This Will Make You Want to Use Google Chrome With Your Struggling Students

As we know, reading and writing are often huge barriers learning content for special ed students, ELLs, and others.  If you have access to technology, there are some easy tricks to help differentiate, and break down that barrier with your students.  Specifically, within Google Chrome, or on a chromebook there are some easy ways to modify assignments and make them more accessible!  Help level the playing field for your students!

Jackpot: Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2015

Just a quick link as we start the year to my top 3 blog posts of the past year. 

3. Using Google Forms in the classroom 

2. My second most popular post is tips for setting up your classroom. If you are doing semester classes, this could be very useful now.

And....my top blog post of the year one of my all time favorite labs. Leaf stomata lab! Such simple household materials, and so cool to see! 

Hope you enjoy! 

Behind the Scenes: What Can We Learn From Online Courses?

This year I have taken a different position in my district, and I'm learning a lot.  I am working for the IT department, and am traveling to different schools, working with students who are one extreme or the other.  Either they are taking AP Courses, or they are taking credit recovery courses (courses they have already failed, and they are behind on credits).  What they all have in common is that they are working on those courses online.  The district has purchased some mostly pre-packaged courses, on the brainhoney platform, and the students are scheduled into a computer lab to work on their courses. They are scheduled into a lab together, regardless of what subject course they are working on.  Subject teachers rotate through the lab on a daily basis doing a combination of helping students, and managing the lab.  Students will have face-to-face contact with their subject area teacher once a week, and we are available by phone and email in the meantime.

For me personally, this is a much less stressful position, and I am greatly enjoying the new balance in my life.  Educationally, however, I think there are a lot of pros/cons, and I would love to share them with you, and see if anyone has had similar feedback.

Pros:

• Students can move at their own pace. The entire course is designed before they start.  If they want to move faster, they are welcome to do so.  When they complete the course with a passing grade, they earn the credit.  If they are moving slower, that's also on them.
• Since most of the coursework is designed to be independent, it really allows me to spend my time one-on-one, or in small groups with students who are having trouble, or need extra support.
• Again, since the basic course is already existing, I can spend much of my time and energy working on scaffolding materials, parent phone calls, and improvements.
• Since its online, I spend very minimal time at the copier.
• Online discussions and interactions allow everyone an equal chance to participate, even though who may be quiet in class.
• Students who are absent automatically can login and pick up where they left off, no more keeping track of what students are missing. 

Cons:

• Since its pre-existing, I can't directly modify the content, for example to allow different reading levels.  The same course content gets sent out to all students.  I can make additional guided notes, videos, etc to assist, but the basic content stands.  For some students, the reading level is really a difficulty.
• From a science standpoint, the idea of teaching a science class, in a computer lab is very strange. The labs are either computer simulations, or labs that can be performed independently with 'basic household materials.'  I have given students the option to do the hands-on labs with me, and some have, but generally I am not doing labs with students.
• I'm not sure that online classes build community, social interaction, and communication skills like a regular classroom.
• As much as the class is self-paced, this is very difficult for many students as they need the more immediate incentive of something being collected at the end of the class period.

Most colleges are now requiring students to take at least one online course, and it is most often the course which students fail.  Like it or not, education seems to be going more towards online coursework.  What lessons can we take from this to help our students and ourselves in the regular classroom? 

If you have similar thoughts or experiences/reactions, please comment below

Google Forms: Revolutionary Technology in the Science Classroom

There are so many kinds of technology that I use on an almost daily basis in my science class to improve life and education for my students.  Today's post is going to focus on a tool that I use almost everyday -- Google Forms.

If you have never used google forms before, here are some tutorials. They are VERY easy to use.

All you need is a google account (personal or professional, the students will never see your email address). You can go to Google Drive and create a new form, or go to forms.google.com.  You create a form just like you create any other document, and you can choose what type of questions you want (multiple choice, short answers, scale, checkboxes, include a picture or video....).  Your answers will automatically come to a Google Sheet (like excel), and you can also get a summary of responses.  This means google will aggregate the data for you, and show, immediately, for every question, the number of people who chose each multiple choice answer, or a list of the responses.  The responses will show up on real time, so you can immediately see your students' responses.

