Word Walls in the Secondary Classroom

Elementary schools are no stranger to the prevalence and positive influence of having a word wall up in the classroom. It allows reinforcement of academic vocabulary and can help joggle the brain when a newly acquired word is forgotten. In secondary schools, word walls have also begun to be integrated into classrooms and the effects are positive.

A few years ago while I was still teaching in Texas our administrators expressed to us that they want to see word walls in the classroom. At first, I was not thrilled about it. I was actually hesitant since I already had a mirage of academic support tools I had to implement on a regular basis. The first time I created a word wall, I actually had my students create 8” x 8” squares that they designed around a word I assigned each. Due to my art background, I explained I wanted them very colorful and I wanted illustrations that reflected the word. I had a few students really shine with the project, but I noticed many of my sophomores struggled. It is not easy to come up with illustrations for science topics when you are new to learning about them. It took much longer than I expected and it was a battle to have the students draw and write large enough for us to be able to read the word from the bulletin board. That experience led me to create word wall coloring pages which I hand illustrated.

Word wall coloring pages allow students to still create a beautiful piece of art for display, but it is not as time-consuming nor frustrating for students who were not blessed with artistic talent. The bottom portion of the worksheet gives students room to write the definition, find an example/simile, and non-example / antonym. There is also room for students to use the word in a sentence. Word wall Coloring pages allowed my students to use less time to finish the word wall and it was an activity that is easily used to introduce a new unit or do it at home with no help.

Another positive aspect of the word wall coloring pages is the relaxation that comes from sitting quietly and using color. Adult coloring books have made a large impact on techniques for relaxation. I have noticed that word wall coloring pages are a welcome assignment for students following a test. It allows students to utilize their right brain in left-brain subjects. Another interesting outcome is I have noticed my students taking more care in their work. Fine motor skills are often overlooked by the time students enter high school, but these skills are still important and should be fostered in teens.  Students can still improve handwriting during their high school years and coloring helps.

Here is a link to a free set of coloring sheets for the scientific method.

I also have multiple sets of word wall coloring pages by the topic or you can purchase all the science coloring posters I have created thus far.

Science Posters 190+ Word Wall Coloring Sheets: Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Life Sciences Posters 140+ Vocabulary Terms: Biology, Anatomy, Ecology

Physical Science 45+ Word Wall Coloring Sheets, Chemistry & Physics

Science Tools for ESOL / ESL

I began my teaching career in El Paso, Texas. Living on the border to Mexico, teachers have the highest rates of ESOL / ESL students in American schools. What many people do not realize is that these students often come to the U.S. once they enter high school. In Juarez, Mexico families have to pay for high school, so often arrangements are made to send the students across the border where secondary education is free. El Paso high schools are then left with a huge influx of students who have a bare minimum amount of English, or possibly none at all. We also get students who moved back and forth across the border during their schooling and therefore did not master English nor Spanish. Now I teach in California and I have ESOL / ESL students with Asian, Russian, and sometimes Syrian or African backgrounds.  All of these students are teens with knowledge of Science concepts, just not in English.

In order to help these students, excel we first have to overcome the language barrier. Thankfully in some languages, the science vocabulary is filled with cognates, but often common words we use to help explain the concepts are not. I have created Science posters specifically for ESOL / ESL students. These Science posters focus on the English word but have space for the students to write the word in their native language or take notes. Many ESOL / ESL classes focus on English or Math, as a result, there are not as many resources for science. Thankfully there are some publishers who have created Spanish glossaries and Spanish editions, but what about all the other languages our ESOL /ESL students speak? The Science Word Wall ESOL / ESL posters are not focused on any specific foreign language. Any student from any background can use them. The coloring aspect is soothing and gives the students a moment to relax and reflect since the images illustrate the target word. The posters are a similar assignment as the native English speakers and can be displayed together without a difference in content. It is just a nice way to support our ESOL / ESL students.

