How to Teach Group Roles

One of my favorite classroom management strategies is Group Roles. They streamline activities, distribute workload, boost participation, and keep students focused. I introduce them early in the school year and rotate roles to give students equal opportunities. I use clear communication and modeling to ensure success. Google Drive resources and practical examples are available.

Explaining DNA: Teaching Tips and Lecture Notes

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”

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: 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”

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 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”