Project Based Learning and Equity

A workshop for Orinda Union School District with links and resources to get started with Project Based Learning.

Recent Retirees: Rise Up and Un-F** the Future for our Kids!

How to balance doom and gloom with inspiring environmental action by students and by us near to retirement or recently retired educators…

Want to Teach? A veteran teacher shares the joys, considerations and tips to help you decide.

Thinking about becoming a teacher? Here’s some joys, considerations and tips to help you decide from a veteran educator.

A Self-Contained Class Hybrid to Keep Us Safe, Kids Learning & Looked After

How to make school safe and work during the pandemic.

The Science of COVID-19 Prevention for Teachers.

An evolving list of questions and answers as of June 2020

How to get an ‘A’ for Anti-Racism in Science Class…

Thinking about moving beyond token black scientists with specific ideas for making anti racism a vibrant part of the science curriculum.

Reopening School Without Dangerous, Expensive Chaos.

What would the socially distance learning experience be like for kids, parents and teachers? Do these expensive and difficult measures actually protect kids and teachers? Or should we err on the side of calm?

COVID-19 Online Science to Steal From…

Just in case this would be helpful to you, here is a link to my 7th grade science class website with activities, links etc. that you are so welcome to use if it will help you weather this with your classes or your own children at home. Or both. Start from Monday, March 16th, 2020, the first day of our school closure and the ‘Shelter in Place’ order by Bay Area counties.

Topics so far are minerals and rocks, coming up is a very short unit on earthquakes, followed by genetics and sex ed. We are using CK-12 free online textbooks as the backbone for our courses. It’s a life-saver. It includes short text, videos, practice quizzes.

We are also using Google Classroom for students to turn in a daily journal entry. Other useful FREE apps are Flipgrid so kids can do little videos to see each other asynchronously, Kahoot because they love competing against each other for review questions and Socrative for self scoring multiple choice questions. We’ve been using Zoom for check-ins and will soon try using it for review sessions and office hours. But my 7th grade science website above is where it all starts from. Please note the parent newsletter links in the lesson plans too. It’s been great to hear back from parents, and I notice an uptick in participation each time I send an e mail to parents.

Here is a reassuring and helpful article “Teaching Through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment” from Edutopia. And here is a complementary one, this time for parents trying to homeschool their own tweens and teens. Also reassuring and profoundly good advice: “How to Help Teens Shelter in Place” by Christine Carter, Ph.D, out of the Greater Good Science Center at U.C. Berkeley. 

And here are some curated lists of resources for science teachers: PBS Learning Media, NASA – Fun things to do with STEM, Network for Public Education and the mother of lists of excellent science content online is here, courtesy of the Massachusetts Science Teachers Association

Virtual field trips of Hidden Worlds of the National Parks is here, and the Natural History Museum.

Outschool.com is fabulous for getting the hang of Zoom live video conferencing with students – presenting live streamed lessons, webinars or, in my case, touching base and ‘office hours. Here is their free Teaching Online site.

I really hope you are doing okay, feel free to steal any of what I’m sharing here to help you and your students. My class website will be updated every day of school.

The New, Improved “Take Action Project” Starts!

The Take Action Project 2020 includes 7th graders getting the community to take informed and effective action for the future with them! Learn how to get prepared to start this exciting real-world project.

What are your hopes and fears, solutions and New Years resolutions?

Here’s what kids have to say about their hopes and fears for the future of nature. Respond to them with YOUR ideas for solutions and New Years resolutions.