Here is an example of the summary of results that you can get immediately after students respond.

Before I get into ways that I used google forms in the classroom, a couple of other tips that I wanted to share with you.

1. The snipping tool in windows is a great way to include any images that you want to add in.
2. There is an add-on called flubaroo (there are lots of great tutorials online) that will automatically grade multiple choice for you.
3. If you only want the form available at a certain time, or to end at a certain time, you can toggle on and off the 'accepting responses,' as shown below

Ok, so on to how I use google forms in the classroom.  

I had three main uses for google forms that I want to share, although there are many others.

1. I used it for myself to track parent contacts.  I made a quick form with boxes for student name, method of contact, and what was discussed (time and date are stored automatically).  I put a bookmark to this form on my toolbar and could quickly enter any parent contact.  Then I ended up with a spreadsheet that I could sort or search of all my parent contacts.
2. I used google forms at the end of each unit, or topic, to do a quick survey with the kids around the learning objectives.  I could immediately get a pulse on how they were feeling about the various objectives, and know where to focus my review.  I could pull the summary up on the board and work of off that to review.  I found it much more effective that asking them to ask questions, or openly self-report. We could all be on the same page.  I had them take notes as we were reviewing. 

For example...

3. I used google forms on an almost daily basis for warm ups.  We were a 1:1 chromebook school last year, so this might not be feasible otherwise, but it is certainly something to consider for those days you have device access, or even if you want students to access on any type of device.  I would usually give them a shortened link (from goo.gl) or post the link on google classroom.  Then my form would show 2 or 3 warm up or ticket out questions.  I could even include a video on picture. I could turn the form off when the time was up, and pull up the responses on the board so we could see where we are as a class, and if we are ready to move on.  

Have you used google forms in your classroom?  If so, where do you see it being most useful?  What other technology do you use? 

Teacher Life Hack - Easily Maintain your Sanity

I don’t know about you, but I am constantly seeking a better work-life balance.  Teaching is one of the jobs that can easily take over your life, if you allow it to do so.  There are a lot of things that I do to maintain a work-life balance.  Many of them revolve around food prep.  I previously wrote a blog post here that touches on that.  

During the school year, no matter how much prep I do, it is hard to maintain a balance during the year.  One thing I do to try to maintain some kind of balance is take my work email off of my phone!  I especially do this on the long weekends, or over a school break.

If you aren’t ready for that step, then at least turn of the ‘push’ and the notifications, so you can check it on your schedule!

Another option would be to put it under a separate email app so that you have to choose to check it, on your schedule.

When work email is on your phone, it is too easy to feel an obligation to answer emails at all or hours, or to read an email that makes you frustrated or upset when you should be getting ready for bed, or enjoying family time.

Outstanding tailwind feature you may not know

I have just recently started using tailwind and am still learning my way around, but I am impressed. Here are he increase in stats that I have seen since I started about two weeks ago. I wanted to share with you an easy way to find and save pinterest content.

However, as I have talked to more people, I wanted to share what my workflow, or my plan looks like, at least at this early stage, because it seems I am using a feature that not a lot of people are talking about yet.

Throughout the week, maybe when I'm sitting waiting somewhere, I look on pinterest on my phone. When I find new content that I want to pin I use the method below to save a draft.

If you are logged into tailwind, and go to settings and then mobile scheduling. Tailwind will give you a strange looking email address. You can send that pin as a message, from within pinterest, to that email address. You only need to type it in or set it up once and then it will be there when you hit send pin.


Then, when you log in to tailwind, all those pins are sitting here as drafts. I can change he descriptions, check them, select which boards I want them to go to. At that time I also add any product or blog post pins, select intervals, and schedule. I can schedule a lot of more successful pins in a short time.

I will keep this post brief, and in the future I hope to stick to more education oriented pins, but I I am really loving that effortless way to build up drafts and haven't seen much mention of it so I wanted to share.

Please leave you favorite pinterest or tailwind tips in the comments.

How to Use Pinterest in Education: A Powerful Tool

Most of you are probably familiar with using Pinterest to look for gift ideas, clothing, home improvement ideas, and craft projects, but did you know it can also be a great place to look for classroom inspiration, or to solve problems in your teaching? 





