tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23428548161388812562024-03-13T13:04:44.363-07:00For New Science TeachersMichelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-81249004516267302982016-08-04T11:03:00.004-07:002019-03-26T23:44:57.255-07:00How to Make Your Science Classroom More Equitable: Know Your Implicit Bias<style>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Difficult Steps</span></span></h3>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMJLH8Xq78S-uZCQdTig-CQ7lPrl2ICTihofVICHwGO3QA5eaLKEF6zeAFV2R2KA9kePH_BseOcQHgaF8_EVE1Nrsk_q9ESsXOzjCx_gSE9_4ZucS-eHFafgn_bwOmMKRVAVRg4r79xGR/s1600/NAPE_EqualityVEquity_Infographic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMJLH8Xq78S-uZCQdTig-CQ7lPrl2ICTihofVICHwGO3QA5eaLKEF6zeAFV2R2KA9kePH_BseOcQHgaF8_EVE1Nrsk_q9ESsXOzjCx_gSE9_4ZucS-eHFafgn_bwOmMKRVAVRg4r79xGR/s320/NAPE_EqualityVEquity_Infographic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of NAPE</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have written and re-written this post a number of times,
but have hesitated to post anything. Why? Because this topic is messy and
difficult. My hesitancy to post this entry uncovers a very important aspect
about the topic of race and equity in the classroom: it can be a very
uncomfortable topic. However when this topic does not get addressed, inequities
can persist so it is crucial to think and talk about equity in the classroom!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although I have kept a foot in the science teaching world, I
have spent the past year as an educational equity consultant for <a href="https://www.napequity.org/" target="_blank">NAPE – theNational Alliance for Partnerships in Equity</a>. In
this position, I have learned a lot about my own white privilege and ways in
which I may have misjudged students in the past, as well as ways I could create
a more equitable classroom. (*Please note the statements in this blog are my
own and do not represent NAPE)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A large reason for my hesitancy in posting this is because
learning how to break down invisible barriers in your classroom is not a
blog-friendly topic. It takes lots of time to process and learn about the ways
in which inequities persist as well as lots of self-reflection and discovery –
something you won’t find in a “5 tips” kind of blog (of course that didn’t stop
me from including some steps here!).
The good news is that the hard work pays off. The recommendations below
can help every student in your class! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the first of five posts about small steps you can
take to help create a more equitable learning environment. However, the most
powerful change you can make will require thousands of little steps into
reading, reflecting and learning about equity in education. Stay tuned for
recommended resources for those harder, less tangible steps at the end of this
post.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Step 1: Become Aware of Your Implicit Bias</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are all biased about many things. Our brain naturally
judges the world around us and makes assumptions—it’s a survival mechanism!
Although biases are natural, implicit biases are hidden judgements which can
result in treating some people negatively while other people are treated
positively. We may be completely unaware that we have these biases and be
sending negative messages to people without even realizing it. As educators who
have a lot of power, it is especially important to be aware of our implicit biases
so that we can work to treat every student in a positive way. But how do you
become aware of something that you don’t even know you have? Luckily,
psychologists out of Harvard University devised a test! The IAT test uses
response times to identify your implicit biases for a number of groups: race,
gender, and more. To learn more about
the IAT test and get the link to take the test, go to: <a href="http://www.napequity.org/resource-search/iat/">www.napequity.org/iat</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you’ve taken the IAT test, you now know some of your
implicit biases, and yes—these will play out in the classroom. So how do you
change this? Stay tuned for the next step: analyzing your patterns.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To continue the conversation, please follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/newscienceteachers" target="_blank">facebook</a>
and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter</a>.</span></span></div>
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Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-26060349570711475112016-01-01T08:33:00.001-08:002019-03-26T23:45:06.525-07:00Wise Feedback: A Recommended Resolution for Grading Papers<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To Consider During your End-of-Holiday Grading </span></h2>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RL0WtUr2QMrTOnjSJ6Al3QLQ4of8IDN2YD7yR9qbKNDG0o9Y1B8FgZYfVlvt5choLgGazNAnmBNvqMcF63sG_VkQG5-UcBr34-nCdrj9-GzeNeowCVkz1USFItTe99RVmijgcoYnUq0Z/s1600/Christmas_decoration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RL0WtUr2QMrTOnjSJ6Al3QLQ4of8IDN2YD7yR9qbKNDG0o9Y1B8FgZYfVlvt5choLgGazNAnmBNvqMcF63sG_VkQG5-UcBr34-nCdrj9-GzeNeowCVkz1USFItTe99RVmijgcoYnUq0Z/s320/Christmas_decoration.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the holiday break dwindles to a final few days, you may
finally be thinking about grading all those papers you brought home. With a
resolution to be a better teacher, I thought I would share one small way to
help students improve their work, and perhaps instill some self-efficacy and a
growth mindset</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before you start marking up papers, consider the following:
students who receive “wise” feedback, particularly African American students
with low trust of their teachers, are more likely to edit drafts and work
towards improving their work. (You can read the <a href="http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-a0033906.pdf" target="_blank">academic paper</a>
to learn more.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How to Give Wise Feedback</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Giving wise feedback involves two key components:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Stating you have high standards for quality work</span> </span><style>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Stating that you believe the student can improve
and eventually meet your high standards with effort</span> </span><style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1ItlMz4LMeKmqnIMkkAcnj52Kci6M19vMmxMRxhOhvZ7FtY_6RuTHWWE8wf11rrGtjOhWA61oN5FR_ynH8xk2h6DHilbj4OrLaXXctRN2Ry_YATaPYAHg_ZgRgZ0OqJiOpWXGnaBhhE6/s1600/7634010092_7d4f01e92a_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1ItlMz4LMeKmqnIMkkAcnj52Kci6M19vMmxMRxhOhvZ7FtY_6RuTHWWE8wf11rrGtjOhWA61oN5FR_ynH8xk2h6DHilbj4OrLaXXctRN2Ry_YATaPYAHg_ZgRgZ0OqJiOpWXGnaBhhE6/s200/7634010092_7d4f01e92a_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy of Jenny Kaczorowski, flickr.com</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If possible, providing ways for the student to get support
to meet the standards is also helpful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why is wise feedback important? A lot of it has to do with something called stereotype threat. You can also learn more about wise feedback at <a href="http://www.progressfocused.com/2008/01/wise-feedback.html" target="_blank">this blog</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope you consider including this in your practice in the new year!</span></div>
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</span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-28010920792972619022015-11-12T17:25:00.000-08:002019-03-26T23:47:26.254-07:004 Ways to Keep Science Engaging in the Classroom<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I haven't written a new post lately because I'm in Antarctica, working with a research team and communicating the science back to classrooms through <a href="https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015/journals" target="_blank">PolarTREC journals</a>. This reminds me of a key aspect of teaching science which is hard to remember in the day to day standards, tests and curriculum mandates: keeping science engaging! Below are four ways to help keep (or get) students interested in science, which might significantly change the way they look at the discipline!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Connect Students with Exciting and Current Science</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the hardest things to do is to include the cutting edge and often most exciting aspects of science into your lesson plans. I often struggled with this since I had to cover so much content. A way I learned to manage this was to include <a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/09/science-picture-of-day-small-way-to.html" target="_blank">Science Pictures of the Day</a> in my classroom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here in Antarctica, I am posting "Ice Pictures of the Day" every weekday on my <a href="https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015/journals" target="_blank">PolarTREC journals</a>. You can download PowerPoint Slides with notes describing each picture. I try to align them to NGSS standards as well.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAedwes8WG5z1LZ6Qdye5r15hTkMat5-enXi61yU7OD6jRJcvniWQctjKVFahOmcv29LtblBRVD7j7fxMzEoSD_PaTTvePRpryn-HCfNNut_KlmQDlx_ZjANrcRYIEcGoZq6VilXip6Y8V/s1600/9_ICEPOD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAedwes8WG5z1LZ6Qdye5r15hTkMat5-enXi61yU7OD6jRJcvniWQctjKVFahOmcv29LtblBRVD7j7fxMzEoSD_PaTTvePRpryn-HCfNNut_KlmQDlx_ZjANrcRYIEcGoZq6VilXip6Y8V/s320/9_ICEPOD.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An example of an Ice POD. You can download the PPT slide from the 11/12/2015 PolarTREC journal page.</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Connecting with Real Scientists</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupO0aWnBjXicc-UseoAi4uEGLX_oM26LtXks-T9z4T_oAF4dVv6XMHEcRCa1h2mhFtHH_ZLhFxWCu-O63NXJT8kx381k4w9bE9Joz8Jn71cUbiodwQFVQLli1XWH8jo2qSzfX217pkpPB/s1600/DSC_6717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupO0aWnBjXicc-UseoAi4uEGLX_oM26LtXks-T9z4T_oAF4dVv6XMHEcRCa1h2mhFtHH_ZLhFxWCu-O63NXJT8kx381k4w9bE9Joz8Jn71cUbiodwQFVQLli1XWH8jo2qSzfX217pkpPB/s320/DSC_6717.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle and the science team waiting to deploy to Antarctica</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another way to keep science engaging in the classroom is to connect students to scientists. Programs like <a href="http://www.gk12.org/" target="_blank">GK12</a> are an excellent way to do this, but those opportunities are limited. You also can share students with the <a href="https://sallyridescience.ucsd.edu/" target="_blank">Cool Careers books from Sally Ride Science</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am happy to connect teachers and students with scientists while I am here in Antarctica. My <a href="https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015/journals" target="_blank">journals</a> have a section on each page where you can "Ask the Team" research questions. I also have access to geologists, glaciologists, chemists, biologists, physicists, astronomers, and meteorologists here who I am happy to feature on my journal or send a video to a teacher for. Email me at michellenbrown@gmail.com if you would like to collaborate!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Personal Stories Behind Science</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One way to keep science interesting is to have a good human story behind it. The story of how Alfred Wallace was close to being as famous as Charles Darwin, but because he<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-21549079" target="_blank"> did not promote himself as well,</a> his name is unknown. Other stories I enjoy to tell are about <a href="http://www.livescience.com/38907-marie-curie-facts-biography.html" target="_blank">Marie Curie</a> and how she sacrificed her life for science due to the radiation she was exposed to. I also like to talk about <a href="http://www.dnaftb.org/19/bio-3.html" target="_blank">Rosalind Franklin</a>, the dark lady of DNA whose name is not often remembered along with Watson and Crick. I also like to talk about current scientists, like <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCgQFjABahUKEwijm_G2m4zJAhXFMSYKHUBlBMg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democracynow.org%2F2014%2F2%2F21%2Fsilencing_the_scientist_tyrone_hayes_on&usg=AFQjCNGBO7vpARx82Vz5fJP9GFIawpkW_w&sig2=xNEo7xnKOxoDklLTGPo61Q" target="_blank">Tyrone Hayes</a>, a very charismatic biologist who studies how frogs are affected by pollutants. He also has become a political figure, speaking out against companies like Monsanto. Seeking out stories about scientists who model the demographics in your classroom (gender, race, ethnicity, etc.) is a great way to keep science interesting and relevant to your students. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4. Push Your Own Boundaries as a Science Teacher</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VmyLm5xENfc5fQhyLI0HvM_M9BZb6KWmvlXcz1CCDp9wo0U3oZQMgWHEMpRFXkrIGZAh9Cz9TadSCFISpkOxkRhNEl8bY9tOkIHCRUqEUTVgMzQZYE5WPzUOujFTNa5NvZWa7gUejUzQ/s1600/DSCF0669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VmyLm5xENfc5fQhyLI0HvM_M9BZb6KWmvlXcz1CCDp9wo0U3oZQMgWHEMpRFXkrIGZAh9Cz9TadSCFISpkOxkRhNEl8bY9tOkIHCRUqEUTVgMzQZYE5WPzUOujFTNa5NvZWa7gUejUzQ/s320/DSCF0669.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle peers down an Ob Tube outside McMurdo Station</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think the one of the best ways to keep students engaged in science is if you are as well. When I start to forget why I want to teach science, I find engaging programs that re-ignite my love of learning. The <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/2/21/silencing_the_scientist_tyrone_hayes_on" target="_blank">GK12 program</a>, <a href="https://www.astrosociety.org/education/k12-educators/galileo-educator-network/" target="_blank">NASA's Galileo Educator Network</a>, and the <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/" target="_blank">PolarTREC program</a> are the more influential programs I have joined to stay enthused. Not only do these programs educate you and connect you with scientists, but it also helps you find a community of engaged, committed science educators who you can lean on for support.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the time being, please join me virtually in Antarctica to keep your students engaged in science! Here are the biggest ways you can get your class involved:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Read daily journals about science and life in Antarctica:
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015/journals">https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015/journals</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Write questions or answer questions posted in the journals in the "Ask the Team" section of the journals. I often write postcards and send them from Antarctica to participants who respond!</span></li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter (@MsBrownTeacher)</a> or my team's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/islandtoice" target="_blank">facebook page</a>.</span></li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Email me at: michellenbrown@gmail.com if there are other ways I can collaborate with you while I am in Antarctica--I am eager to make connections with as many science teachers as possible! </span></li>
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Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-17081309607937662282015-10-28T20:52:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:49:05.175-07:00Productive Ways to Respond When a Student Refuses to Leave the Classroom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEBwdmC5QyKqf2AmU6V4DdQAVUC8z5J7qKX-ioP5wZWIfhH4BYTNAksHqDBGkHWKrz4BPCRiy2a5QyoVEPiiPdi7PhAD-KJUoHGIqr2XHxXgHt-o0hMEFVTkQHgGpZSDp-pGJtmnzf5N4/s1600/discipline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEBwdmC5QyKqf2AmU6V4DdQAVUC8z5J7qKX-ioP5wZWIfhH4BYTNAksHqDBGkHWKrz4BPCRiy2a5QyoVEPiiPdi7PhAD-KJUoHGIqr2XHxXgHt-o0hMEFVTkQHgGpZSDp-pGJtmnzf5N4/s200/discipline.jpg" width="150" /></a>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/afternoonupdate/deputy-who-tossed-a-sc-high-school-student-wont-be-charged.html">Spring Valley High School incident</a> has made me reflect on what I would have done if a student using a cell phone refused to put it away and refused to leave class. Like many teachers, I have been faced with similar (if not exactly the same) situations. I never once thought to force the student out of his/her seat.<br />
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I have had to learn over time how to react and control my emotions when a student is defiant. Early in my teaching, my anger would boil up when a student openly defied me. Over time, however, I have learned that reacting with anger and yelling is unproductive.<br />
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<h3>
Steps to Handle Defiance:</h3>
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<li><h4>
Move On (Secretly Wait & Take Deep Breaths)</h4>
After asking a student to do something, such as leave the room, I don't stand there stopping the whole class in a stalemate. I move on with the lesson. Now really I am giving some wait time to the situation. Some students need more time to process what is happening and comply to the directive. I also am calming myself down. No matter how many times a student is defiant to me in front of a class, it triggers a fight or flight mechanism in me, and usually the "fight" mechanism. If I give in to anger, then I've lost control of myself and the class. I will get nowhere with the student and will most likely lose respect from the class. One way I've learned to pacify this response is to <a href="http://www.sharonsalzberg.com/" target="_blank">meditate or breath</a>. I have gotten to the point where I don't even try to hide it in front of students--I hope they see it as a positive way to regain control.<br /><br /> </li>
