Interactive Notebooks, Lesson Plans
The first week of school is considered by many to be a “bust.” Buses arrive late, student schedules are changing daily, kids can’t find their classrooms, homeroom is extended to discuss rules and regulations, dismissal is a mess… you name it!...
Classroom Management, Interactive Notebooks, Lesson Plans
“Grab a sheet, have a seat, get started on your work…” Every year, as new students would filter into our classes, we would chant that at the door. Some students clapped along and found it funny, others, not so much. It was part of our rules and procedures, and after...
Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
Word walls are SO important in today’s diverse schools. They make academic vocabulary visible to your students, exposing them daily to the words they need to succeed in class. Word walls are a necessary component to any classroom, but they can be tedious and...
Classroom Management, Interactive Notebooks, Pedagogy and Differentiation
Interactive Notebooks, INBs, ISNs… whatever you call them, they are proving to be THE MOST popular and talked about way to engage students in the classroom. We used our interactive notebooks from day one and we found that our students loved them because it was their...
Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
When we first started teaching, word walls existed as simple strips of paper, each with the current unit’s vocabulary terms, tacked to a bulletin board and left there for the entire unit – like that unfinished project you started last month, right?! Since...
Classroom Management, Dissection and Lab, Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
Welcome back to school! Whether you’re new to the classroom or a seasoned vet, the first week is ALWAYS nerve-wracking, conjuring up nightmares of dissections gone awry and showing up to work in only your lab coat… yikes! We know all too well how hard those...
Classroom Management, Interactive Notebooks, Pedagogy and Differentiation
In the summer of 2009, we had the most fortunate luck to land a professional development workshop that literally changed our lives. That summer, we spent two weeks on Skidaway and Sapelo Islands, studying the coastal Georgia ecosystems alongside ecologists and UGA...
Classroom Management, Interactive Notebooks, Lesson Plans
Do you worry about how much time it takes to implement interactive science notebooks or journals in your classroom? Middle school and secondary teachers are being tasked to change course and use interactive notebooks as part of their science curriculum because of the...
Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
We’re so glad that vocabulary instruction has moved well beyond #writethedefinition. We’ve all read brain-based research. We’ve studied Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. We’ve seen it first-hand in the classroom – kids all learn in different ways. The vocabulary...
Dissection and Lab, Interactive Notebooks, Lesson Plans
Doesn’t it feel like your state standards are ever-changing? Just when you think you’ve mastered your teaching style and have come up with a perfect method for delivering life science content to your knowledge-hungry students, something happens –...
Dissection and Lab, Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newbie to science lab stations, let us fill you in on why they should be a staple lesson for your curriculum – and why making them CROSS-CURRICULAR by using STEAM science lab stations will help your kids to transcend...
Dissection and Lab, Interactive Notebooks, Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
What happens when your school budget won’t allow for enough dissection specimen for your class, or you have a student who refuses to participate in dissection for personal or religious reasons? What do you do when a student misses an entire week of school, and it just...
Dissection and Lab, Lesson Plans
As teachers, it’s always tough to find time to work on a lesson plan AND make time with our loved ones. This week was all about making moments count with my little Nugget, so I decided to combine family time and lesson planning by putting our little seed bomb...
Lesson Plans
What’s not to love about a project that can be used in any subject area? This lesson is great any time, but especially at the end of the year. The Student Teacher Teach-A-Class project will have your students gearing up for an unforgettable day in the classroom...
Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
When it comes to test taking, middle and high school students have a lot on the line. They worry…alot. They have concern about how their scores compare to their peers, how they rank with their GPA, how it affects the classes they get into in years to come, its...
Lesson Plans, Pedagogy and Differentiation
Some might call them cootie catchers, to others they are fortune tellers, but to US, they are an amazing way to review classroom material! These are hands-on study tools that get secondary students active and engaged in their learning plus they’re really fun to...
Lesson Plans
Have you ever thought of using matching cards as an activity in your science classroom? Our Hybrid Animal Activity is one of our favorite ways to get students thinking about what happens when two organisms of different species mate. This hands-on genetic engineering...
Dissection and Lab, Lesson Plans
As science teachers, we all know that safety is key. Students can’t learn in a chaotic classroom, especially with the hazards that some lab experiments create. Every student needs to understand and adhere to the rules of the science lab. Every parent or guardian...
Dissection and Lab, Lesson Plans
How does a water strider bug walk on the surface of a lake? Why does water bead and roll off of a duck’s back? Why does water come out of a faucet in large droplets? Surface tension, that’s why! In this STEM Lab you’ll be swimming in science as you try to break...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
It’s February, the month of LOOOOOOVE, and as nerdy science chicks to the core, it’s hard to de-Nye our love for the science icon, Bill Nye. It’s hard to sum up a guy like Bill Nye. He’s a scientist, inventor, science advocate and educator, comedian,...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
Ah, the month of love. February is a fantastic month for so many reasons – Valentine’s Day, Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays , groundhog day, and the birth of Steve Jobs to name a few. So snuggle up with your significant other, and learn all...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
Start your year off by teaching your students about the scientists, inventions, and discoveries of the world. The scientists, inventions and discoveries highlighted in each monthly installment are great starting points for interactions with your kiddos, such as...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
It was the fall of 2008, and we had just started our first year of teaching together. Mel had just cut off her long locks for a shorter, “cute new teacher” bob. Gerdy’s hair was like a lion’s mane, fierce to match her teaching style...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
It’s a holly, jolly season, and what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a fond look back at some of our favorite gadgets and gizmos and their creators. Here’s our list of great scientist’s birthdays, awesome inventions and amazing...
Science N.E.R.D.S.
Patricia Era Bath was born in 1942 in New York City to Rupert and Gladys Bath. Her father was an educated man with wide-ranging work experiences. He was the first African-American motorman on the New York City subway system, a newspaper writer, and a merchant seaman...
