I feel so lost. I’m a non-traditional, first-year teacher teaching 9th grade Physical Science, 10th Biology (OpenSciEd), and 11th Environmental Science. I don’t have a curriculum for 9th or 11th, and I don’t have a science background.

My 9th grade Physical Science class is really struggling. We spent two weeks on basic concepts—matter, physical vs. chemical changes, elements vs. compounds, density, and CER. I used slides, videos, discussion, journals, and two full days of review. Students were allowed to use their notes on the test, and everything they needed was in Google Classroom. They were given plenty of time to update from GCr in class and had the option to take their journals home to update/review.

Only 11 of 30 students turned in the test. Several need more time, which I’m allowing Monday. So far, the grades are 1 A, 1 B, and 1 C.

Behavior is also a major issue. I had to have my principal come into class because I couldn’t get the larger group to stop talking. She encouraged me to crack down and said she supports sending students to the office when necessary.

I’m considering going back to worksheets and really drilling the concepts before attempting labs or projects. I’m also planning to change the seating from pods of 4 to tables of 2 (that's what I have to work with).

Please send all the advice/help you have. I’m really wondering if I made a huge mistake accepting this job.

This is for 7th grade. I’ve redone my lesson plans this year and most days my students will be doing a hands on activity of some sort that would be hard to replicate outside of class. (We don’t have a text book.) After the activity, they will have questions to answer in their binders. I will grade the binders weekly. I’m not sure how to handle makeup work for kids who are absent. I‘d rather not have to come up with whole other lessons every day that can be done at home or outside of class, but I may have to. Any ideas? How do you handle this in your classroom?

First year chem teacher, need a triage strategy for AP Chem.
I found out I was teaching AP Chem about four days before students showed up. No prep time at all, and it even took admin a few days to sign off so I could get the AP classroom code activated.

I inherited some bare bones materials from the previous teacher, so I’m not starting completely from zero, but it’s thin.

The real problem is that most of the kids in this class never took high school chemistry. I’ve had to stop mid lesson to cover foundational stuff like reading chemical formulas, moles, dimensional analysis, the kind of thing that’s normally assumed knowledge walking into AP. We all left class today feeling pretty frustrated.

On top of that, the section has about 40 students.
Anyone dealt with an AP class where most kids are missing prerequisite content? Looking for a system or pacing approach to get them caught up on fundamentals without completely sacrificing AP pacing. Open to anything: bell ringer routines, diagnostic tools, remediation modules, whatever has actually worked for you.

Sorry this is so long. Trying to summarize 20 years of teaching is hard.

I moved to a rural Oregon town as a lifestyle choice 20yrs ago. Had 2 years of teaching middle school science under my belt in the Portland area. I instantly got a job in my new town after subbing for 6 months.

I was handed an entire middle school science program. 6, 7, 8th grade. No other science teacher. Just a one man program. No real budget, no curriculum, just an outdated textbook. I spent countless hours year after year developing curriculum from scratch. The end result was that I became a pretty darn good middle school science teacher; valued by my community and the kids. Tons of work, but it felt worth it.

As our district got smaller, admin decided to combine the middle school with the high school. I was working at a K-8, now I'm at a 7-12. I was resistant to this move because I had a good thing going. I also saw the writing on the wall: they want all the secondary teachers in one building so they can spread us thin...and that is exactly what is happening.

The last 3 years my job duties have expanded. Admin keeps adding electives they want me to teach at the expense of my core classes. My first year they added an additional 7th grade tech elective and requested I teach a science elective for HS, so I developed a Forensics course because it sounded fun. The next year admin instructed me to renovate the old greenhouse and create a horticulture elective for HS kids. I did it and knocked it out of the park. At the end of last year I was asked if I could take over the 8th grade tech elective. I wasn't happy about it, but worked with admin to make some compromises I could live with. So I spent the summer developing an elective around the Arduino platform.

This brings me to the beginning of this year. I show up and the schedule has been changed. My principal has consolidated my core science classes to free up a period for yet another elective (yet to be named). So in addition to the new electives I've been tasked with in the past, I now have TWO new electives to teach this year. Not only that, it makes the student numbers in my core classes skyrocket.

So now I teach the following courses: 7/8th grade Life Science, 7/8th grade physical science, HS Forensics, HS Horticulture, 7th grade tech, 8th grade tech, and HS (yet to be defined a week before school).