<li><h4>
Think</h4>
While I'm continuing with class, I am really trying to figure out what happened and decide how necessary it is to follow through with a class removal. If a student has done something very disruptive and the student's presence is still a disruption to the learning environment (and all <a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/10/tips-for-handling-tough-middle-schoolers.html" target="_blank">my other management tricks</a> are not working), I may call the Dean's office or principal and ask for an administrator to come get the student. However, if it is something like a student refusing to put away his/her phone and he/she is sitting quietly in class, there is no need for class removal. After nine years in the classroom, I have seen plenty of disruption. I have seen many students storm out of the classroom and many others refuse to leave their seat. I have never seen a student refuse to leave their seat and continue to disrupt the class. Although the defiance is something that needs to be discussed eventually, there is no need to remove a student by force if he/she is not disrupting the class or causing harm to themselves or others.<br /><br /> </li>
<li><h4>
Discuss Privately</h4>
If it seems as though the student has calmed down and there is a moment where students are working and I can talk to the defiant student privately, I may go over to discuss the issue with him/her. It is often the case that the student is not ready to talk to me. I may write a note or give distance until the next class period (if someone is too angry to talk to me later in the class period, they will probably not be calmed down for a while). If they refuse to interact with me and sit quietly for the rest of class, even if they continue to disobey the cell phone rule, I let it go. I have confidence that my other students know that I will work with that student and that using your phone in class is not acceptable. <br /><br />When I do talk to the student, I do not discuss the incident right away or speak to them with anger in my voice. I ask them how they are doing, if they've had a bad day or if something has gone on that upset them. If a student is furious because you want them to put away their phone, there's probably a deeper issue going on.</li>
<li><h4>
Think Again and Investigate</h4>
After my class has ended, I'll have more time to try to better understand what happened. I'll check in with the student's advisor, other teachers (particularly those right before my class) and the Dean. I may or may not contact the student's parents that night--depending on how that would make the student react. I also may email the student. A lot of what I do depends on what I think will work with that individual student--getting to know students ahead of time, therefore, is key!</li>
<li><h4>
Make a Plan</h4>
Typically by the next day, the student has calmed down and can talk. Again, I don't address the situation in terms of what the student has done wrong, but more about what is going on and why the student was so upset. If the problem is something that re-occurs, I would work out a system so the student and I can deal with the issues in a proactive manner. <br /><br />For example, I once had a student who would storm out of class angrily, yelling at me and the co-teacher. After eating lunch with her and talking, it became clear that sometimes she had a bad day and my redirection was the last straw. We came up with a plan that when she felt like storming out, she would ask permission and I would always say yes. We continued to develop a plan where she would go visit the Dean and give her a candy or cookie (yes, this was our plan--I was pregnant and always had cookies at my desk!). Over time, the student gained control of her reactions and our relationship improved instead of deteriorated. </li>
</ol>
The big point I want to make here is to not respond immediately with anger. Losing control in front of the class is bound to happen, but using strategies like cooling down (yes, you too!), meditating and trying to understand the trigger for the behavior is far more productive than proving your power in front of the class.<br />
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<h3>
Read Your Students</h3>
A <a href="http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/school-discipline-in-the-heat-of-the-moment-takes-training-too-few-have/?ref=us" target="_blank">New York Times article</a> mirrors many of the ideas above. The teacher interviewed also brings up an important preventative measure: read the students as they enter the class. Pedro Noguera, author of "The Trouble with Black Boys:...And Other Reflections of Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education", discusses the importance of understanding the root of the defiance. Next time a student is defiant in your class, pause and remember how easily things can escalate into a situation you didn't intend for. De-escalating situations should be at the forefront, which may mean letting something go until everyone is calmed down.<br />
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<br />Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-21160424137885586842015-10-18T17:57:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:49:38.724-07:00Tips for Handling Tough Middle Schoolers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzESEAQS5oazZCxz45cOLNIoNxBMm97N4DWk6BH52S1jU47F5r3v1rulUrSKKBFT6Ot2Jj3TeEkwoqTyD_3om_Ft45lNA-J8-T1ZM0j4JTlf0jbA_714iHYQNvETDmNwzpR09l9-Q9-JMT/s1600/James_Dean_in_Rebel_Without_a_Cause.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzESEAQS5oazZCxz45cOLNIoNxBMm97N4DWk6BH52S1jU47F5r3v1rulUrSKKBFT6Ot2Jj3TeEkwoqTyD_3om_Ft45lNA-J8-T1ZM0j4JTlf0jbA_714iHYQNvETDmNwzpR09l9-Q9-JMT/s200/James_Dean_in_Rebel_Without_a_Cause.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
Every teacher has their own philosophies and strategies for classroom management. Some say not to smile until January, others insist that engaging lessons curtail any misbehavior. When managing students, teachers need to find a management systems that align to their own philosophies and personalities. That being said, it never hurts to hear tricks other teachers use to build relationships and keep class focused on learning.<br />
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Below are some of the ways I stay ahead of mutiny in the classroom and work with individual students who might need a little extra TLC. <br />
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<h3>
Class Roles</h3>
It may feel scary to put a student who typically disrupts class or barely keeps his/her head up in a classroom leadership role, but I have found this to be exactly what some students need (note: I said some, this might not work for every student!). It is important to say, I NEVER force a student to participate in a role--it is strictly voluntary. I do try to persuade them to try it out first. Also, I make sure it doesn't go against any IEPs. Here are some classroom roles and the students I have found they are best suited for:<br />
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<h4>
Document Camera Worker</h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnV80xXZBynoarb4exN88GCVtP3aOiGXzaz9c4QM34UDwEJktkLpUt935lmx1w40_VOKdbG7Tx9HAM7KYGVoxfArWg-UIpylQNM-4CYExud9q3oBNLDxwwDYsKa9bHoTsEFXQv9tyPEZb/s1600/LumensDC162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnV80xXZBynoarb4exN88GCVtP3aOiGXzaz9c4QM34UDwEJktkLpUt935lmx1w40_VOKdbG7Tx9HAM7KYGVoxfArWg-UIpylQNM-4CYExud9q3oBNLDxwwDYsKa9bHoTsEFXQv9tyPEZb/s200/LumensDC162.jpg" width="158" /></a>I often flip between a document camera and powerpoint slides while teaching. The document camera is at the front of the room, with a desk area and seat next to it. I especially like to put students who have low self-esteem about learning science in this role. These students take notes under the document camera or record answers as they are reviewed with the class. If possible, I also have them model how to record entries in the <a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-science-notebook-personal-preference.html" target="_blank">science notebook</a>. Many students are afraid they will make a mistake in this role at first. To help boost confidence, I initially give the student a cheat sheet with the correct notes or composition book entry or answers. I have noticed students change their demeanor in the class as they begin to be an expert and leader.<br />
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<h4>
Powerpoint/Computer Worker</h4>
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I like to use powerpoint slides to stay on task and organize lessons. I put my computer near a student's desk and when we use powerpoint slides, I have the student closest to the computer forward slides for me, change to videos, and do other work. I intentionally seat a student who I think needs a positive role in class to the spot closest to the computer. Often times there are students who are hard to keep on task in class. For some of these students, the powerpoint role works great. For others, it may exacerbate them (especially if they have ADHD). I also like to teach the student hotkey tricks (e.g., ALT or Command and Tab let you quickly switch to another app), so they move fast and learn something new.<br />
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<h4>
Lights & Doors Worker</h4>
I always have a few antsy students who just can't stay in their seats. For these students, I have standing tables at the back of the room. When it is time to shut the door, turn on or off lights, or do anything near the back of the room, I ask them to do it. The standing tables have been an amazing improvement for the focus and behavior management of some of my students! It is important not to use standing tables at the back of the room as a punishment. I never force a student to work there--it is voluntary. If my room has little space, I'll put taller stools there, so there's an option of sitting. Also, it's important to check IEPs and make sure students who need this accommodation are not required to be at the front of the room.<br />
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<h3>
Building Strong Relationships</h3>
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Many teachers will tell you that the students they know the best were once their toughest. When you start to clash with a student and find that he/she is pushing your buttons, although it is the one person you may not want to interact with, that is the best solution. Getting to know tough students is often the solution to their disruption in your class. Here are some ways I've gotten closer to students who need a stronger relationship:<br />
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<h4>
Buy a Book</h4>
First talk to the student--what are their hobbies? What do they want to do when they grow up? Once you know an interest, hobby or future career that a student has, buy them a book on the topic. I like to write a note on the inside. If it starts to get expensive or you want to maximize the effort, I often keep the book in my library and lend the student the book, with a note inside. If it's hard to get a conversation off the ground, you can always lend them a book that other students like. For example, "Wonder" is a great book, so is "The Hunger Games" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." I write my name on the bottom of the book to ensure it gets returned. Not only does it show the student you care about him/her, but it also starts a conversation. You can ask if they liked the book or if they've read it yet!<br />
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<h4>
Start with a Positive</h4>
Some students seek out negative attention because they simply want attention. When co-teachers and I believe a student has this tendency, we try to counter-act it by giving them positive attention from the start. This often requires two teachers in the room. When that student comes in and starts class, one of us will sit with him/her and check in with them about their day (or other interests) while they work on the Do Now. Throughout class we sit down and check in, giving them positive attention before they seek out negative attention.<br />
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<h4>
Lunch Buddy</h4>
When a tough student is really tough and has me completely stuck in building a relationship, I will resort to buying them lunch--or atleast a snack. I'll ask them what they like to eat for lunch (trying to stay on the healthy side of options) and invite them to join me for lunch one day in my room (NOTE: Keep doors open and have a colleague somewhere in the room. You should never be alone with a student with the doors closed) or in the cafeteria. If they refuse because they want to eat with a certain friend, I'll invite that person too (or if there is a group of students I'm really struggling with, I'll invite 2 - 3 of them). When they come to eat, I do not address any of the misbehaviors that I'm frustrated with. Instead we play UNO or talk about stuff that is positive. Playing UNO (or another game) has been especially helpful. Students often will open up to me and share personal stories that help me better understand their situation and reasons for misbehavior. Often once I know their story, it is a lot easier to conference with them when misbehavior occurs later in class.<br />
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<h3>
Managing Meltdowns</h3>
<h3>
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</h3>
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If you are like me, despite every attempt to run a smooth class, you will have students with meltdowns in your room which completely disrupt your lesson plans. We often forget that students have lives outside of our class--if a student loses his/her cool in class, it's important to remember that you don't know what triggered it. The sooner that student can be calmed down, the less time your class can be derailed. Never argue with a student in class and call for assistance if the situation is serious. <br />
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What may start as a minor disturbance can escalate into a meltdown if you are not careful. When a misbehavior disrupts class and a warning doesn't change anything, I like to conference with a student privately. Here are some tips I use when conferencing with a student.<br />
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<h4>
Be Random and Be Kind</h4>
When you walk outside or to the back of a room with a student, they are expecting you to talk about their misbehavior. They may be embarrassed of being singled out and your redirection speech could trigger a bigger outburst. I've noticed that not starting with the behavior works best. I like to start with a random observation or by saying something nice to the student.<br />
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<h4>
Take a walk</h4>
If there is a co-teacher in my classroom who can take over, I often like to do a little loop around the building with the student. If I can't leave the area, I like to stand or sit next to the student, looking outward and not at them. I've found that not forcing a student to look at you while you discuss behavior works best for many.<br />
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<h4>
Anger Workbook Book for Teens</h4>
Some of my students have so much anger that despite my best strategies, they still have to get their anger out. I like to have copies of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1572246995/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1893505065&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=17DEENFWG6EJ3Q2YYRTA" target="_blank">Anger Workbook for Teens</a> in my classroom for students to work through. One strategy is to write out what is bothering you and then rip it out. If an outburst is due to an incident outside my class, I'll often have a student write out what they're feeling and rip it up, so they can get back to class.<br />
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<h3>
The Takeaway: Respect Them</h3>
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In the end, if you want to work well with students, respect them as people. Do not humiliate them. Do not make them feel ashamed or point out their weaknesses in front of the class. Do not assume you know why they are acting the way they are--in fact, assume the best. I truly believe that every child wants to succeed in my class and some of them have just lost their way at some point (often because of how a teacher had made them feel.) <br />
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What are your management strategies? Please share below!<br />
