Science Templates

I'm excited for the new school year! There's going to be a lot of changes for me and for our students. In the past I taught 6th and 7th grade science and one or two social studies classes.  This year I will be moving rooms and teaching 7th and 8th grade science and two Project Lead The Way classes. I created a couple of resources for when we do dissections and electrophoresis that I'm sharing here.

Things can get pretty messy during dissections. To make sure I get all of my tools back I created a place mat. Students will initial or sign next to the check in to verify they started with the tools and next to check out when they are done to make sure they are returned and not accidentally thrown away.

Dissection Tools PDF

Middle school students are not known to be very good at following directions. One of our labs involves solving a crime using electrophoresis. To ensure the best possible results I created a map so students can hook the wires up properly and put the samples in the correct cell. I am going to laminate these so they can be reused. 

Electrophoresis Map

A teacher doesn't have the summer off!

I spend a fair amount of time looking at Pinterest for inspiration. Okay, who am I kidding?  I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, especially in the summer.

As I was scouting my Pinterest homepage yesterday I came upon something too good not to share, well if you are a science teacher.  On the TPT site my new hero, Nitty Gritty Science, has created so many really useful products.  My wishlist is filled with her products. On the top of my list is the NGSS Expectations Ladder.  She has created one for Earth Science (my main area), Physical Science and Life Science. I am also in love with the Complete Earth Science Interactive Notebook bundle. I have attempted Science Notebooking since I started teaching 6 years ago with minimal success.  I'm hoping that this bundle will put me over the top on the notebooking organization.

NGSS Expectations Ladder for Earth Science from TPT Nitty Gritty Science

Earth Science Interactive Notebook Bundle from TPT Nitty Gritty Science

Another TPT product that looks interesting to me is from The Science Penguin. It is a Hands-On Science Vocabulary Instruction packet.  I believe, especially in Science, that vocabulary instruction is essential.  If the students don't truly know the meaning of the science vocabulary they are expected to use, they aren't able to understand the big idea or concept. 

 Hands-On Science Vocabulary Instruction from TPT The Science Penguin

I haven't actually purchased or used these yet, but I do plan to.  I'll do a post after school starts to let you know how they work.