(Part 2) Best products from r/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!

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True does a good job, but it's hefty and can feel like a textbook. The original release has a nicer dust jacket. It's something a parent could read with their not-a-toddler child over many bedtimes.

>"I am often asked to recommend good books on science for young people. From now on, I will not have to hesitate. "The Magic of Reality" provides a beautiful, accessible and wide ranging volume that addresses the questions that all of us have about the universe, separating often too-little known facts from too-frequently believed fictions. For this reason it should be a powerful resource for people of all ages, written with the masterful and eloquently literate style of perhaps the best popular expositor of science, Richard Dawkins, and delightfully illustrated by Dave McKean. What more could anyone ask for?"

>--Lawrence Krauss is Foundation Professor and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University and the author most recently of "Quantum Man", and "A Universe from Nothing"

Periodic table with samples of stable elements ~$180, make sure you're getting the one with the actual element samples in it if you go with this, some just have pictures which are neat, but not as good.

Glass Klien Bottle $65

Blue Morpho Butterfly $50

Fun fly stick $25

Megan Lee Studio's Art Prints $5 - $600, she has a lot of great prints if your friend has some favorite scientists. Great decor for home or classroom.

Which science discipline does your friend teach/ majored in?

What are your students' ages and your teaching context?

For upper elementary through high school, I highly recommend attending a session for Project WILD, Project W.E.T. and/or Project Learning Tree. I worked for many years as an environmental educator (outreach and place-based) before becoming a full time school teacher. I used those three curricula as inspiration for a lot of my outdoor ed and continue to do so in the classroom. If you have the opportunity to take kids outside and generating real data, that's powerful stuff.

For older/more advanced students, there are several great labs in [this lab guide] (https://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Science-Learning-Laboratories-Applied/dp/0470087676) (college level but scale-able for high schoolers)

If you can get to a gym or playing field and your students aren't too self conscious, the Project WILD activity "Oh Deer!" (lots of variations free online) is bar none the best modeling activity for carrying capacity and sparks a lot of great ecological conversations.

I've got more if you have particular goals!

I use this book constantly.

I’ll have a few kids look up each part of a word and announce it out and we break down and build the words and meanings together.

I know it’s not a website but it’s an amazing resource.

edit I did an activity once where the kids had to create their own Genus and species for already existing animal. So like bear could be “brown fur big teeth” but then latinized. To help them, I created my own spreadsheet with words and latin/greek translations that I created from that book I linked and they had access to that through GClassroom.

I'd recommend getting some sort of study book and reviewing the study book. Also taking practice tests and answering practice questions online will help. Here are a couple of resources that might help:

Barron's Let's Review Biology: Living Environment - Might be slightly simplistic for the content you need to know for the Praxis but gives a really good overview of Biological concepts and is cheap. Lots of practice questions too. https://www.amazon.com/Review-Biology-Gregory-Scott-Hunter/dp/1438002165

Praxis Biology Review Guide - Haven't used it but might be worth the buy since you were planning on paying for several tests anyways

Quizlet (free!) - Search Praxis Biology terms and you'll find premade databases of words and flashcards to use.

Good luck!

Love this! My science ed mentor/professor that taught different strategies for teaching science was VERY big on visualization of learning. It may not be a horrible idea to try and get some student involvement on what words to put up. (Definitely easier with the elementary set when its just ONE class.) I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy of this book. It was SO helpful when helping some students understand some of the words and where they come from.

Get him a raspberry Pi. He'll love it.

If that doesn't work then get him a shit ton of bowling balls. You can never have enough bowling balls. Between pendulums, waves, and giant Newton's cradle. You can usually get free bowling balls from bowling alleys if you say that you're a teacher and you need them for class. Or to blow stuff up.

Not cool enough - how about some Lego key chains. Always fun.

He's a physics guy so how about "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Great, quick read. Want a similar book that is a bit more academic - then go with "The Scientists" by John Gibbin. Want a similar book but from the perspective of uncredited discoveries - try "Lost Discoveries" by Dick Teresi. All great books about the history of science.

Got a load of money - sign him up for the AAPT. Amazing journal.

Any of the Feynman books are good reads as well. Or any Oliver Sacks but they tend to run on the chem side.

Get him a copy of The new world of Mr. Tompkins goes to quantum land (or something like that - I'm on my phone and I'll edit the comment when I can).

I LOVE being a lower school science teacher. It is so much fun.

