I used to give the old “Word”-formatted paper-based tests and quizzes. Believe it or not, when Google Forms was released and my students had 1:1 Chromebooks, I never even considered giving students a unit test as a Google Form on the computer. I worried about…
In this post, I’m sharing activities and resources for teaching one of my very favorite topics — Geologic History! This includes the rock record, geologic time scale, mass extinction events, and how we can piece together the Earth’s extremely long history. Concepts of the fossil…
Overwhelmed by grading?! I have lots of grading tips for you! Grading student work can be a daunting task for any teacher. As a young science teacher, I embarked on a grading adventure that turned into a misadventure with valuable lessons learned along the…
At the beginning of a school year in middle school, it’s important to get to know your students on a deeper level than just asking what is their favorite color or favorite animal. I designed this activity for when I returned from my maternity leave…
Plastic in the ocean is a growing problem. It’s essential for science teachers to educate their students about the issue. Approximately nine million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean each year. As a teacher in a coastal state, I feel a particular…
As the school year draws to a close, it’s time to wrap up your science curriculum with a BANG! You middle school science students have put in a lot of hard work and learned so much, so let’s celebrate! And you!? You must be feeling…
As a middle school teacher, you know that it’s important to keep track of your students’ academic performance, as well as any behaviors, incidents, and other important details about them. This can help you tailor your teaching style and activities to better meet each student’s…
What is Blended Learning? A blended learning environment integrates both digital and hands-on experiences in the classroom. Covid-19 forced educators to craft entirely new learning experiences for their students. These lessons were delivered online and frequently asynchronously. Today, we know that a completely digital, asynchronous…
In this blog post, I’m sharing my organization systems for starting out the school year teaching middle school science! These are the systems that I have found work best for my teaching practice and I hope that you can use one or all of them…
When my husband and I lived in New Zealand for two years, we definitely had to get used to using the Metric System for everyday things like baking and paper size and recording our weights at doctors appointments. But, as an architect, my husband LOVED…
I was so proud when in June 2020 my state of New Jersey became the FIRST state in the country to adopt cross-disciplinary climate change education standards for grades K through 12. I agreed with our legislators that as educators, we have an obligation to…
Plate Tectonics has grown to be one of my favorite Earth Science units to teach. This is the first ‘nitty gritty’ unit that I teach during the school year. I find that once students understand the dynamics of this incredible phenomenon, they can think BIG…
The unit that I most love to teach is Atoms and the Periodic Table. I love this unit because the growth in my students’ understanding is so significant and they undergo a transformation before my eyes! With the exception of the occasional chemistry-obsessed student, most…
If you’re like me, you want to have engaging activities during the first days and weeks of your science class that will set the stage for a great year. In this blog post, I’ve rounded up a handful of my favorite activities that will grab…
Digital modeling has become a staple skill in my middle school science class. When my colleague and I decided to try going completely paperless this year due to the pandemic, we had to get creative with how to continue providing our students opportunities to model…
Someone recently reached out to me asking about my top lab equipment essentials for teaching middle school science. I thought this would be a good blog post! I know that I used to struggle every year when it came time to select supplies with our…
