About the store
Regina, the educator behind The Awkward Octopus, has been teaching for over 20 years in an urban school district in northern New Jersey. Her goal is to help science teachers who are Making Science A Verb®️in their classrooms!
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Good News AP Environmental Science End of Year Project
My fellow APES teachers,If you're anything like me, the end of the year sneaks up FAST and suddenly you need something meaningful, positive, and low-prep for your students right now. This resource is fresh off the presses—I literally rolled it out to my own APES class today (5/20/2025). Because it’s brand new and not fully polished, you’re getting it at a discounted price before the final version drops. Teacher instructions are coming soon, but the student directions are ready to go and easy to
12th
Earth Sciences, Environment
NGSS
HS-ESS3-4
Waves of Connection: A Creative Marine Biology Project
This project was designed as an end-of-unit assessment for an ocean science unit focused on the physical and chemical properties of the ocean. No matter the length of your unit, Waves of Connection serves as a powerful way for students to synthesize key concepts and demonstrate deeper understanding. Topics Included: Students choose three of the following topics to explore: Properties of waterEffects of salinity and temperature on densitySurface currentsOcean zonesOcean pHTectonic platesFor eac
6th - 12th
Marine Science
Coral Life Classification Project
Coral Life Classification: A Marine Taxonomy Final ProjectBring your classification unit to life with this engaging, multi-modal final project! Designed to bridge the gap between theoretical taxonomy and real-world application, the Coral Life Classification Project challenges students to organize and model a diverse coral reef ecosystem using the principles of shared ancestral traits. What’s Included?Flexible Organism Lists: Scaffolded lists of marine organisms to prevent student overwhelm.Leve
8th - 12th
Environment, Marine Science
NGSS
HS-LS4-1
Marine Ecosystem Presentation and Gallery Walk
I created this when I was running out of time in the marking period and I needed to cover the major marine ecosystems. In addition to students learning about different marine ecosystems, they get the opportunity to practice explaining and using concepts such as: salinity, pH, brackish, density, wave action, consumers, producers, ecosystem services, and more. The project includes student instructions, teacher instructions, and a rubric! The idea behind completing a gallery walk before students pr
9th - 12th
Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science
Tectonic Plates Speed Dating
Looking for an engaging way to get students talking about tectonic plates? This "speed dating" activity transforms plate tectonics from dry theory into dynamic discovery! By researching and presenting on a specific tectonic plate, students gain an in-depth understanding of boundary types, seismic activity, and plate locations across the globe. Then, with the interactive speed-dating format, they teach and learn from each other in rapid-fire rounds—keeping energy high and learning retention even
10th - 12th
Earth Sciences, Science
CCSS, NGSS
RST.11-12.2
, RST.11-12.4
, RST.11-12.5
+7
Gallery Walk Activity for Presentation Practice and Feedback
The idea behind completing a gallery walk before students present to their entire class runs along with the same principle as a think/pair/share exercise. Generally, students will fill more comfortable sharing with the whole group after they’ve had a chance to share in a smaller group. This also gives them an opportunity to literally practice presenting and get feedback from their peers they can use to improve their presentation. I started doing this activity when I realized that no matter how m
9th - 12th
Biology, English Language Arts, General Science
CCSS
RST.9-10.6
, RST.9-10.8
, RST.9-10.10
+3
Also included in: Marine Ecosystem Presentation and Gallery Walk
Marine Ecosystem Project
I created this when I was running out of time in the marking period and I needed to cover the major marine ecosystems. In addition to students learning about different marine ecosystems, they get the opportunity to practice explaining and using concepts such as: salinity, pH, brackish, density, wave action, consumers, producers, ecosystem services, and more. The project includes student instructions, teacher instructions, and a rubric! This was written for 11th/12th grade high school marine b
9th - 12th
Biology, Earth Sciences, Environment
CCSS, NGSS
RST.11-12.1
, RST.11-12.2
, RST.11-12.4
+16
Also included in: Marine Ecosystem Presentation and Gallery Walk
Marine Biology Introduction: Science Disciplines Used in Marine Bio
