One of my favorite case studies to examine with students is the tragedy that occurred at Lake Nyos. Located in Camaroon, Africa, Lake Nyos is a lake that formed in a volcanic crater. While villagers thought the volcano was dormant, it was slowly releasing carbon dioxide into the lake. One night in 1986 the carbon dioxide built up enough that the lake overturned and all the carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide is more dense than air, thousands of villagers and livestock died in their sleep that night of asphyxiation.

While it is a devastating story to learn about, it is good in the sense that it can be applied to so many science concepts. Biology teachers can bring it up when learning about the carbon cycle. Earth science teachers can discuss the story during their volcanoes unit. Physical science teachers can use it to introduce density of gases. It's a phenomena that is so versatile!

I begin the lesson by showing this video clip from National Geographic on Youtube. It gets the students 100% engaged and doesn't reveal why this mystery fog killed the villagers:

Following the video clip I have students read an article I wrote about what happened at Lake Nyos and the science concepts behind it. You can find the article HERE if you would like to download it (appropriate for grades 7-10).


Then at the end of class I like to end with a demo showing how carbon dioxide is truly more dense than air. All you need are 3 birthday candles, some clay or play-doh, a container, baking soda, and vinegar.
Cut two of the candles shorter so all the candles are different heights. Stick them to the bottom of a container with clay. Sprinkle the bottom of the container with baking soda and light the candles. Have students predict what will happen when you pour some vinegar into the container. Students will observe the lowest candle extinguishing first because the dense CO2 that is being formed stays nearest to the bottom of the container. (I do it under the document camera so all students can watch, but if you trust your students with matches you can have them do it in small lab groups instead). 

I hope your students enjoy this lesson- I know mine do! It's simple, engaging, and a story your students won't forget.

It's summertime and you FINALLY have time to sit down and read a book! It seems like during the school year I lay down at night, grab a book, and fall asleep after 2 pages. I love to read, but teaching is exhausting and I just can't get much reading done. Now that it's summer I have quite a few books I want to get through. I thought I would share my top 5 favorite science books with you!

Disclaimer: While I realize as an adult I should enjoy reading non-fiction, I generally have a hard time  getting through them. I much prefer fiction novels that I can read quickly and don't have to sit and digest the all that information (that sounds childish, I know). That being said, the books listed below are books full of science content, but read more like novels. I think this is something to keep in mind when you recommend books to your students.

Favorite Biology Book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This is a true story about a poor African American mother and tobacco farmer that developed cervical cancer. At this point in time, scientists had not figured out a way to keep cells alive outside of the body. Henrietta's doctor took a biopsy of her cancer cells, and without her permission sent them to the lab, where her cells miraculously continued to live and grow. Following her death, her "immortal" cells eventually turned into a multi-million dollar  industry, and research labs around the world continue to use "HeLa" cells to this day. However, her family didn't learn about the cells until decades later and never received a penny of compensation. This is powerful book that sheds light on the history of the medical research industry and social injustice. 

Favorite Chemistry Book: The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum. In the 1920's in New York City, untraceable poisons were an easy path to the perfect crime. This book teaches about the development of chemical detective work- the ability to detect hidden poisons in the body. Written from the perspective of the Chief Medical Examiner and Toxicologist of NYC, each chapter of this book focuses on a different poison, ranging from carbon monoxide and radium to arsenic. It is written in a way that readers, regardless of chemistry background, can enjoy and understand.

Favorite Earth and Space Science Book: The Martian by Andy Weir. Mark Watney is an astronaut that gets stranded on Mars after his crew gets stuck in a Mars dust storm and think he is dead. He has to find a way to survive on Mars, which is virtually uninhabitable, before rescue teams can find a way to save him. This book is fun, witty, and hard to put down. This book is now a major motion picture starring Matt Damon, but I can assure you the book is even better. A young reader's edition is also available. 

Favorite Environmental Science Book: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. If you've ever taken some time to think about where the food in the grocery store came from and what life was like for the cow before it became the hamburger on your plate, you will enjoy this book. I own both copies of this book- the original and the young reader's edition, and found the young reader's edition easier to get through (shocker, I know). This book is engaging and relatable to students, and will force them to reflect on what they eat and the impact it has on the environment. I read it with my classes last year and followed it up with the documentary Food Inc which my students really enjoyed. 

