This page has been revised based on my current program and future plans to focus on Regents Living Environment. All the old stuff is still here, but you may have to look for it.
Keep in mind that most any activity you find on the web will need some tweaking for your individual needs. This page is a work in progress and I welcome your contributions.
Regents Living Environment Worksheets/Labsheets/Links
Cells Analogy Collage (Hyperlink)
From Access Excellence. Use pretty much as is, no student worksheets needed. Just keep it on a 6th grade level!
Experimental Design Worksheet
For experimental labs. A planning worksheet or can be used to summarize an experiment.
Homework Strategies
These are general assignments appropriate for most topics.
Reading Science Cartoons (Template & Example)
Adapted from a colleague who does this sort of thing with political cartoons. Why not apply the idea to science cartoons? Gary Larson's Far Side has a some good ones. The example used in the template above is called Inside the Sun. The science twist is that students need to discuss the science concept in the cartoon, and in many cartoons (such as the example above) they will be able to identify one or more science misconceptions. Read the template for more details. Could also be used as a pre- & post-assessment. You may want to do this assignment in class the first time.Lesson Summaries
A standing assignment that can be used when no other meaningful assignment is available (like when you don't finish a lesson and the planned homework has to be postponed). Probably works best at the beginning of a unit. Standard format for all summaries would be written on re-useable chart paper and look something like this: What did you learn in class today that you didn't already know? Did anything you learned or observed conflict with what you thought before class? What about today's lesson made the most sense? What about today's lesson confused you? Write three "I wonder.." statements about today's lesson. You may want to do this assignment in class the first time.Observations
Depending on the topic, have students observe something in their homes, at school, on the playground, or on their way home and write 3-5 observations. I recommend the "I notice... I wonder..." format. For example, in ecology or heredity you might ask students to observe pigeons. They might write something like: "I notice pigeons have a lot of different colors and patterns, I wonder how they get so many variations?" You may want to do this assignment in class the first time.Science Articles
I recommend assembling a collection of articles that are age-appropriate and distributing them as needed. NY Times articles are generally too difficult for most middle school students. Look in Scholastic's Science magazines, other newspapers that aren't so difficult, Time for Kids, etc. You may even find articles on the web. (Check out these online reading resources from my links page) As the year progresses, I will be looking for online articles and will post links below as I find them. Students summarize the article using a standard format (which I will develop soon in conjunction with the English department). You may want to do this assignment in class the first time.Show & Tell
(You might assign 2-3 students to actually bring an object to school for show & tell, while the rest just write about the object.) Students bring in some object from home (or just write about it) that is related to a topic you are teaching and explain how the object is related. In energy transformations, for example, a student might bring in a flashlight and describe the energy transformations involved in the functioning of a flashlight (Chemical energy from the battery to light energy from the bulb. Extra credit for describing the role of heat energy in the flashlight. Make sure to discuss what is and is not appropriate to bring to school!Nature Shows
You may have to keep up with the television schedule for this one. Good for a weekend or holiday assignment. Students should watch a science & technology or nature show and write a summary. The summary could be modeled after the lesson summary above, just substitute the word "show" for "lesson:" What did you learn from the show that you didn't already know? Did anything you learned or observed conflict with what you thought before the show? What about the show made the most sense? What about the show confused you? Write three "I noticed.. I wonder.." statements about the show (I added the "I noticed.." because you won't necessarily have seen the show yourself). You might want to watch a show together in class to model how to do this assignment.
Activities for Specific Topics
Grade 6
Human Body Systems
- Cells Analogy Collage (Hyperlink)
From Access Excellence. Use pretty much as is, no student worksheets needed. Just keep it on a 6th grade level!Forces & Motion
Astronomy
- Student Spectroscope Activity
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Simple cut-out template for making spectroscopes, requires piece of a CD- ROM (use those AOL freebies and others). I've discovered that they work better when covered on the outside with a layer of aluminum foil to keep light from entering the pores of the paper, especially in bright sunlight. NEVER look directly at the sun!
Grade 7
Energy Transformations
The Great Rube Goldberg Energy Challenge
Another NYC Department of Education activity. A multi-part unit on energy transformations.Orange Juice Clocks
Another NYC Department of Education activity.Student Spectroscope Activity
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Simple cut-out template for making spectroscopes, requires piece of a CD- ROM (use those AOL freebies and others). I've discovered that they work better when covered on the outside with a layer of aluminum foil to keep light from entering the pores of the paper, especially in bright sunlight. NEVER look directly at the sun!Geology
- Rocks, Rocks, Rocks
(Catchy title, no?) Another NYC Department of Education activity. I haven't had time to evaluate this unit yet.
Ecology
New! Owl Pellet Dichotomous Key (PDF) (3/5/04) or MSPublisher 2000 Version
Flowchart style dichotomous key for skulls found in owl pellets. You may need to provide pictures of skulls to demonstrate some of the descriptions (a gap between the from teeth & back teeth, e.g.). Only general animal taxa are used - mouse, rat, vole, etc. I use this as an introduction to dichotomous keys & classification. The vast majority of skulls are mice, at least for our samples. Unfortunately I received the pellets from an unknown source so I can't provide the species of owl or its habitat.
Worksheet to accompany dichotomous key.
Based on key found here from California Academy of Sciences.
A collection of good diagrams & skull pictures can be found here.
