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Teaching Students About the Threat of Invasive Species Do your students understand the threat of invasive species? Are you doing a unit on how biological components of an ecosystem affect populations(MS-LS2-4 or HS-LS2-7)? Students may be surprised to learn that some of the “local animals”, that they grew up with, are actually non native! written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram Teaching Students About the Threat of Invasive Species Updated February 18, 2023 I like to start with a basic introduction of “what in the world is an invasive species?” What does invasive ac ..read more

Inspiring Middle School Students to Minimize Their Impact on Municipal Waste Do your students have any idea of their personal impact on municipal waste? Are you introducing a unit on human impact as part of the NGSS standard MS-ESS3? written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram Inspiring Middle School Students to Minimize Their Impact on Municipal Waste Updated February 7, 2023 Let’s start the unit with relatable scenarios. Your mom asks you to clean your bedroom. You are so proud of the big bag of garbage and so is your mom! You take it out to the trash cans and … forge ..read more

Free Classroom Supplies Checklist Are you just starting out as a middle school science teacher and not sure which classroom supplies you should have on hand? Did you inherit a classroom from another teacher and you need to start from scratch? Here are what I would consider the basic supplies every science teacher should have to start out. This is a useful checklist divided into the most common units a middle school science teacher covers. Please view my blog post called Basic Supplies You Need in Your Science Classroom.   Login To Download PDF Sign Up To Receive Login Info Hi! Thank ..read more

Design Water Filters With This Exciting STEM Project! Are you looking for a cheap and exciting STEM project for your students to design water filters? Are you teaching the standards of MS-ESS3-3 and MS-ETS1-2 while covering water pollution? written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram Design Water Filters With This Exciting STEM Project! Updated Jan 10, 2023 This is a very low budget project that can be made into a very engaging and fun engineering activity. I have had my students design water filters for many years and the upcoming class looks forward to it! My past stu ..read more

How to Cheaply Teach Chemical Reactions to Middle School Have you been reluctant to teach chemistry reactions in your middle school classroom because of the cost? Do you think of chemistry as being only done in an expensively equipped high school lab? written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram How to Cheaply Teach Chemical Reactions to Middle School Updated December 28, 2022 I have found some ways to teach chemical reactions in my classroom that are dramatic and fun, but best of all, cheap! Start With Some Background First After learning about molecules and equations fi ..read more

How to Create A Symbiosis STEM Project! Are you looking for a super engaging, STEM symbiosis project, for teaching MS-LS2-2? Are you covering patterns of interactions and relationships?  written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram How to Create A Symbiosis STEM Project! Updated November 6, 2022 This project involves the students designing two different organisms that will have a mutualistic relationship. They create 3-D models out of recyclable materials and they describe the relationship of interdependence. Plus, this symbiosis project is so much fun with creativi ..read more

Open or Closed Circuit Matching Game Cards – Electricity activity Here are 14 pairs of cards showing either an open or closed circuit. Students will look closely at the image and match it with a card that says “will light“ or “will not light”. A closed circuit will cause the light to go on and an open circuit will not. Any activity that involves matching will work for this set of cards. You could make it into a game such as Go Fish or turn all the cards over and do a game of concentration. They can also be blown up and made into a gallery walk or used at a center for the students to organize ..read more

How to Overcome Math Phobia in Science Class! Do your students have math phobia? When you’re introducing an equation or a calculation, in science class, do they freeze up? Are students having trouble applying what they are learning in math class to your science class? written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram How to Overcome Math Phobia in Science Class! Updated October 22, 2022 Many students, who love science, are not so fond of the math components when you introduce equations such as density, speed, F=MA, acceleration, etc. The anxiety and reluctance kicks in and sc ..read more

Dealing With Difficult Parents as a Teacher Are you dealing more and more with difficult parents in your teaching job? Have you received an unexpected nasty email? Has a parent become angry about something in your classroom? What strategies can you use to diffuse the situation?  written by Karen Sinai Pinterest Facebook Instagram Dealing With Difficult Parents as a Teacher Updated Sept 19, 2022 Dealing with difficult parents, as a teacher, can be very unnerving, especially if the parent is much older than you! I remember when I first started teaching that most of the paren ..read more