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Also, please follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/newscienceteachers" target="_blank">facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter</a>.Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-88374515986882409042015-10-07T11:28:00.003-07:002019-03-26T23:50:13.127-07:00Connect Your Students to Polar Science<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQms-90XyHf_DjcidFocbJhyphenhyphen8cLxf5R5FTru1EwmWFOl6AYYllgsNHpKTDNhEVKaUI_AVLILfVV7MmspJPNc68YY9n4DxQPOzxUS9J-_LgdZ-a7g15V5sRnK8BF5AYbd_JpxLBQ0ky7jq8/s1600/Flat+Penguin+Ad.001.jpg.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQms-90XyHf_DjcidFocbJhyphenhyphen8cLxf5R5FTru1EwmWFOl6AYYllgsNHpKTDNhEVKaUI_AVLILfVV7MmspJPNc68YY9n4DxQPOzxUS9J-_LgdZ-a7g15V5sRnK8BF5AYbd_JpxLBQ0ky7jq8/s320/Flat+Penguin+Ad.001.jpg.001.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Send Me Your Penguins</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a fun way to connect your class to Antarctica: decorate the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIM25FTkgzeXh5T3M/view" target="_blank">flat penguin template</a>, decorate it however you like, and send it to the address in the directions by October 23rd, 2015. I will be joining a team of scientists on November 1st to study human impacts at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Aside from posting journals about the science and life in Antarctica on <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015" target="_blank">my PolarTREC page</a>, I will also take photos of your flat penguins at the station and email them back to you! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Adaptation Lesson: Blubber Gloves</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While you wait for your flat penguin to make it to Antarctica, you can teach students about the interesting life at the bottom of the world, and the adaptations they have to keep warm. My favorite fun hands-on activity is Blubber Gloves. <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/resources/activity/fat-birds-skinny-birds-how-blubber-keeps-penguins-warm" target="_blank">Here is a sample lesson </a>using the Blubber Gloves.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhL-ECtVZm0IBU6evkSzYCb4oeOCQvZ2ALkF12mj_xRBO8ZJaEiIQLUy6uJbUq0CjccZSwT5xb65i2zndhiWay49zMgHRqyqePvFlzYiJERre3rGeVQoLCqXqIU5BaxVeHYTJQVfmmPc8r/s1600/DSC_6061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhL-ECtVZm0IBU6evkSzYCb4oeOCQvZ2ALkF12mj_xRBO8ZJaEiIQLUy6uJbUq0CjccZSwT5xb65i2zndhiWay49zMgHRqyqePvFlzYiJERre3rGeVQoLCqXqIU5BaxVeHYTJQVfmmPc8r/s200/DSC_6061.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Making Your Own Blubber Gloves</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may feel overwhelmed by the process of making blubber gloves, but it's really quite simple. To start you need Crisco (or any kind of shortening), freezer bags and duct tape. A 48 ounce canister of Crisco typically makes 3 gallon-size gloves.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lay out 2 freezer bags. Turn one of them inside out and fit it inside the other one.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Scoop Crisco in between the freezer bag layers on one side. I typically use 10-12 spoonfuls, about 1/3rd of the container.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Seal the inner bag to the outer bag on that side. Turn the bags over.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Put 2 - 3 scoops of Crisco in between the outer and inner bags on the second side. Seal the bags together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You now should have lots of Crisco between the bags on one side, and a little bit of Crisco on the other side. Keeping most of the Crisco on one side, smooth out the lumps so that the sides are smooth.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4POS3QMDwBwz7Qln4xmsqWXIQ9BmMlTmpeLJbbSWk7xK0Ts0CN58MxWPJO5oCIrclhyphenhyphenwFXaV21cAfbGllOpSD075_MBJxhKDcW9yATudNlKBPQpSb8YwkS807QzceW7HwDkv79HPsYQf/s1600/DSC_6072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4POS3QMDwBwz7Qln4xmsqWXIQ9BmMlTmpeLJbbSWk7xK0Ts0CN58MxWPJO5oCIrclhyphenhyphenwFXaV21cAfbGllOpSD075_MBJxhKDcW9yATudNlKBPQpSb8YwkS807QzceW7HwDkv79HPsYQf/s320/DSC_6072.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Place the bag on the table so the thicker side is facing down. Place your hand in the "glove" and fold over the bag so that the thick layer covers most if not all of your hand. Crease or leave the bag folded.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5hUlKkX6izRi1_Sc6ObhWkbwUfjOfl40pmY0HKJqUzsP8XuSsfutQ86zhbbftvpmIVeFeHusThLwIBYctTE5EW7n6QYA4rcxQlNEcZ-oVD5-W-Co8m9ro96B-xioy8sox7Ktox9KAxp1/s1600/DSC_6074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5hUlKkX6izRi1_Sc6ObhWkbwUfjOfl40pmY0HKJqUzsP8XuSsfutQ86zhbbftvpmIVeFeHusThLwIBYctTE5EW7n6QYA4rcxQlNEcZ-oVD5-W-Co8m9ro96B-xioy8sox7Ktox9KAxp1/s320/DSC_6074.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWJJ4ZkO4lh0bkTXIObBazaV6K7pgC5dfHAE4zzvQ837XDHacxWxt-PK7D9WDm4D-9Q6eWnSBeQb7eKMgTr9pyMLJOba_xRuD6NU0NQhoE4_EDzQzTXQzKQmi8uBH64jObgJ82QDFnugH/s1600/DSC_6075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWJJ4ZkO4lh0bkTXIObBazaV6K7pgC5dfHAE4zzvQ837XDHacxWxt-PK7D9WDm4D-9Q6eWnSBeQb7eKMgTr9pyMLJOba_xRuD6NU0NQhoE4_EDzQzTXQzKQmi8uBH64jObgJ82QDFnugH/s320/DSC_6075.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Making sure the bag is completely sealed, tape along the outer edges and down the crease of the fold. I also tape the very end of the "glove".<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljQFsaCSvdgZc85m8W5frHSMR9HaNmyMDgiL-ozumwKyCUS_EmadZeu62ERUUrkM38RzQLob-9h6fPn3ozPNr5B9aYLd4db_Y5_gNfsxMziB_vdPmt4uwhBhqVBJfQLkvybZg1IRGpNL_/s1600/DSC_6076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljQFsaCSvdgZc85m8W5frHSMR9HaNmyMDgiL-ozumwKyCUS_EmadZeu62ERUUrkM38RzQLob-9h6fPn3ozPNr5B9aYLd4db_Y5_gNfsxMziB_vdPmt4uwhBhqVBJfQLkvybZg1IRGpNL_/s320/DSC_6076.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, create a similar glove using just one plastic bag. This can be a control to compare the blubber glove with. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQwhLTqGRsr86FxK3ai1fVsK5mC146fad6IxuD3GekybaoJdmZusDJk-s-iD0vGRnhZJ1SqGoNk0bx2RhK9QzCsoE8VPaAU3K10gXdWWup6902TavS1eYkGWIvzLq1w5Rx08I8UqYSEzh/s1600/DSC_6077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHQwhLTqGRsr86FxK3ai1fVsK5mC146fad6IxuD3GekybaoJdmZusDJk-s-iD0vGRnhZJ1SqGoNk0bx2RhK9QzCsoE8VPaAU3K10gXdWWup6902TavS1eYkGWIvzLq1w5Rx08I8UqYSEzh/s320/DSC_6077.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You now have blubber gloves! I like to have students make hypotheses, then use them in ice water to make observations, and lastly inferences about penguins!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtkkz8FSjmU90LnZpRcqbvmopRCp8IrbcQRam6EpzbnOdbO1m2QjzxT2SVEPgUmIAg9jpKWbV9TUHuwWO7LxibmgY2sd5XEcOORIxAq15RS9gPFc6lyX0mOeXOnTvjXO4i_hStOdQjhja/s1600/DSC_6088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtkkz8FSjmU90LnZpRcqbvmopRCp8IrbcQRam6EpzbnOdbO1m2QjzxT2SVEPgUmIAg9jpKWbV9TUHuwWO7LxibmgY2sd5XEcOORIxAq15RS9gPFc6lyX0mOeXOnTvjXO4i_hStOdQjhja/s320/DSC_6088.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will be posting pictures of the day and journals/videos about life and science in Antarctica on <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015" target="_blank">my PolarTREC page</a>. I am happy to make connections between what you are learning and life at the bottom of the world, so stay tuned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can also stay updated from my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers" target="_blank">facebook page</a> or on <a href="http://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter (@MsBrownTeacher)</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll resume posts about general science teaching when I return in December.</span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-78753775229745527882015-09-29T22:31:00.000-07:002019-03-26T23:51:18.063-07:00Science Picture of the Day: A Small Way to Make a Big Difference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgaj8dObfEPIhc8fZluiUG9ArPvsVDDC_WJ7vG_LwnwTeuRLwrYTp_el8X1JdYOfE0CUPztGHsV_b9mtA3myJPF7jB8Ar9EpjrEg1zuu8YkIMpii3DEFwsUOg9zR30U-Is6IAsDL-ENp3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.46.20+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgaj8dObfEPIhc8fZluiUG9ArPvsVDDC_WJ7vG_LwnwTeuRLwrYTp_el8X1JdYOfE0CUPztGHsV_b9mtA3myJPF7jB8Ar9EpjrEg1zuu8YkIMpii3DEFwsUOg9zR30U-Is6IAsDL-ENp3/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.46.20+AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I read end of year surveys I’ve given to my students (see the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIdHVJZmVqX2dFXzQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">second page of this survey</a> for an<span id="goog_1513325386"></span><span id="goog_1513325387"></span> example), they often site the picture of the day as the thing they liked most about my class. Yes—it stings a little that all of my efforts to create meaningful labs, carefully aligned assignments and field trip opportunities are trumped by a 1-minute discussions after our Do Nows. However, they have provided me with a way to incorporate the current events of science into my class and build strong relationships with students by allowing them to create some of the curriculum. <br /><br /><b>How I Create the Picture of the Day</b><br /><br />Initially, I found Pictures of the Day to present to students myself. As an Earth Science teacher, I used the <a href="http://epod.usra.edu/" target="_blank">Earth Science Picture of the Day website</a> to pull interesting pictures connected to the content I was teaching. Any subject matter teacher can easily find pictures connected to their field: <a href="http://cen.chempics.org/" target="_blank">Chemistry</a> , <a href="http://bpod.mrc.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Biology</a>, and <a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/" target="_blank">Physics (well, Astronomy).</a><br /> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqocGAQ4XeJKziozCqnFpmahurSUtBcgYKdeVMZjOgO43JVJKViIXp3X9FAtoVykBR5_6Xu1DN4F9p5Dt402GAJrT_WbBcfXN99f-7XKO7Q6wDbqkUhNzxhqKtUbdJDM3CyBtUKnq2hyk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.09.33+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqocGAQ4XeJKziozCqnFpmahurSUtBcgYKdeVMZjOgO43JVJKViIXp3X9FAtoVykBR5_6Xu1DN4F9p5Dt402GAJrT_WbBcfXN99f-7XKO7Q6wDbqkUhNzxhqKtUbdJDM3CyBtUKnq2hyk/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.09.33+AM.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would quickly copy and paste the picture into my <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KssquShFPsCVb_jihseyBnCz70HweF9vGl66Q833B1s/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">PowerPoint template</a>, including a sentence or two and, to stay true to my plagiarism rules, the link (sometimes correctly cited when I had the time!) I often started a timer to ensure I did not spend the whole class period in a discussion about the content and on very busy days, I did not entertain questions about the slide. Students were excited by the photos and it took self-control to limit time discussing these events. Occasionally I allowed us to get side-tracked for some time, but wasn’t that the point of teaching science? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7A9RfmU38eIosy-SbOR9MX5vb4jo8z84-in6-YxzYPX_xXhtP_qtXB_vug32X2J3C_DJWRFv6hOPElVIkOre02BEyl4bB2PoK015JlxtWHrP7ntbdtyy_8jswwCvmhYsr0ZnZfvTh3QQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.10.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7A9RfmU38eIosy-SbOR9MX5vb4jo8z84-in6-YxzYPX_xXhtP_qtXB_vug32X2J3C_DJWRFv6hOPElVIkOre02BEyl4bB2PoK015JlxtWHrP7ntbdtyy_8jswwCvmhYsr0ZnZfvTh3QQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.10.31+AM.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />One day a student emailed me a picture she had seen connected to Earth Science, suggesting I put it up as a picture of the day. I did, crediting her for finding it. Soon, students started sending me pictures of the day all the time! When there was a lunar eclipse or other event connected to class, I asked students to take pictures and send them in. Eventually students sent in their own pictures and videos connecting Earth Science to all aspects of their lives (I got a lot of sunset pics!). Students also sent in news clips and photos they had seen online. I did not offer extra credit or any other incentive for participating, simply a credit to that student. Of course, not every student participated, but it was a fast, easy way to have students make meaningful connections between their world and my class. Also, many of the most active contributors surprised me—students who showed little signs of interest in class would send me pictures and videos. Providing these students a safe way to participate in class greatly helped our relationship and hopefully their love of science.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6-I4d4kJd0Aa3waF3dVTDCeSTTc0cUZTtSodLeQu17awxKnejZZKgHlOtVzNT6wQmeR50tPZjD3NtGrpXW4xE-QdTM-uBo-UZB64w61-msxs1dr9APAv4rVodVfnXMad2OXpysNl3evm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.49.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6-I4d4kJd0Aa3waF3dVTDCeSTTc0cUZTtSodLeQu17awxKnejZZKgHlOtVzNT6wQmeR50tPZjD3NtGrpXW4xE-QdTM-uBo-UZB64w61-msxs1dr9APAv4rVodVfnXMad2OXpysNl3evm/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.49.25+AM.png" width="320" /></a>To jump-start students sending you pictures, you can start by including your own pictures of science. My co-teacher and I include pictures we have taken over the summer of us with something science-related (i.e., anything, since you can make lots of connections to science), and then I’ll include a great picture of the day from a former student. I started receiving pictures of the day by the end of the first week of class!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP-NCzAqx6bNXI2HD1v2YsNwmJFUiaqa9cyYptVVajJOVhmsj-ojL7sZrnC7DlSEH7QJUhulxq_vdISFXYIvprk3AIbFkzSJ4T_Xg43XKLCTy6oGbeGfz9CtdkYmuOfbY0gh9NKgmPpKm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.53.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP-NCzAqx6bNXI2HD1v2YsNwmJFUiaqa9cyYptVVajJOVhmsj-ojL7sZrnC7DlSEH7QJUhulxq_vdISFXYIvprk3AIbFkzSJ4T_Xg43XKLCTy6oGbeGfz9CtdkYmuOfbY0gh9NKgmPpKm/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.53.08+AM.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Freezing Friday: A Way to Incorporate a Science Narrative Over Time</b><br />In 2011, I applied to be a <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/" target="_blank">PolarTREC</a> teacher (for the third time) and was finally accepted. I was invited to go to Antarctica for two months to work with researchers. This experience was life-changing and I wanted to find a meaningful way to share such cool science (literally) with my students. However, like many of you, I was overwhelmed by content standards and could only devote a day or two to the topic. My solution was to slowly tell the story of my research in Antarctica one day a week through the picture of the day. I called these pictures: “Freezing Friday”. <br /><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are passionate about a topic that you can’t afford too much class time for, I strongly recommend devoting one picture a week to the idea. Trying to post a picture every day might be too much, so I recommend starting with one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m Going Back to Antarctica—Let’s Share the Experience Together!</b><br /><br />Or, better yet, let me involve you and your students in some cool, real-time science! I have been invited back to Antarctica in November to work with my old research team (I will be posting <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2015" target="_blank">journals about my experience</a>). I will be sending out “picture of the day” slides (with explanations) through my <a href="https://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">Twitter account: @MsBrownTeacher</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. You can pos<span id="goog_1513325380"></span><span id="goog_1513325381"></span>t pictures daily or weekly. Also, we will be conducting a live webinar from the ice on December 1st, and I will be sharing more ways I can interact with your class in future posts! <br /><br />Below are some more sample Earth Science Pictures of the Day slides:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIf195WSwlnkMdJ4Z572Fd5yLaYEJZ51pBkOVWzkEYo2Gj90P1IsugQSjpur2rt3yW16bai36g8FoPZRZZV7IT8JExTWYofcHSnoaCfi-evI-BnRmg6WCk_JJs9ojLmc72_jQ1pQduwp5/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.08.32+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIf195WSwlnkMdJ4Z572Fd5yLaYEJZ51pBkOVWzkEYo2Gj90P1IsugQSjpur2rt3yW16bai36g8FoPZRZZV7IT8JExTWYofcHSnoaCfi-evI-BnRmg6WCk_JJs9ojLmc72_jQ1pQduwp5/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.08.32+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students would sometimes write out the description for me too!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsbFM4BUD36Gp2bKUyKzXW-YtY9o2oremxp0sW6OP5iP8cG_ZnY96aM7FjiJB70YV6pwLMAH-ehh1mQPyyMQF1vqVkSGy_gzhhBkr4a5vCCqH2fXTFrNJnWKMHnIpps6vW122xsi4HlwX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.08.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsbFM4BUD36Gp2bKUyKzXW-YtY9o2oremxp0sW6OP5iP8cG_ZnY96aM7FjiJB70YV6pwLMAH-ehh1mQPyyMQF1vqVkSGy_gzhhBkr4a5vCCqH2fXTFrNJnWKMHnIpps6vW122xsi4HlwX/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+1.08.48+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Teachers sometimes shared pictures of the day with me too!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6f8aXRwHHt92ems7CHeZ_jPP3rZyqPv3I6iWHriaDeGWMuH9NZUnsT1NEcGyq3knNW9PEmTw6prRdfg3CEW7sEGv_Q5qoNgv-bU2o7E1G2UdHfLx_hcB7awU1czaGRpQZSlbml1_iIGU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.45.45+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6f8aXRwHHt92ems7CHeZ_jPP3rZyqPv3I6iWHriaDeGWMuH9NZUnsT1NEcGyq3knNW9PEmTw6prRdfg3CEW7sEGv_Q5qoNgv-bU2o7E1G2UdHfLx_hcB7awU1czaGRpQZSlbml1_iIGU/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-09-30+at+12.45.45+AM.png" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometime I would receive pictures that don't connect, but I always posted them to connect with students.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-33764201461023035162015-09-22T13:03:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:52:14.038-07:00Lesson Plan Resources -- My Favorites<style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are in the same place I was in as a new science
teacher around late September, I was starting to wear down (i.e., I was barely
surviving).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesson planning was a
major time-drain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite my prior
<a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/09/science-lesson-planning-101-6-tips-to.html" target="_blank">blog about lesson planning</a>,
you may also be burning the candle at both ends trying to keep up with what
you’ll teach every day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below are some of my favorite places to go for help when I
need lessons or other resources to include in my lesson.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiOrUi8845sPo394GeS-jZSvxZ3wuWwgmakRKMXpq_hEQPD5m7XzccPuOD0jC_hY6zy2HOx-chT6nkPhb-GIY796exzjkT9mzaRyOmBJ1gk_9JQqqHRmxtSBULsyTo8e471en9Ijh60N9/s1600/2+try.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiOrUi8845sPo394GeS-jZSvxZ3wuWwgmakRKMXpq_hEQPD5m7XzccPuOD0jC_hY6zy2HOx-chT6nkPhb-GIY796exzjkT9mzaRyOmBJ1gk_9JQqqHRmxtSBULsyTo8e471en9Ijh60N9/s200/2+try.001.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>For Do Nows, Hooks, Exit Tickets, and even Homework:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/uncovering.aspx" target="_blank">Page Keeley’s “Uncovering Student Ideas in Science”</a></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve brought up this resource a few times in my posts,
