General Teaching Resources

Meeting needs of all students

Teacher Vision's page on Adaptations and modifications for students with special needs. Information on ADD/ADHD, ELA/ELL students, curriculum planning, tips and advice, and how to modify some content areas for students who have IEPs.
This is a university website; however, it might be a useful resource for those of you who have Arab American students in your class. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has had a formal Arab American organization for science, engineering and management students since the mid 1950's. Part of their mission is to serve as role models and educators of their roles in US culture. This site may be used to contact folks who would be willing to answer questions or serve as mentors to middle-high schoolers. It also may help you as a teacher learn more about Arab American issues (granted, the focus is at the collegiate level).
This site has mostly art activities, but if you look carefully, there are some that are geared for the 6-12th grades that integrate math and science. I have found that when working with ELL and some special needs students, that integrating projects as a form of assessment gives these students more opportunities to express themselves! You could allow students a choice on the type of project they want to create: a term paper, a report, a presentation using ppt, or an art project. Students love choices and this option reaches diverse learners! Just remember that you might have to provide some art materials for those low SES students who may not have access to crafty stuff at home.
DO-IT specializes in promoting accessibility in STEM for people with disabilities. This site has an extensive knowledge base and programs to achieve awareness and accessibility.
This site highlights a handful of scientists of Hispanic descent.
Another model minority myth article that came out this summer 2008, in response to some recent research findings that not all Asian American and Pacific Islanders could be lumped into one academic category. This article is from the LA Times.
This website was developed and managed by Lisa Mitten, as part of a project of the American Indian Library Association. This site is about and for those are interested in P-16 (preschool-college) Native American educational issues/ institutions. You will have to do some searching on this page to find information that would be relevant to your needs, but it is a great place to start.
This is the link to the Science Education for Students with Disabilities. Here you will find links to resources and strategies to help students with physical, emotional, and learning disabilities.
This handbook addresses Hispanic culture in the classroom and how it can affect students and teachers.

General Resources

Sharing Lesson Plans

Professional Science Organizations

There is an increased effort to participate in the No Child Left Indoor initiative by encouraging educators to become members of ESA and participate in this organization. There is data that is available for students to analyze (sometimes you do not have time to collect your own data set in the middle or high school setting). Search through the journal (on-line) Teaching Issues in Ecology and the Environment for some potentially relevant articles for the 5-12 classrooms. You can also learn about professional development opportunities and the annual conferences, at which one whole day is devoted to ecology education!
The journal published by NABT is called The American Biology Teacher. When you become a member of NABT you can access their on-line journal, as well as, their paper journal, which have different articles. The "How to" column is great for easy to implement activities; however, there are longer, more involved high school biology and chemistry lesson plans published in this journal too.
This organization has few teachers who attend the national conference; however, if any of you decide to continue your graduate studies in science education, it is essential that you aware of this organization. About 20% of the members are international. About 900-1,000 people attend the annual conferences. There are a couple of strands devoted to the middle and high school classrooms. The journal published by this organization is called JRST.
Overall, this is the best science teacher resource in the country! You should become a member and choose one of the four journals: K-4 Science and Child; 5-8 Science and Scope; 9-12 The Science Teacher; or13-16 Journal of College Science Teaching. There are research articles, book reviews, essays on important topics in science education, as well as, lesson plans published in this journal. When you become a member of NSTA, you will receive regular emails with information about education legislation, state and federal laws that relate to science teaching, and "hot" discoveries in science that you can share with your students. You will also receive regular information about professional development workshops and conferences held around the U.S.

Tech Resources

This website provides a lot of different tips and tricks for using technology in the classroom.
A personal bulletin board. Fun, interactive, colorful. Very fun for students...keep them guessing what is coming next in your lecture!
Have your students submit their files here to prevent clogging your inbox! You can also have them create a personalized page for all to see!
Make comic strips. Helps make learning fun and even funny!
This site will allow you poll students using cell phones to text in the answers, great brainstorming tool.
This website is a great visual for students. It makes it more engaging and appealing to the eye. Can be very fun if you are creative!
Create and use flashcards!
This article lists some different science apps for kids.
Want your students to create their OWN video games in class? This link to scratch is great and kids love it.
Site for quick assessment creation. Good for pre/post assessments. Also good for surveys. Gives good data back.
Make word clouds in shapes. Improves vocabulary learning while providing more variety!
This is a site where students can create comic strips.
Make a simple podcast to share with your students!
This site showcases lessons that can be taught through their website. The lessons and assessments are embedded on the website.
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