Nature of Science Vocabulary Review

My students don't want to make flashcards - they can do quizlet on their phone or at home.  

I haven't had much luck with study guides either. Hard working students memorize the study guide as their only resource and wonder why they don't do well.  

I was inspired by Jennifer Findley who posted several Jenga games on her blog Teaching to Inspire.  

I found mini Jenga games at the dollar store and made questions to match the test.

Next I need strictly vocabulary practice.  I searched the internet (and teacher sites) but haven't found anything that fits.  I'm thinking about a crossword, word search or bingo....

An Idea To Get Students To Write...

Our new textbook asks students to write essay questions for homework. 
They hate it and there's no room in the "write in" workbook for their answers. 

I give them the option of using social media templates to write their answers instead.

Social Media Exit Slips


It has increased the amount of students who answer the questions!  They like it, it's easy for me to see if they understand WIN WIN!!!

Back to School Again!

I can't believe Summer vacation went so fast!

This year I found a great bulletin board idea from Science Lessons That Rock

Here are my other boards 

Nature of Science Word Wall

Safety Symbols

169-180 Last Days (Exams, Awards etc.)

End of Quarter Exams (review 4 days, test 4 days) & Awards Assembly

Science word wall activity

Directions I wrote on the board and the sign up list:

Give students 5 x 5 white construction paper squares, colored pencils/crayons and their textbooks, notebooks or other resources.

Examples:

Next: Summer Vacation!!!!

167-168 Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge (Pseudoscience)

I use the Bill Nye Video (Pseudoscience) to open a discussion of the differences between Scientific and Nonscientific thinking.

Some possible discussion questions:

1. List some examples of pseudoscience from the video.
2. Why do Scientists repeat experiments?
3. Explain the term: empirical evidence.
4. Why (and how) do hypotheses change?
5. Explain the difference between Science and Pseudoscience.

Next up: Exams and the final days....

165-166 Electromagnetic Spectrum

Today our goal was to look at the characteristics and applications of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. 

We had a choice of watching one of these videos:

Brain Pop - Electromagnetic Spectrum

NASA Video - Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Generation Genius - Electromagnetic Spectrum

Then we completed an EM Spectrum Layered Foldable:

Next up: Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge (Pseudoscience)

163-164 Space Technology

This section is really big!  Space Technology and Telescopes.  I need more time....

First we watched: Untamed Science - A Little Outer Space Here on Earth

*Update: Unfortunately this video used Flash which is no longer available.  This NASA video that shows new technology.

Then we made a Space Technology Foldable

and filled in Cornell Notes using the (NASA Spinoff PowerPoint)

The next section of the lesson was about telescopes.

We watched Brain Pop Telescopes and compared reflecting/refracting telescopes with a cut & paste activity.

Next up: Electromagnetic Spectrum....