Keep your ideas organized? 

If you are anything like me, I frequently see an idea that I want to use later in the year "when we get to that topic."  But then by the time we get to that unit I have lost or forgotten that pieces of paper.  With Pinterest, I made a board for each unit that I teach, along with a general teaching board, a classroom organization board, and a technology board.  As other things come up, I can add them as well.  When I see a great idea for genetics, I can pin in there.  When I go back to teach genetics, I just quickly scan through the images on that board for ideas.  Even if I didn't pin it correctly I can search and find it.  Technology is so much easier to find things than paper. 

Click on the image above for a link to my boards.  

Looking for visual inspiration?
Its true, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Pinterest is visual so you can easily type in a topic or search and get videos, images of lesson plans, and resources that you can assess at a glance.  Sometimes you can quickly see how to use a resource, or find an image that will grab your students attention.  Of course you can search for lesson plans, as well as many other things. 

I even have a board for amazing science images.  These are great warmups, or engagement tools or readings for increased literacy. 

Other collaborators in your subject area? 
There is no question that it is immensely helpful to collaborate with other educators in your subject area.  If you can do that within your school or department, but sometimes you can't.  Pinterest offers a great way to collaborate with other educators in your subject area all around the world.  You can search and click and see what they are doing in their classrooms, or build up collaborative boards with other educators. 

News articles or inspiration for your subject? 
Did you know you can also just browse by topic on pinterest? Of course, you can browse education, but you can also browse for popular pins, or those related to your content. 

What are you favorite pinterest boards? 
I teach high school science, so not surprisingly, my favorite pinterest board is called "High School Science," but I also like the general board "HighSchoolHerd" and some of my general teaching and science teaching boards shown above. 

What are your favorite pinterest boards?  Please comment below and share your favorites. 

A big thank you.  This post is part of the  

An InLinkz Link-up

Behind the Scenes: Virtual Coursework

I will be taking a new position for the fall in my district, and I'm very curious how it will work out.  The position is Teacher on Assignment for the Instructional Technology Department.  Specifically I will be teaching virtual classes. Those classes fall at two ends of the spectrum. I will be teaching a virtual AP Environmental Science course, and virtual online credit recovery science classes, for students who have previously failed.

I will be split between different schools, so I will spend a day or 2 per week in each school, meeting with students.  The rest of my student contact, and their work, will be virtual via phone, email, and maybe even Skype. 

I am excited about the change.  From what I have heard it is much lower stress, and I'm ready for a change.  It is a one year position, so after a year I can go back to my current position.

However, it is upending most of what I know about teaching.

"Students working on class assignment in computer lab" by Michael Surran - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab.jpg#/media/File:Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab.jpg

I went to training yesterday and it was about how to use the online LMS (learning management system).  I am having trouble picturing starting the year NOT setting up a classroom.  I will be doing minimal lesson planning because we have purchased a curriculum that I can adapt and modify, but not extremely.  I am working Monday on curriculum work so we will see how that goes.   The AP class is supposed to be "blended" or "teacher facilitated" whereas the credit recovery courses are supposed to be largely independent.

It has been described to me that this position is more like tutoring where individual students get stuck, or building relationships with individuals and small groups.  I think that might be a positive, but its so different!

If any of you have experience on either the student or teacher side of this please let me know.

I'm really looking forward to this new experience, but it seems like a lot of unknowns as well!

Innovative Technology: Google Drive and Google Chromebooks

I have been meaning to blog more often this summer, and haven't done so. The last couple of weeks I have been deep into learning about Google Chromebooks and Google Drive (which I was familiar with) and how to use them in the classroom. My school is going to be a 1:1 Chromebook this year as part of a pilot program. I was asked to be on the technology committee, so I have been at many meetings planning logistics and rollout procedures, as well as staff professional development.

I have learned several things from this Chromebook experience, before school has even started, and I will definitely keep you posted as the year goes along.

1) Roll out and logistics procedures are critical for things to go smoothly.

