Mendel & His Peas Foldable

I love Mendel, but truthfully, there is not much that students have to know about him.  However, for many genetics problems, the students are expected to know the genotypes and phenotypes of Mendel's peas.

So this is the inside of the foldable.   There is space for the students to write in the genotypes and phenotypes for the recessive and dominant traits for each character.  There is also space for the students to write why Mendel used peas.  And they can color.

The outside is very simple, with just the characters or titles but can still be colored.  

It is important to run double sided copies of these two pages.  And I learned the hard way that copies don't come out perfect and lines on the fronts and backs don't line up sometimes.  So I have removed all the fold and cut lines from the front ... trust me.   You need to have the students Fold First Then Cut. While looking at the side with the drawings, fold the left and right edges to the center line (so you are covering the drawings with the corresponding titles.  Then open the page and cut the dotted lines to the fold.  Then they can fill in the information, color and glue it into notes or notebooks.   

If you are interested in purchasing this as a PowerPoint you can edit, or as a PDF checkout 

Mendel and His Peas Editable PowerPoint

Mendel and Hist Peas PDF

And check out our other first of the year, science, history, and math products as well on our TPT store  We Teach High School!

Circulatory System Foldables

This year I have changed up my biology classes.  For the past several (10-ish) years I have had a very strict Interactive notebook for freshmen with left and right sides and everything was very uniform.  This year (a few weeks into the year) I switched gears and I started making Foldables or sketch Notes/Doodle Notes and even giving the kids print outs of the notes and letting them make their own.  And I love it.  It is a lot of work, but it is a nice change of pace for me and the kids.

So here are a few pictures of the circulatory system.  Be on the lookout for more systems coming soon!

First up te Functions and Components of Blood.

 

Next is the Arteries, Capillaries, and Veins.

 

Then the ABO Blood Groups.  I use this one for all of my classes (Biology, AP Biology and Forensics).

 And lastly is the Heart

This year was an experiment as to how much information to provide and how much info they should be adding.  It is a delicate balance.  This set took more than a day to do, which I am not loving.  

First of the Year Post-It Activity

Many moons ago, I wrote about my Post-It Activity I use in the first week of school to fill time (after safety test, etc) and to get to know the students.  You can click here to read more about that activity.  I spent part of a day going through files in my desk and I finally found my examples for this activity.  It's good to take the time to make your own for an activity like this so that you set the standard for "enough color" and to show not everything really has to be a drawing (my 11 am).  And it is good for them to learn a bit about you as well.

Algebra 1 Syllabus and Calculator/Textbook Request Form

A couple of years ago we posted about changing up our syllabi (previous post).

I finally uploaded my new syllabus to Teachers Pay Teachers (purchase link). This is an editable microsoft word document. Fonts used: Titles - Rock Salt, Text Body - Handlee & Arial

I include all the ways to contact me, rules, policies, supplies, expectations, a letter to the parents, and a calculator/textbook request form.

Here is a preview of what you'll get.

My Stash...Candy stash that is!

So I like to keep a stash of candy in my desk or in my refrigerator. Candy is like medicine right?!?!

My candy of choice is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (the miniature size...not the mini's or the full size).

On a day that I had a teeni-tiny salad for lunch and dinner is forever away.

On a day when the kids or ADULTS are driving me nuts.

On a day that...well lets be honest...just any day!

I'll even share with my teacher friends if they are having a bad or missed their lunch.

Do you have a stash?

What helps you on a bad school day?

Forensics: Controlled Substances Act

I have been doing a little bit of Foldables in classes other than Biology.  Some units are easier to incorporate Foldables with than others.  And I tend to like to use Foldable with information that is dull-ish.  In Forensics I have used is one for Controlled Substances Act and Schedule of Drugs.

They still take notes, but they take their own notes (a skill they should have for college).  And it doesn't make the information more interesting, but it is a nice change of  pace to get to cut and color sometimes, even if they act like they don't like it!

End of School Inservice 2017

Sandy and I are always willing to share with our coworkers on the latest and greatest teachery goings-ons.

We have found that WE are more interested and engaged when we hear from fellow teachers rather than some random somebody that hasn't been in the classroom for a million years. Hence why we created this blog!

Below are some of the topics we shared with our coworkers this year.

Snipping 
Allows you to copy, paste, and edit (minimally) an image or text.
Start, Windows Accessories, Snipping Tool

Task View/Multiple Desktops
Great for multitasking without having to close out all of your applications. I can have one desktop open for all my teaching software, then another open for all the paper-worky type things I am working on during my conference or after school.

Chrome Add-Ons and Extensions
So many to choose from. Here are a few: Grammarly, Boomerang, Mailcastr, Google Classroom, Flubaroo.

Google Forms
Formative Assessment, Student Information, Survey, Sign In & Out Tutorial Tracker, Rubric Creator, the list goes on!

Openers & Closers
Warm-ups, Bell-ringers, Exit Tickets, Sticky Note Discussions, Journals, Science Starters, etc. We shared what we have been doing differently and had others share their successes and failures in this area.

Videos
Ipad - Doceri, Educreations, Whiteboard, Explain Everything, EdPuzzle...
Software - Camtasia & Camstudio (For a while my iPad was not functioning...so I purchased Camtasia to create videos on my laptop)
Promethean Board/Smart Board - Built in screen recorder

Notetaking
Interactive Notebooks (teacher notes on one side, student notes on the other), Foldables (so many ideas on the internet, Dinah Zike is a great resource), and Sketchnotes

The power of water

One of my AP kids last year saw something similar to this online done with toothpicks, and they wanted to try it in class. I was out of toothpicks, but I did have wooden splints.  This is now a part of my Properties of Water Lab.

Focus on the Positive

Sometimes, you have to be thankful for little things that make you happy. 

 A pretty mug filled with colorful pens looks like endless possibilities.