Blank Flowchart (PDF) - (Click here for MS Publisher 2000 version)
Useful for making dichotomous keys, although post-its probably work better to start with.Classification Critters (From Microbeworld.org via middleschoolscience.com.)
Some nice critters to use in helping students create dichotomous keys.Ecosystems
A 20-day unit. Culminates in creation of bottle biology ecosystem.
Grade 8
Chemistry
Orange Juice Clocks
Another NYC Department of Education activity.Student Spectroscope Activity
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Simple cut-out template for making spectroscopes, requires piece of a CD- ROM (use those AOL freebies and others). I've discovered that they work better when covered on the outside with a layer of aluminum foil to keep light from entering the pores of the paper, especially in bright sunlight. NEVER look directly at the sun!Reproduction & Heredity
Cells Analogy Collage (Hyperlink)
From Access Excellence. Use pretty much as is, no student worksheets needed.Cell Division Simulation
A zip lock bag & pasta activity. Demonstrates the need for cells to grow and make copies of genetic material (chromosomes) before splitting.Reproduction Simulation
Another pasta and zip lock bag activity on strategies for transferring genetic material. I actually start my reproduction unit with this activity, and work backward to mitosis and meiosis.Vegetative Propagation (Hyperlink)
From Access Excellence. Project for students with instructions, no worksheets. Students keep a journal.Heredity Unit (PDF File) or Heredity Unit (Publisher 2000 File)
Includes "Family Tree." A series of activities designed to demonstrate Heredity concepts. Note: You may want to add some vocabulary that I left out such as homozygous and heterozygous - it really makes it easier to discuss the various genotypes and phenotypes.STACOPS Heredity
NYC Department of Education activity. A large multi-part unit.Gene Schemes (PDF File)
Also Department of Education. Similar to the ideas presented in the Family Tree worksheet of my heredity unit above. I personally prefer the family tree version.Pedigree Chart Worksheet (Publisher 2000, or click here for PDF version)
A three-generation pedigree chart for free or attached earlobes. Students must determine the possible genotypes for each individual. Students may need to use Punnett squares to make sure their answers are plausible.
Meteorology
General
Graph Paper (MSWord)
1/2 cm square gridlines, fits 2 graphs per page (cut in half). Also available in PDF format.Microscope Slide Grids (Word 2000)or GRIDS (MS Publisher 2000):
Exactly 1 mm square grids for printing on Avery 5160 labels or equivalent. Three grids per label that you simply cut and paste onto a slide to use for estimating the size of an object under a microscope. Laser printing highly recommended. The word version is for those of you having trouble with Publisher 2000 documents. You can download the Avery Wizard for making labels, free, from their website. It automatically plugs into MSWord, but it only works for PCs. Sorry, Mac users! The grid lines look all wrong on the monitor, but they do print correctly. Don't ask me why!Line Graph Checklist (MSWord) Click here for PDF version
Checklist for students to use when preparing line graphs. A time vs. distance graph is included for reference. Remember, by convention the independent variable is usually plotted on the X axis. Memory device: When I first learned to graph properly I would say horiXontal to help me remember which axis is which, and stretched the idea to indeXpendent to remember which axis takes the independent variable. Go ahead, say it out loud. Silly yes, but it worked for me! Others have used the vertical tail of the letter Y to remember that the Y axis is vertical. You can write the letter Y on the chalkboard and exaggerate the tail to form a vertical axis. A perhaps more sophisticated trick is to remember which variable is plotted where: A problem question can be asked in the form of "How does X affect Y?" where X is the independent variable (X axis) and Y is the dependent variable (Y axis).Science Never Sucks (Word)
Demonstration with instructional strategy Predict-Explain-Observe-Explain. Involves test-tube and a penny, takes some practice to get right.Blank Data Tables (WORD or PDF)
Follows standardized format as found in project guidelines booklet. Two per page: Word version can be modified in terms of number of trials, levels of the independent variable, and column labels, etc.Blank Flowchart (PDF) - (Click here for MS Publisher 2000 version)
Useful for making dichotomous keys.
Dichotomous Key Worksheets
Flag Dichotomous Key (3/28/04)
Colorful flags for practicing dichotomous keys. I cheated a little and made the flags uniform in size & dimension, but if you want to use your own choice of flags and keep the aspect ratios, they are readily available online for copying. Here: flags.net for example. I used this as a quiz, or it could be used as another activity. Just print copies of the flags on color paper - there are 3 sets of flags on each page - cut out, place in small zip lock bags (or paperclip), distribute with the worksheets.Introductory Dichotomous Key (3/13/04)
Introductory flowchart style dichotomous key using different shapes. Single worksheet, pencil & paper activity, yes/no questions, separating objects in a set. Do this BEFORE candy classification.Owl Pellet Dichotomous Key (PDF) or MSPublisher 2000 Version
Flowchart style dichotomous key for skulls found in owl pellets. You may need to provide pictures of skulls to demonstrate some of the descriptions (a gap between the from teeth & back teeth, e.g.). Only general animal taxa are used - bird, mouse, rat, vole, etc. I use this as an introduction to dichotomous keys & classification. The vast majority of skulls are mice, at least for our samples. Unfortunately I received the pellets from an unknown source so I can't provide the species of owl or its habitat.
Worksheet to accompany dichotomous key.
Based on key found here from California Academy of Sciences.
A collection of good diagrams & skull pictures can be found here.
Blank Flowchart (PDF) - (Click here for MS Publisher 2000 version)
Useful for making dichotomous keys, although post-its probably work better to start with.
