A Close-Up of Science Super Stars

I'm so thrilled that so many teachers have pinned my Science Super Stars reward system on Pinterest!  I hope that many of you are able to implement a similar system in your classroom - my students always look forward to Super Star Fridays!

I had a reader recently ask for a close-up of a star so she could see what it says.  (At which point I asked myself....Why did I not post that to begin with?!)  :)

So here it is... a follow-up post to show the details of a star.  I copy them onto cardstock and then cut them out.  (Tip: I've used regular copy paper, but they don't hold up as well.  The corners tend to curl, and they rip easily when I take them off the board at the end of each quarter which isn't good since a lot of students like to keep them!)

The top line is where I write the student's name, and the three lines at the bottom are where I write a brief description of their accomplishment that earned them the Super Star award for the week.

Update 1.21.16 - I've recently opened my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and I've included the Science Super Star as a FREE DOWNLOAD!  Just go to my TPT Store and you'll see it featured on the right side of the page. :)

I'll be adding a post soon explaining how I'm modifying the reward system for this, so be sure to check back soon! :)

Rachel

A PD You MUST Attend!

I'm usually not a big fan of professional development.  I used to look forward to it, back in the beginning of my career.  But my opinion has been tainted over the years after enduring boring PD after booooooooorrrrrrrrrring PD.  You can relate, right?

Well, this summer my district is offering a PD Academy for us.  I was skeptical, but as I looked at the list of offerings I was pleasantly surprised.  Scheduled to be at our high school today was none other than Margaret Searle!  If you've never heard of Margaret Searle, you should have. :)  Seriously, she's an amazing educator with expertise in differentiation and co-teaching, and since I learned about 6 weeks ago that I will be teaching inclusion next year, I decided this would be a perfect session to attend.

I was not disappointed.  In fact, I was so far from disappointed that I swear I would have paid to sit in that class! She was amazing!!  Here's a few nuggets of what my co-teacher and I learned today: (By the way, if you have the opportunity to attend a co-teaching class, the best scenario is for BOTH teachers to be enrolled in the class - many of my colleagues did not have their partner with them today, and they definitely felt like they were at a disadvantage.)

1) To be effective at co-teaching, both you and your partner teacher must be both trustworthy and trusting. (Think about the difference between those...)

2) There are 4 types of co-teaching: Speak and Help (one teacher presents and the other supports but stays out of sight), Speak and Chart (one presents and the other takes notes or creates a concept map on the board), Speak and Add (one presents while the other interjects with examples, questions, illustrations, etc), and Duet (both teachers present equally).  We should aim to spend 80-90% of our time using a Speak and Add or Duet format, as students will get the most out of these.

3) There are many discussions that need to be had before the start of the school year.  Co-teachers should discuss everything from classroom management, to procedures and routines, to personal pet peeves, so there are minimal surprises once the school year gets under way.

4) Instead of extending due dates for IEP students, try front-loading and letting those students start earlier so that their project/assignment is still due with all the rest.

5) Never punish a learner.  Reward good attempts and encourage improvement.  Allow them to rewrite, revise, and retake. (I feel like a do a decent job of this in my room already, so this was good affirmation for me that I'm on the right track... I don't grade homework that's intended to be practice, and I always allow an opportunity for students to retake their tests and quizzes.)

Oh, there is SO much more that I could share, but I figure if you're still reading by now then I've kept you long enough!  If you have some time, go to margaretsearle.com and check out the resources she has to offer.  I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Rachel

End-of-the-Year Advice

Oh my goodness, what a crazy end to the school year it was!  The last two months were pretty much a blur! It's hard to not feel overwhelmed with testing, field trips, projects, plus my own kids' activities (soccer x2, softball, teeball, and dance! Sheesh!) I had some really great end-of-the-year activities that I wanted to share with you, but to go back and write about it all now would also be a bit overwhelming. ;)  (Maybe next year! LOL)

So... now that school's out and I'm in summer mode, I thought I would take some time to share with you some things to do and think about as your own year comes to a close.

1) Buy a copy of your school yearbook and let your students sign it. I've done this every year since I started teaching and it's great to have little notes from them to go back and look at.  They absolutely love that I get in on the yearbook-signing action!

2) Have your students help you clean your classroom.  This one is a little difficult for me because I'm so particular about how things are taken down and stored.  However, my current classroom is the old chemistry room (our middle school is housed in the old high school building) and so there are like 200 storage drawers all around the room.  As you can probably imagine, students find those to be convenient hiding places and trash cans, so instead of going through them myself I have a class period or two help me clean them out.  Of course, I always reward them with whatever candy I have left over in my candy bucket. :)

3) Choose one area of your classroom in which to "clean house."  Last year I did my filing cabinets - I went through and threw out every file that I hadn't used in the past 3 or 4 years, and then I reorganized and relabeled files as needed.  It was great when I arrived in my room in August to a completely clean filing system!  This year I chose my storage room (which, as a science teacher, can be a daunting task because we're hoarders!  We. Keep. Everything. ... because you never know when you can use it for "something"!)  But I must say, having an organized storage area again is a great feeling.

