!

Many upper elementary science teachers start the year teaching their students about science process skills and scientific practices like: working safely in the lab using science tools asking questions planning and carrying out investigations analyzing and interpreting data constructing explanations with claims, evidence, and reasoning Here are some resources and ideas that can help make ... Read more

Starting the year off by focusing on these 5 science topics, will almost guarantee smoother labs and more engaged science learners.

Use these metric measurement strategies to teach your grade 4 5 6 students about the metric system mass, volume, and length.

A teaching resource that includes dozens of free printables and helpful website links to use in the classroom for elementary and middle school students.

Check out these top 10 mistakes teachers make when teaching science. Help your students be successful by knowing what to do in your science classroom!

This post is all about physical changes, constant properties of water, mixtures, and solutions.

Hi Friends… I hope this post finds you well and enjoying your summer break. I just returned home from a relaxing vacation in Punta Cana! It was a ton of fun and I really needed the R & R 🙂 I actually wrote this blog post on the plane there…BUT… the flight didn’t have any … Science FUN with Interactive Notebooks! Read More »

It's so important that you are teaching about variables when you teach the scientific method. This post gives you ideas to help your students get started!

Six of the best interactive biology websites: well designed and easy for students to understand. Included are tips for how to use the activities!

You're probably wondering how teaching with movies in science can benefit your students. If that's you let me explain. Teaching with mov...

Looking to start your year with a bang? Including some engaging scientific method experiments provides a solid foundation for any high school science course.

Living? Nonliving? Dormant? Dead? Even though teaching living vs. nonliving seems very elementary, you’d be surprised by how often high school students get confused when you throw examples at them. It makes me think of this 90’s “J-E-L-L-O it’s alive!” commercial: But in all seriousness….Teaching characteristics of life is a great way to start off ... Read more

Sure, you can teach your high school chemistry students to cross charges. But what if that isn’t working? What if you need a different way to explain how the charges must balance out to zero within the chemical compound?

BIG Science Stations Units are awesome for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Allow your students to learn and explore concepts in fun and different ways.

The Jigsaw Strategy is a collaborative learning strategy that works well for teaching Trends in the Periodic table. Learn how to implement this strategy in your general science or chemistry classrooms.

Cells have more in common across species than students think. Grab these cell worksheets to help visualize the similariites and differences beteween cells.

Last year after completing my full year biology curriculum, I decided to write a blog post to give context for why I chose the particular scope and sequence

Children love science experiments. They want to observe and test out #allthethings, but sometimes it’s hard to get students to understand the scientific method. Understanding the steps of a true experiment is part of every

Try these three game-based learning activities for teaching Lab Safety this school year.

How should you start teaching science the first weeks of school? This post shares ideas for beginning of the year Science Activities!

Do you remember when MOOCs (massive open online courses) were all the rage? They are still around and I came across one from Stanford University called Reading to Learn in Science. This course is running now and goes until the end of May. The great things about MOOCs is that you get from it what you put and you don't have to feel guilty about not completing the whole thing because they are free! The course is designed to address such concerns, giving teachers the tools to help students read for understanding in science. With NGSS, CCLS and any other new standards you state or district might be adopting, reading in science is key. Students must know how to do things like cite evidence or support/critique an argument. If you think that this course is for you, I suggest you check it and get registered. Even if you aren't sure, I would still register so that you have access to the information and can always go back to it later.

Lots of science printables for free, with no strings attached. I'll be adding to this list as time goes on - Enjoy!

A common question I hear from teachers is how do you structure a science block that is __ minutes long? That’s a great question! Although I know some classes will operate differently, I want to provide you with some great tips and tricks on maximizing your time with your students, so they gain as much ... Read more

A great science introduction that introduces your students to science and its processes and helps you gain important insight into your students.

Middle School 6-8th Grades Science Fair Project Ideas

Incorporating phenomena is an easy way to get started with three dimensional instruction. Before you introduce a new concept, present a phenomenon.

Using Nearpod in the classroom.