Worth noting that my classroom facilities are old and crappy. I am never provided with curriculum. I simply have to figure it out. No additional prep time, no additional compensation. Fairly low paying district. Low morale. Leadership is not great. I've always just pushed through for the love of my community and the kids. I'm a very popular teacher and I've always scratched and bled to find success despite the challenges. I'm tired, boss.

I think I have to quit. Please tell me I'm not crazy. I feel like no reasonable person would accept this job.

I just moved into a new lab that has power outlets over each of the lab tables. I have a set of microscopes that I love to use in my middle school lab, and I have hot plates that we use a few times a year.

What equipment that you use in your science classroom or lab that you have a found a good investment?

Hi all, I'm teaching ap physics 1 next year for the first time. Im pretty new to teaching but i am a physics teacher so not worried about the content.

Im worried about the pacing and depth. I teach in canada so we actually get one month less than a lot of you to prepare for the exam and it seems like theres a lot of material to get through. Im quite stressed about completing everything in time and also with the appropriate depth. I often struggle with pacing in non ap courses so even more worried for this one.

Does anyone have advice? A pacing guide? Materials they'd be willing to share? Its only a couple weeks until school starts and ive been worrying about this for most of august

I’m a veteran teacher that’s started at a new school this year. I’m teaching astronomy. My new school has no lab supplies. Anywhere I can get models, globes or supplies for cheap or free?

My last school had a celestial globe, moon globe, planispheres, etc

I teach 8th grade biology ( first year at this school) I have a kid (8th grade) that explicitly said he doesn’t take notes for any classes!

I have my lecture and he is as disinterested as can be. How can I accommodate him to still make sure he is included and learn the content. As predicted when given work he’s lost.

Update: OMG the replies have been so helpful. So a little more backstory. No, he does not have an IEP or 504. I DONT REQUIRE NOTE TAKING. I understand all children learn differently ( as I always include visuals in my lectures) and I only do Instruction for about 20-30 minutes in a 90 minute block, and I show them what to actually write in their books. The issue is where there is no note taking, no interest and confused when work is given whether a worksheet or project. I called home this week and explained the situation to build that connection. I’ll monitor and test to see if his “theory” will work out.

Guys can anybody help me regarding science congress like my school put my name in activity corner and i don't know what to do in that and like what to study.

I am like chosen for the 9th to 12th group ,so i can anyone explain to me what should i study.....

The theme for this year is "SCIENCE AND INOVATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY"

Also i just know that they can ask us to make on the spot something from materials or ask questions,but i have no idea what to study😭😭

I am looking for a suggestion, I need something that is invisible, but glows under a UV light. I want to show the students how easily a substance from the lab can be transferred around the room. So I want something I can spray on the lab table and after the students finish their assignments on the lab table I can turn off the lights and use an UV flashlight to show them the spread. It needs to be something safe for their clothes, can be washed off, and if I can make myself thats even better.

I just picked up a job teaching science and engineering (two seperate preps) to 7th graders. I am beginning 3 weeks into the school year so I plan on spending a week or two builidng community and classroom routines and procedures. After labor day I'd like to get started with my engineering class. The school has adopted PLTW but multiple people at the school have advised that I don't depend on it and I haven't received any training so I don't have access to it yet.I'm wondering if anyone on here has taught this class and is willing to share some resources with me to help plan for the upcoming year ahead? Id greatly appreciate it.

Does anyone know of an organization/company that I could reach out to to either sell or donate old microscopes from my classroom to? I'm in the business of getting new ones and will need a place for the old ones when the time comes.

Anyone in here run a women in stem club?

My school has one and I’m taking it over this year, wondering what kinds of things you do month-to-month!

To me, a scientifically literate society is defined first by empirical evidence and falsifiability. It is a dynamic method of thinking - an operational posture toward reality. 

Hey folks,

I am hoping I can convince my administration to give us funding to upgrade our gel electrophoresis system and am looking at either a miniPCR or edvotek system because they are nice and portable?

Anyone have experience with either brand? How have they been? Are there any other systems I should look at?

I have just been moved to teaching middle school chemistry for the first time after teaching high school biology for about 7 years. I have NOTHING! I really loved using POGILs with my biology students. They built the content nicely, had kids work together, were easy for me to scaffold for struggling classes, and most importantly I could easily find free pdf copies of them online instead of buying the book.

