DNA and genetics are intriguing phenomena in science. It seems mysterious and almost magical to students, which inspires their curiosity and desire to learn more. That makes it fun and easy to teach! DNA is also fun to teach because we get to do lots of modeling and hands-on activities. The purpose of this lessonContinue reading “Explaining DNA: Teaching Tips and Lecture Notes”
Tag Archives: Biology
Engaging DNA Introduction: Twin Study Film Clip & Discussion
This 30 minute lesson is my favorite way to start our unit on DNA. The film clip and the conversations we have around it introduce DNA as an intriguing phenomenon in science. It seems mysterious and almost magical to students, which inspires their curiosity and desire to learn more. That makes it fun and easyContinue reading “Engaging DNA Introduction: Twin Study Film Clip & Discussion”
How She Teaches DNA Model Keychains
The purpose of this project is to model DNA structure and the base pair rule. In this blog post I share my best lesson planning tips to facilitate this lesson. I hope it gives you some ideas and saves you some time! Also check out my blog post DNA Model Keychains: An Engaging Hands-on LessonContinue reading “How She Teaches DNA Model Keychains”
DNA Model Keychains: An Engaging Hands-on Lesson and Fun Activity Before Holiday Break!
Making DNA model keychains is one of my favorite lessons to teach in Biology. These beautiful models make great keychains, ornaments, and jewelry. Students can treasure them, or gift them to someone special, making it the perfect activity to do before the winter and holiday break! I hope this blog post gives you some ideasContinue reading “DNA Model Keychains: An Engaging Hands-on Lesson and Fun Activity Before Holiday Break!”
High School Biology Vocabulary: Units and Key Terms for Effective Teaching
I hope you enjoy reading about my favorite science terms to teach in high school Biology. I hope this list of vocabulary terms can give you some good ideas and save you valuable planning time. In this blog post I share the vocabulary terms I teach during each unit throughout the year: How I UseContinue reading “High School Biology Vocabulary: Units and Key Terms for Effective Teaching”
Learning Styles: A Valuable Beginning of the Year Lesson
Everybody learns in different ways. Have you ever sat looking at a page in the book, just staring at the words and nothing is going into your brain? Well, that might be because visuals are not conducive to your Learning Style. It’s beneficial to know what style we are so that we can hack ourContinue reading “Learning Styles: A Valuable Beginning of the Year Lesson”
Comprehensive Guide for Teaching Pathogens and Infectious Diseases
The immune system, and especially infectious diseases, have always been interesting topics to students. They already know a lot about infectious diseases, but many have never defined it or put it into context before. In this blog post I share some of my favorite lesson ideas to teach infectious diseases, pathogens, and the immune system:Continue reading “Comprehensive Guide for Teaching Pathogens and Infectious Diseases”
How She Teaches Body Systems
Biology is the study of life, and in Biology the main system we study is the human body. Body Systems is a great topic to teach in Biology at the beginning of the year. My students are so curious about their bodies and their health. They have so many questions and they spark interesting conversationsContinue reading “How She Teaches Body Systems”
How She Teaches: System, Structure, Function, Component
Systems are parts working together. Many things in science are systems, and in Biology the main system we study is the human body. This lesson is a great way to jump into science content at the beginning of the year. I use this lesson to introduce the Vocabulary Log. A Vocab Log is a simpleContinue reading “How She Teaches: System, Structure, Function, Component”
5 Ways to Take Notes Without a Worksheet
It’s good to keep students busy, but I don’t like to feel like I’m giving busy work. Lots of worksheets can feel like busy work. When students create things in their notebooks, they use their brains. They process information and learn. In this blog post I’m happy to share 5 different ways to take notesContinue reading “5 Ways to Take Notes Without a Worksheet”
Lab Safety Teacher Script
This Teacher Script encompasses many of my teacher-centered moments when learning Lab Safety. Just print the script, attach it to a clipboard, and you’re ready to go! Read my script below for ideas, download my PDF to use in your classroom, or make a copy of my Google Doc and customize it to your needs.Continue reading “Lab Safety Teacher Script”
How She Teaches Lab Safety
Labs are some of my favorite learning activities to do with students. I try to do as many labs during the year as I can, and they are an important part of my science instruction. Labs are fun to do, but it’s really important to educate students and practice safe lab behavior. Chemicals and glasswareContinue reading “How She Teaches Lab Safety”
How She Teaches Being Alive: 6 Characteristics of Living Things
6 Characteristics of Living Things Biology is the study of living things. So it makes sense to start the year by learning what it means for something to be alive. This is a memorable lesson for students that I can refer to throughout the year. It’s great to bring up again when we study cells,Continue reading “How She Teaches Being Alive: 6 Characteristics of Living Things”
How I Use “Check-ins” to Check for Understanding and Inform My Teaching
Check-ins are one of my favorite classroom routines that I depend on year after year. A Check-in is a quick set of questions at the end of a lesson that tell me what students know and what they still need to know. It’s like an Exit Ticket, a popular formative assessment of many teachers, butContinue reading “How I Use “Check-ins” to Check for Understanding and Inform My Teaching”
How She Teaches Meiosis
This week we are building on what we were learning about cells. Specifically how we make new cells in our bodies. We were studying Mitosis, how we make our body cells like skin, muscle, brain, and liver cells, which are identical to the parent cells they come from. This week we’re learning about a processContinue reading “How She Teaches Meiosis”