Back to School and too much to do!

Last year felt like my 1st year teaching.  I had no idea what to expect next, masks, shields, no "hands on" activities, quarantine . . . 

Our school district never stopped in-person learning but we also had remote learners on Zoom at the same time.  I felt like I could never walk away from my computer. 

This year may feel like another 1^st year – but I’m ready!  I am excited that we'll all be together and can do labs again! 

 

Here are the Top 5 Things To-Do on my Planning Day(s) List:

1. Classroom Set-up

• Boards (Safety, Learning Goals)

Students make their own symbol (click to see examples)

I can see from the picture I need to work on alignment :(

I'm trying something new this year.  I'm going to introduce the "word wall" by lesson instead of making 1 board with all the unit words.  I'm going to rearrange the board with the specific learning goals in the center and the matching vocabulary around the edges.

• Supplies - We can share supplies again (still using hand sanitizer!) Check out the link for my favorite "tap" glue.

2. Seating Charts

• I never sit at my desk, I just walk around so this loop works for me.  I add student names and delete extra seats.

3. Syllabus

• I make the syllabus into a 3 fold "brochure" with fill in the blanks so it's interactive.  We complete it together on the 1st day.

4. Meet the Teacher/Orientation

• I'm going "hands free" this year. I made signs that parents/students can take a picture of.  I'll also have a slideshow playing on repeat with the basic information.

5. 1st Week Plans

• Safety 
• Textbook Scavenger Hunt
• Measurement - I like Sarah Carter's (Math Equals Love)Mini Metric Olympics adaptation of AIM's activity. 

 *I need to add the "big foot" station for my 6th lab group.  

My husband always tells me to make a list (and go  back and check it).  He knows me - I get distracted when I see school supplies.  

At least with a list I'll get a good start . . .

Hope your planning days go just the way you planned.  Good Luck!

Digital Assignments

Back to School is almost here!  I'm excited to see all my student's in-person however I know that at some point during the year students will need digital options.

These activities are ready to go with new Easel Activities:

This activity has a digital assessment:

Easel Activities and Assessments are great for:

• In-person or distance learning
• Any Learning Management System (LMS) or device
• Using as model in the classroom by clicking “View as a Student” 

I like that these are self grading and I get data to check student progress!

End of the Year SORRY! Review Game

Students are ready for summer now but we still have 3 weeks to go!

I needed to come up with something to keep students engaged that wasn't a movie!

I saw a SORRY! gameboard on Pinterest and made one for our Science Classroom.

I took questions from the test reviews we did all year.  Game card topics include: Scientific Method, Theories & Laws, Properties of Matter, Physical and Chemical Changes, Sun, Seasons, Moon Phases, Eclipses and  Tides.

You can get a copy here:

Next I need to adapt this for distance learners on a learning management system (LMS).

Make a Rocket Timeline

We have been investigating space technology including satellites, space probes and telescopes. Today our topic was rockets.  To introduce the topic, we made a quick, easy rocket timeline.

To start, students drew an outline 

Next, we watched a 5 minute video clip - Rockets 101 | National Geographic and filled in part of the timeline.

To fill in the rest of the timeline, students read – A Pictorial History of Rockets 

To wrap up, we discussed the similarities and differences between early and modern rockets and how technology has changed how we explore space.

This can be adapted for a learning management system (LMS) by making it a drag and drop Google/One Drive assignment.  

I did it informally today, my distance learners followed along with us on Zoom.  I used a document camera and students responded in the conference chat.

Teaching Limiting Factors & Carrying Capacity Simulation

I like to use online simulations but found it difficult to explain to my distance learning students what I wanted them to do.  I also wanted to check their understanding.  I made these steps for students to follow:

Go to: Phet Natural Selection Simulation Link

Click Intro

Use these settings: 

Click Add a Mate

Look at the chart at the bottom. Click the stop button at 2 Generations.

1. What happens to the # of rabbits after 2 generations (at the current settings)?

A. # of rabbits increases
B. # of rabbits decreases
C. # of rabbits stays the same

Click the reset button

Change the settings – choose Limited Food

Click Add a Mate

Click the stop button after 2 Generations

2. Compare your # of rabbits after 2 generations (at the current settings) to your 1^st simulation.  What happened to the number of rabbits when food was limited?

A. # of rabbits increased
B. # of rabbits decreased
C. # of rabbits stays the same

Click the reset button

Change the settings – choose Wolves 

Click Add a Mate

Click the stop button after 2 Generations

3. Compare your # of rabbits after 2 generations (at the current settings) to your 1^st simulation.  What happened to the number of rabbits when predators were added?