Favorite Book Overall: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. (This movie October Sky is inspired by this book). When I was growing up I hated to read. In middle school my grandma had this book sitting at her house and I randomly picked it up. From that point I learned that I didn't hate to read, I just hated all the books I had been forced to read. This book is a memoir written by a boy raised in a small coal-mining community. While the majority of boys accepted the fact they would grow up and work in the mine, he had dreams of rockets and going to space. Inspired by his high school science teacher Ms. Riley and with some help by his begrudging father, he builds rockets with his friends and enters the science fair. It will make you laugh and make you cry, but overall will inspire you to shoot for the stars (both literally and figuratively).
As a kid I loved that when I read this book for the first time I related to the main character Sonny, and as I have grown up I feel like I can relate to his teacher Ms. Riley. This book has grown with me and I love it as much now (after a dozen reads) as I did when I was in middle school. If you enjoyed this book, there are 2 more books that follow in the series. (Side Note: I have a personally autographed copy of this book, and if my house ever burns down, this book is coming out with me!)

As adults most of us like to read, but it can be difficult to get your students to put down the phone and pick up a book. Here are a few tips that might help:

1. Keep books in your classroom that students can check out, and don't just let them sit on the shelf.  Pitch the books to them! They will be more likely to pick up the book if you give it a glowing recommendation.

2. Meet with the ELA teachers in your grade level and see if they can incorporate a novel with science content into their curriculum. They will likely be more than willing if you promise to help keep students engaged and tag-team the content.

3. Bribe them. I know that sounds horrible... but it can work. Offer extra credit to students that read a science novel on their own time and write up a book report. I make sure they know my feelings won't be hurt if they don't like the book in the end. When I was in high school I think I felt pressured to read the assigned book and write an essay about how great it was. That was what my teacher wanted to hear, right?! (I wish I could have turned in an essay about all the reasons I hated Animal Farm... but I digress). Anyway, sometimes students just don't know what type of books to pick up. I created this list of 165 science books that are listed by content area, lexile and include a synopsis. It should be great for any teacher grades 6-12. Hopefully it will help you and your students find the perfect book. Click on the image to download it!

I hope you have time this summer to kick your feet up, grab a book, and sip your favorite drink! Enjoy some well deserved R&R!

This blog post is all about why I think Cornell notes are beneficial for students, and tips on how to make them easier for teachers. If you don't want to read my background story on how I came to love them and you just want the nitty-gritty, skip to the bottom of the post :) 
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My first year teaching was at an AVID demonstration school. If you are familiar with the AVID program, they require students to use Cornell notes during class. I was fresh out of college and had never heard of them before.  I was really excited to use interactive notebooks and to be honest I wasn't thrilled with having a set note-taking format I had to use. It felt like I spent the first month of school telling students what to write on the left side of their notes, and what to write on the right side. Getting them to write summaries was like pulling teeth. BUT, after a couple of months things got easier, and students got better at knowing what to write. Eventually students enjoyed having structure instead of messy note pages. I tried my best to make sure my powerpoint slides had clear questions and bolded vocabulary so students knew exactly what to write and what was important. I initially tried to get students to write the summary for homework, but I soon realized they just weren't going to do it. Enter plan B. Instead I would go back the next day and have them review their notes and write the summary for bellwork. It was a great way to refresh their memories on what they learned the previous day. Then I would call on 2 or 3 students to read their summaries out loud, which increased the stakes for writing in complete sentences and explaining things in their own words, not just regurgitating vocabulary words and definitions. Often times students would even call each other out, and say things like "You forgot to answer the essential question!" By the end of the school year my little 6th graders were champs at taking notes. 

Fast forward 10 years and I now teach a class of seniors who are taking college biology through duel enrollment. One of the entrance requirements to this duel enrollment course is for students to have been in AVID all 4 years of high school. It has been amazing to see them take notes without asking, and not just during standard lectures. We have had multiple guest speakers visit our classroom, and students automatically set up a notes page, write down notes and questions they have throughout the presentation, and summarize what the speaker taught them. All without groaning. THAT, my teacher friends, is amazing to see.

So in summary, here are a few things to take away...
Why Cornell notes are good for students:

• Cornell notes give students structure. Organization is key to success!
• Cornell notes allow for student summary and reflection. These are also great ways to formatively assess what they learned and identify misconceptions from the lesson.
• I've heard arguments that when students get to college, they won't take written notes anymore, and will just use their laptops. I have 2 counter arguments: First, typing is not a skill that most schools teach anymore (unfortunately). My students are excellent at texting, but horrible at typing. I've even seen kids type essays on their cell phone, because it is faster for them than typing on a standard keyboard. So when these students get to college, they might find hand writing notes to be more efficient than typing. Second, I feel that written notes are much better for visual learners than typed notes. When I write notes by hand and add diagrams, during tests I can visually see where the answer to the question is on my notes page. Typed notes aren't nearly as effective in that manner.  

