Science in the City

Aug 8, 2015

Super Secondary Science Teacher Resource Giveaway! 8/9-8/14

Winners have been chosen!  Congratulations to Cherish Eagan and Emily Roesngren



Who: Science Teachers 

What: Back to School Science Giveaway -- Enter here to win $15 store credit to my store, and follow the links below to win many more great science products from other teachers for use in your classroom!  Update!  There are so many entries I will be picking more than one winner.  
Where: Right here, with links to many other science teachers below
When: August 9th to 14th
How: Use the rafflecopter below, and the links to enter at other stores. 

FAQ's:


Why store credit? Good question.....I have a variety of science products and general products in my store, and what if I am giving away middle school products, but you teach high school?  Or giving away Earth Science products, but you teach Biology?  I want this giveaway to result in a prize that is valuable to you.  So, store credit it is. 


What do I have to do to enter? Follow the steps on the rafflecopter below to enter.  The more entries, the better chance of winning.

What can I use my store credit for? Anything in the the Science in the City store.  When the giveaway ends and rafflecopter helps choose the winner, I will contact you.  You look through my store and let me know which items you would like that total $15.  I will email them directly to you.

What would you recommend as best buys? 

Depends on what you teach, but here are some suggestions....


  • General classroom products I would look at the following $15 package


Pack of 50 Exit Tickets (Formative Assessment)     Back to School Classroom Organization Pack    Tarsia Puzzle Template Set
This set would be good for any class (not just science) and includes many types of exit tickets, classroom organization tools, and a puzzle template set that can be edited to review or reinforce any set of vocabulary.


  • Biology...I might pick
Photosynthesis and Respiration Foldable - Two Versions      Human Body Pack - Biology
  • Earth Science....I might pick
Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Unit Pack    Solstice and Equinox: Hours of Daylight and Seasons Lessons
If none of those strike your fancy, feel free to browse my store and choose your own prize package. 


Where else can I enter? At the bottom of this post is a link up to many other science teachers who are participating.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aug 2, 2015

Back to School Sale


Did you know the back to school sale starts tomorrow?!  Most stores (including mine) are 28% off.  If there are certain items that you have been looking at buying, but put off because of cost, or were debating purchasing, this is your chance!  

If I were purchasing from my store on sale, here are some of my best buys.  

For general classroom use I would buy this pack of exit tickets, or the back to school pack.  This will be tools you will utilize all year long for classroom organization, seating charts, keeping organized yourself, etc.  The formative assessment can be used in any subject area as tickets out, or assessment within a lesson, or even as a jumping off point. 

 Pack of 50 Exit Tickets (Formative Assessment)

Back to School Classroom Organization Pack

If you teach Earth Science, you may be interested in the curriculum guide, list of "I Can Statements and Vocabulary Lists."  Also, there is always Buy My Store for Earth Science, which entitles you to every Earth Science product, and any that I add in the future.  This would be HUGE discount if you purchase it on sale.  

Earth Science Curriculum Guide
Entire Earth Science Course Student"I Can Statements" and

Buy my Store - Earth Science


I also feature a curriculum and resource guide for AP Environmental Science, and many biology items.  Some of my most popular are the Buy my Store for Biology (again, every biology item now and in the future, already discounted, available at a further discount for the BTS sale), or the human body pack, which includes many of the most popular human body items grouped together.  Again, these are already discounted, and available at a further discount.  
AP Environmental Science Curriculum Overview

Human Body Pack - Biology


Buy my Store - Biology

Even if you choose smaller items just to explore, or whatever you choose, make sure to get your cart ready, and use code BTS15.  

Contact me with any questions about my products (sciinthecity@gmail.com). 



Jul 6, 2015

Blow Your Mind Guaranteed Leaf Stomata Lab

If you are looking for a lab to do with your students that only uses a microscope and basic supplies, here is a great one.  I tested it out ahead of time and got very excited at how successful it was!

