1) Each place on earth will receive an equal length of daylight (sort of).
2) The sun will be directly overhead an observer at the equator (0 latitude).
3) On the equinoxes, the sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west.
4) The length of daylight will begin to get shorter after the autumnal equinox and longer after the vernal equinox due to earth’s tilt (23.5 degrees). This statement only applies to the northern hemisphere.

Here is a tool to determine exactly when the equinox will occur for your location.

Measuring Shadow Length

As the Earth progresses in its yearly orbit around the Sun, shadows cast by the Sun vary in length due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis. Recording the length of noonday shadows is a good way to demonstrate how the angle of the sun and your latitude affect the length of shadows.

For this activity, students stand in a an open area and have a partner measure the length (in cm) of the shadow they cast. Students will return each month to record the length of their shadow until at least the winter solstice (December). The recorded lengths can then be used to create a graph of shadow lengths versus month.

A great extension to this is to have students try and simulate the changing length of their shadow over time using a flashlight and an action figure. It will lead students to notice that the higher the flashlight, the shorter the shadow and vice-versa.

Photographing Shadows

If your students have digital cameras, a tripod and some paint your class can create time-lapse videos of the shadows at your school. You’ll need an area where students can return to repeatedly throughout the year to take photos. You can use the paint to mark where the tripod is located so students can replace the tripod in the exact same spot again. If they take enough pictures they can play them together and observe the change in light and shadow throughout the seasons. Here is an example of a time-lapse over one day.

If you do not have the technology to create movies, students can just compare pictures taken at the same time of day over the course of several months and describe how the position of the sun and the length of the shadows appears to change.

Make a Sundial

Using pre-made templates such as this sundial from the Sandburg Planetarium(designed for 39N latitude), students can create sundials to study the relationship between the length of the shadow cast by the gnomon and the time of day. This will lead to discussions about how the earth rotates and you could have students hypothesize what will happen to their sundial shadow as the months change.

More information on sundials.

Get outside and enjoy this bi-annual event with your students. If you have any questions please post them in the comments below.

National Geographic Video

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Starting your lesson with a Do Now is good practice. It sets the tone for the class, gets students settled in (because they have to do it now), and ideally makes them think. A Do Now is a question or quote that either reviews or introduces a topic to students. But what constitutes a good Do Now?

Let’s take a look at 5 different types of Do Nows.

Review

This is probably the most common type of Do Now. After a topic is taught, a question that assesses the previous lesson is used as a Do Now. Review Do Nows allow the teacher to determine if students understand a topic before continuing. However, it can become the only type of Do Now question used and students will grow tired of them.

For example after studying the water cycle, the following question is given:

Do Now: List the major components of the water cycle and explain the role of each step in the cycling of water.

After we study the process for identifying minerals, I like to ask the following question.

Do Now: You are walking down the street and you come across a mineral that is white-ish in color and does not bubble with acid. After a few simple tests you discover the mineral can scratch glass. Using your ESRT, identify the mineral.

Quotes

Using quotes is a refreshing way to assess what students know about a topic. Reflecting on a quote also opens up different avenues for discussion once a topic has been covered. Quotes make students think, because there isn’t just one answer. Quotes also make great writing prompts.

You can find tons of science quotes at sites like Quote Garden or Quotations Page. If you are looking for a quote on something specific, do a google search for the topic name + quote. For example, search “geology quote” for a quote on geology.

After studying the water cycle, you might give the following quote as a Do Now:

Do Now: What did the author mean when he wrote the following statement?

All the water that will ever be is, right now.
– National Geographic, October 1993

Opinion

Opinion or empathy questions are a great way to make students apply what they have learned or to see what they know about a topic. Typically a situation is given and you ask students how they would solve the problem or how they would deal with a certain situation.

Do Now: You have been shipwrecked on an island and you are the only survivor on a remote deserted island. What are the first three steps you would take to ensure your survival? Why?

Do Now: You run into a man selling gold chains for extremely cheap prices. Describe two scientific tests you could perform to determine if the gold chains were real gold or just fake imitations.

Another great opinion question type is the “If you were…”. Asking the students to step into the shoes of a leader or scientist.

For example, when talking about pollution and the use of fossil fuels, I might ask students the following:

Do Now: If you were the President of the United States, what steps would you take to decrease America’s dependence on fossil fuels?

Brain Teasers

Brain teasers are just fun, and they definitely make students think.

Do Now: If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight, mass, and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, dropping them at the same time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same question, but the location is in Canada?