Tips on how to make them easier to use:

• Have a ton of copies of Cornell notes pages ready to go. It will save a bunch of time when students don't have to set up their own. You wouldn't think drawing a few lines would take much time, but your OCD kids will whip out their rulers and take 5 minutes. 
• During lectures, give students questions at the top of your slides. Don't make them guess what they are learning about. 
• Highlight or bold important vocabulary or points for them. We all know that if students wrote down every.single.word on the slide, notes would take 3 hours. Emphasize to them what is important. 
• Give students opportunities to refer back to their notes throughout the unit. Notes should not just be one time use. (You can check out my blog post on why I let my students use notes on tests HERE). Make your students refer back to their notes for bellwork. Ask them to write their summaries. Have them go back and highlight vocabulary or add diagrams. Have them add questions about things they still don't understand. Ask them to link new concepts to prior learning that took place (this is huge in science!)

If you haven't tried Cornell notes before, I would urge you to try them for one school year. Don't just try it for a few weeks and give up, because it is a process that takes time. I know that once students get the hang of them, their ability to receive and retain new information will increase. I've seen it happen!  

If you've been teaching for a while, chances are you have had some ELL (English language learner) students in your classroom. I've known many teachers that have panicked and asked me "how can I teach them science if they don't speak English?" I think many teachers tend to think they need to dumb down the content for these students. They aren’t dumb! Your job is to make the content accessible. It’s been my experience that ELL students are amazingly hard workers and are a blast to work with.  My friend Bethany Lau over at Science with Mrs. Lau and I have created a list of best-practice tips for working with ELL students. We also have some helpful resources to share with you!

Tip #1: Get them talking! A quiet classroom is not conducive to learning a new language. Many students are scared to speak out loud in English, especially in front of the entire class. To help build their confidence, try small group discussions first. To ensure that every student has spoken to his or her group, give each student something color-coded (I use colored Popsicle sticks from the dollar store). When a student speaks, they place their Popsicle stick in the center of the table. It is easy as a teacher to walk around and monitor who is speaking and who isn’t. Make it a requirement that each student has to speak at least twice during group discussions.

Tip #2: SLOW down when you are talking, and use nonverbal cues. This is much easier to do when you have all your ELL students together in one class, but when they are mixed with native English speakers we often don’t realize how fast we are talking. It is really difficult for ELL students to process when you are speaking a mile a minute. So take a deep breath, slow down, and use your hands and other nonverbal gestures. Don’t be afraid to act things out! Yes they will giggle, and yes they will love it.

Tip #3: Build vocabulary. When you teach new words, always make your students repeat the word out loud after you say it. And if they aren’t loud, make them do it again. If you have a word wall in your classroom, go down the list frequently and make your students say them with you. To help students remember the definitions, discuss prefixes and suffixes to help them decode meanings.
Find fun ways for students to practice those new words. Instead of doing vocabulary worksheets, do vocabulary games instead! Bingo is an awesome way to review vocabulary words before a test. Create a bingo card from a free online bingo-card maker such as http://osric.com/bingo-card-generator/. Type in the words you want your students to learn and print a class set. Instead of calling out the words, say the definition and the students need to cover up the correct word. If they get a bingo they need to say the words out loud in order to win a prize.

Tip #4: Utilize pictures. I used to try and translate parts of my power points into Spanish before the lesson thinking I was doing my students a favor. I quickly realized that:
a. Google translate is frequently wrong,
b. many of my students can speak fluent Spanish but can’t read it,
c. and even if they could read most of it, they didn’t know the content specific terms in  Spanish. Why would I want my students to learn the word “homeostasis” in Spanish AND English? Let’s just stick with English.
Instead of translating, stick with visual pictures. Pictures transcend all languages. Include them as much as possible in your lessons and power points. Make students draw pictures in their notes. Include pictures in all your articles you want students to read. A great pre-reading activity is to have students look at the pictures and captions in an article before they read the body paragraphs. Have them guess what the article is about based on the pictures and discuss with their neighbors (get those Popsicle sticks back out). If you have a word wall in your classroom, make sure it includes pictures too! The more they see a picture associated with a new word, the more likely they will remember what it means.  

Tip #5: Learn about their language and culture, and include it in your lessons when applicable. Students will have more buy-in to your lessons when they feel like their language and culture is valued. If you can connect their language to the content, chances are they will remember it better. For example, students use the term “liga” in Spanish to mean rubber band or hair elastic. When teaching “ligaments,” discuss how they are stretchy unlike tendons. Students won’t forget!

