5 Best Start-of-the-School-Year Experiments

Great Science Experiments and Demonstrations

One of the fun things about being a science teacher is being able to do hands-on activities and fun demonstrations.  These are the things kids remember when they get home, and remember years later. We've all been at some type of picnic or family function and heard someone talking about their crazy, wacky science teacher and the demonstration they did in class. Its multi-sensory, and different than other classes, and therefore more memorable! 

What are some of your favorites? 

What do you think makes a good demonstration or a good hands-on activity?

Requirements for a good demonstration

In my opinion, these are some things to consider to make a successful demonstration

• It must use readily available materials. Materials that are too hard to get are unfamiliar to students and difficult for you to set up. It's also difficult to make up for students who might be absent 
• Must work reliably! You don't want an activity that only works some of the time, or even most of the time, you need to be pretty sure that it's going to work.
• It must clearly demonstrate the principle that you were trying to show. This should not be a leap for students to understand the science after they have done the initial activity or seen the demonstration. 
• Sometimes I do an activity as a demonstration because I want to talk about it as we're working, it would be difficult for students to carry out correctly, or because I'm limited on space and materials for students to do it on their own or any variety of other reasons including safety. If it is feasible for students to carry out themselves, that is preferable.

Here is another source on what makes a good demonstration

Here's a secret for you

As a science teacher, demonstrations are fun, but I don't really like doing them! I get nervous! It's too much like a stage performance. I'd much rather have students run through stations or do activities. But some activities still lend themselves well to demonstrations. 

My Favorite Demonstrations 

(with accompanying videos; which can be a back up plan if you really don't like doing demonstrations)

• Air pressure demonstration using a soda can 
• Coke and diet coke density demonstration
• A cloud in the bottle
• And many more here... and also 100 Fun Science Experiments / Science Fair Projects for Kids from Go Science Girls

STEM Projects

What about stem projects? What are some great stem projects to get your students thinking? Building and interacting? These can be great for the beginning or end of school or even for summer school, summer camps or those off days, such as those with assemblies. 

Stem projects and stem activities are such a broad category if you look them up you will find a wide variety of things. In my mind they break into at least two categories. Those that are chance for students to develop a hypothesis and test an experiment, and those that are a chance to build a product and work with a team to problem-solve and create something.  These may overlap, for example students may test something to make their product better.  However, students aren't really demonstrating the scientific process they're focused on working towards a goal.  This is more of an engineering project. 

• One of my favorites is soda can cars. Students can even recreate this at home if they want to pretty easily.  
• Another favorite is to see who's raft or boat can support the most pennies or paper clips.  

From http://www.ramstein.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2001055392/

• There is a common experiment, which is very engaging with milk, food coloring, and dish soap.  Just be aware of the potential for a lot of cleanup, or any milk allergies. 
• Static electricity activities can be easy, fun and engaging, such as bending water, and balloon races.  These are described in details here in my FREE STATIC LAB
• A balloon car or a CD hovercraft are also a lot of fun, and can be a chance for students to experiment and improve their design.  
• A solar oven can be a longer-term project where students can really experiment with the materials and the angle, or it can be done as a one time project. 
• More ideas are available here and here.  

Some of these can be a chance for students to experiment and develop an experiment, hypothesis, and a procedure. Others can be a great chance to explore a new topic or new concept at the beginning of a unit.  They are also great as a quick station or engagement activity, as well as a jumping-off point to get further into the unit.  In my opinion, they should be something that can be carried out in a period or two, unless you really want to start a much longer project.  Otherwise you risk losing the flow of what you are trying to teach. 

Lastly, another way to go is longer-term projects such as factors that affect seed or plant growth, longer-term monitoring of weather, composting (conditions that cause garbage to break down) or even setting up ecocolumns.  

For more information on these type of projects, I would just looking into Problem based learning (more to come on that).  A couple great sources of information are available here and here.

I'd love to see pictures of your science activities!  Please share with me on facebook, instagram or by email. 

Free Training: How to Be In Two Places at Once

A little summer professional development for you

We all like to learn something, especially if it's focused on making our lives easier and saving us some time during the school year.  I know we aren't thinking about school at the moment, but give it a chance....it's not so bad if you can sit in your living room, or on your deck, and learn some tips to make your life easier.