As a middle school science teacher, I always love teaching the scientific method to my students. There are so many routes you can take with teaching it, and I’ve tried many of them. If you’re gearing up to teach the scientific method, then you might benefit from reading this post. (See what I did there?) You probably have many questions. When should I teach the scientific method? What all should I include in my unit? What order should I teach the topics of the scientific method? How do I go about teaching the scientific method? In this post I’ll share what’s worked for me. Plus, you’ll find some links to FREE resources to help get you started. When Should I Teach the Scientific Method? I want my students to have a good handle on lab safety before getting started with the scientific method because it involves labs, tools, and sometimes harmful chemicals. The scientific method is important for studying science in general, so I teach it as early in the year as possible. It is my second unit (right after lab safety). I bring the scientific method up throughout the year, whenever we have labs. After winter break I have a week-long review to brush up on the more difficult aspects of the scientific method. What Should I Include in My Scientific Method Unit? In What Order Should I Teach the Topics? Obviously, all groups of students are different. My seventh graders always come in with very, very little experience with the scientific method. Knowing that, I start with the basics and go over everything I think they need to know to successfully use the scientific method. I recommend giving your students a preassessment before the unit to gauge what topics you can skip and which you need to hammer into your students’ skulls. Here are the topics I always include in my scientific method unit and the general order in which I teach them: The Steps of the Scientific Method Independent and Dependent Variables Scientific Questions Hypotheses Observations and Inferences Research and Procedures Constants/Controlled Variables Analyzing Data/Graphs Scientific Conclusions How Do I Go About Teaching the Scientific Method? In my class, each of the nine topics listed above starts with interactive notebook notes in combination with a PowerPoint. (See the video below of the interactive science notebook pages I use. They're all available in my store and you can get the INB pages in my Scientific Method Interactive Notebook Pages Bundle.) After introducing the topic via notes and a PowerPoint, the students get practice in the form of stations, activities, and/or worksheets. Lastly, I assess each topic with an exit ticket to determine if we need to keep working on the current topic or if we’re ready to move on to the next. The single most important scientific method resource I have is my Scientific Method Stations. I use them at least three times in the unit because they’re so versatile. They give students practice identifying variables, writing good hypotheses, designing procedures etc. I just post them around the room at the beginning of the unit and they stay there until the day of the unit test. I truly believe they are a great resource for the middle school science classroom. They are one of my most loved and best selling resources, so I decided to make a second set. I added my Scientific Method Stations V2 to my store in September 2023! But Really, What Do You Do for Each Topic? The Steps of the Scientific Method: I go over what the scientific method is, what it’s used for, the order of the steps, and what each step might look like. Independent and Dependent Variables: I go over the definitions of independent and dependent variables and how to identify them in an experiment. Then we practice. And practice. And practice some more. Eventually it clicks and then my students HAVE GOT IT DOWN. Scientific Questions: Students learn about what a good scientific question needs to have. We review variables again while examining good and bad scientific questions. Group work and games can be fun with this. Hypotheses: Students learn what a hypothesis is and how to write a good hypothesis. Even my best students need to learn the If/then version of writing a hypothesis because they have only been taught the “I think blah blah blah will happen” version. Hypotheses typically need a lot of practice. Here is a free coloring worksheet to help your students write good hypotheses and identify independent and dependent variables. Observations and Inferences: Students learn the definitions of qualitative and quantitative observations and how to use those to make inferences. Here is a free observation activity you can use in your class. Research and Procedures: Research is straightforward so we briefly discuss where to find accurate information. For procedure, we learn what it is, why it’s important, and what happens if a procedure is poorly written. Constants/Controlled Variables: This is hands down the hardest part of the scientific method for my students. We go over what constants are, why they are important, and how to identify them in experiments. Students need TONS of practice with this. Here is a free exit ticket to check if your students have mastered constants. Analyzing Data/Graphs: I go over where independent and dependent variables go on graphs, what good graphs include, and types of graphs. Then we practice interpreting graphs. I try to include as much data analysis throughout the year as possible because my students always need practice with this. Here is a free data analysis worksheet and a free data analysis Boom Deck. Scientific Conclusions: Students learn what should be included in a good conclusion and practice writing a good conclusion using a data table and graph from an experiment. I hope this post gives you a good starting point for planning your scientific method unit. I love teaching the scientific method and have created many resources for my students. You can find my scientific method resources here, including interactive notebook pages, activities, worksheets, and assessments. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to post a question below or message me. Thanks for reading and have a great school year! You can get another free scientific method resource just for signing up for my newsletter. Sign up for my newsletter here. I added an option in my store to get all of my scientific method resources in one discounted bundle: Scientific Method HUGE Bundle.

I spent years building lessons around topics and ideas before I realized my lessons were missing the ONE thing that defines science - and is at the heart of engagement.

10 Ideas to help students learn science vocabulary words10 Ideas to help students learn science vocabulary words-- awesome for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade

Try several color change chemical reaction experiments with HST's guide. Videos included! Projects are great for high schoolers. Start today.

Start your year off right in science with these tips along with a free science survey for your students. Check out these back to school science activities!

STEAM/STEM lessons are all the rage! Read here to learn how to create cross-curricular stations to implement in your own classroom! - Getting Nerdy Science

CER is used in the science classroom to promote critical thinking using image prompts, templates and inference commercials.

The picture books shared below are fantastic for examining the crosscutting concept of Scale, Proportion, and Quantity.