Using videos to explain science concepts and topics is a great way to reinforce what you are teaching and mix up your instruction. This post will share a collection of videos for teaching plant and animal cells. As with all videos, I recommend you preview them before showing them to your students. :) 1. Bill Nye the Science Guy - Cells Running Time: ... Read More
Browse the archives below for even more great ideas
Review Games and Activities with Beach Balls
Beach balls are so much fun on the sand or in the pool and they can be just as much (well almost as much) fun in the classroom. This post will help you bring a little summer fun into your classroom with these five review games and activities that include beach balls. Beach Ball Review Activity 1 – Beach Ball Basketball Materials: 1 Beach ball 1 Large ... Read More
Outdoor Review Activities and Games
Reviewing concepts and facts can get tedious in the classroom, but not when you take the activity outside for some fun, friendly competition and sunshine. This post has five fun and active games for outdoor review that get your class moving while reviewing the information they need to know. These activities can be used as competitions to gain points for a class reward, or ... Read More
Spring Engineering Activities with Jelly Beans
Engineering and STEM activities are perfect during the months of spring. They work well for engaging lessons or even for behavior rewards. You can use the engaging activities as a reward for on-task and good behavior during the days/weeks leading up to the activity. This post shares TWO spring engineering activities with jelly beans that your students will ... Read More
St. Patrick’s Day Science Activity | Walking Rainbow
St. Patrick's Day is a fun little holiday that comes during a time in the classroom when behavior can be a bit dicey. State testing is on the horizon but so is Spring Break. Those don't often make the best combinations in the classroom. However, St. Patrick's Day can add a bit of fun and whimsy into what can otherwise be a stressful month. This post will share a favorite ... Read More
Thanksgiving Science Activity | Bending Bones
Holidays are the perfect time to engage your students in experiments and activities that are a nice break from the normal curriculum, but still valuable learning opportunities. On this post, I will share a Thanksgiving science activity involving bending turkey bones! This is more of a demonstration than an activity and will take a few days (2-3) so make sure you ... Read More
Apple Oxidation Science Experiment with FREE Science Reading Activity
Science experiments are such an important part of students’ learning. However, sometimes I felt that my science standards didn’t lend themselves to the kind of experiments that my students really needed. Implementing seasonal themed science experiments was a great way to incorporate engaging science experiments that I felt really benefited my students. This post shares ... Read More
Activities for Early Finishers (Upper Elementary)
What if I told you that you could have plans in place for your early finishers without a ton of prep on your part? What if those "activities" were super meaningful, engaging, and directly aligned with what you were teaching? Well, that is exactly what I am going to describe in this post. Let's take a look at my favorite early finisher activities that will save your ... Read More
Textbook Reading Tips {How to Make Textbooks Engaging and Comprehensible!}
Though I have never been a "textbook teacher", I can definitely see the benefit of using a common text with the students, particularly in science and social studies. I typically use only a textbook or common text for social studies, occasionally for science, and never for ELA or math because my district does not have a mandated textbook for either of these subjects. ... Read More
Engaging Ways to Review
One of my biggest struggles as a teacher has always been students helping students all the skills they are learning in all the subjects. I have to be very purposeful about spiraling skills consistently so the students don't forget what was learned at the beginning of the year. Read more details about how I use spiral review in all subjects (and not just morning work) ... Read More
How to Implement Close Reading in Science {Free Resource}
Close reading is all the buzz in reading instruction these days. Did you know that you can implement close reading in science? This post will share details about close reading in science with ideas for implementation. The science close reading strategies that I am going to share would also work well with social studies. In addition to these strategies that I will share in ... Read More
Teaching Students How to Study
One thing that I have learned teaching upper elementary is that some students have to be taught how to study. Most don't come to us already knowing how to study. Sure, some students grasp the material quickly and retain it easily. However, the majority of my students needed me to explicitly teach them strong study methods they could do independently or with someone else. ... Read More
