Category: Best Practices
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Download Free Google Classroom Banner Images
Download free images to use as your classroom head in Google classroom or other LMS.
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Open Access Biology Chapters with Questions
Check out opensource options for textbooks from CK12 and OpenStax. Includes a link to a set for intro bio where students answer questions in a sidebar.
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My Remote Toolbox
My school announced that the fall school year will start as remote learning due to wide scale community spread of Covid-19. I would much rather teach and person, but I do understand the concerns of parents, teachers, staff, and other community stakeholders. Note: Many of the activities I created for remote learning I still use…
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Exploration: An Inquiry Activity on the Dubia Roach
A short activity for day one in the science class. Give students a live animal to observe, like a dubia roach. They write observations, questions, and make inferences to share with the class.
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Phylogenetic Tree – Canines
Students examine a phylogenetic tree which has questions for them to discover how the tree is organized. Students will learn what a node is, and how branches on the tree represent descendants from a common ancestor.
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Video Lessons Graphic Organizer
This lesson introduces students to the idea of watching videos at home, taking notes, and then coming to class with understanding and knowledge to apply to a classroom activity, like a lab or discussion. Students watch a 4.5 minute TED Ed video and complete a chart on the main ideas and details.
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Exit Tickets in the Biology Classroom
Examples of using exit tickets in the biology classroom. Includes a template for a twitter exit ticket.
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Science News Articles for Kids
Are you looking for current science for your students? This is a list of go-to sources for reliable science news.
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Model the Digestive System with Coloring
The digestive system is a series of organs that work together to break down food into nutrients that the body can use. The digestive system includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. Coloring activities can be helpful to give students a chance to model the organ systems. I short, coloring…
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Lesson Plan Template
Lesson plan template for google docs. Save to your own drive or print.
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Review with Whiteboard Panels
In order to review for final exams and to also tie together the semester, I had my students create boards that summarized the labs they did during the semester. I choose 6 labs so that each group of three would be able create a whiteboard panel and do a mini presentation to the rest of…
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Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) Science Topics
A list of topics and articles for students to use to practice claim, evidence, and reasoning.
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Flashcard Creators and Templates
If you teach a class that requires students to memorize information, then you have probably worked with students on developing strategies for memorization. I often tell my anatomy students that they might forget some of the details of what they have learned, but study strategies will stay with them through college. I could get…
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Demo: BTB and Carbon Dioxide
I have used this demonstration every year to introduce the scientific method. The worksheet below is optional and includes instructions for writing a lab report and doing a more involved investigation, but for the beginning of the year, I prefer to just have students observe and give their suggestions for how to test various hypotheses.…
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Maintaining a Science Library
My classroom has a collection of science themed books that are not textbooks that I periodically share with my students. For example, when discussing biochemistry at the beginning of the year, you will find a copy of the Poisoner’s Handbook on my desk, with several post-it notes attached. Students are curious about the…