A. # of rabbits increased
B. # of rabbits decreased
C. # of rabbits stays the same

Click the reset button

Change the settings – choose a different season (Winter) 

Click Add a Mate

Click the stop button after 2 Generations

4.  Compare your # of rabbits after 2 generations (at the current settings) to your 1^st simulation.  What happened to the number of rabbits when the climate is changed?

A. # of rabbits increased
B. # of rabbits decreased
C. # of rabbits stays the same

Click the reset button

Change the settings – choose a Dominant (brown fur)

Click Add a Mate

Click the stop button after 3 Generations and add Wolves

5. Compare the # of white and brown furred rabbits.  Which ones were eaten by wolves most often?

A. brown

B. white

6. TRUE or FALSE Limiting factors are sometimes helpful because they can keep the population from getting too large.

7. If there is more food than usual in an ecosystem, then...

A. Populations will stay the same
B. Populations will decrease
C. Populations will increase

8. If a disease destroyed the plants rabbits eat, what would happen to the population?

A. The rabbit population would stay the same
B. The rabbit population would infinitely increase
C. The rabbit population would decrease

9. What would happen if the population of wolves suddenly increased? How would it affect the rabbits in the ecosystem?

A. The rabbits would decrease due to more wolves eating them

B. All of the population of rabbits would increase
C. The biotic factors in the ecosystem would increase
D. The wolves predators would decrease

10. In a meadow ecosystem, which of the following is the best example of a limiting factor for a rabbit population?

A. Turtle Population

B. Sunlight

C. Grass available

Our school uses Schoology which self grades and gives students immediate feedback.  It could also work in Google Classroom.

Hope this helps your students too!

Making Anchor Charts for the Classroom

Anchor charts are powerful visual aids in the classroom that support teaching and enhance student learning but in Science they can be hard to find or very expensive.  They may be outdated or not support exactly what you're teaching.  The answer.......  Make your own!

You can turn any page into a poster/anchor chart.

Here's how:

1. Save your page as a .pdf
2. Open the .pdf

3. Click print

4. Select poster
5. Choose your size
6. Print
7. Assemble

Hints: I use white copy paper and color the pages before laminating.  

You can add bulletin board border to add some style. 

I use dry erase markers on the laminated sheets - it erases easily (except for red).

For online students: I share the 1 page .pdf during my Zoom conferences so we're all looking at the same thing.

I make sure there are anchor charts near lab stations.  I often see my students looking at the charts when they get "stuck" so I know they're helpful!  

How I Survived 1st Semester in a Pandemic!

😬 My 1st lie of the day when people ask how I am is - I’m okay.  In truth I’m not!

No college class, in-service training or 20+ years of experience prepared me to teach during a pandemic!  Our district model is to teach remotely and face to face at the same time while being tech support and digital lesson designer.

 

Here’s what worked for me:

1. Keep things simple

·  Make a routine – I have a warm-up and activity most days, at the end of a lesson there is an exit ticket

·  One platform/product for digital learners – Our school uses Schoology.  I combine videos and questions by splitting a video into segments (with Movie Maker, Video Editor or Photos app) and putting multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false and matching questions in between the segments. If I don’t have a video, I add audio to PowerPoint slides and save it as mp4 then add guided notes or questions between slides, so students are interacting.  Less switching between apps & products means better focus and less chance for technical/technology issues!

2. Make a checklist

·  I actually print separate lists of in-class and virtual students with the assignments for the week.  At the end of the day, I check off the students that finished.  I use a different highlighter each day to mark assignments that are incomplete or missing.  It makes it easier to see what student I need to send a message to online or speak to in class the next day.

3. Don’t start from scratch, adapt

·  I start with the resources I have. For example, students need to know the properties of matter. In class we do a cut and paste where students sort physical and chemical properties. I adapted this for distance learners by making it drag and drop in Google/One Drive.

         

4. Use anchor charts

·  I summarize the lesson visually on a PowerPoint slide then print it as a poster for the classroom and share the slide on Zoom.  All students are able to see the same thing and it helps keep me on track with what I need to accomplish during the lesson. 

5. Make it fun!

·  Demos or Do it with us – I like Sick Science, there are lots of quick projects you can show, but also some that students can do in class and at home.

·  Games - Kahoot, Quizlet Live, Gimkit, Quizz

·  Puzzles - make a crossword, word find etc. (I like this site for online and this one to print)

 

My 2nd second lie, this will be over soon. Our state just announced we’ll be doing this until the end of the school year and really, we’ll have a digital component to any teaching from now on. No more snow days!

 

What’s working for you?