Rocks and minerals are a slightly hard topic (no pun intended) for a demo lesson, in my opinion - a lot of the lesson ideas either require you to have a bunch of rock kits, which are much too expensive to buy, or involve growing crystals over multiple days or weeks. I also recommend getting as much information as you can about what they've already done so you don't repeat a topic or activity exactly.

I've done both the crayon rock cycle that /u/acChordance mentions and also a clay rock cycle based on a GEMS book I have. Here is a version of that lesson.

You might also base a lesson off of The Big Rock by Bruce Hiscock (might be especially appropriate if you live in the northeast US). You could relatedly do something about glaciers and the ice age if that's relevant to your area.

Another beautiful picture book is A Rock Is Lively - you could use it as inspiration for a rock observation activity if you could scrounge up enough interesting rocks for the kids to each have one.

Let us know what you figure out!

The two that have gotten me jobs are below. I have found it works well to mix teacher centered learning with student centered so they can see you do both. Having students do conceptional questions and the confidence questions in the preconception manual below shows engagement in a nice controlled way that are less likely to go awry with a group of kids that may not be bought into a random person in the lead.

1. Get a small dowel- like 1/8 in diameter. Glue a small piece of mirror on it. Set it on a stool (sometimes a textbook on the stool helps support it). Attach a rod of some sort to the wall with a chunk of clay- have the rod be resting on top of the mirror dowel such that the friction keeps the mirror facing up. Use a laser pointer on a ring stand to reflect a dot off the mirror onto the ceiling. Now, if you push on the wall the clay/rod is attached to, you can see the motion of the wall amplified by the dot on the ceiling.
   
   This set up is cheep, and I have found that it amazes everyone. It really plays on the misconception that anything is truly solid and explains 3rd law through demonstrating that everything is a spring. The lesson breakdown in here on page 14 is good:
   
   http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.673.8182&rep=rep1&type=pdf
   
   They use just a mirror on the table, which works, but if it is a sold lab table, hard to get much dramatic motion. Cement walls actually work better :p
   
   
2. Basically this demo by veritasium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqDbMEdLiCs
   
   The kids always tell me this breaks their brain. Throw in one of these suckers to demonstrate that not only is there no such thing as cold, but there is no such thing as suction, and the adults in the room will feel like they learned as much as the kids.
   

In would recommend checking out Nasco . Request a catalog because sometimes their site is cumbersome to find what you want.

They have some neat slides with household objects, insects, hair, snake skin, money, etc slides as well as the usual ones. Their prices are often cheaper than Carolina. They offer free shipping and give schools 25% off.

If you have agar, consider buying a gel electrophoresis kit. It's expensive but it is new technology that our students will use if they go into science.

If you want dissectables, check out Bio Corp their specimens are better quality than Carolina and often cheaper. They have a big variety. Personally, I like the rat.

Buy yourself a Biology Coloring Book

This series is only available as ebooks but they are pretty great:

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Builds-Computer-Childrens-Favorites-ebook/dp/B01MUIFG2O

https://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Particle-Nerdy-Childrens-Favorites-ebook/dp/B06XBWBR4C

https://www.amazon.com/Goldilocks-Three-Inventors-Childrens-Favorites-ebook/dp/B06XR241PB

Well, EXPO spray may work for you then. If it's what I'm picturing in my head, it does for me. If I recall, I have the resin table tops, not the wood/laminate. Or you could get the EXPO wipes.

I was thinking you had gouges taken out. And that would suck. I've got some dents and dings from larger masses (stupid awesome 5kg cylinders.......) and I have no idea how to repair them.

Good luck!

These are pretty old, but I loved them growing up! https://www.amazon.com/Just-Ask-Book-Set-JUST/dp/B000J0MXF6

Here's a CER template that I like.

There are some web pages such as http://sciencearguments.weebly.com/ and http://www.argumentationtoolkit.org/

Have you read the book that likely started it all? McNeill, K. L. & Krajcik, J. (2012). Supporting grade 5-8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence and reasoning framework for talk and writing. New York, NY: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

On a much more basic note than the previous comment:

In the book Napoleon's Buttons there is a very good introduction to organic chemistry notationand how organic molecules are drawn. I recommend it to anyone who is learning any level of chemistry. I need to re-read it to determine if it is accessible (i.e. - can it be easily understood) for a high school audience. It is certainly accessible to any college level student.