P.O.E.

P.O.E. stands for Predict, Observe, and Explain.  I use this in my classroom every Wednesday.  The only hard part about it is getting a demonstration together to show my students.  Last week I did a P.O.E. where I poured water down a wet string from one beaker to another. Before I actually did the demonstration I asked them to predict what would happen when I poured the water.  They usually write this prediction down in their notebooks as part "P".  I then do my demonstration and the students observe and write their observations in part "O".  The hardest part is "E" which is explain.  My student have to explain why things happened as they did during the demonstration.  They all look forward to P.O.E days!  Oh gotta run, P.O.E. day is tomorrow!

And Now For Some Good News!!

Ten years ago I didn't think the World Trade Center would ever be rebuilt.  I thought it might have some sort of memorial built at ground zero, but I didn't have an inkling that there would be a huge building sitting there a decade later.  The planning for the new tower started almost immediately after 9/11.  Originally called the "Freedom Tower", the skyscraper is now known as the One World Trade Center and is well on its way to being finished.  Here is a short time-lapse video of the tower under construction.  Enjoy!

I Feel Like a First Year Teacher!!!

     I have been a teacher for fourteen years and I feel like a brand new teacher right out of college.  Why you ask?  I think it is the slow piling of more responsibilities over the last ten years on my shoulders.  I am so overwhelmed that I can't keep my email at work straight!  How could this happen?
     About ten years ago we started state "high stakes" testing.  It seemed like a good idea back then.  Soon after the testing began we started interventions.  At first, interventions was leveled by using the state test and you saw the same kids every day.  Then we decided to retest every quarter and switch the students around in interventions  depending on how they scored on the quarterly tests as well.  Three years ago I moved to a school that switched interventions daily!  Some teachers like this, but I never like anything that switches around too rapidly. 
     Last year we lost our wonderful language arts teacher in 7th grade to retirement.  She was not replaced.  I have been told I should be very happy about this due to the fact that I could have been fired (I'm the science teacher) so the school could hire a reading/writing teacher.  So who is teaching reading?  Well our grade level has joined with the sixth grade teachers so we can get all subjects taught with minimal teachers.  That means that I am now teaching reading, 6th grade science, and 7th grade science. We have 36+ in a class.  My principal is very worried about reading because it is now in the hands of several people. 
    I ask you, how can a school get good scores on a state test when there is not enough teachers to bring the class size down to a manageable level?  How can reading scores improve when there is no reading teacher?  How can anyone possibly think that cutting science teachers is an option?  There will be jobs in science in the future.  Will the United States have anyone to fill them?  One thing is for sure, if we pull it off and our students meet the standard on that reading test this year, we won't be getting another reading teacher...

Moon Phase Flash Cards

The trouble with having your students make flash cards to learn moon phases is that when they cut them out, unless they are very careful, they will mix them all up and then end up with the wrong moon with the wrong phase.  I finally developed some moon phase flash cards that cannot be mixed up.  Students have a description of the phase on one side and a picture of the phase on the other.  Both the phase description and the picture have a shape in the corner that matches.  Students can cut all of them out at once and then match the shapes and make their flashcards.  Problem solved!  The moon pictures for these flash cards were taken with my 4.5 inch Dobsonian telescope.  Here is an example of the pictures:

Nice huh? The link to my flash cards can be found here:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Moon-Phase-Flash-Cards

ThINK

I wish I would have had this cool poster when I was teaching chemistry.  Using the elements in The Periodic Table of the Elements you can make inspiring words for your classroom.  By using the symbols for Thorium, Iodine, Nitrogen, Potassium the word ThINK can be made.  The I,N, and K will be capitalized but it makes a great poster for your classroom.  I have created a free download for "ThINK" on Teachers Pay Teachers that you can find here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chemistry-Wall-Art

Have fun creating your own words with element symbols!

Classroom Quiet Signal

I like the idea of a classroom quiet signal.  I teach science and that means hands-on labs and group activities.  It can get kind of loud sometimes!  I do not like the idea of yelling, which is just far too draining to me.  I think my students in middle school would like it if I did yell for quiet because I would probably look funny doing it! My idea this year is to use some sort of signal that I will teach them in the first week of school.  I have heard many ideas from the primary teachers who use these every year but not too many from middle school.  The best ones I have read about lately are using a rain-stick or a wireless doorbell purchased from Home Depot as the signal.  The doorbell would be quite funny the first time you used it, I think.  I plan on teaching the signal and then having my students engage in a chatty activity and practice the signal.  If you have other good suggestions on quiet signals please leave a comment I'd love to hear your ideas on this subject.  Make sure you link my blog in your post and write about "quiet signals."

Back to School Sale

There is a huge back to school sale going on starting tomorrow on Teachers Pay Teachers!  There is a 10% discount by using code B1T1S1 when you check out and many teachers have their stores on sale for addition money off!  Here is the link to my store:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Science-Etc/Products


Gotta run to Staples for the .10 composition notebooks!