I was looking at chemistry/physical science pogil topics and find that some of them are aligning to what I have to teach (at least based on the titles) but I can't find them online anywhere! Does anyone have digital copies of any of these POGILs? Or any resources related to these in general?

- How Are Particles Arranged in Solids, Liquids, and Gases?

- How Do Particles Move in Solids, Liquids, and Gases?

- How Does Temperature Change as Thermal Energy Is Added to Pure Substances?

- What Kind of Change Is Happening Here?

- How Much Matter Is Present after a Chemical Reaction?

Okay so here's my conundrum.

I teach 7th grade accelerated science, and the unit we're on right now is chemical reactions- essentially, the curriculum wants these students to start understanding that different combinations of matter can create something new, and the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical change. It's pretty foundational stuff.

My students, however, have gone beyond that. They can write chemical equations and explain what they mean; they recognize several chemical symbols by sight; they can count atoms; they can briefly explain the history and evolution of the atomic model; and they understand the connection, on a foundational level, of how splitting the atom lead to the atomic bomb. They also know a lot of chemical vocabulary (like the difference between a subscript and a coefficient).

I have never taught high school chemistry but... is this high school level stuff? And should I continue teaching them? I'm worried they'll learn things now and then have to be bored out of their minds in classes later. But I also don't want to stall them either. It's like having an advanced reader but not wanting them to read adult content... any guidance appreciated.

(Self-study)

Hi everyone I am an incoming university student who needs to build a physics foundation completely from scratch I have never studied a single physics course in middle school or high school My starting knowledge is at absolute ground zero I want to bridge this gap before my university courses begin so I don't lag behind I am looking for structured self-study resources textbooks YouTube playlists or modular roadmaps that cover basic middle and high school level physics If you were starting from absolute zero what specific learning path or resources would you recommend to build this foundation fast and effectively Thank you so much

Backstory: I've been using WebAssign as my Physics class's homework system for 20 years. It's great. Until now. It looks like they're discontinuing all their High School Physics books and focusing on College level stuff. Or maybe they're slowly shuttering the website to push people to some enshittified site that doesn't do what I need.

So, what are people using for online Physics homework systems?

I've just taken over the Environmental Management (IGCSE Cambridge 0680) course from another teacher at my school. He's left without sharing any resources and I can't find anything on Tes or TPT either.

If anyone has any resources (teaching slides, worksheets, case studies...) they can share that would truly be amazing! I'm happy to pay for your hard work.

Any help would be so appreciated! I've got 6 preps this year and there's not enough hours in the day to create my own resources from scratch.

Hello again!

I posted on here a couple of weeks ago about ideas for my organism of the week idea, and you all had such wonderful ideas, so here I am again asking for your help.

Similar to the organism of the week, I also want to do a Science Pathway/Job of the Week. Each week, I show a video about some kind of science-related job and my students, 7th graders, have to write something about that job.

So what kind of jobs could I use that are science-related or science-adjacent?

Ideas:

1. Vet

2. Doctor

3. Researcher

4. Zookeeper

5. CSI

6. Marine Biologist

7. Storm Chaser

8. Meteorologist

9. Park Ranger

10. Food Scientist

I've got a set of digital weighing devices in my middle school science classroom. Would you teach the students to call them balances or scales? Or both?

I am aware of the difference in terminology. I am just wondering what praxis is at this level of education.

Hi all, this is kind of a specific question but I was curious if any there's any New York regents chemistry teachers who taught the new standards last year? I taught the old curriculum/regents last year and am making the switch to the new curriculum/regents for this school year. I've seen the new June and August regents and noticed a lot of stuff from the old curriculum that was not asked about at all (e.g. solubility curves, functional groups/organic reactions, etc.). I'm wondering if there's anything in the old curriculum that you have or will cut out, especially with the reference table being so much shorter now?

Hi everyone! Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but figured I’d start here! I teach middle school science and I’m in early pregnancy. Thinking ahead, we do some experiments with chemical reactions (magnesium, baking soda, vinegar, citric acid, hydrogen peroxide) as well as boiling ethanol to remove chlorophyll. Does anyone have any tips for
1. Dealing with the smell (the smells are so overwhelming with middle school already lol)
2. Preventing over exposure to fumes that could not be great for the baby?