Kick off your Marine Biology unit with this engaging worksheet that introduces students to the four key scientific disciplines—Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Geology—through the lens of ocean phenomena. This activity challenges students to collaborate in pairs, categorize various marine-related concepts, and justify their reasoning. Perfect for fostering critical thinking, scientific discussion, and early exposure to CER (claims, evidence, reasoning). Whether you're introducing the unit, need
9th - 12th
Biology, Earth Sciences, Science
CCSS
RST.11-12.4
, RST.11-12.8
Marine Biology Partners
Is it a pain to create partners for group work? Trying to get students to work with new people can be a pain. This worksheet will allow you to prevent all of that hassle and create a streamlined process for choosing different partners! Includes: Terms of Use, Teacher Instructions, Student Worksheet
Not Specific
Biology, Earth Sciences, Science
Punnet Square Practice Diagrams - EDITABLE
These are premade monohybrid and dihybrid Punnett Square diagrams with space for genotype and phenotype % and ratios. This is a Google Doc and may be edited for personal use only. There is also a free .pdf version that is not editable. Terms of Use© 2021 All rights reserved by The Awkward Octopus (Regina Borriello) Have questions about the product or use? Email me at theawkwardoctopusproductions@gmail.com! By purchasing (or downloading a free resource from TpT) you may:-Use this product in y
6th - 12th
Biology
NGSS
HS-LS3-3
, MS-LS3-2
Punnett Square Practice Diagrams -NOT EDITABLE
These are premade monohybrid and dihybrid Punnett Square diagrams with space for genotype and phenotype % and ratios. This is a .pdf file and is not editable. Please see the editable version for a Google Doc version. Terms of Use© 2021 All rights reserved by The Awkward Octopus (Regina Borriello) Have questions about the product or use? Email me at theawkwardoctopusproductions@gmail.com! By purchasing (or downloading a free resource from TpT) you may:-Use this product in your own classroom -C
6th - 12th
Biology
NGSS
HS-LS3-3
, MS-LS3-2
7 Steps to Successful Time Management
As teachers time is precious. And limited. If you search online, everyone has an opinion on the best "time management strategies." The reality is there's a few basic concepts that are involved in good time management, but the "how" you manage those concepts are really up to you. This resource will help you: -Identify when you naturally have high and low energy -Create time blocks for working that work for you -Creating time blocks for working that work for you -Prevent distractions -Match task
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About the store
Experience
Regina, the educator behind The Awkward Octopus, has been teaching for over 20 years in an urban school district in northern New Jersey. Her goal is to help science teachers who are Making Science A Verb®️in their classrooms!
Teaching style
Whatever works! I believe that before you can teach students anything, you need to build a relationship with them first! I live for the connections between topics, and am always stressing how one biological topic is connected to other science topics, as well as multidisciplinary connections as well. My students complain all the time that they don't understand why they learn math, writing, reading, history, and computer skills in my class. I feel like I know I'm doing something right when I get those complaints!
Awards & shining teacher moments
Regina was in the first cohort of the Wipro Science Education Fellowship for Science Teacher Leaders through Montclair State University, and continues to work with the program today. Some of her projects have included: working with science content area teachers and their inclusion special education counterparts, creating cross-curricular math/science lesson plans, coaching elementary school teachers, and facilitating high school level professional learning communities. She is currently working with a fellow science teacher and faculty at Montclair State University to bring real world meaning to their environmental science classes.
Wipro is an international technology company. The program, which began in Boston, MA, has now spread to multiple states beyond MA and NJ, including NY, FL, TX and CA.
My own education history
Regina has her BS in Marine Science, a MS in Biology, and and MEd in Teacher Leadership.
Additional biographical information
In Regina's spare time, she enjoys reading, especially science fiction and fantasy, volunteering at a local cat rescue, and playing with her niblings. She is perpetually disappointed to find that no one has discovered dragons as of yet.
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