Science ESOL / ELL 195+ Word Wall Coloring Sheets: Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Life Sciences ESOL / ELL 140+ Word Wall Coloring Sheets: Biology & Anatomy

Physical Science ESOL / ELL 50+ Word Wall Coloring Sheets, Chemistry & Physics

            

            

            


            

Cheating in the Age of Technology and Cell Phone Apps...

The fall of 2015 marks the beginning of my fifteenth year of teaching. I have seen all sorts of elaborate schemes that students do in order to “get over” actually doing their work. Now in the age of technology students stop at very little to do the least amount of work possible.

We all know that we have students who have mastered Googling their answers and with the new policy of BYOD (bring your own device), it is hard to always catch the culprits red-handed. Yet most veteran teachers still do, while shaking our heads that we have NEVER seen that one before! J

I learned quite a few years ago that I can no longer go online and download quick worksheets to share with my classes or leave as sub-lessons because my students do the same thing. I can tell because many keys floating on the web have mistakes, and ironically my students copy down the same mistakes.

I am ok with the way things have evolved, it has all worked in my favor though. I have always been a teacher who enjoys creating her own resources, so I get to do more of that.  Although time restraints do make it difficult I am satisfied that my students actually have to work to get the right answer on papers I am planning on grading. I can be neurotic so I may make multiple problem sets and hand different class periods or groups within the class a different set of problems. I let the class know there is no point is asking around, no one will have the same answer.

I recently just finished up a lesson called Dimensional Analysis: Zombie Survival. My students had to work through a series of problems in order to escape the mob of zombies headed their way once the class bell rang. The students had to show me all their work and have the equation in the correct dimensional analysis format. The kids fussed a little or a lot. J Some thought they were smarter than me and ran to google for the answers. These tactics only wasted their time and once the class bell rang, those groups were eaten.

Some of the students' groups were successful. They tackled the math problems head-on. The extra problem, thrown at them as a surprise, did little to hinder their progression. Other groups looked over to see if they could get a glimpse of a corner of the page. However, I warned all the kids that in a true zombie apocalypse it is each group for their own.

The students challenged me on whether such an event could ever truly happen. Well, I asked what do you think life was like after the plague? A hurricane? An earthquake or tsunami? We never know how life may change suddenly and your survival skills need to kick in. Sadly I did have a few kids give up and say they would rather just die. I told them, “Well, thank you for your sacrifice because many of us would like to live.”  

The next day when I met with my classes, I gave them 30 more minutes I told the groups who had been eaten they were actually hiding in a cave and would have 30 minutes to get out. I am aware that by this point lots of photos were taken and passed around. That did not help though since you have to show me all your work and explain your method. Only groups who finished on the first day received 100’s the other students had lower scores depending on how many answers they got right.

Overall it was a successful activity. It was nice to see the kids engaged. I will not let the self-sacrificed spoil the bunch. I know the kids cheat, Google, take pics, snap-chat and it is making me become a more creative teacher. I look forward to designing more activities like this as the school year progresses. 

For teachers who are honestly strapped for time, you can also visit these websites to find great resources and innovative ideas for your classroom: 

Teachers Pay Teachers, TES, or Edmodo 

Let's keep our students guessing! 

Animal Kingdom

I created an Animal Kingdom power point which covers the major animal phylums in the order in which they evolved along with how the anatomy developed into creating more complex organisms.   It begins with Porifera and ends with Chordates. After going over the general characteristics of the Animal Kingdom, the power point covers each Phylum's symmetry, embryonic tissue layers, body cavities, body structures (hydrostatic, exoskeleton, endoskeleton), body systems and level of development along with outstanding characteristics and pictures.

I also have an Animal Kingdom chart which can be filled out while you lecture over the animal kingdom or have the students fill out after the lecture. I like to fill it out with my students while I lecture. I make sure to stress certain features and after the first few phyla, I ask for classroom participation on what should be written into the chart.

A great follow up is turning the Animal Kingdom chart into a cladogram.

Teacher pay Teacher: 

Animal Kingdom Bundle: PowerPoint and Chart