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Dewey Does It

Rated 5 out of 5, based on 2 reviews

Auburn, California, United States

About the store

I have had the privilege of teaching middle school science for my entire career, starting with 7th and 8th grade and now focusing entirely on 8th grade.

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Seasons Greetings - Cultural Astronomy Matching Lab

Created by

Dewey Does It

The Seasons Greetings - Cultural Astronomy activity links two oft-neglected topics in science: astronomy and anthropology. Students will attempt to match the "greetings" of 8 people living across the Earth from past and present cultures. These greeters explain basic facts about their lives, such as weather, climate, day/night cycles, and cultural norms. Alongside this are 8 locations with weather and daylight data. This matching activity is designed for 8th graders, but could be modified for hi

8th

Astronomy, World History

CCSS, NGSS

RI.8.1

, RI.8.3

, MS-ESS1-1

Daylight Hours Across the Globe

Created by

Dewey Does It

There are many aspects of the Earth-Sun-Moon cycle that can be difficult for students to visualize. Included among these are how daylight changes depending on latitude. This activity intends to provide students with actual data from different locations on Earth at different latitudes that can provide an obvious visual demonstrating this scientific fact. Included in this assignment is a map of the Earth with major latitude lines, daylight data for 8 locations, latitude data for both northern and

6th - 8th

Astronomy, Earth Sciences

CCSS, NGSS

8.F.B.5

, MS-ESS1-1

Cliffhanger Stories - Be the Author!

Created by

Dewey Does It

It can be difficult for students to write a whole story from scratch. When I taught language arts intervention, my students loved when I wrote a cliffhanger story that they could finish with their own spin. These stories set a scene with simple characters. Details are minimal, but enough to get kids started. Each story has a spooky or surprising cliffhanger . . . that students need to finish! This activity is great for a warm-ups, short lessons on PLC days, or as part of a larger writing unit.

6th - 8th

Creative Writing, English Language Arts

CCSS

CCRA.W.3

, CCRA.W.10

, CCRA.L.1

Alien World - Creative Writing Prompts

Created by

Dewey Does It

Get ready for some exciting in space! These are creative writing prompts that should help students write short stories. They can be used as class warm-ups, supplemental assignments, or enrichments. These assignments were designed for a 6th grade language arts intervention class. But they could work perfectly for an EL class.

4th - 12th

Creative Writing, English Language Arts

CCSS

CCRA.W.3

, CCRA.L.3

Lunar Holidays - Cultural Astronomy

Created by

Dewey Does It

Many religious traditions across the world have used astronomical events to date their important festivals and holidays. This is a lab that combines scientific content with cultural awareness. Students will read about four major religious festivals, learning the what, why, and when of these events. Then they will answer a few questions about each. This assignment is great as an enrichment or short lab. It has been written at a fairly low grade level so that even struggling readers can gain the

5th - 10th

Astronomy, World History

CCSS, NGSS

RI.8.4

, MS-ESS1-1

Genetic Petri Dish Lab - Middle School Genetics Practice

Created by

Dewey Does It

Teaching genetics can be challenging as students grapple with the difficult vocabulary. This lab seeks to provide understanding of genetic concepts with real-world examples and plenty of practice with tough words. Best used as a stations lab, students have a four-part worksheet that matches with information on different pages. They will read the info and answer questions. I have used this with great success with my 8th graders. It was well worth the time putting it together!

6th - 10th

Biology, Science

CCSS, NGSS

RI.8.4

, CCRA.R.1

, CCRA.L.4

Perfect Puppy Lab - Genetics Practice

Created by

Dewey Does It

At the beginning of any biology unit on genetics, students need to master the concept of inheritance. A great example of inheritance can include dog breeding with many students having some background knowledge of different dog breeds. This lab gives students the choice of identifying a dog for a specific purpose, then uses real breeds to create the perfect puppy that has the right traits for the job! Simple coin flips choose the puppy's traits. This one has been a favorite of my students for yea

6th - 10th

Biology, Science

NGSS

MS-LS2-4

, MS-LS3-1

, MS-LS4-2

Daylight Hours Across the Globe - Learning the Seasons

Created by

Dewey Does It

Teaching the seasons can be challenging once students have progressed beyond "winter is cold." The seasons are both complex and simple, but definitely some of the complexities can be understood by middle school students. This lab seeks to provide evidence for how daylight length, and therefore seasons, changing over the course of the year. Using a simple world map with certain places named, students will see how latitude and hemisphere affect. Students will receive the instructions and a graph.

6th - 8th

Astronomy, Earth Sciences, Science

NGSS

MS-ESS1-1

Lunar Holidays - Cultural Astronomy

Created by

Dewey Does It

In the past, time was kept by looking to the skies. As a result, many religious and cultural festivals base their yearly timing on different astronomical cycles. In this case, I chose festivals that use the moon, providing students with a beautiful combination of science and history. The activity works best as a stations activity where students move to each article, read it together, then answer questions. Activity can be supplemented by requesting students to include a festival that they celebr

5th - 8th

Science

CCSS, NGSS

RH.6-8.4

, RH.6-8.5

, MS-ESS1-1

My Traits and Me - Personal Genetics and Graph

Created by

Dewey Does It

In many biology classes, teachers like to use simple dominant/recessive traits as a starting point for more complicated genetic traits. This simple worksheet provides the documents for a teacher to lead a class through a few of those simple traits and then compare visually with a graph. Helps to dispel the notion that dominant traits are more common. Works best with younger students, especially those with little experience graphing.

5th - 8th

Science

NGSS

MS-LS3-1

, MS-LS4-4

Truffa Trees - Genetics Practice

Created by

Dewey Does It

A simple activity to help students with difficult vocabulary: homozygous and heterozygous. Students will choose traits for a simple tree, then draw that tree. Tree traits are very simple, so no stress for the artists! Can be used as a filler, extra practice, or main activity.

7th - 9th

Science

NGSS

MS-LS3-1

, MS-LS4-4

Sentence Buffs: Figurative Writing Practice

Created by

Dewey Does It

This is a quick and easy worksheet to help students practice "buffing" their sentences with figurative language. It's a great warm-up lesson during a writing unit or as a practice activity on any given day!

6th - 8th

Creative Writing, English Language Arts

CCSS

CCRA.L.5

Showing 1-12 of 12 results

About the store

Experience

I have had the privilege of teaching middle school science for my entire career, starting with 7th and 8th grade and now focusing entirely on 8th grade.

Teaching style

Beginning my career with the old California State Standards, I initially taught knowledge-based curriculum. Then, working at an IB school and with the NGSS curriculum I began using a more project-based approach. Eventually I combined the two styles together, realizing that students cannot engage with depth-based, open-ended research projects without core knowledge. My assignments involve interdisciplinary themes, combining my personal love of reading and writing with science curriculum. Since my background (and degree) are in history, I try to involve as much cultural information in my science assignments. This helps provide a different perspective while also activating students' prior knowledge.