Teaching ideas, strategies & classroom-tested experiments.

I'm not a big fan of tests, so test review can feel like a necessary evil. Digital escape rooms changed that in my classroom — they review the content AND engage every single student.

Looking for fun back to school science activities to build community in your middle school classroom? These build important skills while helping you get to know your students. They'll be using science terminology in no time.

Your first year teaching science is exciting, exhausting, and full of lessons you can only learn by doing. Here are ten honest, must-know tips from a teacher entering his 12th year in the middle school classroom.

If you teach the rock cycle in middle school science, you know it can be a challenging subject. Kids lack background knowledge on geology, and imagining how rocks change over long periods requires abstract thinking. Here is how I structured my unit.

My state adopted new middle school standards this year that focus on inquiry-based learning in science. Letting students discover phenomena and create explanations is challenging, but rewarding. Here are a few things I've learned about using inquiry this year.

Do your students ever ask, "How do we know that's true?" That question means they're thinking like a scientist. The claim, evidence, and reasoning framework is key to an inquiry-focused classroom — and it's pretty easy to use.

Are you overwhelmed trying to come up with geologic time scale activities for your MS-ESS1-4 lesson plans? Do you want to teach with inquiry using a phenomena-guided approach? Here is how I taught it in my class this year.

Phase changes are one of the most misunderstood concepts in middle school science. Here is how one teacher builds conceptual understanding of MS-PS1-4 using molecular models, PhET labs, and heating graphs.

How one teacher teaches methods of heat transfer, conductors and insulators, and endothermic vs. exothermic reactions in middle school science—building to an engineering project where students design a cooler.

Using phenomena to teach the nervous system opens the door to memorable experiments with easy-to-find materials. Here are eight ideas for using anchor phenomena in your middle school nervous system unit.

One teacher reflects on shifting from a traditional, notes-first approach to an inquiry approach built on anchor phenomena—the challenges, the adjustments, and why it supported learning more effectively.

I teach chemistry as my first unit in 7th grade, and it's one of my favorite parts of the year. My goal is to get students making connections to chemistry in their daily lives.

We never have time to do everything we want. The right organization hacks can be the difference between a stressed start and a ready-to-go one, and can claw back more school-free time at home.

Symbiotic relationships are one of my favorite topics to teach. It's full of chances to make real-life connections, and students bring their own background knowledge and misconceptions to the classroom.

Chemistry is one of the hardest middle school units to teach because students can't see what they're studying. Here are seven practical tips for teaching it well, from misconceptions to balancing equations.

Keeping middle schoolers engaged makes everything else—classroom management, meeting every learner's needs—easier. Here are five fun and simple science activities to try, from dissolving candy to a pasta car STEM challenge.

Many science standards are hard to demonstrate in class. Games and simulations give students a new view into those phenomena—sometimes more than a lab would—and build critical thinking while saving teachers time.

You've made it to the end of the year teaching middle school science. But you're still supposed to keep students engaged after you've finished all your content. Here are some fun end-of-the-year ideas for your classroom.

Carbon, water, and rocks all move in cycles on our planet, and the carbon cycle is one of my favorite topics to teach. The connectedness of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition deserves more than a few arrows going in a circle.

I used to dread test prep. Then I discovered how to use games in middle school science to make review day more fun for students and me. Adding a game aspect to review time can really raise your students' engagement.

When I started teaching, students often asked a surprising question: how do we use math in science class? It caught me off-guard. Here is how I model the connections between math and science whenever possible.

When I first started teaching, I struggled to get students focused at the start of class. I learned the key was routine — and a set of engaging science bell ringers that students could start on their own.

The first time I heard of phenomena in science, I was a little intimidated. Was I supposed to show astounding chemical-reaction magic tricks in class? It turns out that misunderstanding is common — and phenomena are simpler than they sound.

A data-driven approach that builds critical thinking while staying NGSS-aligned.

Using sims to push students past Googling answers toward real reasoning.

Answering "when will I ever use this?" in a way that actually lands.

Simulations, presentation apps, and research that build skills beyond the standards.

The value students get from STEM goes well beyond the content we cover.

Small structural changes that lift engagement, behavior, and grades.