4) Reflect and set goals for next year.  This one is SO important!  I spend a good part of June reflecting on what I liked and didn't like about the past year, and thinking about ways that I can change and improve for next year.  A teacher who doesn't self-reflect will quickly become stagnant.  My two main goals for next year are 1) to improve on a couple of the units I taught that I felt were rushed and a bit lacking in detail, and 2) to effectively work with my inclusion teacher to teach inclusion classes, which is something I haven't had to do for 6 years!  That will be quite an adjustment for me, so I'm actually taking a class this Friday on co-teaching with the hopes of learning some helpful hints on how to be effective in this area.

So I know this is a varied, almost random, list, but I hope it gives you some things to think about as your own year comes to a close!

Enjoy your summer!

Rachel

Making Exit Tickets Useful

Wow, it's been way too long since I last blogged!  March was a crazy month.... hubby was out of town much of the month, the kiddos and I were all sick at least once, and we actually had a full month of school after a winter plagued with snow days so I've been playing catch-up at school trying to get us where we need to be before the dreaded standardized tests coming up soon.

Anyway... :)

Recently I used an exit ticket with my 8th graders.  I know, nothing new, right? I use exit tickets - and entrance tickets - on a somewhat regular basis.  BUT this exit ticket was a bit different than the ones I typically use, and I REALLY liked the feedback I got from it!  Rather than just asking my students to answer a few questions about what they learned in that day's lesson, or having them tell me what they feel confused about, this is what I gave them:

We're studying genetics, so I gave them four genetics-related questions to answer.  Those gave me valuable information, but question #5 is what really took this to the next level.  What I found is that many students were getting the questions correct and yet they weren't very confident in themselves, or vice versa - some students were really confident and yet they got most of the questions wrong.

This student was feeling like he understood the chapter very well, but he got several questions incorrect.  I love his confidence, but this showed me that he actually needed some additional instruction.

This student was only feeling so-so about the chapter, but he got all the questions correct!

So what did I do with this data? I paired the students up and had them teach each other!  I paired a student who got the questions all correct with a student or two who needed additional help with the chapter.  Students like the 2nd one above who knew how to do the work but weren't very sure of themselves got a quick confidence boost when they were asked to teach their peers!  It was wonderful!  In talking to the kids towards the end of the period, many of them felt like the activity helped them.  (And their test scores the next week validated that!) :)

After this success, I'll definitely be looking for more opportunities to incorporate similar exit tickets into my lessons!

Rachel

One of My Favorite Cell Activities

I'm just starting my Life Science unit with my 8th graders.  (Of course, it feels like I've been "just starting" for about 2 weeks now because of all the snow days we've had!)  Our 8th graders are supposed to study genetics and heredity, as well as types of reproduction, but since they haven't studied cells since 6th grade I like to start off with a review of cells and cell organelles, as well as cell division.  

This year I'm doing 3 activities to review cells with my students.  First, we made a "cell phone" to put in our ISN.  I'll try to write more about this in a later post because they were super cool! (Even for 8th graders!)  Second, we did a microscope lab where they had a chance to examine real cells.  I made onion skin slides so they could look at plant cells, and then we did a simple cheek cell activity so they could look at their own cells!  Finally, I had them do some cell organelle analogies, which is the activity I want to focus on in this post.

When I ask my students to make analogies to cell organelles, I first remind them that their analogy must have to do with the function of the organelle, not its appearance.  (A lot of students will find something green and compare it to the chloroplasts, but what I'm really looking for is something that makes food like the chloroplasts do.)  Then, I get out my stash of old magazines and have them look through the magazines to find pictures of items that can complete their analogies.  I think this makes the assignment a lot more creative than just writing out sentences.  They end up looking more like collages, and are great to display in the classroom!

This is a cell analogy activity that was completed by one of my 8th graders.  I only asked them to do 5 analogies, but she went above and beyond!

Notice 1) The direct comparison - Chloroplasts make food like a chef makes food, 2) It has an accompanying picture, and 3) She color-coded the analogy with the picture of the organelle in the cell.

As I introduce this activity in class, I always give the students a rubric so they know exactly what I expect... and also exactly how they can get an "A"! (Rubrics are SO important - I use them for everything!  If you've never tried RubiStar, I HIGHLY recommend it!  It's a free website that helps you create rubrics for any type of assignment!)

This activity usually takes my 8th graders two full class periods (40 minutes each) to complete, and I also plan a 3rd day because some are slower workers or may be absent a day.  I'm always certain to have a review assignment of some sort ready to go on day 3 so that as students finish they still have something productive to work on.

