Science in the City

Feb 19, 2014

New Secondary Resource to Share With You

I wanted to share a resource with you!  I am honored to be part of a group of secondary teachers who are creating a group collaborative blog on a variety of secondary topics.

There will be daily (or almost daily) topical posts.  Most will be education related.  There will be monthly themes, such as formative assessment, technology, etc.

I hope you will stop in and check it out! I think you'll like what you find!

Feb 9, 2014

Earth Science of the Olympics Freebie

Another Freebie!! 

Similar to last week, but that one was a big success, so hopefully some people will enjoy this.

Last week I posted a "Science of Football and Olympics" in honor of the Superbowl.  It was focused on biology and life science topics.  

Here is one for this week focused on the Olympics, but focused more on Earth Science topics.  I hope you enjoy!  This is a great way to work in Common Core, relevancy, and grab students' interest

Science of the Olympics
Hope you are having fun watching the Olympics.

And I promise some posts of more substance coming soon....some things are in the works here! 




Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Feb 2, 2014

Science of the Olympics and Football Freebie

I am trying to link up more frequently with Charity Preston's "Manic Monday" which is a huge resource of K-12 free resources.

I want to share with you some of the small things that I'm doing in my classroom.

This week we had a lot of state testing, and I needed something to "fill" at a time when kids were finishing, but some kids were absent.

I created this "Science of the Olympics and Football." Kids loved it!  Mine is focused on life science, but it could easily be modified for a different class.

The activity could also be given for homework or extra credit, and is very timely right now.

It is based on this resource from NBC.

Also, it is a great common core connection.  The videos have transcripts, if you want students to be able to read the transcript.  Text does not have to be only written text in a book.  This is another great tool to build in relevancy, and text analysis skills.



Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Jan 26, 2014

Get This Valuable Exit Ticket 4-Pack Free

Two sources of freebies for you!  
1)  Here is a freebie of a few exit tickets. I am working on a product with a much greater selection of exit tickets, but in the meantime here is a freebie, with four exit tickets.  They are set to print four to a page. 
Here is the link.  Enjoy!  

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday
Facebook Free-For-All 
Lots of Freebies for All Grade Levels.  Only through tomorrow. 

Jan 19, 2014

Teaching with Poverty in Mind Chapter 2

If you would like to read my second chapter journal entry, it is available at this link https://www.dropbox.com/s/ho5u8wgtbt8af2g/journal2.pdf

The second chapter got much more in depth about how a student's brain is affected by poverty, and specifically their behavior and emotional responses. We had a great discussion at my school after reading this chapter. 

Some of the most striking discussions, to me, were about how behavior and emotional responses are learned, and how our role as teachers, even high school level content teachers, is to help teach those emotional and behavioral responses. 

In addition, we discussed how many students come with emotional baggage, and part of our job, in order to make them successful, is to help build up their emotional 'bank account.'  We can do this through building relationships. 

This is a very very short reflection and summary on the second chapter. The second chapter can be seen at the same link that the first chapter was available (see previous post). 

I'd love to hear specific strategies that you use to teach problem solving and to build up emotional responses and teach behaviors, particularly in a high school setting. I think, as high school teachers, we don't do as much of this as elementary teachers do, but it's still important. 

The school culture makes a huge difference, but we as individual teachers can change the climate within our classrooms, and can play a role in the overall school climate. 


Jan 12, 2014

Printable Free Testing Sign For Your Classroom

I know that many of you may have testing coming up (we have midterms and state tests coming up).

It can be handy to have a nice-looking sign to put on the door.  I made two versions, ready to print.  One for "do not enter" and the other for "quiet please"

Both can be downloaded here:



Jan 6, 2014

How to Clarify Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration: A Free Foldable


Teaching Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Here is freebie for you.  I don't know if anyone else is enjoying a snow day, but I'm using it to get a few things done (one is getting this photosynthesis and cellular respiration resource polished up and posted).  

A free resource

Here is a FREE FOLDABLE that compares cellular respiration and photosynthesis.  Students so often get confused, but it really can help to clear up misconceptions when they see the two processes next to each other, and compare them. This foldable has students break down both processes into categories such as where they happen, what are the products, what are the reactants, and more.  

It really helps students to visualize, and to see how the two processes fit together. 
 
This freebie gives you the basic directions to make the foldable.
 
Comparing Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Foldable 
 
Enjoy! 
   
If you are looking for a more polished version, that includes a printable template and more complete directions that is available here
Photosynthesis and Respiration Foldable - Two Versions

For more information on how I use foldables, and why they are a great strategy for your students, you may want to check out this link on reasons to use foldables with your students.

If you have never used foldables, this article is a good explanation of why they can be really beneficial.

Other Photosynthesis and Respiration Resources

If you are teaching photosynthesis and respiration, they can be confusing for students.  It often helps to sort the terms and components into categories: photosynthesis, respiration, or both.  I have my students do this digital version, and they really get into it!  Students can move the words and sort them into the correct category.

An example of a digital resource to help students understand photosynthesis and cellular respiration

Depending upon the class, sometimes we do it together on the board, or in a 1:1 setting they can do it on their device. It can also be a great station as part of a review activity.

These topics can be confusing, but even some of my struggling students were able to learn them successfully when the processes were broken down, compared, and they were allowed to practice with them.  How else do you help your students understand photosynthesis and cellular respiration?



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