Best products from r/ScienceTeachers

We found 49 comments on r/ScienceTeachers discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 91 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

19. Organic Chemistry Model Kit (239 Pieces) - Molecular Model Student or Teacher Pack with Atoms, Bonds and Instructional Guide

    Features:
  • MOLECULAR MODEL KIT: This educational molecule modeling kit is designed for easy chemistry learning for organic, inorganic and functional groups. The model kit caters to both beginners and advanced science and chemistry learning. Develop and unleash your chemistry genius.
  • BONUS LEARNING GUIDE AND MOLECULE STENCIL: This model kit for organic chemistry comes with an 8-page instructional guide to easily identify all atoms and connectors as well as a molecule stencil for drawing structures on paper. Delivered in a sturdy plastic box with four compartments for storage and portability, its a complete toolkit to help learn organic chemistry.
  • 3D VISUAL LEARNING: The 239-piece molecule model kit is built for students from Grade 7 to graduate level, with color coded bonds to help visually understand and demonstrate the structure and geometry of compounds. All atoms are color coded to universal standards, making the Old Nobby Molecular kit your best chemistry friend.
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  • FUN AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO LEARN CHEMISTRY: Learning complex structures in 3D with color coded atoms, plus your bonus learning guide means the organic chemistry kit is designed to serve your chemistry needs for years to come.
Organic Chemistry Model Kit (239 Pieces) - Molecular Model Student or Teacher Pack with Atoms, Bonds and Instructional Guide
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Top comments mentioning products on r/ScienceTeachers:

u/birkeland · 1 pointr/ScienceTeachers

>With quizzes, can you use someone else's quizzes? Say another teacher wants to use the same quiz or you're collaborating with someone at another campus.

You can, how easy it is depends on how your school is setting things up how easy it is. If you are collaborating with another AP Physics 1 class, and you want to run pretty much the same stuff, the easiest way would be to share a class with each teacher having their own section. You could share everything, but control your own assignment and due dates, as well as grading only your own stuff.

Otherwise, the way that always works is to have one teacher export the quiz, send it to the other and import it. This however will not allow you to work together on the quiz, just transfer finished quizzes.

Finally, there is also something called Commons, which would allow anyone in the world to share anything, rubrics, assignments, quizzes, whole classes, and everything inbetween. However I am not sure if that is in general release now, or still only in certain districts.

Anyway, here is my go to "New Physics Teacher" list.

Books

TIPERS

u/CorvidaeSF · 3 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

Hey yo, thanks for stopping in with your question! I'm 34, a teacher, and I have the same problem. Seriously. Right now I am procrastinating working on a letter of recommendation ;)

Part of dealing with overcoming this bad habit is understanding why it happens. Basically, animals like things that give us a burst of happiness in the form of endorphins being released and absorbed by our brain cells. Many different things give us these endorphin rushes. Eating a tasty food, seeing something beautiful, laughing at something funny, etc. But one of the best things to give us endorphin rushes--and part of the reason we as humans have been so successful as a species--is collecting new information/learning something.

We need to collect new information. Our brains are wired from birth to desire it like air. We collect it over our lives to navigate and survive our surroundings, then pass it on to the next generation as best we can. Now, of course can do collect new information by, you know, learning something, but the problem is that learning something often takes effort. The deeper the understanding, the more the effort. So learning subjects that are complex take a lot of work before you get that endorphin rush payoff when you understand something for the first time. By contrast, connecting with people via text/social media, reading things on the internet, playing games, etc, these are all things that give us endorphin rushes with far far less effort. The more we use them, the more our brain expects to get that endorphin rush with little effort, so when something comes along that requires more effort for the same endorphin rush, our brains rebel and are like, fuck this, why are we putting in all this work for endorphins when there's an easier way sitting right next to us on the table there?

Now (hopefully) you might be thinking to yourself, gee, isn't this similar to drug addiction where people become so used to the rush from drugs that regular things in life don't do it for them anymore? And the answer is yes it absolutely is. I have a book right next to me on my desk I am planning on reading this summer that specifically deconstructs how some types of social media and casual games are specifically designed to trigger addictive behavior in their users. There was also a television interview recently that discussed the same thing.