Happy Teaching! :)

Rachel

A Sad Day

Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of one of the worst days of my teaching career. It's one of those days that every teacher hopes - prays - will never come, and it's a day that still, a full year later, leaves me choked up every time I think about it. You see, one year ago one of my 7th grade students was killed in a car accident on his way to school. 

I was overwhelmed with grief when our guidance counselor told me about the accident. My own sadness, though, paled in comparison to the sadness I felt for our students when they heard the news just before lunch that day. As humans, it's tough to handle our own grief. But it's even tougher to have to watch - and help - 600 middle school students process the emotions that come with losing a dear friend. 

I learned a lot about helping kids handle grief in the days and weeks that followed.  I always let them talk about their friend during class if they felt the need to, but I also always tried to bring the topic back around to the lesson. I didn't want them dwelling on the loss day after day - they needed to experience some normalcy and see that even though their friend was gone, other things in their lives would remain constant. Plus, I'm not a counselor.  I was grieving myself. I didn't feel equipped to deal with a room full of crying students should the conversation linger on the topic of their lost friend for too long. 

That seat in my classroom remained empty during 4th period for the remainder of the school year. We typically change seats after spring break, but the students in that class were very adamant about leaving the seat empty so I went along with their wishes. 

Sometimes I still catch myself looking at that desk and thinking about him. His contagious smile, his silly jokes, his amazingly positive outlook on life. Although he was only on this Earth for a brief 12 years, he will forever be in our hearts. 

RIP Lane. 

Snow Day Science

With the sub-zero temps and wind chills here in Ohio, we've actually had the past two days off school (which extended our Christmas Break by 2 days!  I'm ok with that!!).  I decided to take advantage of the colder-than-normal temps and do some science experiments with my kiddos!

First, we made snow.  The videos I found online related to this experiment showed people taking a pot of boiling water outside and throwing it in the air.  But if you don't like to wait, (hey, I have young kids - they're impatient!) we found that filling a travel coffee mug with hot water from our Keurig worked just as well!  Our family loved this experiment so much we tried it 3 more times! :)

Next, we tried to blow bubbles outside and watch them freeze.  I've seen many pictures online of this and they look so neat!  But... it was so windy here that the bubbles would pop before they had a chance to freeze.  So instead I showed my kiddos (ages 8 and 5) how to make super big bubbles!  I use this experiment at school (both when studying bubbles and as a visual for what air masses look like).  Just mix a little bit of Dawn detergent with some warm water and you have instant bubble solution.  Pour a bit of the solution into a shallow pan or plate (or right on the lab tables if you want your tables cleaned during the activity!) and then blow into it using a straw.  You can see in the picture of my daughter that these bubbles can get really big!!

Finally, we froze food coloring and water inside balloons and made cool ice decorations to put outside!  Put the food coloring in the balloon FIRST, then attach the balloon to the bathroom faucet and let the water fill it up as large as you want.  Tie it off, set it outside for a few hours, then cut the balloons off and TA-DA!  Cool ice decorations! 

Here's our water-filled balloons sitting outside to freeze. (Oh, and a bottle of pop to try another experiment...which might have worked had the bottle not been dropped when bringing it back inside!)

Here's our ice decorations after we cut the balloons off.

And finally, decorating our front porch!

Hopefully you can take advantage of some cold weather before spring to try these!  We had so much fun!

Rachel

Dante's Peak Movie Review

I hope that you are all enjoying these final days of Christmas Break.  The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas were absolutely NUTS for me, so I have been grateful for the time away from work.  In fact, I'm not ashamed to admit that this is the first day that I've done anything school-related!

The reality of having to return to work in only 4 days has me once again in "school mode" as my husband likes to call it.  I've been working for a good portion of the day (on and off, between lunch time for my kiddos, playing a couple of rounds of Trouble, dressing them to go outside and play in the glorious snow we're getting here, a couple of loads of laundry,... etc...) on getting some lesson plans ready for January.  I've successfully planned TWO full weeks, which takes me to the end of the 2nd quarter.  It may not sound like much, but I rarely plan more than a week in advance, so I'm considering this a huge accomplishment!! (Yay, me!!)

I need to grade the papers I brought home over break, but before I grade them I decided I should share the assignment with you.  It's one that I look forward to every year, and I think most of my students enjoy it as well.  In 8th grade we do a rather large unit on plate tectonics, which includes studying earthquakes and volcanoes.  As we near the end of the volcanoes part of the unit, I like to show the movie Dante's Peak in class.  Since it's rated PG-13 I do usually send home a permission slip, although it only received that rating for "disaster-related peril and gore," and the "gore" is really nothing compared to what I'm sure most of my students watch on a regular basis anyway.  It's just a bit of CYA for me. :)  (Oh, and the permission slip I use is more of an "opt-out" so they only have to return it if they are NOT allowed to watch the movie.)  We have 40-minute periods, so it takes 3-1/2 class periods to watch the movie in full.  As they watch the movie, I have them take notes on activities that are occurring related to the eruption of the volcano - earthquake swarms, increased hot springs temperatures, pyroclastic flows, etc.  After we've watched the movie, their job is to research the things that they wrote down and find out if they could actually happen during a real volcanic eruption.  Basically, they're separating fact from fiction... where did the producers stretch things a bit to make the movie more interesting?  (For instance, could someone really drive across lava?  Does a lahar really move that quickly?)