because it is that helpful!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
I’m starting a unit or feel like I need something to shake up class, I often
turn to this resource.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a
misconception probe for just about every topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to give out the probe at the beginning of class
(often as a Do Now), discuss without discussing the right answer, and then
return to it following the day’s activity. I’ve even made lessons, card sorting
activities or demos based on the probes. I also like to make a 2<sup>nd</sup>
copy of the probe and have students interview a family member at home for
homework—the students enjoy teaching their parent or older sibling something
for a change!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1Pm9TqdL1rwzBwkaPuGKeri5eeyuRalc8b0yWYwJ4WH_JnH8g6ir-k2Je-IUC7MiensjojEn1-lCVKpCkgInSt0MgIRb8JEcJstwQBHJZYZS8f3vWKRn4uLtM0Sads4abiw7XDPy8i3B/s1600/2+clipboard.jpeg.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1Pm9TqdL1rwzBwkaPuGKeri5eeyuRalc8b0yWYwJ4WH_JnH8g6ir-k2Je-IUC7MiensjojEn1-lCVKpCkgInSt0MgIRb8JEcJstwQBHJZYZS8f3vWKRn4uLtM0Sads4abiw7XDPy8i3B/s200/2+clipboard.jpeg.001.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For lesson ideas and videos: <a href="http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/" target="_blank">Teachers Domain (Now Called PBSLearning Media) </a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This site is great since you can browse by standard or
subject/grade level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
good quality lessons as well as relevant videos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I’m stuck wanting a good hook, or need an activity or
video for a station lab, I’ve often found something here.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BoBFkoADk3-DmhkW8aFWnDhmqnNSvTCAuXI-ZeiFIZrYfW00GJShebKyOXUepPXHvCWYmApLWwzovPkXnr-u71Xg6RGZM0AaQqjHABWupDfJV625aDdXVzOJVxsWoIb24q-eiJz6kSyI/s1600/3+clipboard.jpeg.001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BoBFkoADk3-DmhkW8aFWnDhmqnNSvTCAuXI-ZeiFIZrYfW00GJShebKyOXUepPXHvCWYmApLWwzovPkXnr-u71Xg6RGZM0AaQqjHABWupDfJV625aDdXVzOJVxsWoIb24q-eiJz6kSyI/s200/3+clipboard.jpeg.001.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For emergency lesson plans in a pinch or a specific video:
<a href="http://discoveryeducation.com/" target="_blank">Discovery Education</a></span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This resource is best when you have an account—ask your
school or district if they have a username and password.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discovery Education has videos with
related worksheets that can be downloaded and used in a pinch when you are
feeling sick and need a quick sub plan or your colleague didn’t show up to work
and you need to cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do have
to choose the videos carefully—there are some old ones in there, but I’ve also
used this as a resource to show a video clip about a specific topic that I
can’t find easily elsewhere.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For elementary/middle school students or re-teaching/centers
work: <a href="https://www.brainpop.com/" target="_blank">Brain Pop </a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This resource also requires a username and password (although there are a few free videos). Most schools seem to have an account—ask around if you don’t </span></span><br />
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have access. Although BrainPop sits low in the Blooms Taxonomy pyramid, it can help you fill in a needed piece of a lesson. They are definitely geared towards a younger crowd and break down topics pretty simply, although I’ve seen some of my 9th graders enjoy them—especially when they are struggling with a concept. Brain Pop has simple worksheets and games too. I have used Brain Pop as a resource when I teach a station or centers activity. </span></span></blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For readings, interactive activities and lesson plans: <a href="http://nsta.org/" target="_blank">NSTA</a>
& <a href="http://www.scilinks.org/" target="_blank">NSTA’s SciLink</a></span></b> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can register for free and access a variety of lessons,
readings and interactive activities at NSTA’s <a href="http://www.scilinks.org/" target="_blank">SciLinks website</a> .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The search feature helps you sort
through pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a lot of
resources under each topic, often pulled from trusty resources like NIH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, there are articles and lessons
from NSTA’s own publication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you haven’t already joined <a href="http://nsta.org/" target="_blank">NSTA</a>, you should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NSTA is a great resource for lessons,
message boards, conferences and journals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although I rarely made time early on to read the NSTA journal (Science
Scope, Science Teacher, etc.), when I did I often found quality lessons or
other ideas to try out in my classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, the NSTA newsletter that comes out monthly has freebies and grant
opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Share your resources too!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are just my favorites--I'm sure you have some too! Please post them in the comments section below. Or, post them on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers" target="_blank">facebook page</a> or on <a href="https://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</span></div>
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</span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-50193436307782603302015-09-13T12:35:00.001-07:002015-09-13T12:35:26.237-07:00Science Lesson Planning 101 - 6 Tips to Stay Sane
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For some of us, it is extremely difficult to “shut off”
being a teacher after the last bell rings.<span> </span>I used to work until the wee hours of the morning, only to
wake up early the next day and start all over again.<span> </span>I almost burnt out because I was spending so much time
working.<span> </span>What did I spend most of
my time doing?<span> </span>Lesson planning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lesson planning can be the most creative part of teaching
science, and also the most burdensome.<span>
</span>Here are six tips I follow to lesson plan effectively and
efficiently—allowing me to spend some free time doing things for myself!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#1.<span> </span>Plan in
Peace</span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VGKdWRLz1ySNBZnraWddK_e0UomzlLp4L0DnR8rwc7yLLPw7Z4dQXhF70snNqxparoK0AFWgDHNuKNoDnBiOuW7OXd56wk5eoubOcVIeeqDTZOniRvxs3Ls6y7aFopNqz2fMswSyBCHk/s1600/peace+Mark_Twain_pondering_at_desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VGKdWRLz1ySNBZnraWddK_e0UomzlLp4L0DnR8rwc7yLLPw7Z4dQXhF70snNqxparoK0AFWgDHNuKNoDnBiOuW7OXd56wk5eoubOcVIeeqDTZOniRvxs3Ls6y7aFopNqz2fMswSyBCHk/s200/peace+Mark_Twain_pondering_at_desk.jpg" width="142" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your planning periods are precious drops of time that all
too often get sucked away by others or yourself.<span> </span>When I started teaching, I didn’t use my planning periods to
lesson plan. They were spent commiserating with colleagues, just sitting in my
chair, shell-shocked from the class I had just taught, or cleaning my room. By
the time I actually lesson planned, I was exhausted, so it took me three times
as long and I often wasn’t happy with the results.<span> </span>The first step to lesson planning is to find a place and
time of day where you can be the most productive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maia Heck Merlin, author of <a href="http://www.thetogethergroup.com/" target="_blank">The Together Teacher</a> advises teachers to sketch out their week and find times where their energy is
high to do important tasks (like lesson planning).<span> </span>The second aspect of this is to find a place where you can
work undisturbed.<span> </span>I recommend
locking your door and shutting lights out (yes, I really have done this!) or
putting on headphones so that others do not disturb you.<span> </span>Carving out an hour or two for planning
and not letting an email, teacher, or your own thoughts to dig into that time,
is important.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#2.<span> </span>Start with
the End in Mind</span></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWbY7u7t1P6q0eTVIw056Lcli_UBmelnJoSzPk4FnILMox4ZoVxQ_O4zx6ZYCYS1YfH_f5ZAHto_k87VxtO55B3sZSr6Un3lwH19mhCeU94DT454xoib4MDqlc3qIzVDojjQHN6C3Wn9G/s1600/Blue-bullseye.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWbY7u7t1P6q0eTVIw056Lcli_UBmelnJoSzPk4FnILMox4ZoVxQ_O4zx6ZYCYS1YfH_f5ZAHto_k87VxtO55B3sZSr6Un3lwH19mhCeU94DT454xoib4MDqlc3qIzVDojjQHN6C3Wn9G/s200/Blue-bullseye.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It feels wrong to plan the assessment, which is at the end
of the unit, before digging in to the first lesson, but using <a href="http://www.ascd.org/research-a-topic/understanding-by-design-resources.aspx" target="_blank">backwards design</a> is crucial to teaching effectively.<span>
</span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hopefully you’ve looked at the <a href="http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/Understanding-by-Design-Expanded-2nd-Edition.aspx" target="_blank">book</a>
(if not, find a copy at your school or get your school to purchase you a
copy!).<span> </span>I won’t go into the
details here, but the basic principle is to have a clear understanding of what
you want students to know before you start planning your lessons.<span> </span>Create the assessment or final project
first, and work backwards from there!<span>
</span>Before I have hit burn-out mode, I usually sit down for an hour or two
and sift through past state exams, pulling questions into different quiz banks
that align to my different units.<span>
</span>When it comes time to teach that unit, I form a test based on the quiz
bank items, along with more challenging questions.<span> </span>I also like to scaffold in vocabulary questions and other
key conceptual understandings.<span>
</span>Lastly, I am sure to include relevant hands-on (lab practical) skills.
For example, I would have students answer a few questions requiring them to use
a microscopes for a unit on cells.<span>
</span>I usually don’t format and finalize the test, but I keep it open while
planning and make sure that I have prepared students for the final
assessment.<span> </span>It also helps to model
Do Now, exit ticket and homework questions from the exams.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once you know your unit test, you can then chunk smaller
goals together for weekly quizzes or assessments.<span> </span>I like to sit down with a big lesson planning book and my
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b1gX2dSxhIQJQRgu9AFNnPdTSb0tV5RFdoxDq1jNEHQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">yearly overview</a>
open, and sketch out the topics I will hit each week.<span> </span>I am careful to include buffer time, knowing that some
lessons will take longer than I expect.<span>
</span>I then break down my week-long topics to individual days.<span> </span>I try to only have one science content
objective for each day. For the more challenging objectives, I give two or
three days.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#3.<span> </span>Have
Routines</span></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd32yEhkVO0srDYlzN8Y4dLkpjmhJXLkverM50KsXVra1L5WeG530Sgv67hIBqF0doYixwW-2bBqfk6LQwgsPhTdW7Id5MLPLKrNTd0JPTPhuughIuSBtIhmct0ti3qUmeq93GW1z8cXK/s1600/Schedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVd32yEhkVO0srDYlzN8Y4dLkpjmhJXLkverM50KsXVra1L5WeG530Sgv67hIBqF0doYixwW-2bBqfk6LQwgsPhTdW7Id5MLPLKrNTd0JPTPhuughIuSBtIhmct0ti3qUmeq93GW1z8cXK/s200/Schedule.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While I’m sketching out my week in the lesson planner, I
like to have some routines that repeat each week.<span> </span>I have a Do Now and Exit Ticket (or some close) every
day.<span> </span>I like to plan for an
assessment every Friday.<span> </span>The
schools I have taught at had a block period every Wednesday/Thursday.<span> </span>I always planned a lab or some kind of
hands on activity for that day.<span> </span>I
also tried to follow the <a href="http://www.wisd.org/users/0001/docs/GVC/5E%20Model.pdf" target="_blank">5E Model</a> when planning lessons.<span> </span>Therefore,
I try to start with some kind of Engage and/or Explore activity (I find the
“explore” can very easily be an engagement!<span> </span>It could be an exploratory inquiry lab, a graph or data that
sparks discussion, one of Page Keeley’s <a href="http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/uncovering.aspx" target="_blank">Uncovering Student Ideas</a>
probes, a cool demo without an explanation, or some other hook. Whatever it is,
I try to have the students think through what is happening, rather than telling
them the information.<span> </span>From there,
students hopefully elicit key concepts or vocabulary that are necessary to
process for the lesson. After we discuss key concepts and practice vocabulary,
we are typically ready for an elaboration—some kind of hands-on activity or
experiment that digs deeper into the concepts.<span> </span>Students then are evaluated on their work from the week.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I find that having a weekly routine helps students know what
is coming up, and also makes lesson planning a lot more structured and easy to
dig into!</span></span></div>
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<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#4. Think Twice, Plan Once</span></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGz04ljidnfsqjRcGVeHAjrxRZT7CsBWaK-t-xSLpGiHJ7-p3Bgd010yV6FvUy_n9tsZv_0T3MesgoXU-Fku1E9VN6hdnCJyXpsNduN9Xz0ToLE0viuVNQd547gzm3BvqVS3EFASbILSDz/s1600/295px-Almeida_Ju%25CC%2581nior_-_Moc%25CC%25A7a_com_Livro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGz04ljidnfsqjRcGVeHAjrxRZT7CsBWaK-t-xSLpGiHJ7-p3Bgd010yV6FvUy_n9tsZv_0T3MesgoXU-Fku1E9VN6hdnCJyXpsNduN9Xz0ToLE0viuVNQd547gzm3BvqVS3EFASbILSDz/s200/295px-Almeida_Ju%25CC%2581nior_-_Moc%25CC%25A7a_com_Livro.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you spend most of your nights re-thinking the next day’s
lesson?<span> </span>Don’t!<span> </span>You will likely burn out—teaching is a
marathon, not a sprint and it is so important to plan in a way that keeps you
from doing this. </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A frequent issue that arises in my work with new science
teachers is that they have a hard time leaving lesson plans alone.<span> </span>At the end of each day, they re-think
and change the lessons for the next one.<span>
</span>On some level, this is good teaching—lessons should respond to students’
needs.<span> </span>However, if it comes at the
cost of teacher’s sanity because he/she is up all night re-working lessons,
then everyone loses; the teacher is not going to be their best self to teach
the lesson.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learning to let go of the perfect lesson takes time, but I
also think it can be accelerated by consciously resisting the urge to re-do
lessons every night.<span> </span>One solution
for the urge to respond to students’ understandings and their pace is to leave
time in every lesson for a short address of the day before. This could be a 2
minute talk right after the Do Now (especially if your Do Nows specifically
review material from the day before!).<span>
</span>I also leave buffer time by having a whole day assigned to a quiz on
Friday.<span> </span>I typically use the first
half of class to finish work from the week before giving the quiz, or I give a
Do Now quiz and use class time to finish something.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Besides buffering time into your lessons, remember that the
beginning of the year and the first week after the holiday break are times when
students will need practice meeting your expectations.<span> </span>That means activities will take longer
to complete.<span> </span>Don’t pack a lot of
activities and transitions into your lessons during these times, because you
may be spending some of your time redirecting students to meet expectations.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lastly, when you find yourself wanting to re-shuffle
lessons, instead think of ways you can shorten them.<span> </span>Labs are usually the victim of re-shuffling because students
can never finish them in time.<span> </span>If
this happens to you quite a bit, consider having only one or two discussion
questions that get at the key aspect of the lab.<span> </span>Shorter often is better. </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#5<span> </span>Multi Task
& Stay on Task</span></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9zVzvP1j_LV1whsSiS46P-IGjiWMa-mFEOXNpdvwl3CWXHMZ7Mf-85vy9eAOeQIZcOV7Q5dn8N5Z-Di9xnjAH8rqhrqUOIlpEJ88pLcSutr0U37tPbbVLE3j274dYaarIDjuMLtviLwD/s1600/180px-Elgin_pocket_watch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig9zVzvP1j_LV1whsSiS46P-IGjiWMa-mFEOXNpdvwl3CWXHMZ7Mf-85vy9eAOeQIZcOV7Q5dn8N5Z-Di9xnjAH8rqhrqUOIlpEJ88pLcSutr0U37tPbbVLE3j274dYaarIDjuMLtviLwD/s200/180px-Elgin_pocket_watch.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your planning periods are precious!<span> </span>The more you can get done in one
planning session, the better.<span> </span>Once
I have thought through the big ideas and have a clear objective and activity for
each day, I like to drill down to the daily lesson plan.<span> </span>I do this by filling in my <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIbFczTGE5TDlzVFE/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">lesson plan template</a>
while also completing PowerPoint slides for the week, using another <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIUkFSNThRNmtJQTQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">template</a> .