I want to focus on ways to limit your time at the copier, and also ways to save yourself time grading. This lets you be in two places at once because while your papers are being graded, you can be working with students, eating your lunch, or even at home enjoying your time with your family instead of grading. 

Limit your time at the copier, here are some easy tips

Minnesota State Law Library paper stack flickr photo by Tony Webster shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

• If you are copying something like a reading, news article, or even directions, make a class set or make a class at +10.  If you're a secondary teacher and have 100 or 150 students they don't all need a copy.  Chances are many of them will get left on the tables or thrown out.  You can always make some extra if students want to annotate them, or keep them, but you will still end up with much few copies. Fewer copies = less time standing at the copier!  They will get trained pretty quickly that you're going to re-collect the directions or the reading.  If anyone really wants to keep it or has marked it up a lot that's fine, but it will save a lot of paper and a lot copying time and frustration.

• Secondly, try going digital! There are excellent resources on digital interactive notebooks.  Look into these, Google forms instead of quizzes, or start using Google Classroom.  All of these are amazing because you will no longer be spending your days standing in line at the copier, fighting with the stapler, or paper jams.  You simply make your assignments, assign it to your students and a copy is automatically made for each one of them it's a huge time saver!!!  Also, if they need a new copy, that can be done painlessly.  It's automatically saved so they won't lose theirs either! A few good resources for going digital are 
• The Blended Classroom (Leah Cleary)
• Study All Knight
• Alice Keeler
• Shake Up Learning
• Thirdly think about how you can save some paper.  When you save paper you're also saving yourself time at the copier. For example can you copy something on a half sheet? I do bell work on a sheet for the whole week and make a box for each day. I have even done it for two weeks.  I collect the same paper every day for that time period. That means I'm only copying one bell work sheet once every two weeks or once every 4 weeks if I do them double-sided, rather than daily! 

Saving Time Grading

• A lot of assignments can be graded simply on a check/check plus/check minus/zero basis. It's pretty easy to see whether the students did the assignment, they did it almost perfectly, they did a really poor job on it, or they didn't do it at all. You can give some quick feedback, but this saves you a lot of time checking every single word on their paper.  Over time, if you have a lot of grades like I do, it will become pretty obvious all of those checks and check pluses and check minuses will average out.  I enter them in my grade book as 100, 75, 50, and 0.

• Let the computer grade automatically!  One of the best ways to do this is with a Google form quiz. You set up the quiz questions, and of course an answer key, ahead of time. It will automatically grade if they are objective questions. You can choose if students get immediate feedback or if their scores have to be 'released' by you.  

Bonus

• Another option, depending on what type of devices that you have, is Socrative. This is easier for students to do phone or some other smaller devices that Google forms, and it also can give immediate feedback and automatic grading.
• Lastly, I have never used Zipgrade, but I've heard amazing things about being able to grade objective questions on your phone.

What will you do with your free time, now that you are spending less of your planning period, lunch period, and after school time grading papers and standing at the copier?  

Look Ahead: Less Stress and More Free Time Next Year

Give Yourself Less Stress and More Free Time Next Year

As you finish up this year you may be wondering what you can do to put yourself in a better position for next year, or to make things easier in September. I know you are tired now. It's true....there is no tired like teacher tired!

There are small amounts of energy that you can expend now, or even in the early part of the summer, that will make your life much easier in September! 

Exactly what those are depends on if you know what you will be teaching in the fall or not.  Here are some ideas to get you started. 

If you know what you will be teaching you can really take a lot of pressure off those early fall days by making your photo copies for your first unit or your first week now! For example, the copier will be busy, probably jamming, running out of paper, and you'll be set with your copies already made! Finally, even if you don't know what you're teaching there may be some basics that you can photocopy such as a safety contract, a first day get to know you activity.  Even those will take pressure off in September. That leaves you free time to take care of all the other crazies that you know will be coming up in the fall.

If you don't know what you're teaching in the fall you can still save yourself time.  I am often in this position. In this case it is a matter of setting yourself up for success. For example, make sure all your materials are put away neatly, in an organized fashion.  Label them.  You think you will remember but 6 months from now you very well may not!  Decide if it will work better for you to put them away in kits, or if you want to put them away by type of material. Whatever you decide make sure they are organized. 

Another thing you can do is to do some cleaning now and maybe even set up basic materials. For example, I know that I have sets of materials that will be at each table.  I have a pencil box with a couple pairs of scissors, markers, tape, etc. I go through those at the end of the year, clean them up, throw out of markers that don't work, replenish the colors, etc.  When I pick them up again they are ready to go in the fall. 