The final step in their assignment is to write a movie review.  They are required to include at least 3 realistic parts, and 3 unrealistic parts, and they must support each of the 6 parts with scientific proof.  Their movie review must also include classic movie review elements, such as a brief summary of the movie and a rating.

I can't link the worksheet on here (sorry, I'm not that proficient at this whole blogging thing yet!), but here is a copy of what the front of the worksheet looks like! (If you would like to use the worksheet, feel free to comment below with your email address and I'll be glad to send it to you!)

You will be watching the movie Dante’s Peak in class for the next three days.  The movie dramatizes some real-world concerns faced by a community located near an active volcano in Washington.  It portrays the roles of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and local public officials during the re-awakening and eruption of this fictional volcano.

As you watch this action-packed movie, use your knowledge of volcanoes and make detailed observations to determine what is represented accurately – and not so accurately – by the filmmakers.  Your job is to separate fact from fiction!

Your assignment: A major California newspaper has asked you, an expert volcanologist, to write a review of the movie, Dante’s Peak.  Your aim is to point out the scientifically related plot elements that you think are accurate and realistic, and those where the writers stretched things a bit to make the movie more exciting.  This review should be written as a newspaper movie review article.

DUE DATE: ____________________________________________

The following rubric details how your movie review will be graded:

	5	4	3	1	0
Brief summary of the plot (5 points)	Describes who the actors & characters are & gives a short synopsis of the story line	Lacking in one of the previously mentioned criteria	Lacking in two of the previously mentioned criteria	Lacking in three of the previously mentioned criteria	Does not attempt to describe the characters or the plot
Scientific critique (15 points)	Clearly states at least 3 realistic & at least 3 unrealistic parts, and includes reasoning for each from a scientific viewpoint	Includes a total of 5 realistic or unrealistic parts, and includes reasoning for each from a scientific viewpoint	Includes a total of 3 or 4 realistic or unrealistic parts, and includes reasoning for each from a scientific viewpoint	Includes between 3 and 6 realistic and unrealistic parts, but does not include scientific reasoning.	Includes fewer than 3 realistic or unrealistic parts.
Movie rating (5 points)	Includes a movie rating and a reason for it		Includes a rating, but does not give a reason for the rating		No rating included in the review
Format, Grammar & punctuation (5 points)	Well written.  Seems like part of a newspaper’s movie review section. No grammar or punctuation problems.	Written like part of a newspaper’s movie review section. Few grammar or punctuation problems.	Well written, but not in proper format for a movie review.  Few to no grammar or punctuation problems.	Proper format was attempted, but not very successful. OR Format is good, but there are several grammar and/or punctuation problems which make the paper difficult to read.	Poorly written.  Not in proper format.  Many grammar and punctuation problems.
Sources Included     (5 points)	Sources are included and are  correctly cited		Sources are included, but they are too vague		Sources are not included

The back of the worksheet includes spots for them to write down names of important characters, important plot points, and things that are happening surrounding the volcanic eruption (including a space for them to write down their research findings after the movie).

Having done this activity for a few years now, I'll close with the pieces of advice that I have for you regarding this activity.  These are things that I learned after my first year of using this with a class!

1 - Really emphasize the importance of focusing on the science, not special effects or other unrealistic parts. (For instance, at point in the movie an 8-year-old boy drives a pickup truck up the side of the mountain.  While likely unrealistic, it has nothing to do with the eruption of the volcano!)

2 - Encourage them to keep the summary part of the paper short.  It should be about a paragraph long, not the bulk of the paper.  (This year I actually gave my students a copy of this paper that I found online from Austin Peay State University.  I think it was helpful as most of my 8th graders have never had to write a movie review!)

3 - For each aspect that they deem realistic or unrealistic, they must give scientific reasoning!  This is on the rubric, but some students still tend to overlook it.

4 - Encourage research.  If they're searching the right things, they may even come across one of a couple of really great websites that outline the realistic/unrealistic parts of this exact movie! (I used to get annoyed when they found these, but really my focus is on whether they are learning something about volcanoes, not on how difficult it was for them to complete the assignment!)

This is a rather lengthy post, so hopefully it all makes sense! ;) 

Happy New Year!  Enjoy these last few days of your break!

Rachel