How I Organize....

Or maybe it should be "How I Attempt to Organize".  I don't know if anyone is interested, but I thought I'd share what works for me. 

Every teacher organizes their papers in a different way: some use file folders, some keep their files on the computer and access them from there when needed, some don't keep papers and try to recreate the wheel every year...

I use binders.  Every unit has a binder (some of them have more than one).  The papers I use for that unit are hole punched and go into that binder.  It includes: worksheets and labs, overhead transparencies, the notes I present to students, and even some new activities that I want to try in the future. 

The colors of the binders themselves are meaningless - I use whatever is available when I need to start a new binder.  But, the labels on the binders are color-coded: red for 6th grade earth science, green for 7th grade life science, and blue for 8th grade physical science.  This also matches the colors of the covers of the textbooks I was using, and I tried to keep this color system going when possible - it made sense to me. 

I keep the papers roughly in the order in which I use them.  In the back, I have a section of new activities - things I've come across, but haven't worked into my classroom yet. 

When I sit down to plan my next unit, I pull out the appropriate binder and go through it.  I can have my unit roughed out in pretty short order.  I also pull out the pages that need photocopying. 

It works pretty well.  At least until it's time to put the papers back away... I kind of fall apart on that end, but I likely would no matter what system I use.  I usually have a large stack of papers waiting to be filed back into the appropriate spot. 

But, it works for me.  Probably not for everyone.  But, if you're looking to revamp your own system, it's an idea to consider.

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CD: Here Comes Science

I think I'm in love with Here Comes Science, by They Might be Giants.  Catchy tunes with good science - perfect for the classroom. The whole CD is great, but my favorite tracks are:

* The Bloodmobile

*What is a Shooting sStar

*Speed and Velocity (if I ever make my way back to a science classroom, I will play this song every day during our study of motion)

Thank you Jim, Heather and cousins for letting us borrow your disc - we now have to go purchase our own because I must have a copy!

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Science Classroom: Lab Strikes

Looking for a way to 'inspire' your students to clean up after themselves, during lab time and otherwise?

Try using lab strikes.

Each of your classes is a team, competing against each of the other classes that comes in your room. 

At the end of each class period, you walk around the room and take note of anything that's out of place: a piece of lab equipment not put away, a marker left on the table, a scrap of paper on the floor, etc.

Each one of those offenses is marked down as one strike.  I keep a big poster of lab strikes hanging in the front of the room so everyone can see them.  The poster is laminated, so I can mark on it, and then erase them and use the same poster over again. 

At the end of the designated time (I use the end of the marking period, but you can shorten that if necessary), the class with the fewest lab strikes wins. 

In order to keep the students focused and wanting to win, you want to make sure the prize is something valued by your students.  It could be a homework pass.  My students were particularly fond of homemade brownies.  You have to be the judge of your students' desires and what you're willing to do. 

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A Wall of Scientists

One of the things I incorporated into my science lab was a wall filled with pictures of famous scientists.

I made sure to include the ones we specifically talk about throughout the curriculum as well as scientists with whom the students are familiar and others who I think have contributed to science in a comparably significant way.

I turned my scientists into puppets by attaching a tongue depressor/popsicle stick, so I could use them in that way, if I chose. It also provided a good spot to write their names.

I also added a small piece of magnet tape to the back of each so they could stick to my white board. They were adhered to the wall with tape.


I have several dozen of these guys. And most of them are guys. Which leads to some important discussions...

When you look at the entire history of science, most (but not all) of the work has been completed by white men. We might not like it, and that might not always be the case, but that's the way it was.

I chose my scientists based on the impact they had on the scientific community, in my humble opinion. Others may choose differently.

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Classroom Quotes

When I first started teaching middle school science, I had the privilege of working in the most beautiful science lab known to middle school teachers. It was only a few years old and looked like it came straight from the catalog - wow!

The thing is, it didn't look much like a middle school classroom... it didn't even look like most high school labs I've been in... it looked like a university lab. Lab tables filled with drawers and tons of glass fronted cabinets. Like I said... beautiful.

However, I wanted to make it a bit more middle-school-friendly (and hide some of the stuff in the cabinets - glass front is beautiful when you have your beakers neatly organized, but sometimes you just need a place to put stuff and you don't want everyone to see it).

I measured the glass in each cabinet and cut fadeless bulletin board paper (a little pricey, but it worked really well for this project - the width was perfect and the fade-less aspect was really nice - this was a big project, I really didn't want to recreate it every year) to size. Then I wrote quotes on some of the papers. The finished papers were taped into the cabinets.

Sadly, I can't seem to locate a picture of the classroom after the quotes were up, so you'll have to take my word for it that it made a huge difference. The brightly colored papers made the room more cheerful and welcoming, the quotes sparked some interest amongst students, and the stuff in my cabinets was no longer visible to the world!

Here are the quotes I used:

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Science... never solves a problem without creating ten more.
--George Bernard Shaw

The most important thing is not to stop questioning.

Mistakes are the portals of discovery.
--James Joyce

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
--Albert Einstein

We are each entitled to our own opinions, but no one is entitled to his own facts.
--Patrick Moynihan

Science is common sense at its best.
--Thomas Huxley

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.
--Linus Pauling

Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.
--Albert Szent-Gyorgi

Anybody who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
--Albert Einstein

For every fact there is an infinity of hypotheses.
--Robert M. Pirsig

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