If you have file cabinets or storage cupboards this is a good time to go through and get rid of things that you haven't used, or think you  may not use again.   Anything old, broken, really out of date, or just things that maybe where there when you moved in. This is your chance! Start off the year with a 'clean slate' so to speak, and ready for whatever may come!

Depending on your school and your department, you may be in charge of materials or chemical inventory, That's something you can do now!  You may be in charge of ordering new supplies, again that's something you can make a huge dent in right now.  Even if you don't place your final order, if you start compiling a list and getting prices, it will be easy to tweak and submit the order when the time comes.

On a different level, another thing you can do now to help yourself organize is simply to look back through your lesson plans and make some notes and reflections while this year is fresh in your mind. Its important during the summer to clear your mind, and really take a break. But at the same time you don't want to lose those ideas, memories, and reflections that you have now.  You know what things went well, and what you want to change for next year.  Are their units you want to reorganize?  Sequences you want to change?  A new strategy that you want to try? Or things that worked particularly well?  Activities or strategies that didn't work? Now is the time to make those notes and changes, or even to layout a skeleton of the sequence that you want to use next year.  I believe it's better to do that now while this year is fresh in your mind then give it some time to percolate over the summer. 

If you have big projects that you know you are planning, such as a science fair, or a committee or club that you're involved in such as National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, or any others, now is the time to get lay the groundwork for those. That's one thing off your plate when you find out what you are teaching.

Lastly, depending upon what your technology options are, look into using more tech. It really is easier on the teacher! It allows you to facilitate, rather than be on the stage, and again, less wasted time copying.  You may also spend less time grading if you use some automatically grading options (more info coming on those)

Please share with post with another teacher you know that could use less stress next year!! 

5 Fun and Easy Ways to Gamify Your Review

5 Easy Ways to Engage and Assess Your Students 

As we are closing up the school year and looking for ways to review and keep students engaged games are a big one! You may be looking for ways to do your end review, or even to review for a unit, or simply end the week.  We are all tired, hot, and looking for some ways to make school more fun. 

 

I get it. Elementary school students are almost done with their year, they are silly, tired of state testing, and probably watching movies in some classes.  High school students are hot, tired, more interested in talking about prom and summer plans than classes.  But you still want to teach - you can! 

Here are top 5 favorite ways to introduce technology engage students and make review more fun:

 

You can keep your students engaged and doing some serious review! 

Top 5 Engaging Review Strategies

• Kahoot  - You set up a series of questions and answers ahead of time (or you can use shared templates created by other teachers). Students can play on their own or in teams, and on any device (chromebook, phone, tablet, etc).  Students get points for both speed and correct answers, so it gets very competitive!  Kahoot.com describes it as “It is a game based classroom response system played by the whole class in real time.” I have seen it used with elementary to high school ages students, all of whom were very engaged.

• Quizlet Live - Quizlet Live is very similar, it is a real-time, team-based classroom game. In this case it is better based on vocabulary, formulas, or other things that can be matched (as opposed to multiple choice questions). It emphasizes accuracy over speed, but still gets competitive. 

• Quizziz - Quizziz is also a multiplayer quiz game.  It can be done real-time, or assigned individually outside of class (or in class). It also emphasizes giving the teacher detailed data. Students play together on the same questions, but at their own pace. 

• Plickers - This is a more short term option. Maybe you just want a few quick review questions, a ticket out the door, or even a formative assessment built into a lesson.  Plickers aren’t as much to gamify a series of questions, but to quickly and easily collect answers in a fun and novel way.  Plickers are described as “a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices.”  Students get pre-printed cards that they hold up.  You have an app on your phone that uses the camera to collect instant (almost) data on their answers. Pretty AMAZING! 

• And a bonus (non-tech) option recommended to me by a friend - Bazinga!  This one I have not played before, but it sounds like a LOT of fun.  This came from a great discussion with Brooke in my Facebook Group. If you aren’t in it already, check it out here 

 

Why are these types of review important? 

We know how important it is for students to review, but they often don't see the connection between class, exams, and the need to review. It's obvious to us how important it is to review, but once they're done, they're checked out!  Many students are not focused on their review, or if they don't feel successful then they don't want to participate. 

