MIKE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
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Middle School Science Resources
​For Busy Middle School Teachers

Changes in Science Education in middle school

1/18/2022

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PictureAn example from the Asteroid Impact shelter unit. Link in blog post.
One of the biggest changes coming to science education is the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards.  Currently around 20 states have officially adopted these standards (at the writing of this piece).  There is currently a push to provide grant funding to move states to these new standards.  In this post I would like to share some of my takeaways from this process.  Disclaimer:  I am no expert on NGSS, just a classroom practitioner learning along the way. 

Engineering is no longer an extra:  We used to plan fun engineering STEM activities to keep things interesting in middle school. NGSS puts problem solving and engineering at the core. There is a feel of project based learning here, with an emphasis on deep learning as we go. 

Content/Curriculum sequences are meant to be baked in. If you are looking for a list of topics to teach and an order to do them, you will go nuts.  The idea of cross cutting concepts is core to this topic.  So rather than exploring a topic based on a discipline, like biology.  We are looking at all aspects of the sciences involved. For example if we look at polar biomes.  We no longer focus on the just the biology or ecology.  We would also include things like weather, temperature, heat transfer etc. 

The engineering design process is engaging for students.  Our first NGSS unit was the asteroid impact lesson provided by Teach Engineering.  This free unit was so well designed and engaged students.  We used it alongside our rocks and minerals lessons with great success.  Student explored the challenges of building underground shelters while evaluating various rock types.  Check the unit plan here (external links).

Our goal moving ahead.  As we move through this transition, our goal is to continue to build high quality instructional materials for middle school.  Over-top of this, we will be designing NGSS challenges that will tie all the core content together taking advantage of cross cutting concepts and student engagement.

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Geologic Time for Middle School

4/3/2021

 
We just finished up our geologic time for middle school bundle.  If you re looking for ideas teaching geologic time in middle school?  Check out some of our resources on our latest website edition.  Click Here

Hands on Middle School Science

3/2/2021

 
One of the biggest challenges we face engaging middle school students is connecting them with hands on learning.  Add the hybrid nature of the Covid classroom and it becomes difficult to envision a class where exploration flourishes.  In this post I would like to share one of my favorite hands on learning resources for the Middle School Classroom.

TOPS Learning Systems was created by Ronald Jay Marson.   His experience was gained by teaching science and math in the West Africa as a Peace Corps. With this experience he learned to make do with limited resources.  I like his resources because they don't require complex materials, paper clips and tape goes a long way.  Adding his low tech materials in physical classes while pairing with dynamic online content is the perfect way to help your kids grow and learn.

For example:  This week we are exploring cell respiration and energy production in cells.  Using our Cell Respiration materials, we had students do a simple calorie calculation lab using a bowl of water.  Students could determine how many calories were used in heating a container of water with their hands.  This idea helped us make a connection between cell respiration, mitochondria, calories and heat.     

Please be sure to check out Mr. Marson offerings, they can be downloaded in digital forms along with the freebies in class.  We have no affiliation with his products, but wanted to pass along a good resources

Cells in middle School

2/6/2021

 
Getting started with cells in middle school life science? Check out our page outlining the key teaching components and ways to make your lessons more successful.  Learn more
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Earthquake Lessons for Middle School

1/21/2021

 
Our latest post outlines our lesson sequence for exploring Earthquakes.  Students will explore the effects of Earthquakes and the science behind measuring their force and power.  Click here to continue reading.
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bell ringers in middle school

1/9/2021

 
The key to any middle level classroom is structure.  At the start of class each day, students learn best when they have the opportunity to focus their attention on learning experiences.  On the other side, middle school learners are very social and easily distracted.  The ability to “start class” is essential.  Bell ringers or getting started activities should have a visual or verbal cue for students.  Simply saying "its time to begin" is an important step.  From that point on you can engage kids.  By doing this on a regular basis, students get in the habit of preparing their minds to learn.  In addition you can provide visual cues.  Online or face to face, I prefer a presentation slide with the days “bell ringer”  Many students will enter the room or log in online and casually read your prompt.  This subtle victory is very important, other kids will see this occur and they will model the same behavior.  Next thing you know the class will start all by itself.  You may ask the question, what kind of bell ringers do I use?  There are no limits, but here are a few I like
  • Youtube videos (current events, animations or even music videos)
  • Surveys (How many have, how many know etc)
  • Recall and Synthesis of topics from the previous day
  • Questions about personal experience (they love these)
Time is key.  Ideally 5 minutes is perfect to break a standard class period up.  Spending too much time on a bell ringer can lose students as they  begin to wonder and lose focus.  Finally, when you have completed the bell ringer, be sure to include a transition I like to call “Lesson connection”.  This helps student connect on discussion to today's learning activities.  Successful classrooms are built by little things, start with this one and you'll be well on your way to successfully engaging you middle level learners.