<span> </span>(I prefer to use daily PowerPoint
slides to keep students and myself organized and have resources for absent
students.) </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have the luxury of co-planning with a fellow science
teacher, one can write up the lesson plan while the other creates the PowerPoint
slides. (This is how I learned the trick—thank you Gretchen!).<span> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While you are lesson planning, you may get stuck
somewhere—you can’t think of a good Do Now, or you are about to spend 40
minutes looking for the perfect image for a handout… STOP!!<span> </span>Setting these time-wasting activities
aside, and moving on to other aspects of the lesson results in getting more
done.<span> </span>Often ideas will pop into
your head after you have skipped them, and you don’t waste precious energy
searching for the perfect (often non-existent) solution.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#6<span> </span>Manage
Expectations</span></span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6m2EhXxIoYoan5xRATROFLahWgE-fILe8QBge8KhkhXNiZlXVMi4WSBTQ5b2uhWwRWZ3fEI2Vd4TOA53FtWF3jUmLUCum4jmVjW9SWzs4nON09MmyGah7P3NK1poMHXGLnmpGUfQ31pCR/s1600/FreeRice_Box_TransparentBackgroud_RGBA_8bit_4096.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6m2EhXxIoYoan5xRATROFLahWgE-fILe8QBge8KhkhXNiZlXVMi4WSBTQ5b2uhWwRWZ3fEI2Vd4TOA53FtWF3jUmLUCum4jmVjW9SWzs4nON09MmyGah7P3NK1poMHXGLnmpGUfQ31pCR/s200/FreeRice_Box_TransparentBackgroud_RGBA_8bit_4096.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, realize that you cannot put every idea you have
into your lessons and still cover all the content in time.<span> </span>Trying to cram too many activities into
a day will only leave you and your students stressed out and unhappy.<span> </span>It is difficult to set aside or cut an
idea in order to keep your lessons simple and efficient, but in the long run it
will be better.<span> </span>I leave a section
in my lesson plan for reflections and remind myself that I can always try
something else next year.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remember, teaching is a marathon, not a sprint.<span> </span>Follow these tips and be mindful of
your time.<span> </span>The best thing you can
do is have a healthy work-life balance so you are your best self when the bell
rings!</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-51087806810483284382015-09-06T21:13:00.000-07:002019-03-26T23:54:16.630-07:00Managing the Science Classroom - The 4 I's and Science-Specific Systems<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y9cHXKPW6oKR_bmn1_IVsqgCV0Qgzzru4zOxI5S79zYG4u_g0qDwgn4pEuzoZWZH50n52Kzh2xQdR53_mnEFEPdtKv_7WUPplFd_YPE0DEavWxbNzcQUZxOOmGOSpXjh1nS6naxqycGF/s1600/safetydunce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Y9cHXKPW6oKR_bmn1_IVsqgCV0Qgzzru4zOxI5S79zYG4u_g0qDwgn4pEuzoZWZH50n52Kzh2xQdR53_mnEFEPdtKv_7WUPplFd_YPE0DEavWxbNzcQUZxOOmGOSpXjh1nS6naxqycGF/s320/safetydunce.jpg" width="244" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Everyone has different ideas about how to manage a classroom. A
teacher’s personality greatly impacts their success and approach to their classroom. My approach is directly connected to who
I am as a person and teacher. Below are some general guidelines that I find
helpful for classroom management (The Four “I”s), as well as some procedures
for managing labs, and other science-specific classroom activities</span>. </i></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Four “I”s of Classroom Management</span></span></h3>
<h4>
</h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is very hard to coach new teachers on classroom
management. There are so many other aspects of teaching that new teachers are
trying to remember and the nuances of reading and responding to student
behavior is enough to make any teacher give up. That being said, the core strategies of good classroom
management can be found in four steps:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCUf3lEtsuNx1vwkicg15fp1wsWegxpZGdzj5F72RdeqPvzplUzg7xGU6HqEP8wBglXT98oK6RxVB70x0ef-j7cqEbNbJzD0SlbleiRrZbPro3wKixVn4rhvKTOg29mNsrCxW5sx5PmxD/s1600/imagine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCUf3lEtsuNx1vwkicg15fp1wsWegxpZGdzj5F72RdeqPvzplUzg7xGU6HqEP8wBglXT98oK6RxVB70x0ef-j7cqEbNbJzD0SlbleiRrZbPro3wKixVn4rhvKTOg29mNsrCxW5sx5PmxD/s200/imagine.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine It </span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Close your eyes (yes, I have done this while standing in
front of a room full of chaotic children) and imagine the classroom you
want. Imagine what students are
doing. Are they sitting? Are they hunched around desks? Are their books on
their tables? Backpacks on their chairs? Phones away? Think about what you want. These are your expectations. Try to pull out explicit, visible aspects of your
expectations and take note of them.
It may help to even write them down. Pick the most important one or two things that you would
like to see in the classroom and focus on these. Once these are mastered (days
to weeks to months later), then move on to other aspects.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewus2-bIw55ziXh93KCB_RY-PnmfqNjF7iYwqy0mno4E-JtLrcLfkSasMQtqenZR7G82wKo8bAKXfq8bjzNF3ctW4bnQDCWLLJu_WtGdw0rrBnmspBBv7n6kIUFz1q55xJYK0ZfrtXkoW/s1600/illustrate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewus2-bIw55ziXh93KCB_RY-PnmfqNjF7iYwqy0mno4E-JtLrcLfkSasMQtqenZR7G82wKo8bAKXfq8bjzNF3ctW4bnQDCWLLJu_WtGdw0rrBnmspBBv7n6kIUFz1q55xJYK0ZfrtXkoW/s200/illustrate.jpg" width="172" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Illustrate It</b></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Once you can envision what you want to see, students will
not magically understand and meet those expectations. First you have to show
and teach the expectations. Explicitly state, model, and practice that
behavior, then praise students who are getting it right. If a student still isn’t meeting those
expectations, assume the best and check in with him/her privately. Model the behaviors and get
confirmation that the student understands and can follow them, then remind
him/her once more of the expectations before setting him/her free to enact
them. Once the student gets the expectations right, praise him/her! If a student is intentionally
disobeying an expectation, it will become clear in this process.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKh0PZ_bAht4D55-Py5DeRQO4XqhJGn59zuApKEwFoatow13QZTzd4iVTsZIeAFmUr7YPCtboYosOJaxcxBBLz9IKmLj08y6mD43GHeDAI30ohyZ0DSw-L6MH1xoaU8HThy6L9MDUr4Czt/s1600/insist.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKh0PZ_bAht4D55-Py5DeRQO4XqhJGn59zuApKEwFoatow13QZTzd4iVTsZIeAFmUr7YPCtboYosOJaxcxBBLz9IKmLj08y6mD43GHeDAI30ohyZ0DSw-L6MH1xoaU8HThy6L9MDUr4Czt/s200/insist.png" width="148" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Insist on It</b></span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So you know what you’d like to see in the classroom, you’ve
explained it to your students, but how do you get students to do it day after
day? There is no magic trick. The hardest part of achieving your
classroom expectations is to insist on them. When I was teaching middle school, I had the hardest time
getting my students to start the Do Now right away. My friend, on the other hand, had no problem. I would watch
her students enter her room, sit down and start working. When I asked her what she did, she
couldn’t say; “That’s what they’re supposed to do!” was her reply. I then noticed that as she stood by the
door, welcoming students into the room, she would redirect those in the room to
get started. There was simply no
tolerance for not doing the Do Now.
Students weren’t 100% silent when doing their work, but there was
momentum in her classroom—students knew they needed to get started right away
and if they didn’t, it would not be tolerated.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Insistence means that you do not ignore misbehaviors. It is important to only focus on one or
two expectations at a time, otherwise you will be overwhelmed. If you re-state your expectations,
re-model them (if necessary) and give students a chance to practice each time
you do not see what you want, you will work towards a well-managed class. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Consistently addressing misbehaviors can become exhausting. I
believe this is why many of us (myself included) lose or never attain the
classroom we envision—we do not stay on top of continually expecting the
behaviors from everyone. There
will be many days when you are tired and want to let something go, or when you
don’t have time to redirect a behavior because you will not get to a crucial
part of your lesson. However, when
you are not consistent in your expectations, students will stop meeting them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkUpfgPnSNto2y4vaNuu93LIYuikNhBrvoBPx6QZDaDc9ygSzQ6SdgmYZ_PFFiN8m3QbV85r5dekECXb5QOCGtiy_QZKoKFotCxqHUuv8fnsRB0CbeZj5eYV994jC1ZuquqYMFGmToRX_/s1600/inequity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkUpfgPnSNto2y4vaNuu93LIYuikNhBrvoBPx6QZDaDc9ygSzQ6SdgmYZ_PFFiN8m3QbV85r5dekECXb5QOCGtiy_QZKoKFotCxqHUuv8fnsRB0CbeZj5eYV994jC1ZuquqYMFGmToRX_/s200/inequity.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Intercept the Inequities</span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An often overlooked aspect of classroom management is how you invite or exclude students from being part of the class. When a student is not meeting your expectations and you have gone through the other three "I"s, think about the ways in which that student might feel excluded from your class, or school as a whole. Do you call on that student as much as you call on others? Do you welcome him or her into the class the same way? Do you include examples of scientists that connect with that student? It takes time and serious reflection to acknowledge, let alone address, the ways in which you may exclude that student in subtle or obvious ways, but it is important to be aware of them. There are small ways you can ensure you are treating all students equitably--using a system to randomly call on students, including diverse science posters around your room, etc., but there are many ways in which you may undermine these gestures with your language, tone and even gestures.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> It is difficult to take the idea of how we, as teachers, spread inequity in our classroom and condense it into a few sentences here, so I will address this idea again in later posts.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Reality</span></span></h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Despite your best efforts, you will likely have days where
the classroom feels mismanaged.
You are human, so are your students. The Four I’s work in the grand scheme of management, but be
mindful that we are working in a chaotic environment! Below are some other ways
to trouble shoot problems in the classroom:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmxNWS8D7tRX71lkx_IVxjanRFFCdqwcKbFayxkNzweyRsSsgD8HRl9dB0-ApHn2NI-Im1QXa-XP6NXm45qFxtvqU87xNuIoSwBj7kn5gah0TsH9VbPnWifT4XQ0b9jFP-ZbpwXLw8SnZ/s1600/film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmxNWS8D7tRX71lkx_IVxjanRFFCdqwcKbFayxkNzweyRsSsgD8HRl9dB0-ApHn2NI-Im1QXa-XP6NXm45qFxtvqU87xNuIoSwBj7kn5gah0TsH9VbPnWifT4XQ0b9jFP-ZbpwXLw8SnZ/s200/film.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<li><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Film Yourself</b></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />My number one weapon when things seem out of control is my
video camera. It is terrifying to
film yourself teaching, but once you get over the fear, it becomes a source of
objective information. Sometimes I
would think the class period was complete chaos, but when I looked at the film,
I could see it was really only a few students acting out. The film also can help me see when
students misbehave and find reasons why. More often than not, it occurred when
I droned on for too long giving directions! Before filming, I always run it by my principal or
department head (being clear that the video is just for me) and explain to my
students that it is a tool for me to improve my own teaching. Students wave to the camera at first,
but they soon forget it is there.
Also, it is REALLY important you do not use the camera as a way to catch
students misbehaving and punish them for it. Although you may see lots of misbehaviors previously unknown
to you, using film as a “gotcha” tool will only lead to mistrust and resentment
and make your classroom more difficult over time.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH6WnrIG5PUU4OCUSG5dpQK6GdwMEnQmpbhSKvp52Ny44OXcbAC97Cq3AWLQS5UOZ2osdSLXnCTTYpkk-eRymXzH5GP58Plrl730amKY8BgS4rAimz8hu5RUluq5SnK31wwz_3wXJojCp/s1600/Hands+reaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoH6WnrIG5PUU4OCUSG5dpQK6GdwMEnQmpbhSKvp52Ny44OXcbAC97Cq3AWLQS5UOZ2osdSLXnCTTYpkk-eRymXzH5GP58Plrl730amKY8BgS4rAimz8hu5RUluq5SnK31wwz_3wXJojCp/s200/Hands+reaching.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reach out the most to the hardest students</b></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is likely you will face a few students who do not respond
to redirection and the Four I’s.
When I realize who these students are, I also find ways to love these
students the most. It is much
easier to accept and work with these students rather than try to battle
them. The first step starts with
your mentality. Instead of
thinking that these kids are trouble, they don’t respect you, and dwelling on
negative aspects of working with them, I like to flip my perspective on them. I tell myself that they are good kids
that must have some reason to act this way, and that it is a challenge to learn
how to work with them and get them on my side. I envision us as friends at the end of the year instead of
enemies. By switching your
mindset, your words and actions will (hopefully) soon follow. I often will spend time getting to know
the student—going to their basketball games, asking them what their hobbies
are, looking up notes they wrote in the ice breaker games at the start of the
year. If I find out they are interested
in rap music, I might buy them a book about how to get involved in music
production, or lend them a book that connects to something they mentioned they
cared about. I’ve also resorted to
buying them Burger King and playing UNO with them at lunch—for no reason other
than to get to know them better (UNO or some other game helps a lot—if you try
to ask questions early on, it may feel phony. It’s amazing how much kids open
up over a meal and a card game!)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Classroom Procedures that Make Labs Run Smoothly</span></span></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A big part of having an efficient science class has to do
with classroom management (see the first half of this blog!), however there are
some steps that can help make science class run more smoothly. Here are ways I have tried to run a
tight ship:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGGI1S70r-1XvswUFmQPRIc0T820so-VP8HBP3JZUVMJ3L97hyphenhyphenLl1pXCpNHdiqkGKDSDeDZbKxZAZICU9TAS0nXXcaWPb8Uv8GxA-gMCsoXMDyDBqYbntR-1BodYg-J4qeiF0aD72lRj7/s1600/cafeteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGGI1S70r-1XvswUFmQPRIc0T820so-VP8HBP3JZUVMJ3L97hyphenhyphenLl1pXCpNHdiqkGKDSDeDZbKxZAZICU9TAS0nXXcaWPb8Uv8GxA-gMCsoXMDyDBqYbntR-1BodYg-J4qeiF0aD72lRj7/s200/cafeteria.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Photo courtesy of USDA</i></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cafeteria Style Lab Set-Up </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The most time-consuming part of teaching science is
preparing (and taking down) lab supplies.
Of course there will be times when you have to prepare something ahead
of time, but if you learn to let students do everything they possible can to
set up and take down labs, you save yourself a lot of time and energy! I
use a cafeteria-style system to
minimize my prep work (mentioned in <a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/08/setting-up-science-classroom-desk.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>). Here are some key steps:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organize
lab items into bins or containers, so that there is a class set of each easily
accessible. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have a
model lab tray set up with every item needed for the lab. Put this at the beginning of the
cafeteria line or on a document camera. You also can list items on a board or
Powerpoint slide.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre
arrange lab groups using a seating chart system (again see,<a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/08/setting-up-science-classroom-desk.html" target="_blank"> this blog post</a>)
and
assign one seat number or student as the materials collector.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Leave plenty of time at the end of class for students
to clean up and put away materials.
Different seats can have different tasks (e.g., washing out beakers,
wiping down tables, checking under the desk for trash). You can always play a review game in
the last couple minutes of class while surveying desks and material bins. My
favorite? Science Taboo! </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is
the key step—be very observant and careful to correct any mistakes and praise
any successes in correctly taking and putting away lab materials. Do not let any student leave the
classroom if it is messy. This
means leaving ample time before the bell rings and being a stickler for
perfection (imagine putting on white gloves to check for dust!). Although it may mean a few students
step up and clean up others’ messes while everyone waits, the message is clear:
keep the room clean! Also, don’t
assume a table or bin is clean by glancing from across the room. I typically inspect each table before
dismissing it during lab days. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsN1yCzFsLR8xTro01ru3BegNqoXpF8tPshsCvL1ilC0KpTuEQ3beLlHPCT4JJLOnvIBF9Aw-LyRFop-B5kpccemzyvr0OI7hOacB1OI64hpWDzA8a0gkszWColsAkP40UHZQqpU2m0Ml/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.53.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsN1yCzFsLR8xTro01ru3BegNqoXpF8tPshsCvL1ilC0KpTuEQ3beLlHPCT4JJLOnvIBF9Aw-LyRFop-B5kpccemzyvr0OI7hOacB1OI64hpWDzA8a0gkszWColsAkP40UHZQqpU2m0Ml/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.53.04+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Best Lab
Group Award</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />One way to incentivize a clean lab room and good team work
is to give a best lab group award at the end of lab class once in a while. I review the expectations of a good lab
group (works well together, stays on task, doesn’t ask me questions they can
figure out on their own, and cleans up quickly and thoroughly), and then make
notes while visiting each lab group.