Now. I am not saying everyone needs to throw out their cell phones and other devices. Clearly there are massive benefits to these technologies as well as risks. We just need to understand these risks better and learn to manage our own behavior a little more consciously. Just like there is a difference between having an alcoholic drink every once in a while and being a clinical alcoholic, there's a responsible way to use tools and technologies that might otherwise be dangerous.

Which is exactly what you're already asking about, so awesome! Getting started on such behaviors now, while your brain is young and growing, will have massive benefits as you get older. Active techniques like the Pomodoro Method work for many people, I definitely recommend checking it out. I also actually recommend checking out mindfulness meditation. Regular meditation for as little as a few minutes a day has had scientifically proven effects in long-term rewiring of the brain to improve focus and clarity. There are a ton of websites and videos and apps and resources out there. I recommend the app HeadSpace, it has a free guided ten-session series that really walks you through the basis of mindfulness meditation and why it's important. You can pay for an account later if you want more but their free intro ten-series is fantastic and if thats all you work with you will be way ahead of the game.

Good luck!

u/Shovelbum26 · 9 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

Not comprehensive, but some of the bare-bones basics to me are:

  • 1000mL beakers
  • 200mL beakers
  • 100mL graduated cylinders (glass!)
  • eyedroppers (glass)
  • big box of transfer pipettes (can be plastic)
  • hot plates (in Celsius or Kelvin)
  • glass thermometers
  • glass stirring rods
  • Ring stands
  • alcohol lamps (you want open flame for some stuff like flame tests)
  • plastic sample containers
  • Burettes

    For chemical supplies, I would get the highest concentration you can safely store (depends if you have a hazardous chemical safe or not) but it's easy to take a strong concentration and dilute it, but if all you have is like 4% NaOH and you need 40% you're boned.

  • Ethanol
  • Sodium hydroxide
  • Sodium carbonate
  • hydrogen peroxide
  • hydrogen fluoride
  • Bromine
  • Calcium Carbonate
  • Iodine
  • Nitric Acid
  • Sulfuric Acid
  • hydrochloric acid
  • Phosphorous
  • Phosphoric Acid
  • Sulfur
  • Glycerin
  • Borax
  • isopropyl alcohol
  • universal indicator

    Most of that is pretty safe to store except some of the acids and the peroxide depending on the concentration.

    If it's in your budget, also you should really have a flammables cabinet, and a fume hood.

    Ohh, also I love the moly-mod kits. Those are great if you can get your admin to get them. Not technically lab equipment, but great for hands on exploring of molecules. If you're doing any organic chemistry I think they're really a necessity and by school standards they're really cheap.
u/AlbinoMooseEsquire · 1 pointr/ScienceTeachers

Ok, so you have kids that you want to engage in super sweet science stuff, but they just don't care. You could do messy activities, if you know the classes will clean up - like slime (so many different types of slimes), volcanoes, lava lamps, bouncy balls, egg drops, etc. You could do anything you don't want them to do as a science fair project because it is a demonstration and not an experiment. (Here's a link for more demonstrations: https://sciencebob.com/ ) But at the end of the day, if you run out of time then you get to clean up.

You could do boring scientific method things, but that will put them all to sleep and they probably won't do it. Things like, observation vs. inference, defining variables, etc. The basic science things they need, but don't want to do.

You could do a genius hour, but you need technology or book resources for that. And you have to guide the students every day. In 7th grade, they can't be left to just research on their own, at least not at my school.

So, you need a hook to pull them in. Something like "Science Survivor". (Here is a link: http://sciencespot.net/Pages/survivorsci.html ) Day 1 you set up the scenario, and every day after that you include an activity with measuring, or observing, or some science skill that is hidden as a competition.

Sounds great, so where do you find the resources? Science Spot is great (linked above) - they have a CSI section, a Bald Eagle section, etc. I like teachers pay teachers too. ( https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ ) You could find a resource pack there and fluff it out to fill your time.