We have spent a lot of time developing procedures for checking in and out the chromebooks, labelling them, determining what the procedures will be for late entry and early dismissal students, where they will be stored and how to access them, how to carry and store them, etc.  These clearly stated and communicated guidelines and procedures will (hopefully) eliminate a lot of problems later on. The same is true in the classroom!  It is so important to think through all of these details and what-ifs ahead of time, and to develop, organize, and communicate with your students.

2) Staff training, comfort level, and staff being on the same page is also critical.

The IT Department from the district came to do some training with us.  They began by stating that they expected people to be anxious and fearful, or opposed. Our staff was mostly not.  They were very excited.  We have a great staff.  However, I think a lot of the positive attitude was also due to keeping people informed ahead of time, providing resources and training so they are comfortable, and providing ongoing support and training so they  know they won't be lost.  I think people are much more likely to try something new when they are comfortable and feel successful in what they are doing, and know that they will have support.

Again, the same in true in the classroom!

3) I think this technology has the power to change the classroom, as we know it.

I used a smartboard, and powerpoint, but I don't use them extensively.  They are a great way to present graphics and diagrams, or do whole class instruction, but most of the best educational practices are not geared around whole class instruction with the teacher at the front of the room.  If you are using these technologies a lot, I fear that is what is happening.

Google drive, however, offers a way for teachers to spend less time copying and organizing work, and for students to keep their work organized.  It automatically saves, and teachers can provide templates or work to students to complete right in their Drive.  It also offers real time collaboration, commenting, and feedback, as well as research resources immediately in the hands of every student. It allows them to look up information, search for help, spell check, create documents, critique each other's documents, and watch videos or take notes, somewhat at their own pace.  They can go back and edit, go ahead, or re-watch something. I also see many opportunities for individualization and differentiation, from additional research questions to apps that allow text to be read, or making the screen size different or changing contrast.

I am really excited about this opportunity, and I hope my students are too!

Getting Ready for Back to School - Classroom Website Update

I am working this year on updating my classroom website. I have a very skeletal website from several years ago that has never gotten much traffic. This year, as we are moving towards more technology and 1:1 technology in my school, one of my goals is to update my classroom website and to make it useful and user-friendly. This led me to some tips.

5 Tips to Creating a Classroom Website....

Read the rest on our collaborative blog

Simple But Important Vocabulary Strategies

No matter your subject area, vocabulary is critical for speaking the ‘language’ of the subject, and for building up confidence and comfort with test questions.  In other words, as we approach testing season, it is very important that students are familiar with the vocabulary.

In my classroom, I use several strategies for students to build up comfort with the vocabulary.

At the start of the unit, I give students a list of terms and definitions for the unit.  I usually make these up by using the website http://www.quizlet.com Once you enter the words, you can choose from a list of previously entered definitions for that term.  I try to keep the list to a manageable, not overwhelming amount.   For homework, they have a week to do to options from their vocabulary ‘menu.’  They can do three for extra credit.  This menu includes options such as drawing pictures, using in a sentence, writing definitions, writing a story, etc.

Then within class.....

To read the rest of this post, please read here on our collaborative blog, where it was first posted....

http://crosscurricular.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/vocabulary-strategies/

Use Socrative For Colorful and Innovative Analysis and Test Prep

I don't  know if you are in a state that has Regents exams, or if you are in a state that has other state exams instead.

Here in NY, we have Regents exams.  They are exams given at the end of the course, in most high school courses, and passing a certain number of them in each content area is a graduation requirement.

I teach in an urban district, where the passing rates are fairly low.  I am always looking for ways to help students be successful on those tests.  I have tried many other things (which I may write about in other posts).

A colleague and I are trying a new strategy now.  Here is our plan (really, it was my colleague's plan first, and then I have adpated to my class):

 - Analyze the past few years Regents exams, correlate them to the NYS standards, to determine which topics are the most heavily tests, and what those test questions look like.  In other words, which standards are emphasized on the exams, and how are those standards translated into test questions. 

- Starting about now, give students weekly 10 question quizzes.  The quizzes will be made out of the most commonly tested standards.  

- As students get questions right, the quizzes will adapt to include the next most commonly asked questions.

