Last summer, I posted about the AudioBook Sync program that gives away 2 FREE audiobooks for teens* every week through the summer. This is week 2, and they have Dogulas Adam's classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, read by Stephen Fry. Click over here to get it--the link expires Thursday (but will then be replaced … Continue reading AudioSync Hitchhiker’s Guide
Google Science Journal is a neat app I've been playing with. The name is misleading. It's really a collection of "devices"--using your phone's sensors to measure light intensity, sound, and acceleration in three planes. It also records and graphs data from those sensors and allows you to make notes on the conditions in which you … Continue reading Google “Science Journal”
I know, it's still winter and here I am continuing with the gardening posts, and today I even have the nerve to propose planning for summer. Summer can be the hardest part about school gardens. Finally, all the produce comes piling in...and there aren't any students to harvest it! Growing Gardens has a compiled a … Continue reading Planning for the School Garden–In Summer!
My children's school participates in Project Learning Garden. The school got a variety of gardening materials, curriculum, and training. But the neatest part was the way this project bridges to eating. Participating schools get a cooking cart that has materials and recipes to take into classrooms to prepare foods from the garden. The teachers have … Continue reading Project Learning Garden
I realize I'm writing about gardening in the bleak of winter, but now is the time to plan if you have a school garden. That, and you have take advantage of this opportunity by February 15. Bonnie Plant Farms is giving cabbage plants to THIRD GRADE classes (only) that will allow students to grow a … Continue reading Giant Cabbage Heads
I learned recently about a fascinating twist on school gardening available through the International Space Station. You can request tomato seeds that have spent time on the ISS. Then your students grow them in your school garden and compare them to Earth-bound controls. They even get access to the data from all other participating schools. … Continue reading Out-Of-This-World Gardening
You want to have a classroom pet. You know how good they are for kids. But they are expensive. Pets in the Classroom grants to the rescue! If you are a preK-8 teacher, you can apply for a grant to purchase a classroom pet and supplies, and reapply annually to keep your pet's food bowl … Continue reading Classroom Pets and Supplies–Free!
At the Alabama School Library Association (ASLA) conference this summer, I sat in on a great presentation by Lisa Hathcock at Saks Elementary. She described how she uses tri-fold boards to set up centers in her MakerSpace. They feature specific science information, "Making" challenges, and highlight books from her library's collection. I thought they were … Continue reading Classroom/ MakerSpace Center (Free)
I usually post about science education, but I know some of my readers teach multiple subjects. I took one of these free, online courses with Waynesburg University several years ago in order to improve my ability to help all subject areas with content-area literacy. These courses help teachers locate primary sources from the online holdings … Continue reading Teaching with Primary Sources
There are lots of garden grants out there, but this one is appealing because it can help a teacher start small. The Donald Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grant offers $200 to teachers in grades 3-6 to start an indoor or outdoor herb garden for their class. This would be perfect for a teacher in a … Continue reading Herb Garden Grant
Once Upon a Science Book 