Rebecca's Resources

This is an engaging, problem-based inquiry activity that will get your students thinking deeply about chemical and physical changes. Designed for science students in the middle grades, this lesson uses something most people like - popcorn - to help distinguish between chemical and physical properties and changes. The question of whether popping popcorn is a physical change or a chemical change is a tough one. Students will explore this question in this lesson by: - observing popcorn pop

Middle school students will tackle the challenge of creating their own unique invention with this project. Not only is this a good way for students to express their creativity and use critical thinking, but it also addresses the middle school "Engineering Design" standards that are part of the new Next Generation Science Standards. In this project students will: 1) Learn about important inventions and inventors in history 2) Work through each step of the engineering design

This fun assignment allows students to synthesize what they know about severe weather and engineering. Students will create a design for a storm chasing vehicle, as well as a storm chasing suit for storm chasers to wear. You will be embedding engineering design in your weather curriculum, which allows students to think critically about solving problems and evaluating solutions. Many students in the middle grades are fascinated by severe weather and the bravery of storm chasers, which makes thi

"I Have, Who Has?" is a popular game that requires every student to actively participate. Each student receives a card with an answer to a previous question and a new question on it. This is a whole-class game. Students must be on their toes, listening to their fellow students, because what is written on their card could be the answer to the question another student is asking. Complete instructions are included in this product. My 6th Graders often ask me when they can play "I Have, Who Has

This 7-day project is a fun way for students to learn about the Earth-Sun relationship and the reasons why we experience seasons on Earth. Instead of passively consuming information about why we have seasons, students participating in this project will become members of a geo-hacking company that develops and presents plans to change the seasons on Earth by changing the Earth-Sun relationship. The idea of geo-hacking (changing the Earth or the Earth's processes through technology) is introduced

This is a 24 question assessment on the topic of heat transfer. There are a variety of types of questions (e.g., fill in the blank, multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and graphing). Convection, conduction, radiation, temperature, density, and how heat moves from warmer areas to cooler ones are the main ideas of this assessment. I created this assessment for my 6th Graders and it is closely tied to Core Content and Next Generation Science standards. An answer key is included. Than

Group projects are a great way for students to collaborate and create wonderful products. Even though we as teachers do our best to form healthy groups and monitor their progress, it is sometimes difficult to truly know how the group is functioning. This form gives students the opportunity to provide feedback on their group members' contributions and their group's dynamics. I created this likert scale rating and have used it in my middle school classroom for several years. I think it would

In this assignment, students are asked to draw and label a picture of the water cycle. They are also asked to write a description of how the water cycle works. This can be given as a homework or classwork assignment, or as part of a quiz or a test. The rubric is designed so that the assignment is worth 40 points. Students are asked to label evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, and runoff, as well as depict how water moves over land and water, and in plants and animals.

The Earth-Sun relationship is an important dynamic for students to understand, and its importance is reflected in most middle grade state Science standards, as well as in the Next Generation Science Standards. A major component of understanding the Earth-Sun relationship is understanding how the tilt and revolution of the Earth cause seasons. This assessment will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of why we have seasons by creating a diagram. It is ideal if this assignment is p

You may be familiar with the game "Quiz, Quiz, Trade," in which each student receives a card and uses that card to both ask and answer questions in a review game. This game is a great activity because all students participate, the exchanges and transitions are quick and purposeful, and the material is what they need to know for their assessments. There are 32 question and answer slips in this packet. The questions cover both terminology and higher-order, application questions. I created

If you are like me, the idea of a germy hall pass following kids into the bathroom multiple times a day and then being passed on from kid to kid kind of freaks you out. In my room, I use tear-away individual hall passes that students glue into their notebook at the beginning of each nine weeks. When they want to exit the room, they hand me an exit pass. They must have an exit pass to exit, so this limits the number of trips that they take outside of my classroom. I also give kids two "grumpy

Mastery of content is a major goal of learning. To that end, we teachers want to ensure that our students come to master the content, even if they fail to prove mastery the first time they try. If you are like me, however, you are somewhat leery of retakes. A few years ago, my teammates and I were struggling with how to ensure that students prove mastery without retaking assessments. We drafted a few forms, and this is the one that I ultimately created for my classroom. This corrections hand

One beginning of the year activity that will help promote ownership of student work is to have students decorate their science notebook covers. This document contains student instructions for making a collage on the notebook cover that represents themselves and also includes science-related items. Also part of this document is a rubric that students can use to grade themselves before the teacher evaluates their work. It is suggested that this activity be used as a homework assignment. The rubri