Make Science Fun Again

My normal teaching schedule is Advanced Placement (AP) Biology. This year I am teaching a Biology I class filled with standard students. Unfortunately, they have not always had the best teachers in the school. They came to me dreading another year of sitting in a science class. I came to them dreading having to teach a class that I had not taught in many, many years. 

But..... I love biology and I love to teach!

I quickly discovered that I could make a difference to these kids and that I could get them excited about Biology. 

Bless their hearts, but on the first day they were expecting me to say, "Open your book and copy the vocab.” “Complete this worksheet.” “Read pages 6 - 10 and answer the questions at the end of the section." When I did none of these, they perked up a little! Instead of saying, "Open your book”, I said, "Let's go to the lab!"

Why did science teachers stop making science fun? Experiments make science come alive for these students! The simplest thing (like growing a plant) gets the student excited. In my class we grow plants, we extract DNA from cells, we collect pond water and identify the protists, we see who can roll their tongue and who cannot, we even do a lab with ferns where the students can watch sperm cells swim to an egg cell. The simplest thing often becomes amazing. Now my students love science. When they come to class and I have a lecture prepared, they are content listening to the lecture because they know the next day might contain a fun experiment.

So now we have reached springtime - the time of the year where teachers across the country have only one thing on their mind: End of course standardized tests.
It doesn't matter what state you live in, or by what name they are called, they are the same. They are standardized tests. Every teacher feels the pressure. It seems that nobody cares if you make your class fun and exciting....JUST GET GOOD TEST SCORES! Please teachers,don't fall into the testing trap. Keep your class fun, engaging, exciting, and the test scores will probably be better than ever.

This article is by guest blogger Amy Brown. Check out her Science Stuff blog, and visit her Science Stuff TPT Store for lots of great science products for middle school and high school, including some fantastic freebies.

"I have 27 years of teaching experience in the areas of biology and chemistry. For most of these years, I have taught Advanced Placement (AP) biology and Honors chemistry. I believe in providing solid science instruction that involves teaching problem solving skills, but at the same time making my class fun and exciting."

                                                                                                                                                -Amy Brown

Review of Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg

Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last summer I took a side trip to Niagara Falls on my way home from the Highlight's Foundation Writer's Workshop in Chautauqua, New York. I remember driving towards Niagara and seeing a huge cloud of what appeared to be smoke. It turned out to be mist coming off of the falls. I love waterfalls, but I must say, Niagara Falls is the most powerful natural phenomenon I've had the opportunity to witness. And this is coming from a girl who has lived through a hurricane.

Not long ago, I was perusing Amazon when I ran across Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg. Two things grabbed my attention: (1) a barrel going over the falls (I knew the story), and (2) Chris Van Allsburg has a new book! In fact, this book is so new, Van Allsburg hasn't even added it to his website as of the date of this blog post (April, 2011).

I love Van Allsburg's artwork and mysterious stories, so course, I couldn't resist hitting Amazon's one click button (a dangerous button for book lovers). I was curious how Van Allsburg would treat a nonfiction biography, a major parting from his standard fare. The first thing that struck me is his illustrations. They are amazing! The cover is absolutely striking. All of the illustrations are in black, browns, and white similar to old-time photographs. I won't tell you where he hid the dog. You will have to go on that treasure hunt yourself.

I read the book aloud to my 4th graders. They were intrigued by Annie Taylor's story and Niagara Falls, so of course I had to take out photos from my trip to show my students. This story is filled with teaching opportunities: make predictions, ask questions, consider risk and danger versus fame and fortune, and so much more. I highly recommend you take your children (or students) on a trip to Niagara Falls through the pages of Queen of the Falls.

Click Here for my QUEEN OF THE FALLS - LITERATURE GUIDE

Book Review of The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane Auch

The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane Auch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Henrietta is a chicken who loves to read, so one day she decides to write a book. Of course, she is just a chicken, so of course the publisher rejects her book. Well, this isn't an ordinary chicken, mind you, she is a chicken who perseveres. Henrietta is a self-publishing chicken, but alas, the review from "The Corn Book Magazine" is not exactly a hit, five stars, or two thumbs up. I won't give away the sweet little ending, but I will tell you there is hope for all writers...even a chicken.

Kids and adults (writers in particular) will get a kick out of this funny little picture book. My fourth graders thought it was pretty darn funny, but I must confess, I had to explain a few of the "plays on words" made by the author. They did get the cheesiest word plays, like, "eggcitedly" and "eggshilerating".

The Plot Chickens is a fun read aloud with some great teaching opportunities. After all, Henrietta reads the "rules of writing" and applies them to her pitiful little plot, but as far as rules go, there is a lesson in each one of them. For example: Rule 1: You need a main character.

As far as picture books for teaching writing go, it's a gem of a book to have around when you introduce your fiction writing unit to your students. Once you finish reading this book, teach your students how to hatch their own plot.

THE PLOT CHICKENS MINI LITERATURE UNIT

A Poem, A Poet, A Winner

April is National Poetry Month. This month I held a poetry contest. I asked readers to write a poem about teaching. The winner receives their choice of one of these two great books: Practical Poetry: A Nonstandard Approach to Meeting Content-Area Standards by Sara Holbrook or Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School by Georgia Heard.

Drumroll please...

And the winner is Kevin Hodgson. He didn't just write a poem, he wrote a poem aimed at the heart of subjecting our children to standardized testing.

The winning poem...

Here,
amid the silence of your
muted mind,
I hear only the dull scratching
of lead on paper.
I imagine:
the stories you want to tell;
the arguments you want to make;
the poems you want to recite;
the songs you want to sing --
if only
you weren't shackled to your desk
with four little bubbles
in front of you
and a number two pencil
whose point is aimed squarely
at the machine assigned as
automated audience.


-Kevin Hodgson
Kevin posted this poem in a super cool format worth checking out at Prezi. 

Penguins Thematic Unit, K-3

Penguins are a popular topic for teaching across the curriculum. You can pull out the map and discover the southern hemisphere, learn about birds who swim instead of fly, read, write, and even practice math skills. Penguins are an interesting subject for children. Here are some great resources to help give your penguin theme pizazz!

Penguin Thematic Unit, K-3, Literacy, Math, Science, Art, & Drama

Penguin Links
Discover Channel - Planet Earth: Ice World: Penguins video  2:42 run time
Animal Planet: Aggressive Penguins 1:44 run time
National Geographic for Kids: Adelie Penguins
Penguin Science for the Classroom




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