Narrating the groups’ progress helps inspire some healthy competition
(Table B is wiping down their table… Table H is working together). The lab award usually meant some extra
points on their lab grade (they would staple their award to their lab at the
end of class). A template of my
lab reward cards can be found <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIOEVZSXdicUlfdDA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> (want the word doc version? Contact me on <a href="http://facebook.com/newscienceteachers" target="_blank">Facebook </a>or <a href="http://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!)</span></span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0hpClnCoJIBG-vGEgYilDxD2cAYjevoHazuW4YYFK8y38gFEqr864W0Fa_FVrta5ozVMByHADgF0hG-gCcth9XfAVemuV9S0m_mKI01pgw9efWZKlk143Bl4UlJ2jk0Yx0U_umINzIxF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.19.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0hpClnCoJIBG-vGEgYilDxD2cAYjevoHazuW4YYFK8y38gFEqr864W0Fa_FVrta5ozVMByHADgF0hG-gCcth9XfAVemuV9S0m_mKI01pgw9efWZKlk143Bl4UlJ2jk0Yx0U_umINzIxF/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.19.11+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Always
Include Lab and Safety Expectations</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Before every lab, I always include lab and safety
expectations. The lab expectations
are essentially what was mentioned for the best lab group award—students are
expected to collaborate and work together through their inquiry, rather than
asking for answers. Staying on
task, staying with the lab group and following directions are also key. I also think of any safety hazard that
could happen through the lab and explicitly address what the safety hazards
are, and what to do in case they happen.
I leave these expectations up on the board during the lab. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIeb0ciRNnlVnC8V2NsvFuN5kMGILI-dXOvYMo5kQXOnNzgPRwwToI2MNS31Ak5_myes7IynOi2eZ5aJ6AsDae9nCMFDBV7J0ldSrHbx8BQ8VBa4XVIXoH8LO8konw7NOY5yu-4CeTAeZ/s1600/Rc_a%252B.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIeb0ciRNnlVnC8V2NsvFuN5kMGILI-dXOvYMo5kQXOnNzgPRwwToI2MNS31Ak5_myes7IynOi2eZ5aJ6AsDae9nCMFDBV7J0ldSrHbx8BQ8VBa4XVIXoH8LO8konw7NOY5yu-4CeTAeZ/s1600/Rc_a%252B.png" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Make Lab
Behavior a Grade</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />When I taught at an IB school, how students conducted
themselves during a lab activity was part of their grade. Grading students’ behaviors while
trying to manage all the other pieces of running a lab can be difficult, but
having a rubric and grade attached to how students conducted themselves during
an inquiry lesson definitely had an effect. Here are ways I made it work:</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCatCf3GX_7vFl9DZIUWmQuTCa83ZodBb4p4_N5GMb4vrqvteoQ_OxD0AAG7vH0MtjCWPgZVbpGzKAFQkXIzO5B3Dm3GX7BMsK9mC83BlTx3gGLhD_z-2q4ToorjR6OBWmnO9X8Awy8bT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.36.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCatCf3GX_7vFl9DZIUWmQuTCa83ZodBb4p4_N5GMb4vrqvteoQ_OxD0AAG7vH0MtjCWPgZVbpGzKAFQkXIzO5B3Dm3GX7BMsK9mC83BlTx3gGLhD_z-2q4ToorjR6OBWmnO9X8Awy8bT/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-09-06+at+11.36.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Post the
rubric on the board.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br />I included a rubric for students' "Attitudes in Science" at the back of their lab worksheet--see example above (adapted from the <a href="http://www.ibo.org/en/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/science/" target="_blank">2012 IB Curriculum</a>). This served as
my expectations – I showed the rubric on the document camera at the start of the lab, discussed what the highest level looked like and made sure
there was no confusion.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Track behaviors (or look
like you are tracking). <br />I always had a clipboard with my roster and many columns to
record grades. This included
participation and lab work, as well as grades from assignments. It was nearly impossible to track
everyone’s progress precisely during the lab, so instead I put a plus mark (+)
if I saw students doing something exceptionally well and a minus mark (-) when
there was a misbehavior I had to address.
I explained at the beginning of class that students would get a certain
score (say a 5 in a range of 1 – 6) if I did not mark a + or a -, a “6” if they
had an exceptional behavior and something less than a 5 if I addressed a
misbehavior with them. I always
made it clear to the student if they lost a point and whenever possible gave a
heads up if they were about to lose a point (“Are you about to ask me a
question you could answer within your group?”). </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Make
Challenging Directions to Follow</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If one part of your lab grade is following directions, early
on in the year, include a strange step in your directions (for example, draw a
star in the corner of your paper).
At the end of the lab give the exceptional grade to those who followed
it (especially if it is a minority of the class) and make all students aware of
the small steps. Although you
hopefully do not use cookbook labs for every experiment, following directions
is an important part of a lab!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was this post helpful?
It was partially inspired by a science teacher’s suggestion (This post
is for you Madelyn!). What are you struggling with as a new science
teacher? Please contact me on
<a href="http://facebook.com/newscienceteachers" target="_blank">facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter</a>, or leave a comment
below with a topic you would love some input on!</span></span></div>
Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-83986032397157455232015-08-28T12:28:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:54:47.528-07:00Setting Up the Science Classroom – Desk Arrangements and Other Ideas<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmghFn51JtGYyfSfEgY3g3vrXcc9BGhyphenhyphenhLBo7DiexaZNzR58Gw-XNnWNchMwkbQzTICVUkLoMDqrQEQnnhf3NeXjmWT5SOD3dPC8s4M1kA-rkeWveEA-lAimU_1yW6vuHsqHHf7ofRYDD/s1600/0Desks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmghFn51JtGYyfSfEgY3g3vrXcc9BGhyphenhyphenhLBo7DiexaZNzR58Gw-XNnWNchMwkbQzTICVUkLoMDqrQEQnnhf3NeXjmWT5SOD3dPC8s4M1kA-rkeWveEA-lAimU_1yW6vuHsqHHf7ofRYDD/s320/0Desks.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For some of you, the students have arrived and classes have
already started. If your year is anything like my early ones, there are
rare moments to read blogs like this, let alone enact advice from them.
For others, the year is about to begin and there’s a crazy scramble to get
ready. Obviously, it is best to set up your classroom before classes start,
however I strongly recommend changing a system if it is not working. Here
are some key parts of my classroom that you may want to consider or
re-consider:</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Desk
Arrangement</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are many different seating styles you can adopt for
your classroom, and the best way to see them is to pop your head into other
teachers’ classrooms. Although I’ve tried many options, there are two
that I settle on: stadium seating and group tables.</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bdkOLBXqzkd7HkPZ8QlZwNK4vmIu8x34yhw-Z_ublCblMfFhVFeoAGruRwpJaDCjeaLroBRaiXInzcZxhMkmfXcPLKPJnDfVNqnQNfGmzU7DkehEJeeqhJf1HQkPZcmSh9hDWOrzrrF4/s1600/0Group+Seating.jpg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Group Tables </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bdkOLBXqzkd7HkPZ8QlZwNK4vmIu8x34yhw-Z_ublCblMfFhVFeoAGruRwpJaDCjeaLroBRaiXInzcZxhMkmfXcPLKPJnDfVNqnQNfGmzU7DkehEJeeqhJf1HQkPZcmSh9hDWOrzrrF4/s1600/0Group+Seating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bdkOLBXqzkd7HkPZ8QlZwNK4vmIu8x34yhw-Z_ublCblMfFhVFeoAGruRwpJaDCjeaLroBRaiXInzcZxhMkmfXcPLKPJnDfVNqnQNfGmzU7DkehEJeeqhJf1HQkPZcmSh9hDWOrzrrF4/s320/0Group+Seating.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I think of my ideal classroom, I picture group
tables—students working together on labs, activities and other assignments.
When I first started teaching, I jumped immediately into group tables, because
I had learned that student-centered teachers have desks arranged in groups. For
some teachers and classes, this works great. However, if you are new to
teaching and don’t feel confident about your behavior management and other
aspects of teaching, it might make things more difficult. (Key Takeaway: If you
are new and feel overwhelmed, I recommend you start with Stadium and move to
Group after you are comfortable!)</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIbHh2aEpPUVlrRFU/view?usp=sharing">sample
chart for group seating</a> of what group table seating looks like in my
classroom. Desks are labeled by letter and seats are labeled by number.
This way, students can find their assigned seat easily, seat numbers can be
used to identify group roles, and table numbers can be used to help clarify how
to rotate. Notice group tables are angled to face towards the front of
the room so that no backs are completely turned to the board. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "times"; text-decoration: none;"></span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFqyCddAj1ON6dW6UIDilZYjq3-2Hh-hyqY56UrRE4YAsT8h135DU8gXl18J2Qkm-l2E0zBPfvC0DiqMdQvfQEHk7-og9YxzJmUCrHsdcfmry_9uhoByAk0ZGDXaEC13lcGslWxv66hzM/s1600/Stadium+Seating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFqyCddAj1ON6dW6UIDilZYjq3-2Hh-hyqY56UrRE4YAsT8h135DU8gXl18J2Qkm-l2E0zBPfvC0DiqMdQvfQEHk7-og9YxzJmUCrHsdcfmry_9uhoByAk0ZGDXaEC13lcGslWxv66hzM/s320/Stadium+Seating.jpg" width="320" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stadium Seating</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you are new to teaching or still struggle with classroom
management, you may find stadium seating to be a better option, especially at
the beginning. I still prefer this seating method because you can have
all students facing the front of the room while giving instruction,
presentations, or modeling something, but then students can turn to a table
behind them to work in groups.</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here is a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIZ2JxcWlfbkNxdnM/view?usp=sharing">sample
chart for stadium seating</a>. Notice, just like group tables, the
stadium seating has table letters and seat numbers. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Constraints</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The type of desks you have will make different arrangements
easier or more challenging. For example, in the sample charts shown
above, I had nine larger lab tables meant for four students per table, so I had
to squeeze three or even four students to a table in rows. In a previous
school, we had 16 smaller lab tables that were meant for two students per
table. This allowed for better stadium seating which I doubled up for group
tables. If you have regular classroom desks, they are easier to arrange
and move, but are harder to keep as groups.</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tips to Make
Your Desks Work:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Assume you will have more students than is on your roster.
I always make room for at least two more students in even my biggest class.</span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although it is labor-intensive early on, I like to put
student names on tiny Post-It note squares (using the sticky end of the pad)
and then arrange names on a template. When its time to change seats, I
simply move the Post-It. I keep the chart in a plastic sheet protector so
names don’t fly off.</span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When using the above system, I have codes for students with
seating requirements (from IEPs, vision needs, etc.). If you are afraid
students will see your codes, you can write names in different colors to
symbolize needs (e.g., seating up front as required from an IEP in blue).</span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you don’t have the energy for the system above, use an
online tool</span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to arrange and assign desks </span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve found the fastest way to get students in the right
assigned seats is to line everyone up around the perimeter of the room, wait
for complete attention and silence, state expectation that students stay around
the room until I’ve shared all names, and then quickly put hands on seats and
call out names. Other teachers prefer posting seating charts or telling
students as they enter the room. Having letters and numbers on the desks
can make this fast! (David – A4)</span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Desks move, especially in middle school. Use colored
duct or painter’s tape to mark where the desks should be at the end of each
class. Check with your custodian if there is a better material to stick
on the ground (duct tape might not be a favorite).</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></li>
</ul>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Arranging
Lab Space</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For most of us, the instructional space and lab space are
the same. How do you make space for labs then? You need to have
lots of cabinets with items well organized in boxes. I have found clear plastic
boxes (or labeled boxes) work best. When it is time to do a lab, take out
the boxes with the required materials and place them in a logical order along a
back table or counter. Have one student from each lab group line up, cafeteria
style, and pick up a tray or plastic shoe box, and then have them place each
required object in their tray. At the end of class, students clean and return
items to the boxes for the next class. If you train your first and last
classes to learn how to set up and put away boxes, you have very little lab set
up to do yourself!</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other Room
Arrangements to Consider:</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">A Cool
Down Spot</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Having a safe place for an
upset student to calm down is very helpful! Find a nook where you can see the
student, but most of the others can’t, where they can sit and re-group. I
have often put a spot in a corner by bookcases, where the cases can create a
little nook area. To make sure it does not feel like a punishment, name the
spot and explain its purpose at the beginning of the year. I liked to
call my corner “Antarctica” because you could “Cool down there” (plus I was <a href="http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/human-impacts-in-antarctica-2011/journals">going
there</a> that year!) I decorated the wall with pictures of penguins and
seals. Also, I included some important books: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Anger-Workbook-Teens-Frustration/dp/1572246995/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_y">Anger
Workbook for Teens</a>, as well as fun science magazines. For students
who were really upset, I had little puzzles and fidgety toys, although I kept
them in my pocket until the student sat there. Be mindful to not have too
many fun items, or else students may abuse the location.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Doc Cam / Powerpoint helper</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">You can leverage a lot out
of an important seat! In the first weeks of school, I look for students
who are easily distracted or have a low self-image about their success in
science class. I seat easily distracted students near my projector and
computer, and ask them to forward PowerPoint slides for me during class.
I seat students who don’t think they are “good” at science near the document
camera, where I ask them to help me by showing their work, correctly modeling
note-taking or tracking lines in the text as students read aloud. I have a
model notebook for them to follow so there is support and safety in showing
their work. (Of course, I check in with students about this ahead of time and
make sure they feel comfortable doing this.)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Standing tables</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Whenever possible, I try
to arrange standing tables at the back of the classroom for the students who do
much better when they are not sitting still. I get taller stools, so they
can sit if they choose, but it is amazing how much more productive some
students are when they are standing up! For group work, these students
hop up to the nearest table.</span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Help Me Help
You!</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is there something you are struggling with as a new science
teacher? Post it to my facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers">https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers</a>)
or my twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher">@MsBrownTeacher</a></span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-12299991941086763992015-08-20T21:42:00.003-07:002019-03-26T23:55:38.573-07:00The Science Notebook... A Personal Preference<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What's in a Science Notebook?</span></b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKM2J2aCKZHDlGHj9oZlc3xfh7xuC0IZQ5uTh_a9wbyg3V9i-wsHteBsKql3IB7BaKOV8u8XyZzMDzhgV4bCu-EAYdinjkVvxst2gvhYrDQ_ISynei4-vp2H4cBtiqS1izVIg0BWYVIUR/s1600/a+Composition_book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKM2J2aCKZHDlGHj9oZlc3xfh7xuC0IZQ5uTh_a9wbyg3V9i-wsHteBsKql3IB7BaKOV8u8XyZzMDzhgV4bCu-EAYdinjkVvxst2gvhYrDQ_ISynei4-vp2H4cBtiqS1izVIg0BWYVIUR/s200/a+Composition_book.jpg" width="155" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There were a few moments as a new science teacher where I was stunned at how much thought I put into something that students didn't bat an eye at. One such instance was arranging desks (we can tackle this in another post) and another was deciding on what system I should use for students' notes and papers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Although many students lose, forget, never bring, or rarely use their science notebook, for us teachers the notebook is very important. Some schools or departments require a specific system. If this is your school, be grateful--the decision of what to do can be paralyzing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Many veteran science teachers, myself included, are adamant that our notebook system is the best. Although you may find you prefer a different method, below is my favorite way for students to take notes and stay organized for science class.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My Science Notebook System:</span></b></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Materials</span></b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am a devout composition book user. I require all students to bring in two composition books (college bound, 100 pages). I do not accept any other type of notebook. (When a student brings in anything else, they trade their notebook in for a composition book!) Why the composition book? Because for some mysterious reason, students are less likely to rip out pages from a comp book than a notebook. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Although the students just need to bring in two composition books, I purchase a few other items to make my system work. These include:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> File folders - one for each student</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-19698606-Clear-Aquarium-Latches/dp/B004QJEMOG/ref=pd_sim_201_13?ie=UTF8&refRID=1C4GAMXQC3S8H7P1AGN0" target="_blank">Tape boxes</a> and dispensers for each table</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> A continuous supply of tape</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Address labels and Sharpee Markers to set up the notebook</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Index cards cut into thirds to make notebook tabs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Lots of extra composition books to trade and give (I like to have a stock of 50 when teaching 150 students, but typically don't use them all in a year)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Copies of <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIcEpaYWFKLVNLaFk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">composition book rubrics</a> and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIXzJNUFpDSFNIYzA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">achievement grade rubrics </a> </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I use the file folders to keep track of students' lab work. I use different colored file folders for each class period and label each folder with a student's name. Labs stay in my room in these folders and allow me to track what labs students have and have not done. This system is used to track lab hours for Regents coursework, but I also think it has helped students stay accountable for finishing lab work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I purchase <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-19698606-Clear-Aquarium-Latches/dp/B004QJEMOG/ref=pd_sim_201_13?ie=UTF8&refRID=1C4GAMXQC3S8H7P1AGN0" target="_blank">small plastic boxes that interlock</a> and tape
dispensers for each table, and my schools have been kind enough to purchase
tape throughout the year. The interlocking box is key--it allows you to hear when an antsy student is trying to waste tape. Whenever I hear the sound of a box opening, I instantly stop class to stop a tape user from abusing the tape! It may
seem like a pain, but it's what works best for me.