After studying latitude and longitude, I might give the following brain teaser:

Do Now: There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color is the bear?

Photograph or Video

Using photographs and video is going to become more common place. People expect to see photographs and video of things they are learning about. The best part about using photographs and video is that you already have the tools to make this happen. Most new digital cameras also take video. If you keep an eye out you can find tons of interesting science images in your area. Besides, being a good observer is part of being a scientist.

After talking about the sun traveling through the southern sky in the northern hemisphere, I would give the following image. I might tell students that fungi does not like to grow in direct sunlight.

Do Now: Using what you know about the motions of the sun, explain the image below.

When talking about the motions of Earth and the Sun I would show the following video and ask students to explain what is happening. Then I would ask students to model this using a plastic tree, flashlight and a digital camera.

Do Now: In your own words, explain why the shadow of the tree is moving.

Conclusion

Do Now’s are a very small, but important part of building great lessons. Using a Do Now for every lesson lets you assess students and lets students know you prepared for them. Coming up with original and interesting Do Nows can be a challenge, but now you have five different types of Do Nows to use when planning. Modifying these five major types can lead to all sorts of interesting Do Nows. I’m sure many of you have some great ideas, please share them in the comments.

Do Now Tips

• Do Nows should be short, they should not take students more than 5 minutes to complete.
• Survey the room and give students points for completing the Do Now.
• A good Do Now must be relevant to the lesson.
• Use a timer, it creates a sense of urgency.

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In the following tutorial I will show you how to set up and use Gradekeeper. If you have any problems or questions please leave a comment below or check the Gradekeeper thread in the forum.

If the tutorial seems too small, use the full screen icon in the player or the download link for a larger view.

Watch on: Revver | Download

Host: Michael Doig
Duration: 16:21

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Two Truths and a Lie

For this icebreaker you will pass out 3×5 cards to everyone and ask them to write down 2 true statements about themselves and 1 lie. Then each person reads their own card aloud and the class guesses which statement is the lie. It is best if the teacher goes first to illustrate how it should be done before participants write down their statements.

For example – I went to school in Hawaii, I met President Bush when I visited Washington D.C. and I once got 12 people to go skydiving. The lie is President Bush. Notice how I didn’t put the lie last and the skydiving example could be a lie.

First Impressions

For this icebreaker you tape a piece of paper to each participants back. Students stand up and mingle for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes each student writes one or two words describing the first impressions they got about the person they just met. Students shuffle and do this process again. After meeting 5-10 people, participants remove the sheets from their backs. Students pair off and introduce each other to the class using the word on the sheets. This is a feel good activity, so when you introduce this make sure students write appropriate words on the sheets.

Human Bingo

For this activity you give each student a copy of a bingo sheet. During a set amount of time, students go around and find classmates who match the statements on the sheet. Participants can’t sign the same sheet twice. At the end of the time, students tally up points and whoever has the highest total wins a prize (extra credit, candy). This is very fun and engaging. The link above is just an example you can make your own at Print-Bingo.com or Bingo Card Printer.

Candy Toss

Be sure and introduce this activity as the Candy Toss. You need a large bag of candy for this activity. Students assemble in a circle and then the teacher passes the bag around and tells students they can take as many pieces of candy as they would like (go crazy), but they can’t eat it. Once the bag has made it around, you tell the students that for each piece of candy they took from the bag, they have to say one statement about themselves. Thus the more candy they took, the more they will have to say. After completing this, they can eat the candy.

Commonality

In advance prepare 3-4 sets of 3×5 cards that have names on them that are related. Then pass them out randomly and have students find their matches. For example you would prepare 4 cards each one with a different name such as Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa once those 4 students find each other they should realize they are the Simpsons. You can use band members, movie characters, presidential candidates, etc. Be creative, but use something students will know. Once they have found each other, have them sit together and introduce the group to the class. This is a great activity to get students into random groups.

Good luck tomorrow and have a great year.

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Space ship takes a look at rebuilding human civilization. What if the world was coming to an end? Who should we choose to continue the human race?

Students are taken on a thought provoking journey to a time when the Earth will be destroyed. A giant meteor is headed toward Earth and life as we know it will end. Scientists have found an inhabitable planet and built a ship to carry a small group of people there. 11 people were originally chosen, however there is actually only room for 7 on the ship. Through a process of elimination students must choose the seven best candidates for this journey.