- The quizzes are being done on www.socrative.com.  This allows me to add an explanation to the questions.  Students can take the quiz, know immediately how they did, and as they see their answer, see an explanation of why the correct answer is correct.  I am encouraging them to take  notes, and study those notes.  If they are getting questions wrong, there is a good chance that they will see the same questions next week.

- As I see a question that the class as a whole is not progressing on, I can go back and target that for a quick 'intervention.' 

So far, students are enthusiastic.  One of my top students even said "So we are starting review now?!"  

Me: "Yes, a little bit of review"

Student: "That's a good idea, then when we get to June it won't be so overwhelming!"

That's the idea.  Those students who advance faster through, will get more review, but those who advance slower will still review and hopefully "get" the most commonly tested concepts.

What Are Your Thoughts on The Flipped Classroom?

If you follow my facebook page, you may have seen the discussion a week or so ago about the Flipped Classroom idea.  If not, I'll summarize here:

These comments really got me thinking...on three tangents....(1)what is necessary for a flipped classroom to be successful.  (2) How different is it? (3) Why is it better? (Or why all the buzz?)


(1) I see the following necessary ingredients: available technology to students, motivated students who do homework and come prepared to class, available technology for teachers to be able to provide the instructional videos.  I think the last one is not such a problem.  I do see the first two as a barrier, particularly where I teach.  HOWEVER, maybe this is a place to use time periods like extra help, afterschool, study halls, AIS, or however your class is structured and make it more individualized by providing video instruction?  Particularly if a teacher can't help 20 kids individually.

(2) I don't think its fundamentally different for science.  It seems to be catching on more in math, and I think it is fundamentally different there.  In math, we are all familiar with the model where the teacher does examples, you go home and practice (and get stuck).  It makes sense to 'flip' this.  In science, however, I think there are already a lot of cases where students are supposed to read outside of class, or practice vocabulary, etc, and come to class prepared to do the hands-on part. This could be extended and altered so that it happens even more often, and so that more of the analysis and writing/processing happens in class.

(3) The idea of 'flipping' is very in line with current technology, student interests, and even common core.  Common core asks students to read, but also to analyze information from different sources, and to do more with the information . It allows more individualization, to a point.

Here is a really interesting analysis and discussion, in addition to the two websites offered above. http://plpnetwork.com/2012/10/08/flip-love-affair/

However, I don't see my classes, in my current setting, getting to the point she talks about.  I think the 'flip' might have to be an intermediate step.....

Have you tried it? Have thoughts or feedback to share?  I'd love to hear it as I begin to reflect and think theoretically about next year.  (Cause we have the summers off, right?)

Thanks for reading! 

How Can I Engage and Differentiate with Online Videos?

Here is a teaching strategy that you may already be using, but if not, I highly suggest it.  Use online teaching videos (not brainpop or something as catchy, but simple content-based videos) in class as a means to differentiate.  A great site for Earth Science is http://www.youtube.com/user/metfan869  (see videos below) Or you could try Khan Academy, or many others.   

• Find the video(s) you want to use the teach the content you are trying to teach
• Make a guided note sheet (similar to what you would put in a powerpoint or what you want kids to take notes on
• Include some higher level thinking questions as they go through.
• Then make an application section, or some other activity using the information they they just watched.

My kids used the netbooks, put on headphones, and were totally engaged.  They could stop and re-start the video as many times as they wanted, ask questions where they were specifically stuck, and gauge their understanding better. I had kids comment that they really liked that they could go at their own pace.

Depending upon how you want to run the lesson, you could make the application task homework if they don't finish, make different levels of application questions etc.  People will finish at vastly different times, but hopefully they all finish and grasp the main points of the content.  That's why we are here, right?! 

Have you ever used a similar strategy in your classroom?  If so, how did you do it?  I also found this to work well for review when the topic was familiar, but some needed instruction again and some just needed reinforcement. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/metfan869

How Do I Plan a Unit? Complete with an Example

I have been told by several administrators and other teachers that one of my strengths is writing lesson plans and planning units. For that reason, I wanted to give an overview of how I go about the process. I am going to use the unit that we just finished on Physical and Chemical Properties and Changes as an example.

