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Astronomy Activities for Middle School

Despite the fact that this post is about astronomy activities for middle school... it’s time for a little confession... I’m not that into space. (I can hear the science teacher gasps from here!) In an effort to make astronomy a little more fun to teach, I developed lots of cool (and rigorous!) astronomy activities.
astronomy activities for middle school
teaching growth mindset in science

Teaching Growth Mindset in Science

Let me paint a familiar scene: A student is frantically erasing their hypothesis after an experiment, trying to make it match their results. Sound familiar? But can we blame them? They've been conditioned by years of education to believe that success means getting the "right" answer on the first try. However, when students understand that failure and revision are natural parts of the scientific process, everything changes. Their entire approach to learning transforms.

Teach Protein Synthesis in Middle School?

I’ve always found that kids universally love learning about DNA and genetics. It’s one of those topics that seems to spark a natural curiosity more than most. It’s fun, engaging, and a home run of a real-world connection. But teaching DNA in middle school brings a unique challenge. Should we also teach protein synthesis in middle school?
protein synthesis in middle school

Emergency Science Sub Plans

It's that sinking feeling we all know and dread... the sore throat, the call from childcare, or the family emergency that can't wait. On top of worrying about those things, we have to make SUB PLANS. Way to make a difficult situation... difficult-er, right!? While it can seem like a lot to get a science sub binder up and running, once you've done it once... you're basically done.

10 Science Movies for Middle School

It can often feel a little taboo to talk about showing movies in class. I'll see a teacher ask on a forum somewhere, "What are the best middle school science movies?" and the post will then be littered with a million teachers offering their opinion about how useless it is to show movies and how they would never do such thing. Well... I'm here to say... I show movies (and documentaries) in class sometimes. There! I said it!

Current Science Activities

If there's one thing I get excited about, it's bridging the gap between the textbook and real-world science. Integrating current science activities into class makes the subject matter more fun and engaging. More importantly, it helps students have those lightbulb moments when "school" concepts connect to the world around them. If I may use a buzzword here, it makes the learning authentic.

Gifts for Science Teachers

Let's talk about gifts for science teachers! I want to make one thing very clear. TEACHERS DON'T NEED GIFTS. Teachers appreciate gifts. We truly do. But we're people, too. We understand the busyness and the financial strain of this season. And to be honest, most kids do not give teachers gifts. Your child will be in the majority if you skip worrying about teacher gifts this year. It's fine, I promise! However, if you insist on giving teacher gifts and you'd like to make it science-themed, here's some great ideas!

Native American Scientist Activities

Although November is Native American Heritage Month, I don't believe that really matters when it comes to teaching students about diverse scientists. Kids should routinely be seeing scientists from all different backgrounds in science class - no matter what the month is! In this post, I'll discuss some fun and easy Native American scientist activities to introduce your students to Indigenous scientists.

Circulatory System Activities

Learn about fun, engaging, and no prep circulatory system activities you can use in your middle school science classroom.

Science Teacher Hacks, Tips, and Tricks

Recently, I asked my audience for their best science teacher tips, tricks, and hacks. They shared the best ideas, so I've organized everyone's contributions into this blog post. It's a list for science teachers by science teachers, so you're sure to find a few ideas to make your teaching life easier! Get comfy and settle in: there's a lot!