Tip #6: Use Manipulatives!   Sometimes students need help learning how to structure their writing into logical paragraphs (even native English speakers need this too!)  If you have sample paragraphs for them to learn from, you can print separate sentences out on separate lines, and cut them into strips.  Then you can mix the sentences up and have students order them in how they should logically appear in a sentence!  You can also do this for other parts of a lab report, like the procedure section or even the proper labels for a graph!
You could create your own writing structure manipulatives, or you can check out Bethany Lau’s Lab Report Writing Activity Bundle found here.  She has a set of activities with manipulative for each and every part of the lab report with a lot of examples for students to learn from.

Tip #7: Get them writing as much as possible. Data shows that when students take the state language proficiency tests, they struggle the most with writing. Find ways to get students writing on a daily basis. This could work in many different formats- just find one that works for you. Daily bellwork is a great place to start, as well as having students keep writing journals. What should you have them write about? Check out these writing prompts from Science Rocks’ store! These were designed to be used before new concepts are taught, and allows the teacher to assess prior knowledge and check for misconceptions. When students are first learning English, allow them to write in their native language and plug in English words that they know. Throughout the year as their language improves you will see their writing transform from fragmented to fluid sentences.
Another great writing strategy for ELL students are sentence frames. For students still learning how to write a complete sentence, give them half the sentence first and have them fill in the blanks. For example, a hypothesis on a lab report for an ELL student could look like this: “If I change ___________, then I think ___________ will happen, because __________.”

Tip #8: Model. And then model some more. As science teachers we tend to think of “modeling” as meaning “I’ll show them how to do a lab before it’s their turn.” Modeling applies to so much more than labs.
a. Model reading strategies. As you read through articles out loud, stop and discuss. What was the main idea? What did you highlight and why?
b. Model writing strategies. When you assign those writing prompts, work through one with them first. Show them what a quality answer would look like.
c. Model behaviors. Many students will enter your classroom from different backgrounds. Behaviors that may have been acceptable where they grew up may not be acceptable in your classroom. If you want them to give a verbal presentation with eye contact, show them what a good presentation looks like first.
d. Model word pronunciation. Sometimes if students are nervous to say things in English, I have them teach me how to say the phrase in their native language first. Once they have giggled at my horrible pronunciation, they aren’t so embarrassed to pronounce things in English.

Tip #9: Modify. Yes, one more thing to add to your to-do list. But it can honestly be as simple as cutting down the number of questions for them to complete, or adding pictures to an assessment. One of my favorite websites to find nonfiction science articles on is newsela.com. Not only is it free to use, but once you find an article you can change the lexile! That means all your students can be reading the same article but at a reading level that is accessible to them.

Tip #10: Use formative assessment frequently, and celebrate gains. It’s important to check in with ELL students often. Many of them will take notes, smile, and nod during class, but only understood 20% of what was discussed. Exit tickets and note summaries are great ways to check in and see where they need help and what they have mastered. Make your exit tickets specific. Don’t just say, “One thing I still need help with is…” but instead ask them to answer a specific question related to the lesson. This will help you group them by mastery and focus on the students that really need your help. Once they have mastered a new concept or learned new vocabulary, don’t forget to celebrate! Let them know you are proud of them, and they will work harder in the future. If students feel like their hard work is recognized and celebrated, they will continue to work hard!

