Great Deal - Don't Miss It!

As you may know, TpT is having the annual Back To School Sale today and tomorrow.  My store is also on sale.  These discounts combine for a 28% discount.

I have taken advantage of this opportunity to create two new bundles in my store.  One is for all Biology items, and the other is for all the Earth Science items.  I have taken all of the related items, created one bundle, and am offering them to you at a discounted price.  As I add more items under each category, I will update the bundle, and the price will slowly go up. However, if you purchase the bundle, you will be able to continue to download the updated bundle (with any and all new products) for free. 

My biology items now value $45, the bundle is listed for $30.  However, during this sale, the bundle is $21.60.  That means today and tomorrow you can purchase any biology items that I create now or in the future for $21.60.

Similarly, my Earth Science items individually would retail for $65, but the package is listed for $40.  With the sale this package would be $28.80.  Any Earth Science items that I have created now or in the future (and I have some great ones in progress) for $28.80.

Immediately Useful Formative Assessment Freebie: Gift to You

Free Exit Tickets for Formative Assessment

As we approach the new school year, many of us think about what goals we want to set for the upcoming school year, or what we want to change in our classroom.   For many of us, we want to get a handle on what our students really understand.  We need to use assessment more thoughtfully It is too easy to get 'stuck' in the routine of teaching a lesson, assigning homework, but not taking the time to get feedback from students, on their understanding, or have students think about their own learning.  Here is a free and easy way to assess your student's understanding.

When and how to use them

One practice that I really believe in, and try to use consistently is formative assessment.  These may often be seen in the form of 'exit tickets,' but can also be integrated into the lesson as part of a transition, or closure to a topic.  It is really important to have students reflect on their own learning, and to get a 'pulse' of the class frequently, and long before a unit test. By then it is really too late.

In many cases administrators are looking for closure and student reflection when they observe your class.  Exit tickets or formative assessment are a great way to do that.

Download your freebie

Below is a four pack freebie of four exit tickets that I frequently use in my classroom.  They are downloadable as a pdf file, and print four to a page.  They are set to print four to a page.   Here is 
the link
. Enjoy!

These can be used to assess and determine if re-teaching is necessary for a small group, or for the larger group.  They can also be a critical time for students to reflect on their own learning, and to think about what they understand or don't understand.

Related resources

These are a sample of a larger pack of 50 (!) Exit tickets. The four in the sampler are general use (any subject) and could be widely used.

The complete pack of 50 Exit Tickets include these, and other general exit tickets, but also have an emphasis on science, so they include many general prompts (40 of the 50), but some prompts that are specific to science classes.

Another free resource!! 

For a free guide to quick and easy assessment, as well as a set of free introductory science task cards/bell ringers, click here.

I hope this really helps you and your students know what they understand. 

Innovative New Resource: Observation, Hypothesis and Inference

Early on in the year in almost any science class, at various grade levels, students will learn, or reinforce, the difference between observations, inferences, and hypotheses.  These are critical science skills that students will use across other subjects, and throughout the year. Of course, these skills are ultimately leading them toward making inferences from data, setting up and successfully running experiments, and even making inferences in other areas of their lives.  When students make observations about the world around them, read a news article and infer from it, or make an inference about the interactions that they have with people around them, they are using these skills.  However, this is an area where many students need reinforcement and practice.

I created this set for practicing observation and inferences.

This set has two components, and can be used many different ways.

1) There are 10 pictures that are good for making both observations and inferences.  You can use these pictures for one or other other, or use them to have students practice doing both.  Here is a good example.

Students can observe a hyena, or a zebra head, grass, etc.  They can infer that the hyena killed the zebra, is eating it, is hunting, etc.  They may infer other information as well, such as where this photo was taken.

The second part of this pack is a set of cards.  There are 16 cards each with examples of observations, inferences, and hypotheses.  Students can use them in the following ways (and probably others that I haven't thought of yet): 

- card sort and separate observation, inference, and hypothesis

- get one card and identify which it is.

- match up/sequence -- for example, I observe that the person is very tall, I infer that he plays basketball, and I hypothesize that people who are tall play basketball better.

These cards and pictures can be used in a variety of ways, and with a wide range of student abilities to reinforce these critical science skills. 

I hope you enjoy, and please let me know any feedback that you have!