Are you looking for fun back to school science activities to build community in your middle school science classroom? Try out these fun ways to incorporate important skills while also getting to know your students. Your students will be talking and using science terminology in no time!
Why use back to school science activities?
Most middle schoolers walk in knowing almost no one, so building community is a yearly challenge. These activities help students learn to interact in beneficial ways and get comfortable making claims — even wrong ones. That comfort with being wrong is hard for adults, and even harder for students worried about their peers.
I’ve taught 6th grade science in a school that pulls from many different elementary schools for the last 10+ years. Students in my class know one other student at most. Many won’t know anyone. Like many other teachers, building a community environment is a challenge I face each year. This starts with getting students to learn to interact with each other in beneficial ways.
A major goal I have this year is to improve my students’ ability to solve problems and search for answers. My state is switching to new science standards which involve making observations about phenomena and using scientific concepts to form explanations. I want students to feel comfortable making incorrect claims. It’s hard for adults to be wrong. It’s even harder for middle school students who are much more concerned about how they appear to their peers.
If you’d like to use any of these in your class, you can find them in my TeachersPayTeachers store!
How do back to school activities build science skills?
They set up two core skills early. The claim-evidence-reasoning framework teaches students to make an argument, cite evidence, and connect it to a scientific concept. Detailed observation is the other — it looks easy but takes real practice, which is why I build it in through low-stakes daily bellringers.
A major goal in middle school science is to build each student’s ability to make a claim about a phenomenon, cite evidence, and form a reasoning statement.
- The claim is the argument a student is making that answers the question.
- Students then cite specific evidence from an experiment or research.
- Lastly, students cite a scientific concept, law, or theory that explains how the evidence supports the claim.
This is a skill they will utilize often throughout the year. Yet, they may or may not have been introduced to this framework yet.
Another major goal is improving observations made by students. They often see this as an easy skill. However, I view it differently. Making any observation is easy. Making detailed, focused observations is much harder. And like any other skill, it takes practice. One way I do this is through daily bellringers. They are “low stakes” to kids allowing them to feel comfortable stretching themselves and taking a risk.
How do you build community in a science classroom?
Help students learn about each other. Use activities that surface classmates' interests and what makes them unique. Building comfort between students early pays off across every part of teaching for the rest of the year, from group work to class discussions.
Beginning the year and maintaining a positive classroom culture is a challenge for every teacher. One way to begin that process is to help students learn more about each other. Use activities that allow students to discover each other’s interests and things that make them unique. Building up their comfort level with their classmates will help all aspects of teaching throughout the year.
One of my main goals with back to school science activities is to build community. I find that my students like to ask questions about the periodic table. To take advantage of their curiosity, I made an activity in which students make an element to describe themselves.
Students turn their initials into an element symbol. They come up with some numbers that describe them (representing the atomic number and atomic mass). Lastly, they list three things they like about themselves (using a + sign to mimic ionic states). While students do not have all the chemistry background knowledge to understand this yet, I reference it later in the year when we begin that unit.
After each student has made their block, we build a “Periodic Table of 1st Period”. First, they cut out the block. Next, we organize them on a large piece of poster board or paper. The goal is to make it look roughly like the shape of the Periodic Table of Elements. I make one for each class period: however, you could easily combine all class periods for one giant periodic table!
What are some good back to school science icebreakers?
"Find Someone Who" has students poll classmates about pets and science interests, each tied to a type of scientist so you can talk science careers. "My Teacher's A Robot" lets students give precise directions to steer you through a maze — great practice in specific, point-of-view language.
You’ve probably used or participated in an icebreaker activity before. This one requires students to poll classmates about unique characteristics of each other. They look for classmates that have specific pets or have science-related interests.
I’ve connected each characteristic to a type of scientist. This is a fun way to discuss science careers or Greek and Latin roots while also getting students to build a classroom community.
Students love this activity because they get to tell the teacher what to do! The idea is simple – you take on the role of a robot and must navigate a maze. However, you can only receive instructions from students. Students will need to use precise, specific language to guide you through the maze.
You can use tape to draw a map on the floor or simply place a few obstacles (boxes, tables, chairs, etc.) you will have to negotiate. Students should not say, “go around the box” or “step over the box.” Require students to say “turn 90 degrees left” or “pick up your left leg, lean forward, and put down your foot on the other side of the box”. This will help your students learn to provide instructions based on someone else’s point-of-view and use the most specific language.
What's an easy back to school observation activity?
Candy color observations. Give each student a saucer, a few pieces of colorful candy, and a thin layer of water so the candy is half-submerged. Tell them not to disturb it. As the color coating diffuses out, students make detailed observations — and usually react with a genuine "Woah!"
I love back to school science activities that are simple – and this one fits the bill. Students always seem underwhelmed by it at first and then notice the small changes that occur. As it progresses, they say, “Woah!” Best of all – all you need is a large dish or saucer plate, colorful candy, and water.
Give each student the supplies and four or five pieces of candy. Put a very small layer of water in each container so the candy will only be halfway submerged. Then, tell students to arrange the candy in the bowl any way they like and let it sit. It is crucial that they do not disturb the bowl/water during this activity.
As the color coating of the candy diffuses out, they will make observations. The patterns will depend on where students placed their candy but there will be commonalities. This is a great way to have students make more detailed observations.
The back to school season offers many challenges but also a time for growth. Students may not have been previously expected to justify their findings with evidence. They may not have the interpersonal skills necessary to work with other students to solve a problem. They may lack the ability to explain directions to their classmates. While our science content standards are important, so are the communication skills that these activities offer.
As a middle school science teacher, we know how much content there is to cover in a year. Depending on your state, you may have anywhere from 15 to 25 standards to cover in 36 weeks. However, these communication and reasoning skills are critical to teaching our standards.
Dedicate some time at the beginning of the school year to teaching claim, evidence, and reasoning. Give students time to learn about their classmates. Some of the most memorable experiences students experience in science class are times when they know what they are seeing but cannot explain it.
Allow your students time to make detailed observations about your experiments before explaining what they are seeing. Give them opportunities to explain and debate their scientific explanations. You will see the benefit of these skills in your daily classroom as they build throughout the year. While they may become frustrated early, they will be more empowered learners at the end of the year.