Procedure

1. Typically I begin by describing the end of the world (PowerPoint Slide 02), emphasizing that no one left on Earth will survive.
2. Next I give the story about the spaceship and show them the PowerPoint images of the each of the potential passengers
3. I then pass out the worksheet and have students on their own chose seven people they think should go.
4. Then students discuss their choices with their group. In order for someone to be added to the group list, everyone in the group must agree. You can have students put their choices on a piece of poster paper.
5. After all the groups have made their choices, the groups present their choices and explain why they made those decisions.

Things To Keep In Mind

1. There are no right or wrong answers, but there are better choices.
2. Male to female rations are important (we want to rebuild humanity right?)
3. Questions like, do we need religion, guns or art on the new planet always spark a conversation.
4. Finally, have fun! This activity really gets participants engaged.

Materials

1. PowerPoint Presentation
2. Worksheet
3. Poster Paper
4. Markers

Good Luck, if you have any questions about or modifications to this lesson, please let us know about them in the comments section.

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Day 1 – Weather Instruments


Day 2 – Convection and the Water Cycle

Day 3 – Air Pressure and the Atmosphere

Day 4 – Insolation and the Seasons

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Why do we want to tell our students not to touch things?

“You see with your eyes, not with you hands.” Right?

Other students have also become reluctant to touch objects because “it might have germs”.
Is this any way to teach science? Isn’t science all about the world around us? I am in favor of “keeping it real”, germs or not. Here is a quick and easy list you can use to equip your classroom and engage your students with the real thing.

Ideas for Real Stuff

1. Shells and Sand



Next time you make a trip to the beach grab a few bags full of sand and hunt around for a variety of shells and other beach objects you could see working into a lesson. This is sometimes called the “beach in a bag”. Classifying shells, trying to identify them using reference books and looking at sand using a hand lens to try and determine what it is made of are all examples of lessons that can be done with the beach in a bag.

2. Dirt



When was the last time you sifted through a pile of dirt? There are tons of interesting things such as earthworms, roots, insects and rocks that can be found in a bucket of dirt. Dirt can be used to talk about the nitrogen cycle, soil particle sizes, sorting and a myriad of other Earth science topics.

3. Snow



Most kids who live in places where it snows have played in the snow, but I highly doubt they have really taken a look at what the snow looks like. How much water can you get out of a snowball? How long does it take to melt? Can you see the condensation nuclei after the water evaporates? Is each snowflake really different?

4. Plants



Keeping plants in the class room is a great long term learning project. Kids get real excited to see whose plants are growing bigger or faster. Keeping a journal on the plant including adding measurements is another way to spice up the project. I have a college who uses her classroom plants as a way to get kids to come to class. At the start of the semester each kid pots their own plant. If they come to class and water it, it will stay alive and they get extra credit points at the end. However, if they are absent they plant dies.

Bringing in plants from your garden or a flower shop is another idea. You can create pressed flowers or dissect them and study their structures.

5. Water



The Earth is covered with about 70% of it. We are made up of about 70% of it. Yet the mysteries of water are fun and interesting to explore. Fill up a beaker of it and have students use a grease pen to mark the level of the water over several days. One of my favorite activities involving water was to buy 5 different types of bottled water and then fill another unmarked bottle with school tap water. The class then tasted the water without knowing which water they were tasting and tried to describe each one. At the end I revealed which water was which brand and/or tap water and the students loved it.

If you can get a bucket of water from the ocean or a pond there are tons of activities you can perform including using a microscope to try and identify the different organisms you can see.

6. Insects



Taking students outside to look for insects can be fun, however it might be better if you caught one and brought it in for study. I recently did an amber lab where we modeled how insects get trapped in amber. The lab called for various types of insects. Living in Brooklyn and not knowing where to look I had a “bright idea”, no pun intended. I took down my light cover in my kitchen and lo-and-behold there were tons of dead insects ready to be encased. I emptied my find into a ziploc bag and I had my “real” insects. A good extension would have been to have the kids count the different types of insects we found and make a prediction about the population sizes of each species.

7. Wood



Bringing in pieces of wood is a great way to demonstrate topics such as seasons, decomposers and genetic variation. You can bring in branches from winter trees place them in water and watch them begin to sprout. Bark, fungus and lichens, and seasonal changes are all interesting topics that can be illustrated with pieces of wood. You can also talk about our natural resources and how wood plays a large part in the building of our homes, pencils, and furniture.

8. Skulls and Bones



Kids love bones, especially skulls. You can find complete skeletons for sale online or you can bring in bones from food. If you properly clean and boil bones, they are great for demonstration purposes. You can use them to show marrow, blood vessels, and how bones fit together to form the structures in our bodies.