Step 1: Look at the State Standards and the district curriculum to understand what I am supposed to be teaching, and what the objectives are. If the objectives aren't clear, then I make sure that there are clear objectives written (even if I have to write them myself).  Sometimes this involves looking at the state assessments and seeing what has been asked on this topic, in order to determine how much detail I need to go into on those topics, or what specifically has been emphasized (or not).

In my case, the standards are as follows: 

·         3.1a    Substances have characteristic properties.  Some of these properties include color, odor,phase at room temperature, density, solubility, heat and electrical conductivity,hardness, and boiling and freezing points.

·         3.1b    Solubility can be affected by the nature of the solute and solvent,temperature, and pressure.  The rate ofsolution can be affected by the size of the particles, stirring, temperature,and the amount of solute already dissolved.

·         3.1c    The motion of particles helps to explain the phases (states) of matteras well as changes from one phase to another. The phase in which matter exists depends on the attractive forces amongits particles.

·         3.1d     Gaseshave neither a determined shape nor a definite volume.  Gases assume the shape and volume of a closedcontainer.

·         3.1e     Aliquid has definite volume, but takes the shape of a container.

·         3.1f     Asolid has definite shape and volume. Particles resist a change in position.

·         3.1g    Characteristic properties can be used to identify different materials,and separate a mixture of substances into its components.  For example, iron can be removed from amixture by means of a magnet.  Aninsoluble substance can be separated from a soluble substance by such processesas filtration, settling, and evaporation.

·         3.2a    During a physical change a substance keeps its chemical composition andproperties.  Examples of physical changesinclude freezing, melting, condensation, boiling, evaporation, tearing, andcrushing.

·         3.2b    Mixtures are physical combinations of materials and can be separated by physicalmeans.

·         3.2c    During a chemical change, substances react in characteristic ways toform new substances with different physical and chemical properties.  Examples of chemical changes include burningof wood, cooking of an egg, rusting of iron, and souring of milk.

From that I have the following objectives:
Identify the properties based on observationsand classifications.

Classify various substances based on theirproperties.

Compare the properties or difference inproperties of various substances.

List the factors that affect solubility and therate of solution.

Explain how the rate of solution may increase ordecrease depending on various conditions.

 Identify what factors increase/decrease the rateof solution.

 Identify the different processes that causechanges in states of matter.

Explain how temperature changes can causechanges in the states of matter.

Identify the points at which water changesphases on a phase change chart/graph.

Identify which substances act like gases basedon behavior of their molecules.

Define a gas based on the behavior of itsmolecules in an enclosed container.

Identify substances as liquids based on thebehavior of the molecules.

Define a liquid based on the behavior of itsmolecules in an enclosed container.

Identify substances as solids based on thebehavior of their molecules.

Define a solid based on the behavior of themolecules.

Define the characteristic of a mixture.

Identify substances that are mixtures.

Explain how certain substances in variousmixtures can be separated.

Identify and list examples of physical changes.

Define a physical change.

Compare the processes of physical changes

Explain why physical changes do not involvechanges in chemical composition and properties.

Describe how various mixtures can be physicallyseparated into its components.

Identify and describe the physical compositionof mixtures.

Classify substances as mixtures or not.

Identify and define chemical changes.

Explain the process of a chemical change.

Explain the results of a chemical change.

Classify changes as chemical or physical.

Compare and contrast physical and chemical changes 

Step 2: I look at the district pacing chart, and the calendar and see how long this unit is supposed to take.  In my case, this unit was slated for about 6 weeks.

If I can, I try to complete Steps 1 and 2 over the summer

Step 3:  I sequence the standards/objectives in a way that makes sense to me, and hopefully makes sense to the kids, and start to lay them out over that time frame.   I use planbook.com so I start to put them in there, either through the standards section, or in the notes section.   Those may be pretty rough notes to myself like this:

By this point I know roughly each day or week what I'm teaching, and what my objectives are, and I just need to fill in the best way to teach them.  To me, this is extremely useful!  Now, I can do ticket out questions easily, because I know what that day's objectives are, and I can easily tell if a lesson that I'm thinking about correctly address those objectives.

