The Sassy Scientist of Middle School

Doodle lovers! This "Student Spotlight" doodle sheet is for you! It is a great resource to use as a get-to-know-you during the first few weeks of class. This one-sheet resource includes some basic questions that cover a range of topics (beyond just favorites) that will help you get to know your students. Ask your students to color it and be as creative as possible. These are great keepsakes to keep in a binder all year and return to your students at the end of the year to see how much they

This document gives eight test-taking strategies for students. It was designed to arm students with the tools necessary to help themselves reduce anxiety, stress, or nerves. These strategies can be used before and during a test. This document includes two versions. One version is completed with the notes, and the other has room for students to take the notes themselves. When I created this worksheet, it was originally designed to help my students prepare for the WKCE (Wisconsin Knowledge an

The Simple Machines Playground Lab is a fantastic way to have students dive deeper into their exploration of simple machines through a super fun, hands on building lab. This lab has students create a playground structure that includes the six common types of simple machines: lever, screw, were, inclined plane, wheel and axle, and rope and pulley. I highly suggest students work in groups of 2-4 students. It is appropriate for physical science or engineering and can be adapted for multiple grad

Do you use WICOR strategies in your AVID-supported classroom? Displaying the WICOR strategies in your classroom is a must! These printable posters are simple and to-the-point. Each poster includes the letter and name of WICOR along with four clarifying descriptors of that strategy. There are two versions for you to choose from with different sized fonts. Can be easily printed on white/colored paper and laminated to hang up in your classroom in no time!

This project is designed for students to research one of the six main biomes: desert, grassland, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rainforest, taiga, or tundra. It allows either (1) students to choose their own biome or (2) the biomes to be assigned by the teacher. With the Biome Vacation Project, students must create a presentation about their biome as if they were selling a vacation package to someone. The project includes the following pages: (1) Introduction and project description (2

Get ready. This project is OUT of this world! You will quickly find that this is one of those projects that students really get into and will talk about for some time. The "Out-of-this-World Alien Project" has the following learning goals: 1) Select and research a planet in our solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune) to develop an understanding of the environment of the planet. Compare and contrast several key characteristics your planet to Earth. 
 2) Ident

This pack includes ALL of the materials in the other packs I am selling from the novel, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. 1) Activity Pack - this pack contains worksheets, graphic organizers, teacher notes, and handouts to use for the novel. They are interactive, fun, and engaging. They have students think critically, compare and contrast, and look beyond the text. 2) Project Pack - this pack is filled with FANTASTIC project options for students that are specifically designed to assess

Are you teaching your students about Simple Machines?! Including Rube Goldberg into your class is a MUST! This activity/project has students design their own cartoon featuring an original Rube Goldberg machine. This three-page document includes the following: (1) Introduction, direction, and example (2) Planning page (3) Template to create their cartoon and explanation This can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. You can print it out or give it digitally to your students. If you

Have a blast teaching your students about simple machines with this easy lab/activity! Students will build a catapult out of popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and a spoon and launch marshmallows high in the air! They will also try launching a penny and a cotton ball to compare the objects to their original projectile (marshmallows). This lab includes: -directions to build the catapult (all students will build the same catapult) -three phases of questions: before, during, and after launc

The Element Trading Card is a graphic organizer that allows students to research different elements from the Periodic Table. This product is meant to be printed two trading cards to a page. It includes a front and back side, as well as a website for students to use to research their element. The trading card is black and white so students can add color and show their creativity as well. The front side of the trading card includes basic directions, space for students to create the element ke

This is an exciting collection of fun, interactive, engaging projects for the book, Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins. There are several project options students can complete that target different types of interests, including blogs, authors, illustrations, and creative writing. The project options were specifically designed to assess what students have learned and comprehended from reading the novel. My students LOVED these projects and couldn't wait to share. They were asking to do

This is a brochure template created for any planet (including Pluto!). This two-sided, three panel wide brochure is a great research material for teaching about the planets. It is easily printed back-to-back in black and white so students can color it and make it their own piece of art while including important information about their planet. The brochure includes the following information to be researched: -basic planet information -colored image of the planet -creative thinking questions -b

Looking for a fun way for students to show what they know about the water cycle and the four main processes that occur throughout? This comic strip activity is a great way for students to show their knowledge. It can be used as homework or an in-class activity. The first page includes directions that tell students who to complete the 8-slide comic. It includes eight required vocabulary terms to use in their comic which include: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, salt wat

This is a fantastic book club pack. The pack includes everything you need to have a successful book club, or literature circle, for the book Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. It includes a small booklet for students that explain different jobs of a literature circle and provides rubrics for each job. In addition, there are several other useful documents, including book marks, a job list chart, and a description of how to run a book club.

The Daily Weather Report is a graphic organizer that has students research and identify the weather for any city (whether it is their own or a randomly assigned city). The weather report includes weather characteristics such as temperatures, wind, humidity, precipitation, and a five-day forecast. It also has students identify an appropriate weather icon and complete the radar map. This graphic organizer includes the image of Wisconsin, however, you can include your own state outline or even

Need a quick and easy game to play with a group of students? "The Unfair Trivia Game" is simple. Divide your group of students in to two teams. They will take turns picking a question from the premade game board. If they get the question correct, they can choose to keep or give away the points. Here's where it becomes unfair - the points for each question can be either positive or negative! It's a lot of fun to see what students decide to do (keep/give away) and the result of their choices

Earthlings beware... This activity is tons of fun! This three-part activity has students (1) researching a planet, (2) designing an alien, and (3) drawing their creature however their imagination sees fit. Students will be required to pick a planet to research. Then, they will create a list of five adaptations their alien would need to have to survive there. Lastly, they create an original drawing of their alien with the adaptations listed. My students have always loved this activity. Th

Teaching your students about the layers of the atmosphere and need an interactive activity! Check this out! Help your students learn about the various layers of the atmosphere with this two part activity that includes: (1) Diagram: students will label the layers, color code, and cut/paste various objects within the appropriate layers on an 8.5 x 11 diagram/poster (2) Questions: once students have completed the diagram, they will answer six questions about the layers of the atmosphere, includin

There are all kinds of severe weather - thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc. Students have experienced severe weather at some point in their lifetime and tend to be intrigued by the topic. The Severe Weather Report is a graphic organizer that has students research one type of severe weather. They will research, write, draw, and creatively think about their type of severe weather. This can be used as a planning page for an oral report as well. In addition, students will res

The Word Strategy Packet teaches three strategies to use when identifying new and unfamiliar words. The three strategies include (1) chunking, (2) sounding out, and (3) word within a word. Each page is dedicated to a different strategy. On each page, there is a description of the strategy, an example, a walk-through, and practice. The final page of this packet is practice where there are several words given. The students need to identify the unfamiliar word and circle which strategy they us