Stimulating Science Simulations

One of the ways I am trying to engage students in science includes linking the learning to the real world.  Greater focus is being geared toward STEM related careers.  If we are going to prepare students for STEM related careers, wouldn't it be important to know what some of those career choices include? Here is a great website from Science Buddies that lists a huge variety of careers in science.  There are tabs with lists that include careers in math, engineering, and technology too! Let me give you an example of how this site can help.  During a physical science unit there are many options for careers that link.  Some you might think of and others you might not.  Instead of just having students build paper airplanes to experiment with force, motion, lift, and drag; challenge students to pretend they are the pilot who needs to fly the plane for a set distance or time in the air. As they modify their paper plane, they will begin to learn about the effects of drag, lift, air re

I have been using the 5 E Lesson Plan model to teach science. (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate)  To help students understand their role and as a reminder to myself of my role as teacher in each phase, I have developed a set of posters.  You can grab your set from my website .  Click to get your 5 E Posters PDF file. These look really good printed on 8x10 glossy photo paper.

In a recent post, I said that I was creating lesson plan templates for 1st through 5th grade. They are all finished.  You can grab a copy of the grade level you teach and spread the word to other North Carolina Teachers.  The templates are for the entire 2012-2013 school year.  They have the Essential Standard and Clarifying Objectives filled in, as well as Essential Questions. The rest of the template is blank for you to fill in as you see fit. If you use these, I would love for you to leave me a comment about them. Thanks! Click here to get to the templates.