Let's Get Outside!!

Happy Autumn!! Fall is my favorite time of year - from the start of school to the trick-or-treat of Halloween!

I love SIGHTS of the fall – the vibrant colors, the longer shadows, countless pumpkins and mums on display.  I love the SOUNDS of the fall – the rustle of the trees in the wind, the laughter of children playing in the leaves, the distant honks of geese flying by in formation.  I love the SMELLS of the fall, too – pumpkin bread baking in the oven, the seeds and guts of a soon-to-be jack o’lantern, a nearby neighbor’s fire burning.  I even love the FEEL of the fall – cozy flannel shirts and warm socks, the first night with the heat on in the house, the cool crisp air on my face.


Love. It. All.

There ain’t nothin’ I wouldn’t do to get myself (and my students!) outside in the fall. It’s a pretty easy thing for a science teacher to do. We just plan a day for observation, grab some ziploc bags and our magnifying glasses and head for the fields outside our school.


 I’m pretty fortunate that the high school where I work is surrounded by beautiful grounds with fields, forest trails, and ponds right outside our walls. But you can even do a fairly good outdoor experience in a schoolyard, near a playground, even in the big city if that’s what you’ve got available.


Everyone loves to get outside and explore. It reaches into our souls, almost, and brings us back to the wonders of discovering our surroundings as a child. Even my high school SENIORS have loved getting outside.  They enjoy spending the time together and forming new friendships or sharing fresh experiences with old friends.  and after this fall observation activity they were begging me to run it again with each season. The comments from the students are interesting and motivating.

One student told me, “I never really LOOKED at a leaf before!” And she was seventeen years old. Sometimes we need to just slow down and LOOK.  That's the TRICK of this post.  Get outside and love the fall.


Now, for the treat....

I know I have a lot of elementary school teachers that read my blog.  I love having you here!!  This activity is perfect for ANY age group and at a SUPER LOW PRICE!  Stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers store to pick it up.

Check out MEET and TEACH - A Secondary TPT Endeavor

I'm so excited to share this with you!!  Some of my FAVORITE teacher-authors and curriculum developers from TPT have contributed to a great new resource for secondary teachers!

Brain Waves Instruction, Literary Sherri, and Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy have compiled 3 FREE Meet and Teach e-books profiling SECONDARY teacher-authors and sharing print-and-teach resources from 25 TpT stores in each e-book.  The e-book topics cover ELA, Math & Science, and Humanities (Social Studies, Art, Foreign Language, and more ELA).  

Inside each book you'll find a MEET page completed by each seller that includes responses to 5 prompts.  You'll get to learn a bit about each seller - like their favorite book or things that make them happy.  Then, each seller provided you with a 1-page resource that you can TEACH in your classroom tomorrow.  

You can get to my contribution here:

The complete e-books are filled with awesome teachers, little insights into each sellers' life, and resources that are easy to implement in your classroom.  They're pretty amazing.  

Don't take my word for it!  Check them out for yourself!

Let me know what you think!

An InLinkz Link-up

What a GREAT GIVEAWAY!! $100 in Prizes!!

This week I'm thrilled to be featured in a giveaway by Simone's Math Resources.

Each of the TEN stores listed below will be giving a $10 gift certificate for their store.

If you win, what will you choose??

My top selling ELEMENTARY science pack?

Or my top selling MIDDLE SCHOOL pack?

Or maybe my top selling product for HIGH SCHOOL?

GOOD LUCK!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Gimme FIVE! A HUGE Back to School Giveaway!

As much as I adore the summer, I love the back to school season.  I remember being so excited to have new notebooks, a new pencil case and brand new pencils.  It was a new school year, a new grade, and a chance for a brand new start.

This year to celebrate back to school, EIGHTEEN of my blogging friends have gotten together for a fabulous hop and giveaway!  I'm giving away FIVE products from my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Strawberry Shake.