 

These types of review give options for team or individual play and they all have an element beyond just getting the right answer.  This keeps students engaged especially near the end of the year when it's difficult to maintain focus (for both us and the students).  Students can review and feel like they are playing a game, rather than working!  And you get some serious review and get to raise your test scores, while your students are playing a game! 

If you have another review strategy that you love, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear your favorites! If you try one of these, please comment below or email me and let me know how it goes! 

3 Fail-Proof Strategies for Students with Low Literacy Skills

3 Fail-Proof Strategies for Students with Low Literacy Skills

A few years ago our evaluation scores were based on test scores, and we had to predict early in the year how students would do on those tests, and set goals, with our administrators.

This led to a lot of looking at data in order to set realistic, but reasonable goals for students. Because I am science teacher, there weren’t as many benchmarks as there are for reading or math. There is a lack of previous scores, and earlier science classes aren’t always indicative of how the students will perform in later classes. After looking at a lot of data, I found that the best predictor for my students’ science test scores was actually their reading level.

This is so frustrating for us as teachers because the content we teach them is only part of the picture. It is also frustrating for students because they can’t really demonstrate what they know. As teachers we do have obligation to help fill some of these literacy gaps, but we also want to teach content, and not have the content get lost in the reading difficulties.



Where I teach there are so many students in my classroom who struggle with low literacy skills, and this is problematic for them in school, particularly in the upper grades where reading is no longer taught. Students who have lower literacy skills struggle and become disengaged with school, but as content teachers, or teachers of higher grades, we are not always equipped to teach reading skills. So what do we do? How do we help them in class?

• Find other ways to get them the information
• Find other ways for them to express their knowledge
• Use scaffolding tools such as text to speech, word walls, integrated instruction of vocabulary and more to allow them to build on their strengths, instead of focusing on weaknesses. 

Find other ways to help them get the content

Especially now, not all content has to be taught through reading and writing. We can, of course, lecture, but this may not hold students’ attention. Whether you want students to work independently, or in stations, another great way for students to learn new content is through videos, often with some type of guided notes, graphic organizer, or reflection tool.

Some of my favorite science YouTube channels are:

• Brainpop (if your school subscribes, although certain videos are free without a subscription)
• Scholastic Study Jams
• Amoeba Sisters
• Crash Course and Crash Course Kids

Comment below with your favorite source for science videos

Let them demonstrate their knowledge in other ways

The options here are countless. You can still require students to use key vocabulary terms, but some students may struggle with the organizational/spelling/writing aspects. Instead, they could show their knowledge in other ways. Here are just a few options. If you have other ideas, please feel free to comment below, I’d love to hear!

• Draw (create a comic strip to show a process, or a poster) 
• Create a PowerPoint (or Google Slide presentation)
• Record a podcast or video (easy with iPads or Chrome extensions like Screencastify)
• Create a brochure
• Create a commercial or skit
• Create a concept map (discussed here)
• Use graphic organizers or foldable organizers

Scaffold their reading skills

Some students cannot read content very well because they struggle with the vocabulary (either content vocabulary or tier 2 vocabulary). I have already written quite a bit about how I tackle vocabulary in my classroom in this post, here, and here and even for homework.

In addition to vocabulary other reading skills can be taught. Students can practice making their own test questions, with answers to get used to the structure and language of test questions. They can also be taught to read and understand diagrams better. Particularly in science class there are often questions that involve diagrams. Even students who struggle with reading long passages of text can often understand a diagram and answer questions correctly.

Next time you are working with a student whose reading levels are way below grade level don’t give up! And don’t let the student give up! Remember your goals: teaching content, assisting with reading, and teaching strategies. Both you and the student might be very surprised at how much he or she really understands when given the chance to express himself in other ways. When a student is more successful and confident in your class, they are more likely to continue to try harder and achieve greater success as well.

If you try out any of these strategies, I’d love to hear how they go. Please leave a comment below, or send me an email If you would like to see any of the resources that I use with my classes, please feel free to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers Literacy Items.

Tips for a Successful Year End Review

Tips for a Successful End of the Year Review

Reviewing for regents exams, or other state exams can be overwhelming. There is so much content: labs, diagrams, vocabulary, and just facts to know. Students want to do well, but they are tired, and they often don’t know how to study on their own. They don’t want to listen to you lecture, and you don’t want to lecture, but they need direction.



