Engaging lesson ideas for busy biology and health teachers.

When learning about probabilities in middle school genetics lessons, you will find that many students still struggle with basic math skills, especially if you teach an on level or resource class. This is one reason you may want to add a lesson that reinforces math concepts such as percents, tally marking, decimals, fractions, ration, and probabilities. These are all basic math skills that students should have learned by the time they are solving Punnett Square word problems,

Picking up Paperclips Station Alcohol is one of the most abused and used drugs among our youth in the United States. Sadly, many young people have lost their lives, accidently killed someone, or have become seriously injured as a result of being intoxicated. Drinking and driving is a major public safety issue that results in many deaths each year in the U.S. Another serious alcohol-related problem is binge drinking. Binge drinking is when a large amount of alcohol is consume

Okay, it is back-to-school time and new faces are looking back at you, and a bunch of new personalities are in your classes. You might be wondering if there is anything new you can do with your classes that will help ease them into your class to help them get to know their classmates and help you get to know them. The first week of school is a big "get to know your students" time. Here are 5 things you can do with your classes to break the ice with them and get to know them

Get crafty with this clay neuron model. It's the perfect addition to your nervous system unit. The neuron is the coolest looking of all the cells. Most students enjoy making things with clay. It is kind of therapeutic and relaxing for students to feel the clay's soft texture and to mold it into different things. Students who are kinesthetic and visual learners will be especially drawn to this method of learning. Most students like when art is incorporated into their core con

This pencil eye trick is one cool thing to try. It is a nice "hook" to use when introducing the human eye unit to your students. It is a simple thing to do that will take a few minutes at most. Each student will need two sharpened pencils. The Eye Trick: 1.Close the right eye and keep it closed. 2.Grab two sharpened pencils and hold one in each hand with the pointy end facing each other. 3.Hold the pencils far apart from each other, one in each hand, as you extend your arms.

I love incorporating games into a classroom! Let's face it, students crave a break from the regular schoolwork routine every now and then, and yes, so teachers too. Adding games to the classroom reduces boredom while at the same time strengthens social skills through peer interaction. They also help to increase students’ motivation by getting them actively involved in the learning process. Adding games to your class is a fun way to review relevant academic content whether you

Here is a simple lab that students can do that will allow them to explore the stomata in plants. Are you ready? If so, grab some spinach leaves and head over with me! :) Spinach leaves are wonderful for cooking and making salads with, but did you know they can also be used for viewing plant stomata under a microscope? Spinach leaves are thin, with a flexible top layer, making them easy to work with. Of course, any flat leaf and wide leaf will work, just make sure it lacks a f

Students will analyze data and identify patterns in how traits in a population can change over time in this activity. In nature, individuals of the same species are not alike. They will differ in some way genetically. We call these differences in appearance and behavior, genetic variations. The traits you see expressed in an organism is called the phenotype. In this activity, the phenotype being looked at closely is the color of the "candy critter". Some genetic traits help

Here is a clay activity you can do with your students when studying the circulatory system-making clay red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. These are super simple to make and a wonderful way for students to visualize these three parts of the blood. You can make these yourself to use as a model to show students when teaching on this topic, or you can have students make these in class as they learn about the human blood's composition. Blood has a lot going on insi

I brought you the clay blood vessels and heart model idea to bring into your classes (my personal favorites!). Then the neuron clay model, integumentary model, and now I want to share this lung clay model with you. I will say it again and again, most students will enjoy doing these clay lessons, as it gives them some freedom of art expression and it is kind of stress-relieving to roll and shape air dry clay in their hands. It’s a great addition to any class, but especially fo

As the school year comes closer to ending (or a semester), many teachers are barely able to walk to their cars to go to work in the mornings, wishing so badly that summer break would just come already. Most students feel this same way about the last few weeks of school, so it is a good idea to take a week and have them do some laid back projects in class at the end of the year. Here are 22 project ideas for your biology classes to recap some things they have learned either

Okay, for all the art loving students and teachers out there, here is my latest human body system clay model. This one is on the integumentary system. Like the other clay models I posted about previously, you will find this one is also relatively easy to do. I know I say this a lot, but it is true and I have seen it as a teacher-most students will enjoy learning science more when you include fun lessons like this. They are also more likely to retain the information when they

Okay, here is my next clay model I want to share with you, yay! This, and the other clay models I have shared with you, are perfect summertime activities to have your kids do, not just for the classroom. It took me a while to get this one up on here, as I have been super busy with other things. I came up with this model a year ago, yes, a year ago. I’ve already shown you how to make a neuron clay model, lung clay model, and clay blood vessels. Finally, here is one on the excr

Learning about energy flow in an ecosystem is a basic lesson in every biology classroom. I always wondered how I could make this unit more interesting or hands-on. Well, I think I might have found the lab that does just that. I got this lab from a teacher I work with. I like it because it gives a visual representation on just how energy is lost as it is passed to one organism to another in a food chain. I think this activity is a must try in your biology class-especially for

Hi guys! In case you were not aware, February is National Heart Month. It is that month of year when we bring awareness to heart disease and look at ways to prevent it. I hope you are all managing your risk factors and keeping yourself healthy no matter what month it might be. Here are some risk factors for heart disease: 1. Obesity (Having a BMI over 25) 2. High blood pressure 3. High cholesterol 4. Uncontrolled diabetes 5. Sedentary

Most students love writing on dry erase boards. There is just something about writing and erasing on them that students tend to like, so why not have students write answers on then instead of on paper in a class test review? If this sounds interesting to you, I recommend you try using these handheld response whiteboards in your classes. They are sure to be a useful addition to your classroom. They are good for using to review for tests. In my Teachers Pay Teachers store I hav

There are three parts to the cell cycle- interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis. Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell's nucleus splits in two, leading to the original cell, called a parent cell, dividing into two new cells, called daughter cells. It occurs in somatic cells and begins right after fertilization between a sperm and egg cell. The new, single cell that is created is called a zygote. This zygote will divide and continue dividing until a blastocyst forms

When it is Summer and it is hot outside, nothing beats a cold drink or a cup of ice cream. Maybe you have kids at home like I do asking you the same thing I hear every day over and over again, “Mom, I’m bored. Mom, what can we do? Mom, I’m bored.” Ok, well, I have an idea to help you out. Have you ever thought about making ice cream with them? I don’t mean anything fancy involving an ice cream maker, I mean making ice cream with a just a few simple ingredients and plastic ba

Okay, science lovers! Here is a must-do-lab to try in your biology classroom. This one will go with your diffusion and osmosis lessons. It is perfect for the cell unit when discussing the transport of material in and out of the cell. In this experiment, a plastic bag will demonstrate the role of the cell membrane has in the cell. It is one thing for students to read about diffusion in the notes, but quite another thing for them to see it with their own eyes. After students

Here is something fun I want to share with you that you can try in your class. Soft, squishy stress toys can be used to reinforce learning concepts in your class. I used to have this cute rainbow brain stress ball that I used to call the “learning brain”, because I used it to reinforce learning with my students. I no longer have this squishy stress ball, but have something similar to it now. Stress balls can be used to check for learning/understanding. For example to start a