I have also tried glue bottles and glue sticks. I do not recommend that
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Set Up:</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Students bring their two composition books in to school on the second day of the second week of school (allowing time for those who forgot over the weekend to get them). I am prepared with address label stickers, Sharpee markers for labeling, tape and cut index cards for the first tab. I also have my stock of extra composition books for students</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">who can’t afford them, struggle to get parents to
get them one, or bring in the wrong thing. If a student is absent, I give their table partner two blank
comp books and have them fill out the label for the absent student. Some may
feel that providing students with materials enables them, but it makes it so
much easier when every student has their notebook ready at the same time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before setting up the composition book, I share expectations for markers and spend a bit of time talking about tape expectations (*especially in middle school). This may feel like a waste of time, but nipping tape abuse in the bud early on will save you lots of headaches and money! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVVEUC3JFyj92Vdl2pMCoOUMm8-K2NxsPz02u72qqK9junZMISax0CfKOWCXf0SL026Iz3Uh5WRr0IsspvqDodWwZPmU7Ix_iKwcpaN1ZO63T84L4H4goWq3Nhh17iD6jeC7IZ1MY96dl/s1600/a+DSC_4976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVVEUC3JFyj92Vdl2pMCoOUMm8-K2NxsPz02u72qqK9junZMISax0CfKOWCXf0SL026Iz3Uh5WRr0IsspvqDodWwZPmU7Ix_iKwcpaN1ZO63T84L4H4goWq3Nhh17iD6jeC7IZ1MY96dl/s200/a+DSC_4976.jpg" width="156" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We devote about 20 minutes to setting up notebooks, and I
model the process with my own sample notebook at the front of the room with a
doc camera. Students write their
heading (Name, period, Science and “Fall Semester” or “Spring Semester”) on
both notebooks. They tape a
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIcEpaYWFKLVNLaFk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">composition book rubric</a> in to the front inside cover and an <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIXzJNUFpDSFNIYzA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">achievement grade tracking sheet</a>into the back inside cover (*this sheet is for an IB class, although it could be adapted to list key grades like tests, quizzes, labs & projects). I collect the spring semester comp book after they label it and store it in the room until January (this has been field tested--having them bring it back in January doesn't work!)</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tabs!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lastly, students make a tab for the first unit and tape it on the top of the first page. They do this by taking a strip of an index card and taping it around either end of a page with a little bit sticking out to write a label on. I use tabs to distinguish the big
units.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We do not make a table of contents. Many teachers do, but I
often got frustrated at how page numbers differed and some students never kept
up with it while others seemed overly concerned with it. I require students to put a heading on
the top of the page, when relevant (Do Now, taking notes, quizzes and tests),
the date, and an entry number. Students write the same entry number for all
pages used in a day. This way students can use as many pages as they like
without being on a different page than me. If a student is missing work, they have the wrong or missing
entry numbers. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The System:</span></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My rule of thumb is: anything that students need to understand or know goes in the notebook. Do Nows and other notes also go into the notebook. If a homework assignment is
particularly useful, students tape it in the next day (while I check it). Tests and quizzes get taped into
the notebook after being graded, usually the unit test is the last entry in that tabbed
section. The only work that is
separate are labs (actual labs, not activities), which I keep in a separate
folder to track lab hours.
Although I started doing this because the state of New York required me
to, I think it was valuable to have all of a student’s lab work in a separate
place. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have used the composition book system for years, but it
didn’t start to really be successful until I started grading composition books
for effort. I strongly discourage
collecting all the notebooks and grading them after school--a pile of notebooks on a Friday
afternoon is very depressing!
Although it requires good classroom management, I started grading the
most recent pages in the composition book during every test or quiz. Students pile their comp books by the
aisle, and I flip through and give a grade using <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIcEpaYWFKLVNLaFk/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">the rubric</a> on the inside
page. This has been instrumental
in keeping students on track with their work. Also, I keep a model notebook at the front of the room so
students can catch up with any missing pages. I like to have a student who struggles to focus or needs a
little special attention help me with my model notebook while I’m teaching.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Recently I started having students track important grades (tests, quizzes, labs, projects and essays) in the back of their notebook using <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIXzJNUFpDSFNIYzA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">another chart</a>, aligning with IB standards. I kept a similar chart on a big white sticky pad in the corner of the room, updating which assignments students should have recorded. This helped students know how they were doing over time in my class, and became a good way to communicate grades to parents in between report cards. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you are teaching middle school students or notice that students aren't bringing their composition books to class routinely, you should consider keeping them in the classroom. I kept composition books in the room when I taught 6th & 7th grade students. I organized them along counters using <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50022354/">magazine holders </a>(surprisingly affordable at IKEA), labeled for each period.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Benefits of the Composition Book</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One benefit of the composition book is that it saves
paper. I often make handouts that
are half page size – either by using two columns in Microsoft word or by
minimizing the document by 65% on the copy machine. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Keeping all important papers in the composition book is also helpful for parent meetings. Whenever I had to go to an IEP meeting or had a parent come in, I would get the student's notebook or ask the student to take it out. Not only could we look at the student's effort grades in the front of the book and important achievement grades (tests, labs, etc) in the back, but almost all of the relevant work was taped in. For example, finding a student's test became easy (unless they didn't tape it in!). The notebook also becomes a good resource for the student to review before cumulative tests. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is my favorite method, but I’m sure it’s not
everybody’s. Please share your favorite system in the comments section below!</span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-23163431079661804572015-08-11T15:52:00.002-07:002019-03-26T23:56:54.135-07:00Science Lesson Ideas for the First Week of School<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8zCA2_h2aveOYgwW38Gk4oq30BzUu7o9j0eP6jwOmALRNEBwd-W7mcBIq8KRHF1K_9Nxc5QocNevW1KpfuIQMES-cTVB0iSvWWfHPiOIxVCmu8Qx4_7cmSPsSNqsS3sap6LP72e8_QEH/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8zCA2_h2aveOYgwW38Gk4oq30BzUu7o9j0eP6jwOmALRNEBwd-W7mcBIq8KRHF1K_9Nxc5QocNevW1KpfuIQMES-cTVB0iSvWWfHPiOIxVCmu8Qx4_7cmSPsSNqsS3sap6LP72e8_QEH/s200/001.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 1638</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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-</style><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The first week of school is
fast approaching. You have a sense of what you need to teach for the year, but
it’s time to drill down to the day-to-day lessons!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first week’s lessons are a chance to really engage
students in science and find ways to get to know them (and vice versa).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below are some first day and week
ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">First Day Expectations:</span></span></b></i></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Before you start planning a
50 minute first day lesson, check to see what the first day schedule will be
like. It seems as though every school organizes the first day of school
differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one school I
taught at, we had 15 minutes with our science classes and spent the rest of the
day with our advisory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At another school
we had twice the amount of time. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
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</span></b></i><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">First Day Seating System:</span></span></b></i></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">There are many ways to organize
getting students into seats in your classroom, taking attendance and teaching a
lesson in 15 – 30 minutes. Below is how I handle the seating conundrum!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Before the first day of
school, buy packs of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Index-Assorted-Colors-100-Pack/dp/B000EFNKLC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439314706&sr=8-1&keywords=5+x+8+colored+index+cards" target="_blank">large (5” x 8”), colored index cards</a> so that each period has enough of one color.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Organize the colors into
different periods (I always do rainbow order, with my first period as red).
Fold the cards in half, length-wise, and write the first name of each student
on the card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Save extras—students
who aren’t on your rosters will probably show up and need one or students will
want a different name on the card!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I like to arrange the cards
alphabetically by first name and have students sit in groups arranged by first
name. Early on, this helps me learn their first names better (inner monologue
during cold calling: “Hmm… her name starts with an A…”)</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Before class starts, I
quickly put the name cards on desks so students can see their names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A “Do Now” on a powerpoint slide
directs students to find their card, sit down and answer a few questions on the
back of it:
</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YMMrqenbbdzWCobEMPRDuTh_774Xxq6VN8myvintZQ_wMYekuMA_vsKvj2wOzdVfXMtjqWRlrJOqzVl5tl3NUQa1Wb1NJNpuTQt1KjmL5sZ1CbzrsFzf-ADV18kyUiNlpN5hD6_Ael-O/s1600/Slide01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YMMrqenbbdzWCobEMPRDuTh_774Xxq6VN8myvintZQ_wMYekuMA_vsKvj2wOzdVfXMtjqWRlrJOqzVl5tl3NUQa1Wb1NJNpuTQt1KjmL5sZ1CbzrsFzf-ADV18kyUiNlpN5hD6_Ael-O/s400/Slide01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Once class starts, I collect
any cards that no one is sitting at—those students often show up later. If they
don’t, you know they are absent!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the end of the class, I collect all the cards in order to put out the
next day and help me learn names. Eventually I’ll collect the cards and keep
them as <a href="http://teachlikeachampionch4.blogspot.com/p/technique-22-cold-call.html" target="_blank">cold-calling</a> cards.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">First Day Lesson Ideas:</span></span></b></i></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Mystery Boxes</span></u></span></li>
</ul>
<u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span></u><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Mystery Boxes is a great
first day lesson for many disciplines. There are different ways to do
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jean Beard created <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/mys.box.html" target="_blank">this lesson</a> where students
try to figure out the shapes inside the box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These take a bit of prep-work to make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An easier-to-prep lesson involved
putting different objects in a box and ask students to guess what is inside
based on observations. These lessons lead to a great discussion about the
Nature of Science and how scientists use observations to make inferences,
especially when we can’t see what we are studying (e.g., atoms, black holes,
etc.).</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Mystery Powder</span></u></span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This is my favorite way to
wow students on the first day if I only have 15 minutes—especially if I am
teaching Chemistry soon after. Students observe a white powder (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Be-Amazing-Insta-Snow-Makes-Gallons/dp/B000FA6APE" target="_blank">instant snow</a>),
predict what will happen when they add water, and then drop a small amount of
water into the powder. The powder will fluff up into fake snow, which surprises
them! I explain that the water fits inside the holes of the powder using the
diagram on the back. When I discuss physical and chemical changes later in the
month, we refer back to this as an example of a physical change, since the
water can evaporate back out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I
have time, I also demonstrate adding water to a beaker of <a href="http://www.teachersource.com/product/sodium-polyacrylate-diaper-polymer/chemistry" target="_blank">Sodium Polyacrylate</a>.
This is the same compound as instant snow, but it forms a gel instead of a
powder. I then ask a student to pour it over my head, but luckily the gel
sticks to the beaker!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIUUhEV2cxLUNnaEU/view" target="_blank">handout</a> I use.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<ul>
<li><u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Getting to Know You</span></span></u></li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This is my favorite lesson
if I have a full period to teach it. If I don’t get to it on the first day, I
usually include it in the first week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I found this in a <a href="http://www.nsta.org/middleschool/" target="_blank">NSTA Science Scope journal</a> and adapted it to make it fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
put objects around the room that represent me in some way. I like to make them
tricky—a picture with me as a child and my great aunt, instead of my
grandmother, a picture of my father in his navy uniform, a Turkish cookbook,
and a skateboard I used to use a loooong time ago! Students rotate around the
room and record observations of the objects and inferences they can then make
about me (we review what the difference is). At the end, I go around and share
out the truth—no I’m a terrible cook, but I’ve been to Turkey!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite is the skateboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students who skate can look at the
marks at the bottom of the board and say what tricks I can and can’t do, while
those who don’t skateboard can’t say as much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then talk about how prior knowledge deeply affects your
inferences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would recommend
asking a student to bring in his/her skateboard the next day to get this point
across—it also is a chance to have a great start of the year with kids who may
not normally feel like experts in science class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIRFpycXo4NkMzaVk/view" target="_blank">handout</a> and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIcGZaZGM4UThiLUU/view" target="_blank">PowerPoint slides</a> I use!</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
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</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <u>Balancing Nails Challenge</u></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">If you are starting the year
with Physics, this might be a fun one to start with. Each group of students
receives 9 loose nails (or you can do it with 11) and another nail hammered
into a board or piece of wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are asked to find a way to balance all the nails on the head of the
one that’s on the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spangler
Science explains it <a href="http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/balancing-nail-puzzle" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Potato Mystery</span></u></span></li>
</ul>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">If you’re teaching Biology,
you can pre-soak potatoes in water, sugar-water and salt-water. Have each
potato in a different cup (you can even use food coloring to differentiate each
potato slice).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask students to
observe each potato and make inferences about why they feel the way they
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can explain why the slices
are different or let them ponder it until you discuss osmosis later in the
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be best suited to
high school students who already have some understanding of equilibrium and
osmosis.</span></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
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</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Making Silly Putty</span></u></span></li>
</ul>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">If you or other science
teachers at your school have done all the other ideas, this might be a good one
to try (it’s not my favorite, but it still makes for a fun first day!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students predict what will happen when
they mix Borax and glue together and share out predictions. For a chemistry
connection, have students note the original states of matter. Students then mix
pre-measured containers (Dixie cups!) together into a plastic baggie and voila,
a gummy substance commonly known as Silly Putty forms!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students share their observations and
note the change in the state of matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For homework or if there is time, we discuss the history of Silly Putty
with a reading on the back of the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B264wCSkHGgIdjJ3QTk0OVhaanc/view" target="_blank">handout</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">None of these
are not original ideas—science teachers at your school probably use some of
them at some point in the year—probably for the first day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check with other teachers to make sure
the activity you use hasn’t already been done the grade before or a teacher is
planning to use in a grade after.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Do you have other first-day
lessons?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please share on my
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers" target="_blank">facebook page</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MsBrownTeacher" target="_blank">twitter</a> or in the comment section below!</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Next Up…</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span></b></i><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Other must-dos in the first week of school!</span>
</span>Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-35674530036824886752015-08-08T21:02:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:57:21.472-07:00Building a Yearly Plan from an Amorphous Curriculum, Step by Step<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvBhd6mrQKO2gBri7LjJXJUmKM7NqPkr6OyzoogPFjrcMjnsjqydmWtJrNGGslUYBaNY3C3CRsQw-TNijVNBd-YuO4ClxScLX5zyt-fmLfBof4tS14n4k1jLXUZOaTzfb3ORkIOyrigl5/s1600/aaa0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvBhd6mrQKO2gBri7LjJXJUmKM7NqPkr6OyzoogPFjrcMjnsjqydmWtJrNGGslUYBaNY3C3CRsQw-TNijVNBd-YuO4ClxScLX5zyt-fmLfBof4tS14n4k1jLXUZOaTzfb3ORkIOyrigl5/s200/aaa0.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Do you have a vague idea of what you will be teaching in a few weeks (!!!) but no clue how to arrange it into a logical plan? Let's build it together! Here is how I do it:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Step 1 </b></i> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">List the big units you will be covering across a page. (Lost on how to do this? <a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/08/planning-your-curriculum-overview.html">Read this post</a>!) I'm a paper and pencil person, so I like to write them out across a few pages. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Step 2</i></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ok--this part is tedious, but if you stick through it, it will make your year a lot easier! Go through all of the content standards you need to cover, and list them under the category that makes the most sense. You don't have to write out the whole standard--a word or two summarizing the idea and the standard number works fine. Some of the standards are hard to pin into one category, but you'll eventually find a nice home for them. This is a messy process. Be prepared to re-write, erase, draw arrows and make strange notes so that it works! By the end of it you should have a general idea of what content you'll teach in each unit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXvrOetVjoiKI_c4u9-H7DLegY9aumHkfgisuwckqCBtKG3pJPFo7qitr0ozNzZm_FCZ0HfvkRM_DDzuIiFAMF-QeVCHzIvXkIUNJqcrhgUArv4NugL0sZO9od6-Pw3m-zlMx8JZDz-hj/s1600/aaa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXvrOetVjoiKI_c4u9-H7DLegY9aumHkfgisuwckqCBtKG3pJPFo7qitr0ozNzZm_FCZ0HfvkRM_DDzuIiFAMF-QeVCHzIvXkIUNJqcrhgUArv4NugL0sZO9od6-Pw3m-zlMx8JZDz-hj/s640/aaa2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here's what my standards-driven outline looks like!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Step 3 </b></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Figure out how many weeks you need to teach each unit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Step 4 </b></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What? You're still trying to figure out Step 3? This part has a lot of moving parts to consider, but we'll try to take it step-by-step! Also, please skim the "Things to Consider" section at the end before proceeding--it might save you time! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At this point, I like to get out a new piece of paper (or the digital equivalent) and re-write my units. You may not need to do this, but for some reason it helps me! I start the year with an introduction, so I'll write that as my first "unit" (see a picture of my draft below). This will include team-building and beginning of the year activities, safety reviews, and key aspects about science or the specific discipline. I then write out the units from my curriculum overview. For each unit, I scan through the standards I listed and summarize them in an order that would make sense to teach. I only write down essential vocabulary in a logical sequence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I then estimate how many weeks I will need to teach each unit. I do this by clumping similar sub-topics together and estimating how many of those topics are shorter lessons (1 day or less) versus longer block or multi-day lessons. Do not think a long list of standards = a long unit. Vocabulary-centered
content typically can be covered in a day or two. Conceptual stuff or lab-centered ideas will take longer. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For example, say I was
teaching the following concepts in a unit on Cells: </span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">cell theory </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">structure & function</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">single vs.
multi-celled organisms</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">plant vs. animal cells </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">order of organization from cell
to organisms </span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I would give a week
or two to structure & function, since this will cover all of the organelles
and their jobs—a lot for a kid to learn and remember! I’d also give two weeks to plant vs. animal cells, since this
will be a good review of organelles and a nice chance to use microscopes to
compare the two (which means practice using microscopes beforehand, taking a week). I would bunch the other aspects (cell
theory, single vs. multi-cellular organisms, etc.) into these weeks, totaling
a minimum 4 weeks. It would be
tight to teach all of it in this time, but I could do it if I had to. If I find I have more time to spare
after calculating my other units, I will add extra week(s) to this unit, but it’s best to plan for the
minimum time first and add weeks after.<br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> After my last content unit, I usually include a review unit, since I typically teach classes that have a cumulative assessment (e.g., state test).
Studies show that it is far more effective to review
material in a mixed fashion throughout the year, rather than cram sessions at the end of the year (skim to the end of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html">this article</a> to learn more).
Although I try to do this, honestly many of my attempts (exit tickets, extra
review questions) get skipped because I run out of time in the daily lessons. If you are better at
this, please share how you do it!
I often rely on an end of year review to ensure I’ve prepared students
adequately for any cumulative test.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxlPuSQaOr1qUg9Ok-PcYOe9uT76xi1aTTbRqVEsZmTX2OFzFNMo0JUtCOlPtyvtNhDuIuLyH3gJyqsvsOth4LROJmH1V1Fooae5UGE6VfgLfq3r0H8VcfkBXx2CZjoLQDtPKBd3Szzx/s1600/aaa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcxlPuSQaOr1qUg9Ok-PcYOe9uT76xi1aTTbRqVEsZmTX2OFzFNMo0JUtCOlPtyvtNhDuIuLyH3gJyqsvsOth4LROJmH1V1Fooae5UGE6VfgLfq3r0H8VcfkBXx2CZjoLQDtPKBd3Szzx/s640/aaa1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here is my slightly-neater, second outline</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Step 5: Plan It Out!</b></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You've done all the hard work--the last part is easy. I recommend doing this last step on an <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b1gX2dSxhIQJQRgu9AFNnPdTSb0tV5RFdoxDq1jNEHQ/edit#gid=15">online academic calendar</a>, or be prepared to erase and re-write a few times. Write your unit headings into the correct spaces, leaving enough weeks according to your plan. Hopefully you have some extra time at the end of the year. If so, figure out how many weeks that is, and add them to the most tightly-packed units. If you are in the other boat and have run out of time, skim weeks off of the units that can afford it the most (or take a little off each unit if you can't do this!).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Try to end units logically in the
calendar—before a holiday break or at the end of a grading period. Use week-long inquiry projects to help
stretch weeks to these end dates. Inquiry projects should also be considered at the end of units that are lab-centered. For example, an inquiry project could be included after units on cells and plants--students could explore how salt affects elodea cells! Including week-long inquiry projects also allows buffer space if you run out of time with curriculum (but please try to include
open inquiry projects in your year!) </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Things to Consider:</b></i></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Start with the state test date!</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <i>Some state tests are much earlier than the end of the school year. Be sure you know when the state assessment is, so you can plan backwards from then. What to do with the week(s) after the test? That is a great time for dissections, inquiry labs, or less-tested curriculum. Some science teachers are responsible for teaching sex ed. I found the weeks after the state test to be the perfect time to do this! Nutrition, healthy living, and other topics also fit nicely here. </i></span></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don't plan for students to master everything</span></span></li>
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{page:Section1</style><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One huge lesson I didn’t quite get my first year teaching is
that some content is meant to be introduced to students while other content is
meant to be mastered. Students may
not fully grasp how homeostasis is a key function of organisms in 6<sup>th</sup>
grade, but should be able to differentiate between abiotic and biotic. How can you tell what
needs to be mastered vs. introduced?
Some states are kind enough to mark this in their standards. If you are not so
lucky, look at the assessments—the type and number of questions will give you a
sense of the level of depth you have to go to for that area. Make sure you are familiar with this before allotting two weeks to electron configuration when it is not tested in your assessments! </span></span></i></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Not all weeks are the same</span></span></li>
</ul>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don't assume that all your week numbers have the same number of days in them. Be mindful of shortened days (especially 2-day weeks, like Thanksgiving Break), and plan accordingly. Also, try to find out when field trips and beginning/middle/end of year testing dates are. You may not get much teaching in during these times! </span></span></i><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Next Steps:</span></span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />In the next post we'll discuss planning weekly lessons, including the first week of school!</span></span></div>
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Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-85193072877442692612015-08-07T09:49:00.002-07:002019-03-26T23:57:37.717-07:00Planning Your Curriculum Overview<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Once you know how many teaching days and weeks you have (<a href="http://fornewscienceteachers.blogspot.com/2015/08/first-steps-to-teaching-science.html">see past post</a>), it's time to look at your state standards and break them into logical units. If you are a new teacher, I strongly recommend looking at how colleagues in your district or state organize content. Textbooks are also a good way to see how units are organized. </span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Up to Your Neck in Standards</span></b></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlhVtefoG90YDO1nyMJ4Kv3iiLiqo7mmzfrvl4dQqSJgM2nDCOeX7-RzRgoY4DNmtYfPlDHz9WF2z2qH2muZKuS4lmN9Fvj0I2r1jCClJp0L84W_TPAuYiZbV4v2zeSThCQBThuXE20kV/s1600/713px-Busy_desk.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlhVtefoG90YDO1nyMJ4Kv3iiLiqo7mmzfrvl4dQqSJgM2nDCOeX7-RzRgoY4DNmtYfPlDHz9WF2z2qH2muZKuS4lmN9Fvj0I2r1jCClJp0L84W_TPAuYiZbV4v2zeSThCQBThuXE20kV/s320/713px-Busy_desk.svg.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before you can organize your curriculum, you first have to know what you are teaching! It is time to look at the dreaded standards. There are many standards to consider and it can feel overwhelming! For example, the New York State Standards have the state standards (including content standards and thematic standards), NGSS standards, as well as literacy/math standards for the Common Core. Although it is important to consider all of these pieces in teaching, it can be very overwhelming to try to juggle them while planning curriculum for your first time! If you are feeling lost, I recommend <b>only looking at the content standards (from the state standards) for now. </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You may notice state standards that are about inquiry or lab safety. Although these are also important to consider, do not worry about them at this point. Your first step is to get a grasp of the content you need to teach and you can easily incorporate them into your content. NGSS and Common Core standards also should be incorporated into the content, but first things first: content!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Once you have isolated the relevant content standards, read through them and get a clear sense of what bigger subjects you'll be teaching. It also helps to scan through some past or sample state assessments. This will help you in the first step, which is to map out the overall flow of your content.<b> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>An Overview of the Curriculum Overview </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you are teaching middle school science, it is likely that you are teaching different disciplines of science (physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology). It is important to think about what foundational concepts need to be covered first. For example, if you are planning on teaching an earth science unit that includes plate tectonics, you should cover physics first, including forces. Typically chemistry and physics should come before earth science, astronomy or even biology. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I prefer to start with chemistry concepts first. They offer engaging labs that can start of the year with a bang (literally) and can also offer opportunities to teach and practice lab safety early on.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At this stage you should iron out the biggest units--whole disciplines if possible. These units will be 1 - 2 months long, not the smaller units. If you are teaching within one discipline of science (e.g., Biology), you can separate it out to its biggest components (e.g.: cells, organisms, populations/biomes, ecology, human anatomy, sexual reproduction).</span><br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">From Small to Big or Big to Small</span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I prefer to organize content from a micro to macro system or vice versa. For example, I may start with Chemistry/Physics, focusing on atoms and molecules, then move to Biology/Ecology, focusing on organisms and systems on Earth, then Geology, looking at Earth as a planet, and finally Astronomy, zooming out beyond Earth.</span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Summary of What To Do:</span></b></i><br />
<ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApiT-O5kmjZLQ3E480yQ-x8b-LocbI2iMhziRijXKZoD3b1yaSodc61-fUqFmSbLpaozYer9-7R93q4t5lzXaaTATQc9d9i-YiSqCvcWNQ0pMiUvO9GN8sVednCD8pOA4L2MdCLnsb6zr/s1600/695px-We_Can_Do_It%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApiT-O5kmjZLQ3E480yQ-x8b-LocbI2iMhziRijXKZoD3b1yaSodc61-fUqFmSbLpaozYer9-7R93q4t5lzXaaTATQc9d9i-YiSqCvcWNQ0pMiUvO9GN8sVednCD8pOA4L2MdCLnsb6zr/s200/695px-We_Can_Do_It%2521.jpg" width="154" /></a>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Isolate key content standards and review them, along with relevant tests (know what you are teaching!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Look at other teachers', textbooks and the state's curriculum overviews and find one that fits for you</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Sketch out a big plan of what you'll teach--remember, start with the foundational topics and plan from micro to macro or vice versa</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Next Steps:</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the next blog, we'll start drilling down to specific units to plan out a detailed yearly overview!</span><br />
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<br />Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342854816138881256.post-46264518004576743632015-08-07T07:50:00.001-07:002019-03-26T23:58:23.326-07:00First Steps to Teaching Science<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You are probably
feeling excited and anxious about your first year teaching science. I
clearly remember wanting to get started, but now knowing how. I am
writing this blog while coaching a middle school teacher who is new to
science. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i>About Me</i></b> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzMSl_LwLth8nOjuul9pPhOiWVJDV9cwAY44wGClEBqq7bSPjZ3Th6Q8GIpwyywj55dbnyJ9vrTJ84P6rmSrXOFiPd97T0O_VR4lzBmZhdG2TJKB_pZw3hTel_b49Vu732cVlBST6826F/s1600/selfie1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzMSl_LwLth8nOjuul9pPhOiWVJDV9cwAY44wGClEBqq7bSPjZ3Th6Q8GIpwyywj55dbnyJ9vrTJ84P6rmSrXOFiPd97T0O_VR4lzBmZhdG2TJKB_pZw3hTel_b49Vu732cVlBST6826F/s320/selfie1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although
I don't think I'll ever feel like a master teacher, I have taught
middle and high school science (grades 6 - 9) for 8 years in two
states. Most recently I spent a year as a math and science
instructional coach working with new math and science teachers. There
are a lot of aspects of teaching that are learned best through
experience, however many systems and approaches can be shared and can
save new science teachers a lot of trouble. I hope to share these
systems as I walk through important steps throughout the year.</span></span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Get Organized</span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hopefully
you know what grade level you are teaching and specifically what topics
you will be covering. If you are in a public school or your school has
students take state tests, your content is essentially provided for
you. The calm before the storm of school starting can be overwhelming
and difficult to know where to start.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here are some initial ways I get organized:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Buy a lesson planning
book or use an online calendar that will carry you through an academic
year with both a macro and micro viewpoint.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Access your school's academic calendar and mark holidays, testing days, and other important school events.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Access the science state standards or other standards that your school uses for curriculum.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Access practice or
old state tests (or other end of year assessments) for your grade level
and content area. If your grade level isn't tested, but something is
tested a year or two later, access that one so you can work backwards.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Familiarize myself with how to order science materials so I can have materials ready before the first day of school.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Of course these are first steps. The real work is digging in, but we'll get to that in the next blog.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yearly Curriculum Template</span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You may need to collaborate with others and share your yearly overview. <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b1gX2dSxhIQJQRgu9AFNnPdTSb0tV5RFdoxDq1jNEHQ/edit?usp=sharing">Here is a template</a> I use when working with teachers to map out the year. Send me a message on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewScienceTeachers" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or Twitter (@MsBrownTeacher) if you'd like me to email you a downloadable excel version of the template!</span></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don't Forget Target!</span></span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One
thing I always do around now (early August) is stop in to a Target,
Walmart or any other big school supplier store and take advantage of
their ridiculously good back-to-school prices. I stock up on markers,
tape, scissors, colored pencils, pencil sharpeners (especially the
quiet, individual ones!), folders, lined paper and composition books. I
buy 20 or so folders and composition books for students who cannot
afford them or will not be able to get one soon after the year begins.
Some may argue that I enable them, but I find comfort in knowing I can
start ALL students in their composition books by the second week of
school!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Other Great Resources</span></span></b></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The
following books have been go-to resources for me as a teacher and coach
and I would highly recommend looking through them before your school
year begins:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://teachlikeachampion.com/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Teach Like A Champion by Doug Lamott</span></span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nsta.org/publications/press/uncovering.aspx"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All of NSTA's Uncovering Student Ideas in Science books</span></span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thetogethergroup.com/">Maia Heyck-Merlin's The Together Teacher</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nsta.org/publications/">NSTA membership and a subscription to the elementary, middle or high school science teacher journal</a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Also, ask your
school to provide resources to purchase these items (especially the NSTA
membership). Schools may also offer to purchase the resource as a
library item which you can then borrow.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Next Up...</b></i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stay tuned! Next I'll walk you through how to plan your yearly curriculum map!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the meantime, please add your ideas or anxieties to the comment section. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Follow Me On Twitter: @MsBrownTeacher </span></span><br />
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<br />Michelle Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589326047947282802noreply@blogger.com1