For this unit, here is a rough outline of what I did: 

Week 1: 

• Demos on phase change (some hands on, and some through videos), 
• Creation of a title page where they were given the terms for all the properties and had to use the textbook to draw a picture for each.   Many of the properties they are already familiar with, such as color, etc.
• Notes and practice on phase change and phase change diagram.  
• Lab on finding density of blocks of different material, and testing if they float or sink, with summary questions and reading on density

Week 2: 

• Density column demo.  One group saw the demo, the other saw a video clip of the demo, with analysis questions.
• Notes on density of irregularly shaped solids, and practice questions on density as a characteristic property. 

Week 3 (short week for this class due to assembly: 

• Notes on mixtures and solutions (a free set from TpT)
• Mixture and solutions task cards (purchased from Tpt)
• Solubility lab with sugar and water at different temperatures - graph data

Week 4:

• Brainpop on property changes; take notes on new facts, and facts we already knew
• Making ice cream in a bag - describe the physical and chemical changes 
• Textbook work (foldable) on physical and chemical changes and physical and chemical properties

Week 5: 

• Station work - 7 stations
• find pictures out of magazines for physical and chemical changes
• Venn diagram comparing physical and chemical changes
• mixtures and solutions - using baby food jars of gatorade, salt water, water with pepper, water with sand, rice and beans, to classify as mixtures or solutions and explain -- then write a summary on the differences 
• Physical and Chemical changes sorting activity from middleschoolscience.com  available at http://www.middleschoolscience.com/physical-chemical-change-activity.pdf
• Reading a short story and answering questions about the physical and chemical changes 
• Baking powder and vinegar experiment with questions
• Finding density of a wooden block
• Review - Keeping Track of Learning and Vocab Work - where are we now

Week 6: 

• Conservation of mass with steel wool and vinegar lab
• Conservation of mass reading and questions

Review, and unit test

Hope this is some help.  I hope to get to finalize and clean up some of these resources for listing on TpT, but some of you like to do your own lesson planning, and I hope this outline is some help to you.  

Quizlet Makes it Really Easy to Study

This week I'm going to feature a tech tool that I have used successfully in many different ways. Are you familiar with quizlet? It's at www.quizlet.com

You can use quizlet for vocabulary, formulas, or really anything that you need to match things up and memorize. (Some examples would be states and capitals, foreign language terms, even chemical formulas).

On the website, kids can flip through the terms and definitions like flashcards, play two different games, or different modes to learn the terms, including one where the computer reads the definitions and they type in the words (great for ELLs).

If you have ipads or ipods in your classroom, there is an app as well. This year, however, I do not have much technology time available. That's ok! I'm still using quizlet.

Once I enter in the terms and definitions, I can print out various things -- a glossary, flashcards, word and definition cards that can be matched, or quizzes in a couple different formats.

I try to focus more on concepts, but the bottom line is, if kids don't understand the vocabulary and language then they can't be successful.

More ideas of how I used vocabulary in creative ways are available in my TpT product located here.

What to Do When You Can't Do a Hands-On Activity

My first choice, of course is to do activities as hands-on, either in partners, lab groups, or individually. Sometimes this is not feasible.....this might be because of behaviors, scheduling, lack of money and supplies, time, space, etc....so then what.

I have been struggling with a lot of these issues this year, and struggling with how to adapt and improve my teaching.  I do not want to go toward doing a lot of book work and worksheets or notes.  I really don't believe that is for the best for anyone.

Soooo....sometimes I've done demos.  This is ok, except my attention, to some extent is on the demo and I can't re-direct kids, or handle behaviors as much.  Also, the demo usually happens once and some kids, inevitably, aren't paying attention and miss it, or want to see it again.  I am starting to really like showing a video clip of the demo.  I can focus their attention on certain things, refocus them, prompt them, and play it over and over.  They are also great for things that take time, but can be sped up or slowed down.

Here are a couple that I have used recently:

How to Help a Struggling Writer Want to Write

My son is in first grade.  I want him to work on his writing, which he hates.  He hates both the mechanics of writing (putting pencil to paper), spelling, etc.  We went to a local museum and he saw an ad for a kids writing contest, grades K-3.  He decided he was going to enter, and win.  Kind of a funny choice for someone who hates writing, but he was set on it.  He came home to start, and very very quickly got frustrated when he made mistakes, had to erase, the paper got messy, etc.