We’d love to hear stories from you about what helps your ELL students!  Let us know in the comments! 
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Teaching English language learner (ELL) students is not for the faint of heart. In my teaching career, I have always had ELL students trickled throughout my classes. This year is the first year that I have had a biology class made up of entirely all ELL students. They vary in their English speaking abilities; some can speak it decently well and others moved here from Mexico only a few months ago. My main focus had to shift from being a biology teacher to being an English teacher and sprinkle in some fun science content. It has been really fun to work with them, giggle with them as they use English phrases incorrectly, and hear them giggle at me as I try and speak Spanish.
I had a humbling experience today in class that reminded me of a previous experience that happened a few years ago. This year since I have all my ELL students together, I’ve often used google translate to translate some of the vocabulary so they can read the definitions in both English and Spanish. I usually try and ask the Spanish teacher next door to proofread the Spanish and make sure it’s grammatically correct. This can be tricky in science, especially when words like “organic” mean very different things if you are in chemistry class opposed to biology class. Today I didn’t have time to get my notes proofread so I just crossed my fingers and went with it. As we were taking notes, I asked one of my students if the Spanish translation made sense. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: “Does that translation made sense? Is it correct?”
Student: “I don’t know, I don’t read Spanish very good.”
Me: “You can speak it but not read it? Didn’t you learn to read Spanish when you were little?”
Student: “No….”
Me: “When your parents started teaching you to read, didn’t you use books that were in Spanish?”
Student: “I didn’t learn to read until I was in kindergarten.”
Me: “Ok, well don’t you have Spanish books around the house that you’ve read as you’ve gotten older?”
Student: “The only book in the house is the bible.”
It made me sad to think these students didn’t read at home with their parents growing up. I remember looking forward to bedtime so I could read Junie B. Jones with my Mom. Books were all over the house, something I took for granted. Let me be clear- I’m not in any way suggesting these parents failed their child in some way by not reading with them. Many parents are just doing the best they can to get food on the table. Today’s experience reminded me of something that happened in my first few years of teaching middle school. We were finishing up our body systems unit and I was going to do a frog dissection with my 6th graders. I had permission slips sent home in both English and Spanish, since some parents opt out of having their child dissect for personal or religious reasons. Picture a very tired and cranky teacher at the end of the week, trying to collect 150 permission slips. I was calling on students that still hadn’t returned their forms and got to one particular student… let’s call him Jason.
Me: “Jason, do you have your permission slip?”
Jason: “No.”
Me: (getting frustrated) “You’ve had a week! I really need it returned.”
Jason: “My Mom can’t read it.”
Me: (starting to raise my voice) “I sent it home in both English AND Spanish!”
Jason: (practically yelling) “MY MOM CAN’T READ!”
Now picture that tired and cranky teacher looking like she got slapped in the face. I wanted to sit down at my desk, cover my face and cry. I felt like the most insensitive teacher in the world. My heart broke for this kid. I didn’t just feel bad because I had lost patience, but because at such a young age he would have the responsibility for helping his parents read and fill out important paperwork. His 7 years of education was probably more than his parents had completed. It made me look at my job in a whole new light. It also made me so grateful for the education I was given. I’m so glad I remembered that experience today.
So to all you ELL teachers out there, remember- YOU MATTER! When you are having days where you feel like your students aren’t learning English as fast as they should, remember that they might not have had the same opportunities you had. They are doing the best they can. You have a hard but rewarding job and are making a huge difference in their life. 10 years from now those students might not remember that one awesome lab you did, but they will remember the kind teacher who for an entire year helped them learn English.

Have you heard these statements before?
"Why are we doing writing, this isn't English class!"
"Do I really have to write in a complete sentence?"

Believe it or not, in science class we integrate almost all of the content areas. The key to this integration is making the learning interesting so you don't hear the complaints. This year I am teaching a biology class of all English language learner students. I not only have to worry about teaching the students science concepts and vocabulary, but also getting them to read and write proficiently so they can pass the state language exam. It's a lot of pressure! I decided one way to get students to write more in my class was to give them fun writing prompts.

I came up with 10 prompts per quarter, and would assign them periodically for homework the night BEFORE the concept was taught. Why before? I didn't want to read regurgitated class notes. I really wanted the students to think critically about the science concept and be able to assess their background knowledge. I gave students a grade for completing the homework assignment, but didn't grade them on the accuracy of the content knowledge. It is also a great way to uncover misconceptions and address them throughout the lesson. As I started using these prompts I saw my student's writing skills improve and vocabulary increase. I have since not only created writing prompts for biology, but for many science content areas.

Did you know you can download my observation and inference writing prompts for FREE by signing up for my email list? You will get a once a week teacher tip for freebie, no spam. Sign up in the box below to get these writing prompts sent straight to your inbox!

Other writing prompts that I have created that can be purchased from my TpT store can be seen below:

Hear what customers have to say:

"LOVE this resource! The prompts are perfect for an intro to a unit to get the kids engaged in the new concepts and they are also perfect for the end of a unit as a formative assessment."
-Adriana B. 

"Worth every penny! I wish I had these at the beginning of my unit! I will use them ALL next year for sure!" -Christie O.

"Love these prompts! Great way to get my students to think "deeper" about our class lessons." -Courtney J.

Is your school pushing you to do more literacy in the classroom? Mine sure is. I stumbled across a website that is pure gold for current articles that students will love. Newsela.com is an amazing website for a few reasons:

1. It's completely free! You need to create an account to see all the articles, but there is no charge once you are logged in.
2. New articles are added to the website daily. Talk about staying current!
3. The best part of this website is the ability to change the lexile on an any article. During one school day I see students that range from honors to ELL and special ed. Before I found this website I would have to modify articles on my own to accommodate my lower level readers. Now all I have to do is click a button and voila, I can choose from 5 different lexile levels.
   

        4. Articles come with short answer and multiple choice quiz questions you can assign students. Your    prep work just got a whole lot easier.
I've never had a problem trying to find an article that fit the topic I was teaching. Check it out! What other websites do you use to find articles? Leave a comment below!
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