HYFLEX LaBS in Middle School

10/13/2020

 

Science during the COVID-19 pandemic has provided numerous challenges to classroom teachers.  First and foremost is science requires first hand exploration of the world using physical objects (in many cases).  So how do we as science processionals provide hands on learning opportunities in a way that upholds current social distancing practices and safety measures?  Here's  few thoughts.

Paper based disposable labs.  Printed manipulatives, like creating 3-D objects and models is a great way to allow students to visualize possible outcomes of various scenarios.   Be sure kids have their own scissors and colored pencils, this eliminates the need to share and disinfect.

Mini Labs:  Provide students with brief 5 to 10 minute learning opportunities at the lab table.  For example, find 5 things that have a mass of 10 grams (for a metric lesson).  At the end of their lab session, students return to an independent practice activity on their Chromebooks. During the transition, the teacher will disinfect all lab materials.  Websites that work well with this model include Ed Puzzle, Readworks and Quizizz just to name a few.  The key to any kinds of hands on learning is to make it short, students shouldn't be at a lab table more than 15 minutes.  Use materials that are non porous, that makes them easy to disinfect.  Be sure to wipe everything down as students rotate.  And always try to keep them six feet apart.
Check our our metric lab bundle that can be easily used in a Hyflex Covid classroom. 

Tips for Managing HYFLEX CLassrooms

9/26/2020

 
The 2020 to 2021 school year has provided a boat load of challenges to teachers.  All of our classroom management tools and experiences don’t necessarily fit the Hyflex learning environments that we are working in.  With that understanding, I would like to provide some concepts that can help manage the workload, allow you to breathe and flourish in this highly stressful time. These are posted in no particular order, but will assist you in the management of your day to day teaching activities. 


Post online assignments everyday, for every student.  All students can complete online work.  This saves time and efforts making two different types of lessons (one for online and one for face to face).  

Have students submit in class work online.  Yep, skip the paperwork.  This ensures that all school work is going to the same place.  No more piles of paper to grade or excuses on turning it in.  Consider a program like Kami if you have PDF files and worksheets you would like your students to edit to turn in online. 

Upload pictures and videos to help at home students with any in class assignments that need extra work.  This is vital to your at home students.  They need a greater degree of communication for their assignment, video fills the gap and helps provide important details about expectations. Use an online editing program like Screencast-O-Matic or just grab your phone and hit record.  As an added benefit, it provides an extra set of instructions for your face to face students that makes reteaching super easy. 

Have all your work posted for the week by Sunday night. This is an important step.  It allows you to focus on the teaching portion of your class because the content is already there.  This frees brain space to make a great bell ringer (like this TED talk on hand washing versus soap).   Setting up safe lesson activities that are engaging and provide social distance.  

Automate assignments:  Some assignments require time to grade while others don’t.  Be sure you are not packing your week with manually graded assignments.  This is a guaranteed way to reach burn out in a hurry.  With the added burdens of lesson planning, communicating with online kids, maintaining all our pandemic protocols, it's OK to build in some breathing room. I like to separate days with manually graded assignments with days that use autograded activities.  Whether it's an ED Puzzle or Quizizz, these programs are enjoyable and provide rich learning opportunities for our students.
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    Welcome to my Blog.  This is my online home to share thoughts and life as a teacher, dad, coach, and instructional designer. 

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  • Blog
  • Professional Development
    • Designing Online Content for Middle School
    • HyFlex Classroom
  • Sequenced Lesson Plans
    • Earthquakes for Middle School
    • Teaching Science Process
    • Metric Measurement
    • Cells
    • Geologic Time
    • Genetics in Middle School
    • Computer Skills
    • Google Apps in Middle School Science
    • Ecology
  • My TPT Store