I had a small brainstorm.  Maybe he could type it on the computer, edit his mistakes, and not get so frustrated.  It would also take away the whole problem of writing (ok, so he doesn't get practice on that, but at least he's practicing spelling and making sentences).

I started him on googledocs.  I chose that because it automatically saves, saves edits (so things can be undone) and can be accessed from any computer.

He loves it!  After a few days, however, he realized that he had an email account associated with his google docs account.  Uh oh.  Ok, so gmail does not have parental controls, I've looked.  I've monitored closely.  He has been emailing me, my husband, my parents, his other grandparents.  He can't wait to check his email and write back.  He has used google docs to share the story with them, and keep adding to it.

So.....is that authentic practice?!!  How to make middle school level as authentic as that?  It seems to me, that for reading and writing are easier to find authentic practice.  Now I need to think about how to do that in my class.

And....has anyone ever used google docs, or a better kid-friendly website or application for kids?

Getting the Most Bang for your Pin

I apologize for the blogging break.  I have not been feeling well, and have been really overwhelmed and sick and tired, so blogging had to take a backseat.  I'm still not feeling 100%, but slowly improving and with the day off, I'm trying to do a little bit of blogging while I take it easy on the couch.

One of my best finds, which surfing the internet is this site.

Do you use Pinterest, either to promote products or to share ideas and save pictures that you like?   If so, you may be curious which boards are getting the most traffic, which items you have already pinned to which boards, and if they are getting re-pinned or not.

I have been trying to come up with a way to keep track of my pins, and make sure I am handling them the best way that I can.  I couldn't come up with something that seemed workable.  I did a bunch of google searching.

You have to set up an account, and then wait a day or 2 for it to collect data.  After that, there is a gold mine of information.

It will show you things like:

• All the items to have pinned to each board, along with the date.
• The number of followers for each board you belong to.
• The number of repins that each pin has gotten.
• You can even export your data to CSV if you really want to analyze

Here are a few screenshots to give you an idea.  Wow!  This has potential, I think! 

Hope this is some help to you.  They are in the process of changing the interface, so I have seen a few slightly different things when I login, but there is a ton of information in there!  

How Can Technology Help You With Parent Contact?

How can I get my parents involved in the classroom?

Just like many other teachers, I'm sure, I am trying to raise test scores and achievement, increase homework completion, increase parent contacts, and meet my APPR goals this year.  I am testing out a tool to help increase parent involvement.  It is called Remind101.  I am going to start using it with my classes (students and parents) this week. I'll keep you posted.

I heard about it from a friend of mine who is using it and has great things to say. Remind 101 to message students and parents - free and safe.  The bottom line is that many (if not most) of our parents have cell phones, but may or may not have reliable internet and check/use email.  Text message are a great way to communicate with parents.  One of the best options out is there is Remind101.

Try out Remind101 to communicate with students and parents!

Here is the website Remind101.com

Here are a few teacher blogs that discuss it
http://misslwholebrainteaching.blogspot.com/2012/10/remind-101.html 

A great discussion of the set up and features  A few highlights:

• Your number and the parents' number stays private
• Both students and parents can subscribe to updates
• You can send out announcements to a large group, or to smaller groups, and can schedule ahead of time.
• They cannot reply to the messages (this could be a plus or a drawback).
• You can set up different groups for students and parents, or have them subscribe to the same updates. 

I think most kids want to be successful but are not in the habit of keeping track of multiple classes, doing homework, remembering what they need to do, etc.  Also, let's face it, our kids (and parents) are connected and used to technology.  While it may not always have a place in the classroom we need to connect with them where they are. 

Bloomz is another good option for parent communication

Another good options is Bloomz, however this does NOT send out only text reminders, but has an option for text, email, or smartphone app. This does allow two way messaging, and allows sending photos. It has more options, but also is a bit more complicated to set up. Remind is about as simple and straightforward as you can get!

Remind is free, anonymous, and very easy to set up. You can schedule messages to go out ahead of time.  I think its worth a try.

Anyone used either of these to communicate?  Did you see an increase in parent communication or parent involvement? Do you have feedback or suggestions?