Now that the weather is getting nice are you looking for new teacher tees? Take a look at these cute science teacher apparel. Looking for something else? Take a look here. Science teacher apparel and more.
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This lesson is actually part of a 29 lesson unit so there are lots of examples to look at. Looking at them, they are very detailed (I mean down to the minute). If you are like me you don't have to make this level of detailed lesson plans. Despite this, it is something that I want to work on, little by little, and I like have examples like this to look at. Also, I can test these lessons out with my students and find out what works and what doesn't so I can make changes.
I would love to hear what you are doing to transition your lessons to NGSS (or your state's version of it).
Image by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free
I usually just save videos I like to a YouTube playlist or bookmark them so I can find them later. What I have been doing lately is to include them in PowerPoint presentations so that I don't forget to show them. The problem is that I usually don't want to show the whole clip. Sometimes I will include a note to myself in the presenter notes of where to start and stop. There are lots of sites out there where you can clip videos to specific times if that works better for you.
Here are some that I use in my Chemistry class to help you get started because we all know a search of videos about chemistry is going to give you so many results (many that aren't good for the classroom). Share with us some chemistry videos you've used.
| Acid/Base Neutralization | Strength of Acids |
| Electrochemistry | Phase Change |
I may be a little late on my 2022 blog recap, but better late than never, right? These were the top three posts of 2022. Did you miss them? Did you read them? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.
Websites for the Earth Science Classroom - a collection of websites for your earth science classroom.
Mobile Game to Investigate Global Disease Outbreaks - a game designed to get kids interacting and having fun while developing problem-solving skills, logic skills, increasing their scientific vocabulary, and learning more about pandemics. In this character-driven simulation of Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) detective work, students search for the index case, racing against time to find clues to a cure.
Resources for teaching about genetics - lesson plans, videos, and other resources for teaching genetics
It's also important to note that this is not just for the Chemistry classroom. By developing good chemical safety habits early, students are better prepared when they move on to more advanced classes.
If you are looking for more, Flinn has a free lab safety course you can take.
image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/92416586@N05/12188601914
There are many struggles with teaching science to secondary students. Unfortunately, one of these struggles is the reading abilities of our students. Many students struggle comprehending what they are reading and doing tasks like picking out the main idea.
In addition to the interactive page, you can also print out a copies or purchase a high quality poster.
This is something that I would use in both my middle and high school classrooms. Students often think they know what things are made of, but it would be eye opening for them to see what elements are really in the items they use every day. Connections like these provide a better understanding and enhance learning.
Do you find it difficult to find ways to review with your students that is fun, but also actually reviews the material? I have have always found game show like review games to be fun for students and also effective in reviewing. There are so many times when I hear my students say something like "I totally forgot about that!" While it makes me sad to hear it, I am also happy that I am doing this review so that students get an idea of what areas that they still need to focus on.
I hope that you will check out this freebie. You might also be interested in a Cell Project (another one of my freebies).
Happy Sciencing!
Cristina from Savvy Secondary Science
Twenty years ago, four-year-old Alex Peterson was on the edge of her seat watching Ms. Frizzle and her class escape from being baked inside a cake on the "Ready, Set, Dough" episode of "The Magic School Bus."
"I loved baking when I was a kid. Watching those air bubbles form, it just clicked for me that chemistry is what makes cakes, and I realized that this is what I wanted to do," says Peterson, now a doctoral student in biochemistry at the University of Maryland. "I have a very vivid memory from the third grade of looking at the schedule and counting down the time to science class because I just couldn't wait to do science in 'real-life.'"
In her university lab, Peterson studies the enzymes that form biofilm, a slimy buildup of microorganisms that can grow on all types of surfaces, from teeth and buildings to pacemakers and ponds. She's looking for a way to effectively break down the notoriously impenetrable substance, which can make it hard for medications to reach the infections they need to treat. Finding a way to reduce biofilms could make treatments more effective. When asked about the effect "The Magic School Bus" had on her current career path in science, Peterson says, "It's absolutely why I'm a chemist."
Twenty-five years ago, Scholastic's "The Magic School Bus" veered off the written page and into our television sets, bringing with it a credo that emphasized taking chances, making mistakes, and getting messy. Support from the National Science Foundation helped bring the celebrated book series to the airwaves and to young viewers like Peterson, sitting frog-legged on living room floors across the country.
Sandy Welch was the director of education at PBS when the network picked up "The Magic School Bus" as part of its portfolio of children's programming.
"We were excited because it was the first fully animated science show," Welch says. "I was excited to see a teacher featured, and not just any teacher -- [Ms. Frizzle] was a delight!"
Welch says Ms. Frizzle helped inspire teachers to use the programming in their classrooms.
Today, Welch is part of a division in NSF’s education directorate dedicated to providing funding for children's media programs that focus on STEM education. It supports the agency's multi-decade effort to boost science learning beyond the classroom, where research has shown most learning takes place.
"We know that children learn intuitively and that a lot of it happens in an informal setting," says Welch.
NSF supports a wide range of informal STEM programming in museums, through after-school programs and citizen science projects. With mass media, however, there is a potential to reach millions.
According to Welch, for NSF to fund a media program it must meet rigorous criteria. Creators must demonstrate the concept was developed based on existing knowledge of best practices in STEM education and how children learn through media. They must have clearly defined goals on how to interest, engage and impact learners. They must have a way to evaluate the program's impact.
And they must be innovative.
"Our program is explicit that we want to fund innovation," Welch says. "We are looking for proposals that experiment with new technology, a new approach, a new distribution platform. We're willing to fund things that may be risky -- like a new platform that hasn't been tried but seems to hold promise."
"The Magic School Bus," "3-2-1 Contact," "Reading Rainbow," "Zoom" and "Bill Nye the Science Guy" were just a few of the early NSF-funded shows that took an innovative approach to bringing science to life on the small screen.
Today, NSF-funded shows like "Cyberchase" SciGirls" "Peep and the Big Wide World" "Peg + Cat "Design Squad" "Splash and Bubbles" and others continue to break new ground in children's science learning through media.
"Peep and the Big Wide World," for example, was one of the first programs to show that toddlers could learn basic science concepts and skills like measuring, comparing, and estimating through television shows geared toward their age group.
"SciGirls" was launched in response to the fact that women in the U.S. remain underrepresented in STEM, especially in fields like engineering and the computer sciences. The show engages tween viewers in STEM by following a group of real-world girls as they predict, observe, experiment, and otherwise don their "scientist hats" to understand the world around them.
Many of today's shows have also been adapted to a multimedia and mobile world, augmenting their TV programming with innovative web content and downloadable apps. Kids who love "Cyberchase," a show designed to make math fun and accessible and that NSF began funding in the late 1990s, can now access educational games, videos, and hands-on activities via the "Cyberchase" webpage on the PBS Kids website and through apps. The webpage for "Design Squad," another NSF-funded show on PBS, offers a short video on how to make everything from a two-wheeled balloon car to bristle bots made from toothbrush heads
Through on-screen characters like Peep, Peg, and Digit, and with access to hands-on activities and other innovative science content, NSF is ensuring quality science programming reaches newer generations of Alex Petersons, inspiring them to become scientists or -- at the very least -- to take chances, make mistakes and get messy!
Posted with permission from NSF
This video will really get your kids thinking (bonus points in you do this live for your classes). I always love to see what the explanations are that the students come up with.
This video is a fun way to introduce your students to the concept of intermolecular forces. Afterward, you can explain how this was done. I am not going to give it away here, but you can find the solution here.
If you are looking for a tie in to the NGSS it fits with Science Practice: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, HS-ESS2-5 Water, and HS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
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