MSDS to SDS

Have you heard that OSHA is moving away from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to Safety Data Sheets (SDS)?  Lab Out Loud, the NSTA podcast, had a great podcast about it.  On the page there are also several other resources.  Another great resource comes from Flinn Scientific.  They have a great site that provides free online safety training.  On the site there is a link to the GHS training.  This will go over the important information about the transition.

By December 2013 school were supposed to provide training to all teachers and staff about the transition.  Just in case your school didn't, the Flinn training only takes 20 minutes and provide you with a Certificate of Completion for your records.

Bird Brain Science - science meets the common core

BirdBrain Science is a website that allows you to provide your students with common core based science readings that you can differentiated based on their reading level.  Most articles will adjust anywhere from 3rd to 8th grade.  In addition, the students can have the articles read to them.  At the end there is a short quiz.  The quiz questions, types and length, vary depending on what grade level they were assigned.  At the end you can review reports of your students' program.

Below is a short video to explain the site a little more.

Follow this link to participate in a pilot to access this site for free.

What ways do you incorporate reading into your classroom?

This post is cross posted on my other blog The Tech Savvy Science Teacher.

How to follow this blog

I know that many people use Bloglovin to follow the blogs they read, so I wanted to make things easy for those who do.  So, here's your link to follow me.

If you use another RSS reader, there is a link to the right to follow my blog.

Sample NGSS assessment tasks

Achieve, the company involved in developing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), has released some sample assessment tasks.  You can see several middle and high school tasks.  They are aaligned with both the NGSS and Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS).  Whether or not your state has adopted the NGSS, I think it's a good idea to take a look at them.  The NGSS has a great way of approaching science that some teachers aren't used to.  If you aren't, or even if you are, familiar with this method be sure to check out these assessment tasks.

PhysicsQuest: Spectra's High Intensity

Registration is now open for this year’s PhysicsQuest kits!

Register now for the upcoming PhysicsQuest, Spectra: High Intensity. Miss Alignment has broken out of jail and is on the loose hatching evil plans. Armed with a high IQ, an inferiority complex, and a secret lair, she will try yet again to control the town. Your students can help Spectra, her gang, and her new friend the Quantum Mechanic stop Miss Alignment’s focus on evil.

In celebration of the International Year of Light, this kit will have all of the equipment needed to teach students about bending light, spherical lenses, how color and energy are related, and how the sun’s light also carries heat. As the students do these activities, they will be applying all the skills they need to help our superheroes prevent Miss Alignment’s attempted town domination.Register now for your FREE PhysicsQuest kit!

We will be sending out the Spectra: High Intensity kits (for free) in early January. If you would like to purchase last year’s kit, Spectra’s Quantum Leap, please visit our online store.

REGISTER NOW

Information about this year’s PhysicsQuest kit can be found on the PhysicsQuest web page.

For more information about the overall program, please visit the PhysicsQuest About Page.

If you have questions or comments about PhysicsQuest, please contact:
Becky Thompson, PhD
Head of Public Outreach
American Physical Society
thompson@aps.org
301-209-3206

Bill Nye Worksheets

Bill Nye Worksheets

If your middle school kids are anything like my middle school kids, they love watching Bill Nye the Science Guy.  I try to show the movies as much as I can because I know the kids like it and I think it's nice to have material presented to them in a different way.  I usually just show them the movie and that's was it, but I found this site that has worksheets to go along with the Bill Nye videos.  The site from Star Materials.  The worksheets are not anything fabulous, but just enough to make sure that the kids are paying attention during the movie.  It also gives you a good follow up to the movie and a closure to the lesson.

This post is cross-posted in my other blog The Tech Savvy Science Teacher.

Big Blogger Giveaway!

I'm so excited to participate in my first giveaway!! Check out all of the great bloggers participating and be sure to enter the rafflecopter below!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway