As teachers, we know that keeping early finishers engaged can make a tremendous difference in your classroom management. And with many schools prohibiting the use of phones in school, you might find those gifted students becoming a distraction to others when they finish their work quickly. Instead of allowing idle
Learned helplessness- a state where students feel incapable of succeeding- is a serious problem in upper-level high school science classes and it can lead to frustration and a lack of confidence. This arises in chemistry more than most other science classes because of the way that chemistry concepts build upon
Let’s face it- Valentine’s Day is a big day for teens. Although incorporating Valentine’s Day activities into the classroom can be a fun way to celebrate, I prefer to give out science valentines to each of my students. Although I’ve taught teens for most of my career, I have a
The Cornell Notes system is a powerful tool for organizing information, but to truly maximize its potential, you need to turn those notes into an effective study guide. If you’re familiar with Suburban Science resources at all, you’ve probably seen some of my guided Cornell Notes. In a previous post,
You just sat down to catch up on grading and realize there are a few older assignments mixed in with the ones you collected yesterday. You try to remember: were these students absent or should these worksheets be counted late? With well over one hundred students, it’s a lot to
Nothing is worse than an emergency sub day because you’re sick or you have to stay home to care for someone else. Coming up with science sub plans can be a frustrating addition to an already stressful day. Without warning, it’s easy to tell the sub to play a video
It’s the end of the semester. You and your students are exhausted and ready for a break. Your administrator, however, has requested that everyone in the department create summative science assessments. Although a traditional final exam may be easy to grade, there are many more engaging ways to assess what
I’m not sure that any high school teacher would say she loves having students write science lab reports. It’s often a lot like getting your kids to eat their vegetables- you know it’s good for them, but what a struggle to get them to do it! And grading lab reports
I know what you’re thinking- These kids are rowdy enough! Why would I include more movement activities in the classroom? Well, scientific research has shown the average learner needs to move his or her body every 20–30 minutes. When students (or adults for that matter!) sit too long, it can
It’s hard to contain the excitement during the holiday season. Instead of fighting it, harness their energy with some fun Christmas science activities even high school students will love! With these lessons, your students will be learning in festive ways and you can continue to work on content all the
“Mathematics is a part of science…a set of tools that helps scientists understand a marvelously complex world.” -Dr. Paul Williams, Biology Professor at Univ. of Wisconsin If my child is only halfway through Algebra 1, can she take Chemistry? What homeschool science course should my son take as a 9th grader? Most
