Best science & technology teaching materials according to redditors
We found 14 Reddit comments discussing the best science & technology teaching materials. We ranked the 6 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
This book: https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/science-formative-assessment-volume-1/book243186 and anything by Paige Keeling.
Books by Doug Llewelyn are also good for practical ways to manage a science classroom:
https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-School-Science-Through-Inquiry/dp/0761939385/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1BM63B1SVPA9S34MM8GQ
This site is helpful for protocols: https://sciencespot.net/Pages/ISNinfo.html
Before you get too deep into Doug Lemov I suggest getting :https://www.amazon.com/Management-Active-Classroom-Ron-Berger/dp/0692533176/ref=asc_df_0692533176/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312021238077&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15492007953268536795&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005674&hvtargid=pla-465630254784&psc=1
Doug Lemov strategies work well but the next step is to build a relationship / inquiry based culture in your classroom using a similar mindset (behavior in the class derives from routine and habit) but different strategies.
And finally I developed this one page planning / student worksheet that you might find helpful. Feel free to use it anyway you'd like.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0SXx8TcWBygYkI4RnVkOUdxR2s/view?usp=sharing
I'm a high school science teacher and I can't recommend the Hands-On series enough. I use the physics, but the chemistry one is great too.
Here is my copy and paste list:
Books
TIPERS
TIPERs are a fantastic resource for including conceptual thinking assignments. Answer keys are generally available if you talk to your school's Pearson Rep. IMO, the E/M book is the weakest, in part because it ignores that circuits are a thing. I would start with the first as it is a general overview, and go from there.
General Physics Education
Websites
Youtube
Let me know if you have questions about any of these, or about particular types of physics courses.
Get this book -- TONS of ideas https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Physics-Activities-Real-Life-Applications/dp/087628845X
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These are all good books to start with ^^
Hi! Congrats on starting your new career :) I was in the same boat as you; graduated with a Chem degree and have ended up teaching most every science content (bio, physics, chem, and physical science) in the HS level.
Regarding subject specific resources, hopefully your school provides you with curriculum so that you can know what you need to review/look up--I know I spent a lot of time reviewing biology content when I had to teach that class since I was rusty on it. For a decent content review book, I found this book at Costco last year but they sell it on Amazon:
[Help Your Kids With Science] (http://www.amazon.com/Help-Your-Kids-Science-Publishing/dp/0756692687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406088680&sr=8-1&keywords=help+your+kids+with+science)
I actually use the book sometimes with my Sped students or when if a class needs some quick review. It's pretty thorough with nice pictures.
This book is about using Science Notebooks in class... I spent a lot of time in grad school/student teaching using notebooks so I felt I had a good grasp on them, but this book provided a few good ideas. It is a little pricey though.
[Teaching Science With Interactive Notebooks] (http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Science-With-Interactive-Notebooks/dp/1412954037/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406089065&sr=8-3&keywords=science+notebook)
If you need any first day advice or anything like that, feel free to PM me!
I was going to say the same thing. I LOVE using these....not just for organization but as a tool for kids to make sense of information on their own (a la constructivism). I agree about the pretty much saving my life comment; it has completely changed how I teach and I would never not use them! I've read a few sites for ideas but I also came across a book (http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Science-With-Interactive-Notebooks/dp/1412954037) that was really helpful. You can really customize to your style and it gives kids a chance to be creative with processing pages. Let me know if you want suggestions for implementing them. It takes a little buy-in, starting with the teacher. Good luck!
Isn't that rubric great?? It's from Kellie Marcarelli's book Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks. I basically stole everything I do from there!! Actually, that rubric does a pretty good job explaining the expectations for those output assignments. To get a 10/10 they need to go above and beyond, they need to use drawings/color effectively, and they need to show in depth reflection/connection-making skills. Students do not love being told that meeting the basic requirements only gets a 9/10. In practice, their homework assignments (which I grade for completion) will get a 10/10 if they meet the requirements BUT their overall notebook grade (1-2 times a quarter) will be a 9/10 if they don't go above and beyond.
I have a document camera in my classroom (highly recommended if you will be using the notebooks) and after students complete their first assignment I walk around the room and look for the best examples. I ask those students if I can borrow their notebooks and then I project them from the document camera and explain to the class why these examples are so fantastic. I don't name the students as I'm showing their notebooks, and I try to be subtle when I ask for the notebooks/return them, but the class can see who's notebooks I'm taking. I had to do this because this was my first year using the notebooks, but next year I will have student examples to show them too.
Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks is a fantastic read. I started using interactive notebooks this year, and it's been a huge help.
If you’re looking for some hands-on learning, check out “The Design of Coffee ”. It’s from UC Davis, written for non-STEM types
You are very lucky. I would just find some videos or books on computational thinking. That is what you are teaching kids. We had the author from this book (https://www.amazon.com/No-Fear-Coding-Computational-Curriculum/dp/1564843874) skype with our teacher group. I think you are already getting there, but she makes a pretty good case for block-coding like Scratch and Code.org.
I think it helps to show kids videos of "cool" people talking about coding. There is a bit of a stereotype about how coding is for nerds. It does really depend on the grade level though. At this moment, I am working with 6th graders.
I know that Scratch just released a version specifically for Makey Makeys and I have some plans for students to create interactive displays for projects. We shall see. To start you can have the kids make their own piano to do funny stuff with the Makey Makeys. I made this one with my 1st-grade son to figure it all out (https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/246522183/). Click the "see inside" to see the very minimal amount of coding I did.