Meet & Teach E-Books

Looking for some great FREE resources that you can download TODAY and use TOMORROW? Brain Waves Instruction, Literary Sherri, and Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy have compiled 3 FREE Meet and Teach e-books profiling SECONDARY teacher-authors and sharing print-and-teach resources from 25 TpT stores in each e-book.  The e-books center around ELA, Math & Science, and Humanities (Social Studies, Art, Foreign Language, and more ELA).  In them you'll find a 'meet' page completed by each seller that includes responses to 5 prompts.  You'll get to learn a bit about each seller like their favorite book or things that make them happy along with a one-page free resource they provided.  Here are the pages from my contribution:

This Circuit Challenge can be found in my Electricity and Magnetism Bundle.  These e-books are filled with awesome teachers, little insights into each sellers' life, and resources that are easy to implement in your classroom.  They're pretty amazing.  Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, you can find them here:

Download each free e-book and you'll get a chance to meet and teach resources from these teacher-authors: 

An InLinkz Link-up

Arctic Food Web - An Interactive Ecology Lesson

We all know that students love any excuse to talk and move about the classroom being the social creatures they are. So, why not use it to your advantage and find science activities that get them up and working together.  This Arctic Food Web activity is a great example when you're teaching Ecology.  Pass out organism cards featuring consumers and producers of the Arctic along with cut-out energy arrows and have students build a giant Food Web Wall where they will be able to visualize the different food chains and understand how the feeding relationships affect the energy flow in an ecosystem.
Another idea is to get students using their science vocabulary by having them post the Arctic Food Web pictures under the the proper terms on a Word Wall so they can help you with the ongoing, interactive display of ecology terms.

You can find these great activities along with three others that include reading comprehension of the Arctic Ecosystem, Trophic Levels and Aquatic and Terrestrial biomes in the Arctic Food Web activity found by clicking the image below:

Have fun!

Life Science Task Cards

Task cards are back and this time for LIFE SCIENCE!  Task cards are a great tool for concept review that can be used in a variety of ways – pairs, small groups, team games, individual review, tutoring or for early finishers.  The reason they are so effective is there is only ONE task per card, allowing students to focus on that single task until they have successfully completed it.

For effective and immediate use - copy, cut-out and laminate your task card set and store in either sandwich baggies or envelopes or punch a hole in the corner and put each set on a ring (as shown).  By doing this, cards stay organized, students have immediate access and you can use them again and again each year!

I'm hoping to stay ahead of you all and am trying to finish the last 10 chapters - creating and posting one a day.  Therefore one set of task cards a day + life getting in the way = 2 weeks until all chapters are done!

Thank You 1000 Times Over!

I just thought everyone should know I have THE BEST supporters for Nitty Gritty Science and I wanted to show my appreciation by holding this giveaway for reaching 1000 FOLLOWERS!!  Thank you for finding me and sharing my products with your friends and colleagues.  I am overwhelmed by your continued support and promise to keep working hard to put out those products you love.

The Giveaway is easy - place your entry below and submit the information required to be put in for a chance to win a Science Interactive Notebook Supply Prize Pack (a $65 value!). The contest will run from September 13 to September 22 . Please read terms and conditions in the entry box below.

Enter below and Good Luck!

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NGSS Made Simple (and Manageable!)

I it did folks! I've created a VERY manageable and easy to understand system to help you communicate to your students, administration or anyone else who may be visiting your classroom what Next Generation Science Standard performance expectations you are expecting the students to demonstrate for a particular lesson, along with the practices, crosscutting concepts and disciplinary core. I'm calling this tool the NGSS Expectations Ladder.

The NGSS Expectations Ladder is a tool that has interchangeable cards that are chosen depending on the emphasis of your lesson. Cut out the cards, laminate, hole punch and hang on rings - voila!  This system is simple enough that I would encourage you to have your students be responsible for choosing the correct cards and hanging their own NGSS Expectations Ladder near their lab group station or somewhere accessible to them.

Currently I have middle school Life Science and Physical Science sets completed and will have the rest posted soon.  The sets are based on the Disciplinary Core Idea arrangement of the NGSS and has an individual card for each bulleted DCI, Crosscutting Concept and Science and Engineering Practice.

Standards are posted, students are informed and you just saved yourself so much time - go out and celebrate!

Enjoy!