I also like finding a grade appropriate book on amazon and including some text dependent analysis. There's this book for you as the teacher : https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Lab-Projects-Invent-Discover/dp/1465451358/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505581411&sr=1-7&keywords=science+books+for+kids

Or there's this type of book for kids: https://www.amazon.com/Recycle-this-Book-Childrens-Authors-ebook/dp/B002361NG4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1505581720&sr=8-6&keywords=how+to+save+the+planet+for+kids You read a section as a class and then answer some questions, or maybe do an activity based on the topic. Something with a basis in text shows the admin that you are not just playing around in class. :)

Happy hunting!

u/psisquared11 · 4 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

Hi, I've taught physics and developed curriculum (for better or worse) for the last ten years. I work in an independent school so I may not be able to transfer all of my experiences to you if you work in public school, but the following steps have helped me immensely.

  1. Use your standards, but also break them down into actionable (for the student) objectives. I use the NGSS as a framework since my school doesn't use the state standards. Here is an example of what I mean. These are the units for the course I will be teaching next year. This represents the 4th iteration of this course in 5 years! The course is designed for 9th graders as we are a physics first school.

  2. Create your major assessments. This may be difficult since you haven't taught physics before. Here is an example of my WIP unit 1 test (which you are free to pilfer if you like). The books I mention below also come with a wealth of suggested problems that can be altered depending on the level of your students or what you are trying to accomplish.

  3. Check out Arnold Arons and 5 Easy Lessons for a comprehensive guide to student misconceptions and teaching strategies that are backed by research. Arons is expensive, but has more suggested problems. 5 Easy lessons draws heavily from Arons and is much cheaper so if you just want the quick and dirty pedagogy go with that. These books are geared for introductory physics at the college level, but relevant concepts can easily be transferred to the high school level.

  4. The modeling curriculum mentioned is nice because it comes with a ton of stuff ready made, but if you haven't done a workshop you may struggle to implement it well. Check out physport.org for research backed resources that may help you find a curriculum or curriculum plan you like.

  5. Feel free to PM me with questions. I have done lots of curriculum development on my own and it can feel overwhelming. I'd also be happy to look at things you create and offer feedback. I'm no expert by any means, but an extra pair of eyes is always good.
u/SynfulCreations · 1 pointr/ScienceTeachers

https://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Housewares-AHP-303-CHP-303-Single/dp/B0007QCRNU/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hot+plate&qid=1568294665&s=gateway&sr=8-4

​

Hot plates aren't really all that special if you don't need a magnetic stirrer. Someone might correct me but I can cook just as well on a 200 hotplate as I can on a 10 dollar one. And if by any chance you're in California I'd be happy to have one of mine sent to your school xD

u/MrWid · 4 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

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

u/wesnice · 2 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

Planted Junk - redesign trash as planters https://www.amazon.com/Planted-Junk-Approach-Container-Gardening/dp/184172159X

Consider adapting used toys for students with different abilities. (how can we make a scooter work for someone who has limited use of their legs)

You can always build bridges out of index cards, popsicles, etc. and design a method for testing their strength.

How can we redesign the physical spaces in our classroom/playground/office to support positive interactions among students, staff, and community?

u/NewtonsKnickers · 5 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

I'm a physics teacher, and this is one of my favorite books. She might enjoy it.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544272994/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_9u9czb74GVC44

u/fasnoosh · 2 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

If you don't want them to google the answer, are you giving them open-ended enough questions? Just make sure they don't learn about Wolfram Alpha :) that thing can even solve complicated integrals

Edit: As a "yes but how" you could try finding some examples from Randall Munroe's "What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544272994/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZcCYxbBM10599

u/tripwire895 · 3 pointsr/ScienceTeachers

This book is pretty entry level as far as actually applying chemistry to food. I wouldn't say the book is stellar, but it does an okay job of explaining some of the chemistry behind cooking without using too much chemistry jargon.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1569767068/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Even it would require some supplemental instruction on some concepts though.

u/_expat_ · 1 pointr/ScienceTeachers

Get the TIPERs books for AP Physics 1. They're not study-guides, per se, but they are chock full of conceptual questions on mechanics.

https://www.amazon.com/TIPERs-Sensemaking-Introductory-Educational-Innovation/dp/0132854589