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

            

            

            


            

Dichotomous keys with a touch of the peculiar just right for Halloween in secondary Science

I created two new dichotomous keys in October, one focuses on animals and humanoids with legends, myths, and cryptids. I also threw in some real genetic diseases which are thought to have been the precursor to Halloween ghouls such as vampires and werewolves. The name of this dichotomous key is Cryptozoology Dichotomous Key: Monsters, Spooks, and Ghouls.

The second dichotomous key I created focuses on the odd members of the Plant Kingdom. In this dichotomous key students will classify carnivorous, poisonous or curious plants. The students will use knowledge of planting zones and plant anatomy to complete this dichotomous key. It is called Carnivorous, Poisonous and Curious Botanicals. 

Even if you do not get to use these mind-boggling dichotomous Keys in class for October, there are plenty of other chances you can use these lessons, for your Taxonomy and classification unit, following a state of college board exam? They also make great end of the year activities. Be sure to check out my full collection of dichotomous keys!

*** These dichotomous keys can be printed out on paper, presented to the class as a whole class activity through PowerPoint or uploaded to a password protected classroom website where students can work with a partner, independently or in small groups. 

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! 

First Give-A-Way for my followers!!

My first give-a-way to my followers is a Lab Safety memory game!

The file is in pdf format and is black and white printer friendly. I suggest printing 9 pages per one sheet of paper. You get the best size and the cards remain easy to read. You can also print them in full size.

Once i printed mine out I glued card stock to the back and am having them laminated for future use. I have seven lab tables so I am making seven sets although I have been contemplating making eight.

I hope you enjoy your first free monthly gift and I look forward to your feedback!

I am leaving the game up for download until Tuesday, August 22, 2015.

Click on the box with the arrow sticking out in the upper right hand corner to open a new window and download the game from there.

Lab Safety Memory Game

Advantages of Electronic Dichotomous Keys

I am ashamed to admit I spent a good portion of my teaching career looking for good dichotomous keys for my students. I asked veteran teachers who would always claim to have an abundance only to disappoint me with bad runoff copies that contained vocabulary neither my native or ELL students could understand. I scoured the internet looking for good dichotomous keys my students could easily understand while exposing them to new organisms. I never found what I wanted.

I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own dichotomous keys. After deciding which organisms I wanted to cover I set off to write the key itself. It took a lot of time, but I was very happy with the results. The first dichotomous key I created covered both bacteria domains, the four kingdoms and had viruses thrown in. It was a great way for me to assess my students understanding of the unique characteristics of those groups and their ability to classify. I thought about how I would present the organisms,

I decided against photocopies due to details often being muddied. I do not work in the richest school district so making class sets of color copies is not feasible either. I decided on presenting the organisms in a power point. The students could log into Schoology and then use their laptops, tablet, or cell phones to access the images. I did print out the dichotomous keys and answer documents.

The power point presentation was a great success! I paired the students up and watched them look at the pictures, read little notes and go through the dichotomous key to identify the organisms and viruses. I could listen to the students debate, about what they thought the answers were and redirect them if they were too far off. I could see what needed to be reviewed and what content my class had mastered.

This led me to creating a second Electronic dichotomous key dedicated to the flora of the Chihuahua desert. I have run across keys with plants that live further north or more humid climates compared to our desert. Although I like to expose my students to environments and creatures outside of our area, it is also important that they learn about their immediate surroundings as well. The next dichotomous key was based on desert plants. I was shocked to see how surprised my students were to see how many flowers our desert has. I had a few students come to class after a weekend to tell me now they noticed that El Paso does have a lot of plants and they remembered the names.

You can purchase these lessons at the following links:

Classifying Organisms Dichotomous Key

Desert Plants Dichotomous Key

Quest PowerPoints

Last school year during professional developments one of the catchphrases was "academic language."  The administrators were concerned that we were not allowing enough opportunities for students to use their academic language through writing, reading, and speaking. We have all heard about moving towards student facilitated learning and instruction and before that, the buzzword was cooperative learning, essentially in the classroom, these are all similes.

I live in El Paso, Texas where many of my students are bilingual but not mastering either English or Spanish. We often have classes filled with ESOL and LEP students, especially in secondary classrooms. It is imperative that we have our students use the academic language more frequently not only for school but so they can communicate in English effectively.

I thought about the dilemma and came up with a few lessons which proved to be quite successful in my class. After covering major units such as genetics, animals, or plants I want to see where my students' understanding is before testing them. I created a PowerPoint presentation for my students to use. I call it a "Quest PowerPoint" because my students go through the PowerPoint at their own pace preferably with a partner, not a group. The pair of students look at the picture, read the description, and then need to answer a question. The students are given a worksheet for them to record their answers on.

 The students talk to each other while moving from slide to slide, they also have their composition notebooks handy for references. Something beautiful happened when I administered my first Quest PowerPoint over plants. My students talked to each other using academic language. Yes, it was often mixed with Spanish, but they remembered the scientific terms and used them. I make a point to use fascinating scenarios and mind-boggling examples in nature. It keeps the students' interest peaked and discussion flowing. It was nice to walk around the room seeing their faces fixed on the laptop screens and listen to them using the words, and even debating.

I chose to use a PowerPoint demonstration uploaded to the class webpage on Schoology, so the kids could see the colors of photographs and pictures. Photocopies do not offer the emotional impact and grab that a laptop screen can. I had the students write their answers on a worksheet to give their eyes moment pauses from the screen and to keep the kinetic aspect going. Following the first trial, I asked my classroom of ninth-graders how they liked the Quest PowerPoint. They LOVED it! The students were excited about it. I actually got to hear the voices of some of my quiet students who had just joined the American school system.  Since my initial Quest PowerPoint, I created more and the students did not get bored. They were excited. Not only did the Quest reinforce standards taught in class, but the questions were also filled with peculiar and unfamiliar scenarios.

I had students ask me if the events and paradigms were real or made up after discussing it among their peers. I filled the Quests with historical events in which biological systems were affected, little-known facts, and ecosystems far from our Chihuahua desert. The Quest PowerPoints were a great way to encourage academic language while exposing my classes to life outside of the El Paso area and have my students question and ponder the natural world a little more.

I currently have my Plant Quest PowerPoint, Cellular Hierarchy Quest PowerPoint and
  Symbiosis Quest PowerPoint online for purchase.

I also have a Classification of Organisms Dichotomous Key (This dichotomous key spans all the domains, kingdoms, and viruses), and a Desert Plant Dichotomous key online. The dichotomous key work similar to the quests. The students work with a printed dichotomous key and look at the pictures of the organisms in PowerPoint form. I also include a few notes or each organism to help the students. The answer is written on an answer sheet.

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