9. Classroom Aquarium



Having a classroom aquarium is a cheap and easy way to demonstrate a range of topics. The water cycle, how fish breathe, trophic levels and photosynthesis are just a few things you could show with a simple aquarium set up. You can use the aquarium as a reward for students who finish their work. Students can feed the fish, clean the tank, take measurement such as water temperature or percentage of algae covering the glass and record the data. You don’t need anything fancy, just a few simple plants and some feeder fish.

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Keep yourself informed.

Many teachers, especially new teachers, find that they have very little free time to explore their field. We need to remember that our love of science is what brought us to this career. Set aside an hour each week to read up on the events that are happening within your field. Subscribe to science magazines and journals. Explore the resources that the Internet has to offer. Take books out of the library that offer new points of view or delve into theories. Reading information is just one way to stay current. Try to take one day each month to visit museums, parks, and other sites of interest. You may be surprised how many places offer inspiration for lessons, and even have resources that you can bring back to your classroom. By continuing to learn, you will have a constant reminder of the excitement that exists in the field of science.

Start with the units.

When determining where to include current developments, look at the units that you cover in your class. Try to find something new and exciting for each one, and then look for an appropriate opportunity to infuse it into your lessons. For example, when my class gets to the genetics unit, I always look for the most recent development and try to incorporate it into the activities. Current events are great, and by tying them to information that students need to know, we can enrich their education.

Bring in articles.

An easy way to address current events in your classroom is to bring in articles for the students to read and discuss. I like to use the New York Times as a source for well-written pieces that are interesting and relevant. Sometimes the language is a bit advanced for my ninth graders, but we can read it as a class, or I give students time to discuss it in groups. It is also a good idea to write questions to accompany the article so that students focus on the information that you want them to take away.

Have professionals visit your classroom.

Many science teachers majored in science in college, and as a result, we know many people that are enjoying careers using science. Doctors, researchers, forensic scientists, veterinarians, environmentalists, and social scientists are just a few of the possible people that you can invite into your classroom to share their knowledge and experiences. Students will likely be engaged and inspired by the visitors, and it may open their eyes to the career possibilities that exist.

Use the Internet for research.

Many textbooks are not up-to-date with the latest developments and technology. By teaching students proper methods for online research, they will understand how to keep themselves informed, and how to determine whether or not to trust a source of information. This is a life skill that they will be able to apply to any area of study. You can create projects in which students must find information about new treatments or techniques and present this information to the class.

Keep your videos up-to-date.

There are a million boring science movies floating around, and most of us have used them in class at one time or another. The good news is that there are so many great new videos, documentaries, and films that cover a wide variety of science topics. Make a commitment to yourself to purchase or download at least two interesting and current videos that relate directly to your curriculum. I just recently showed a new film about HIV in the class, and the students were begging to watch more. Videos can be a great way to present information and open up dialogue.

As a teacher, it is our job to prepare students for the future. By showing students that science is always evolving and giving them the skills to find and navigate new information, they will be able to continue their own science education when they leave the classroom.

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Getting Started

• Have all students give you their contact information. They should include their mailing address, home phone number, cell phone numbers, and the work phone numbers of their parents. Arm yourself with as many options for contact as possible. You may want to tell them that you are collecting the information for emergency purposes in order to avoid getting fake phone numbers.
• Create a spreadsheet with all of the students’ names, addresses, and phone numbers in alphabetic order. Save it to the computer that you use at school, or on a flash drive that you will carry with you every day.
• Create a phone log with each student’s name. This can be as simple as a table created in Microsoft Word, and it will allow you to record each contact or attempted contact that was made. Be sure to record the date of each phone call placed or letter sent, and an overview of the conversation. Save this in the same location as your contact information.
• Decide on a time daily or weekly that you will devote solely to communication with parents. Try to build it into your school day, but it is worth staying an extra thirty minutes to complete. Make it your routine, and stick with it.

Reasons to Call

• Parents are an amazing resource. I am continually amazed by the support that I receive from parents when their child is experiencing behavior or academic problems. Sometimes it takes just one negative phone call home, and I see a different child in class. If the child needs extra help with the work, parents may encourage tutoring or extra study time.
• Teachers need to protect themselves. When students are continually absent or failing, we have a duty to inform the parents. They have a right to know when problems exist. Although not every parent is supportive or capable of effecting change, teachers need to be able to say that they have taken action to involve the parents. By keeping records in your phone log, you can show your administration that you’ve been actively trying to deal with issues as they arise.
• Communication creates community. Parents often send their children to school each day and are clueless as to what is occurring while they are there. By calling the parents to give progress reports, ask questions, and share achievements, they begin to feel like they are a part of the educational process. They may even take on a more positive view of the school itself, which is a benefit to everyone involved.