I have used this lab to practice microscope skills, experimental design skills, homeostasis and adaptations, or to teach leaf structure directly.

Did you know that by just using clear nail polish and tape, with almost any leaf and a microscope you can clearly see the stomata?!   We teach about stomata but they always seem like an abstract concept that we can't see.  Not TRUE!

It is very simple to put nail polish on the back of a leaf, peel it off, and make an impression slide where you can clearly see the stomata.

In this lab activity students read about the leaf structure and color a diagram.  They also create a slide and view stomata, draw and label and answer a few summary questions about their knowledge.  There is a second version included that allows students to design an experiment related to stomata.   Finally, in the teacher resources guide I have included a few other links for information, and a video clip about the leaf parts.

Here is a direct link to my product below.

Jul 1, 2015

Inexpensive and Instructive Lab: Complete Flower Reproduction

When the weather gets nice, everyone loves flowers!  Its even better if you can integrate them into an educational lab and reinforce science content.

This flower reproduction lab is one of my personal favorites.  Students can dissect a flower and study the parts.  I use the lab after teaching sexual reproduction, and students answer the questions "do flowers reproduce sexually or asexually?" through their lab work.  In the lab, however, I have also included a more traditional version of the lab that allows students to learn about the parts of a flower.  This lab also includes links to some great videos on flower parts, and suggestions on sources for flowers, and type of flower to use.

This was one of my students' favorites on course evaluations.  I love the fact that they get to take a closer look at something they have probably seen, but never studied before.  It would be a great lab for summer school, because flowers are so readily available.





Jun 27, 2015

Behind the Scenes: Virtual Coursework

I will be taking a new position for the fall in my district, and I'm very curious how it will work out.  The position is Teacher on Assignment for the Instructional Technology Department.  Specifically I will be teaching virtual classes. Those classes fall at two ends of the spectrum. I will be teaching a virtual AP Environmental Science course, and virtual online credit recovery science classes, for students who have previously failed.

I will be split between different schools, so I will spend a day or 2 per week in each school, meeting with students.  The rest of my student contact, and their work, will be virtual via phone, email, and maybe even Skype. 

I am excited about the change.  From what I have heard it is much lower stress, and I'm ready for a change.  It is a one year position, so after a year I can go back to my current position.

However, it is upending most of what I know about teaching.

"Students working on class assignment in computer lab" by Michael Surran - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab.jpg#/media/File:Students_working_on_class_assignment_in_computer_lab.jpg
I went to training yesterday and it was about how to use the online LMS (learning management system).  I am having trouble picturing starting the year NOT setting up a classroom.  I will be doing minimal lesson planning because we have purchased a curriculum that I can adapt and modify, but not extremely.  I am working Monday on curriculum work so we will see how that goes.   The AP class is supposed to be "blended" or "teacher facilitated" whereas the credit recovery courses are supposed to be largely independent.

It has been described to me that this position is more like tutoring where individual students get stuck, or building relationships with individuals and small groups.  I think that might be a positive, but its so different!

If any of you have experience on either the student or teacher side of this please let me know.

I'm really looking forward to this new experience, but it seems like a lot of unknowns as well!


Jan 3, 2015

Sea Life Photograph Collection

I am writing a quick post to let you know about my new resource that I just posted.  A collection of 25 high quality aquarium and sea life photographs.  They are available as jpg (although I can convert them if you wish).


If you are giving students a project on sea life, ecology, or teaching a unit and need photographs, this can be a great resource.  You no longer need to worry about copyright, or finding just the right images.

And....just for my blog readers, I'm giving away 2 pictures for free, so you can see the quality.  Those are available in high quality at this link and this link.



Hope you enjoy!

Dec 20, 2014

Saturday Nerd Libs Link up -- last one for 2014


Join me one more time for a "Dear Santa" teacher letter.....I know there are things we all want.  Here is my letter to Santa (well.......a version of it!).



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