When reviewing for state exams, in particular, it is critical to look back at past state tests and to see what has often been asked. For New York State those exams are available here. However, students quickly get bored and frustrated with simply doing past questions. This doesn’t give them a study tool, it often just shows them what they already know, or what they don’t know. Many students are not able to take this to the next level and use it as a study tool.

We as teachers want to help them succeed, and want to feel like we have done everything we can, but many teachers struggle with ‘what to do for review?’ or ‘how to structure the review to cover the right content?’

This is How I Structure My Year End Review

Homework

For my year end review I like to assign something fairly open-ended, with choice for homework. This is something that students can make progress on their own, and won’t be studying ‘wrong’ but will be learning some study skills. One choice would be this free Review Assignment (applicable to any subject). This also eliminates the problem of cheating on practice test questions assigned at home.

Break it up

This is also a good time to utilize games and puzzles to break up review after students get bored of lecture and/or practice questions. A very popular way to do this is the use of Tarsia Puzzles (also called Magic Squares).

The ‘Meat’ of the Review

The bulk of my review, however comes from this resource, which I have created. It is organized by main topics within the New State Living Environment Course (Biology). Each topic has one or two pages. It is in guided notes format, with key diagrams that need to be labelled, or bullet points that need to be filled in. It can be used in several ways.

Depending upon the group of students that I have that year, I may use this resource in several ways:

• Hand out the entire packet at once, or I may hand it out one topic at a time, or only use some sections and review other sections in other ways.
• I will often put students in partners (or on their own) to complete a short section, then regroup and go over it.
• I have also had them complete a short section, check with a partner, and then check their answers against the key.
• A teacher answer key is included, so it is a very easy option if you want to copy the answer key for students (or a portion of it).
• I have also had students lead, up at the board, going over the answers with the answer key.

Here is a free sample of one topic if you'd like to give it a try!

It is open-ended enough that it keeps students actively thinking and engaged, but complete enough that it gives them a great study resource when they are finished.

This includes sections for the New York State Required Labs (Beaks of Finches: Evolution, Relationships and Biodiversity: Evidence for Evolutionary Relationships, Making Connections: Experimental Design and Homeostasis, Diffusion through a Membrane) as well as the following units of study:

• scientific inquiry
• classification of living things
• microscope, cells 
• macromolecules
• enzymes
• cell membrane
• photosynthesis and respiration
• nucleic acids
• mitosis and meiosis
• genes and heredity
• modern genetics
• evolution
• human body systems
• reproduction
• homeostasis
• ecology
• and human impact on the environment. 

The main points that are reviewed in each section are based on questions and topics that are most commonly asked on state testing.

What Else do I do In Class to Prepare them for the Test?

I usually review a topic or two using one of the above discussed methods and then do some practice past state test questions that draw specifically on that topic. This allows them to see the relevance and value of the review, and to have more success with the questions by being active participants in the review.

I know the end of the year can be chaotic, but end of the year testing is still important to both you and the students and we all want them to do their best. This can even ben a time to try some changes to routines in preparation for next year, and to keep things fresh at the end of this year.

I find this review structure (with some use of games or stations periodically to break it up depending upon your group and your time schedule) to be successful because students know what to expect, and they can see the purpose behind it. It is important that students buy-in to the review strategy, and understand what that the plan is, and the reasoning behind what you are asking them to do. Sometimes I even kick-off review with a contract that I have the students create and sign regarding which actions they plan to take to ensure that they do well (study each night, stay after school for extra help, participate in review, etc). This makes it clear where they are going. They can feel success as they complete it, and they also have a study resource when they are finished. Instead of being bored, students actually look forward to the structure, knowing what’s coming next, and seeing some progress in their learning and their scores.

I hope you will head over here, check out the previews, and try it out for yourself if you teach Biology. Please let me know what you think!!

Tips for Successful Technology Sub Plans

We’ve all been there – you have to be out for a day, but its nerve-wracking. What to leave for a sub?  How to make sure it goes smoothly?  You don’t want to waste a day of class, and you don’t want to come back to chaos the next day.

Here are my suggestions (granted I have mostly taught secondary, but I think these suggestions would work even with upper elementary as well).

1. LEAVE THE DIRECTIONS DIRECTLY FOR YOUR STUDENTS
2. LEAVE THE SUB PREPARED
3. HAVE A BACK UP PLAN

Read more here on our collaborative blog