Topics for Discussion

• Disruptive and disrespectful behaviors affect the education of every student in the classroom. Teachers need to employ a variety of resources to deal with these problems, and parents should be aware of any discipline actions that were necessary. When calling, be careful to use language that doesn’t make parents defensive, and ask for suggestions. Remember that they know their child better than you do.
• Parents of well-behaved and hard working students may never receive a personal call from a teacher. It is important to include the parents in the achievements of their child. When a student gets a high score on an exam, brings in an outstanding project, or turns in every homework assignment, the parents will be thrilled to hear that you are recognizing the work. Parents many be surprised to hear from you, and they are very likely to remember you as an attentive and organized teacher.
• Throughout the year, we see both positive and negative changes in students. Because we only meet with parents a few times each year, a phone call will keep them up to date with any progress or regression that you see. You may learn important personal information that could be a reason behind the change.
• When students are frequently absent or late, parents should be called. They may or may not know that their child is not coming to school, and letting them know that you are closely monitoring the situation may motivate them to encourage attendance and punctuality. Also, this allows you to keep a record of the attempts that you’ve made to get the student into the classroom.
• If you’ve previously called parents to report negative behavior or grades and you now see an improvement, call the parents to thank them for the role that they’ve played. They will be grateful to hear some good news.

It is always hard to add an additional task to an already full schedule, but the benefits of communication with parents are worth every minute that it takes. Dealing with problems as they arise and praising students that are often overlooked will make each day in the classroom a little more rewarding. Also, by involving parents in the educational process, you can share some of the responsibilities, leaving you with more time and energy than you started with.

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We’ve all been there. You spend half of Saturday planning a lesson that is interactive and relevant to your curriculum, and you expect it to be a home run. Unfortunately, when you implement the lesson, it falls somewhere between a walk and a strike out. There are a wide variety of problems that may have occurred, anything from time management to students missing the point. Whatever the issues may be, here are five tips for getting the most out of your next science lesson:

1) Incorporate a visual.

Students are much more likely to recall something if they have a mental picture attached to it. All too often we rely on notes alone to present complex concepts to our students. Bring models, perform demonstrations, use PowerPoint presentations, or show brief video clips. You can even draw diagrams or have students refer to their textbooks to look at images while they are learning. In order to truly comprehend the material, students need to be able to picture what they are learning about.

2) Give detailed instructions.

An activity may seem brutally obvious to you, but the students are often confused by anything that is unfamiliar to them. If the students spend half of the period trying to figure out what to do, they will be less likely to understand the scientific concepts involved in the assignment. When initiating the activity, write instructions on the board or give a handout that states the steps to follow and the final product that is expected. When introducing a project, it’s best to show an example of complete work. The more details you provide, the better the lesson will be.

3) Ask difficult questions.

As a mentor, one of the mistakes that I see new teachers making is that most of the questions that they ask begin with “what” or “where”. While it is fine to incorporate these kinds of questions, students will learn and retain more information when you encourage them to analyze the concepts that they are learning. Questions that begin with “how” or “why” will force them to take their understanding to the next level. Also, questions that force students to state an opinion and back it up with information are a great way to get them to state what they have learned. Any activity should be followed up with questions that guide student thinking toward the objectives of the lesson.

4) Let the students figure it out.

The buzz word for this is “inquiry learning”, and it basically means that teachers guide students as they discover the concepts that we want them to learn. This is interesting for the students, and can be done in a wide variety of ways. When studying diseases, I give students a description of a patient’s symptoms and ask them to perform research to come up with a diagnosis. Any lesson can become inquiry learning by having students perform an activity first and then coming up with the notes as a class, based on what was learned. These lessons allow students to develop critical thinking skills, as well as teaching them to look for the lesson in each activity.

5) End with a summary.

At the end of the lesson, it may be difficult for teachers to determine if the students understood the objective. At the same time, students may be struggling to decide which pieces of information that they were exposed to are the most important to remember. By finishing with a summary, it allows teachers that chance to see if the class is ready to move on, and it also allows students to see the goal of the lesson. A great summary can be the lesson objective, phrased in a “how”, “why”, or opinion question. If your class is working toward a standardized exam, you can give the students a few questions from past exams on the lesson topic. This allows them to see how their knowledge will need to be applied, and provide much-needed exposure to the exam.

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