Yepp, you read that right! I incorporated science into my pregnancy announcement with my students Keep reading to see how you could use this strategy to share secret messages too! Idea With new ways to share that you’re expecting popping up all the time, I wanted to find a way to make mine personal. Using acid-base chemistry as a part of my pregnancy announcement seemed like the PERFECT way to display my nerdiness with my classes! While I used it to announce my pregnancy, this fun demo could be used for any secret message you want to share and spice up a lesson. Preparation This reveal is p ..read more

Have you ever failed at something? Big or small, failure is NOT fun, but if we talk about failure, we can help others see a way through things. I’ve had two substantial failures in my professional life, and here’s why I talk about them with my students. Background Info Growing up, school typically came easily to me. I truly loved learning, so it wasn’t a chore to do my assignments and challenge myself workload wise. Perseverance wasn’t something I had to practice much as a teenager. Can you relate? If so, how did things go when you did run into an obstacle later in life? For me, the obst ..read more

Across the world, science teachers do similar labs all the time, but does that mean they are all executed the same way? Definitely not! If you want to know a few simple tips to help you lead labs more effectively, keep reading. DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL You DO NOT have to completely change procedures to lead labs in a more memorable way! There are loads of labs out there that are tried and true staples, but adding YOUR spin can make all the difference. Realigning your lab procedure might be adding in questions that more closely address the standards you’re trying to build an understandi ..read more

Are labs a big reason why you love teaching science? For me, those are the most fun days! Because of that, I knew I would need to turn our science experiments into demonstrations this semester. Here are three ways YOU could do it too! Why Demos? Labs help students make connections between the lecture material and their life experiences. As science educators, we are the ones who have to provide them with experiences to solidify that lecture material in their minds! If full-on labs are not in the cards for you this semester, I challenge you to take the science experiments you usually perform ..read more

How much direction have you been given from your district in terms of synchronous learning vs asynchronous learning? This post dives into the details of how I’m tackling the synchronous learning approach the best that I can on a hybrid schedule! Who is this for? Before we dive in I want to say that if you have something that is working for you, keep it up! This is just ONE way to approach synchronous learning that is working for ME and I believe could be useful for others. So, if you’re struggling to wrap your mind around how to start planning for some sort of hybrid or virtual scenario, ke ..read more

Distance learning has changed the way we do several things, but we do NOT have to eliminate labs this semester! Keep reading to see how you could use virtual labs to give students a lab experience from their homes. PhET Simulations If you haven’t used these before distance learning, it is the PERFECT time to start! PhET Simulations are made by the University of Colorado Boulder and they are crazy useful. Not only are they FREE to access, but they provide students with lab-type scenarios that sometimes aren’t even possible in a public school setting! A Few of My Favorites: Concentration – W ..read more

School schedules are looking more different and complex than ever before this fall! With all the changes happening, do you have a note-taking strategy prepared for the semester? Read on to see one way that handwritten notes can still be doable for you! Before Distance Learning During my first year of teaching, I spent HOURS creating fill in the blank notes for my students! Not only did they allow us to go fairly quick in class together, but they were also somewhat of a script for me to follow. Some students liked how a lot of the work was off them in this note-taking approach, but others d ..read more

How will your first day of school look this semester? We’re starting on a hybrid model, so I’ve had to adjust a few things to make it work! Read on to see how I’ve changed things up but still kept activities I love in the mix. When the possibility of hybrid or totally virtual was first pitched I was a bit frazzled. While I’ve got resources stockpiled for both, not knowing how we would be STARTING had me procrastinating on planning the details for week one. So, when the decision was made to begin hybrid with half the students on Monday/Thursday and the other half Tuesday/Friday, I went to wo ..read more