Here are the rules:
Leave a post on my blog.  Include the following FIVE things (no repeats in your entry please!)
1.  One task cards set from my store.
2.  One photographs package found in my store.
3.  One science for K-6 product found my store.
4.  Your favorite item from my store.  This is the product you'll win if you are selected.  (Downloadable product only.  Hard goods excluded.  Bundles also excluded.  They are already marked low for GREAT deal!)
5.  Your email address.

I'll choose FIVE winners and each winner will receive the product selected for #4.

Once you've entered my giveaway, hop on by these other great blogs for their promotions:

Have a GREAT back to school season!

Science Showcase

Welcome to my monthly Science Showcase!  This month: The nature of science, STEM, and scientific method!  I love to share some of my favorite FREE finds from Teachers Pay Teachers to help you engage and encourage your students' exploration of science!  Please check them out, and if you download them for use in your classroom, please leave your very best feedback for the teacher-authors!

First from GETTING NERDY with Mel and Gerdy:  Introduce your students to science curriculum with this fun PowerPoint and "What is Science?" Cubing Scienstructible.  This engaging activity encourages students to explore the nature of science and their role as scientists.

Then from GET CAUGHT ENGINEERING:  Whiz! Zip! Zoom!: Roller Coaster Engineering

Students will not want to stop as they design, build and test their roller coaster made from foam pipe insulation.  Students cannot resist the excitement of  building and testing loops and curves.  Set the scene for a lively discussion of force and motion.

And from SCIENCE STUFF by Amy Brown:  

A 26 slide PowerPoint presentation on the nature of science and the scientific method. The slides are colorful and visually appealing. Steps of the scientific method are covered, but more importantly, the lesson provides examples and practice problems illustrating the application of the scientific method. Analysis questions and answers are included.  4 pages of notes for the teacher and a 5 page notes outline for the student. 

And last, from my own store, STRAWBERRY SHAKE, a review assignment that covers the process of diffusion.  This activity is part of my huge high school science packet:  Using Indicators to Investigate Diffusion.  If you teach science in New York, you'll find this review directly correlates to Part D of the Living Environment Regents Exam.  But even if you do not teach in New York, these activities and review materials are so valuable for teaching students how diffusion works, and why it is so important in many applications of biology.

I hope you've found something useful on this month's Science Showcase!  If you know a great science teacher-author or have a terrific freebie you'd love to share on Science showcase next month, please leave your information in the comments, or email me at TeacherTM@aol.com.

24 HOUR GIVEAWAY!

You Oughta Know About....

Hi everyone!  Today I'm participating in a blog-hop sponsored by Jasmine from Buzzing with Mrs. McClain.  She's got an awesome blog with lots of terrific followers and I appreciate her invitation to join in the fun today! 

You oughta know about this really cool tip to save your old pencils from an early end.

If your classroom is anything like mine, you use a lot of pencils.

A. LOT. OF. PENCILS.

And it doesn't take long before we accumulate a whole pile of pencils like this.  Short, stubby, worn out.  NO eraser left.  Only, sometimes the pencils are like new except: no eraser left.


And there never seems to be one of these around when you need one.
So I'm going to show you the best trick I know for extending the life of your pencils!

You can actually use your hand held pencil sharpener on the eraser end of the pencil!  I like to use the bigger hole because I can really control how far I'm cutting around the eraser.  A little strip of metal can be very easily carved away from the eraser.

And look how nice your pencil turns out!
It takes a little practice to get the cutting just right.  But once you've got it, it's SO easy!  This trick has been a lifesaver for hundreds of pencils in my classroom.  Rejuvenate your own old pencils with your hand held sharpener!


I'm so grateful to have so many regular followers and glad to have so many new visitors to my blog today!  Follow my blog for the details on an upcoming giveaway of your choice of one of the top selling products from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Prize includes your choice of anything in my store (bundles excluded).  Maybe one of these:

As you can see, I'm very much about SCIENCE.  If you're interested in finding great FREE science activities, see my monthly feature, SCIENCE SHOWCASE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope to see you again soon!

An InLinkz Link-up