How Do You Turn Static Worksheets Into Interactive Learning Experiences?

 Do you struggle with making worksheets interactive for your learners instead of just another task they complete and forget?

Many teachers want more engaging science activities but don’t have time to redesign everything from scratch. Recently, I revisited a middle school DNA structure activity I created years ago and realized the real opportunity wasn’t changing the content — it was changing how learners interact with it.

How this activity could become more interactive for learners:

• Drag-and-drop DNA building
  Learners actively place DNA components into the correct positions to construct the strand instead of just coloring.

• Guided discovery check-ins
  Short prompts or mini-tasks that help learners notice patterns and think through relationships as they work.

• Instant feedback opportunities
  Learners receive immediate confirmation or hints when they make choices, helping them adjust understanding in real time.

• Choice-based exploration of DNA structure
  Learners explore how different parts of DNA connect and function through interactive pathways rather than following one fixed sequence.

Design Rationale: From Static Task to Learning Interaction

Instead of treating the activity as a worksheet, I reframed it as a structured learning experience designed to help learners:

• recognize DNA structure through visual patterns

• identify relationships between components

• build understanding before memorizing terminology.

This approach reduces cognitive overload and supports conceptual understanding — principles used both in classroom teaching and modern instructional design.

Decisions That Increase Engagement

Rather than focusing on completion, I shifted toward learner decisions:

• guided discovery instead of step-by-step directions

• pattern recognition instead of passive coloring

• visual exploration that encourages noticing and applying relationships.

These changes allow a familiar activity to evolve into an interactive learning experience that could translate into digital tools like Articulate Rise or Storyline.

Learner Outcomes & Performance Alignment

When learning moves beyond passive completion, learners are more likely to:

• recognize patterns independently

• transfer knowledge to new diagrams or scenarios

• engage with content at a deeper level.

Whether in middle school science or workplace training, effective design helps learners think differently after the experience. These same design principles apply beyond the classroom — from employee onboarding to software training — where the goal shifts from content exposure to behavior change.

Why This Matters for Busy Teachers (and Designers)

You don’t always need new materials — sometimes the biggest impact comes from rethinking how existing resources work.

This DNA activity has become a strategic portfolio example for me: showing how static classroom resources can evolve into interactive, learner-driven experiences.

Want to See the Original Version?

If you’re curious about the starting point for this redesign process, you can explore the original activity here:

👉 DNA Color-by-Number

💡 Your Turn

Have you ever revisited an older lesson and realized it could become something more interactive?

Share your ideas — or tell me one worksheet you’d love to redesign for deeper learning.

Are Open-Note Tests Effective Learning Tools?

Have you considered offering open-note tests?  Are you worried that the students won't learn the information if you allow it?  I explore those issues and more in this post!

First, I'd like to say that I DO offer open-note tests, but not ALL of the time.  There are definitely pros and cons with open-note testing, and I'm going to dig in to both here.

Pros

What are the situations that work best with open-note tests for me?

For differentiation:  When most of my students are ready for the test but a handful still need extra support.  It helps for those who struggle with memory/recall and need the clues to help.

To practice answering higher-level questions: Specifically when we are practicing for the state tests that require a decent synthesis of the information and are not simple to answer just by reading the text or skimming.

To practice a much-needed skill:  This works best with nonfiction texts that allow students to practice skills like using picture/context clues or using the glossary/index.

Cons

What are the situations that don't work well with open-note tests for me?

When a student's notes are extremely disorganized or missing:  Then it takes them an extra long time to find what they are looking for and they can't/don't focus on the test questions.  As a side note:  I am using Google Slides and Docs exclusively for notes this year, so there is no such thing as "losing notes".  

Students lack the skills necessary to find what they are looking for in the textbook:  There are a couple of work-arounds for this.  First, use the textbook for formative assessments when you are able to guide small groups and remediate the skills after the assessment.  Alternatively, use student notes exclusively, rather than the textbook.

When a student is skilled at finding information in their notes, but they do not recall information on their own:  Once again, there is a possible solution: Alternate between open-note tests and closed-note tests.  If the students doesn't do well on the closed-note tests, you can have them correct the test or complete a retake.

As you can see, there are an equal number of pros and cons from my perspective.  The bottom line is that we have to know what's best for our students.  We have to meet them where they are in their abilities.  Personally, I have seen some positive results from using open-note tests as long as I don't use them all of the time.

Have you used open-notes testing?  What were your experiences with them?  I'd love to hear all about it!

How to Help Students Excel at Multiple-Choice Tests

 Do your students need help with test-taking strategies?  Do they rush through multiple-choice tests and make careless mistakes?  If so, then my Multiple-Choice Test-Taking Strategies Checklist is for you!

Do you have any strategies you can recommend for test-taking?  I'd love to hear them!

100th Day of School Activity

Do you want to celebrate the 100th Day of School in a meaningful way?  Would you like to incorporate some math into the celebration? Then this post is for you!

My son’s teacher recently sent a notice home that his class would be celebrating the 100th Day of School. Being a Middle School teacher, I had completely forgotten this, but I was totally game to get back into my elementary school vibes!

So I got to thinking:  What can we make instead of buy?  I had two reasons for this.  First, I would like him to count to 100 as he decorated it and secondly, I'm not sure he will use it again so I don't want to spend money on it!

I decided after some discussion with my son to go with either a paper bag best or crown.  We could easily decorate either one of these with 100 stickers of his choice.

I searched around for how to make these two things and found a couple of cool DIY videos. The links for each of them are below.

Paper bag vest

Paper crown

We settled on making a crown. This seemed like the quickest solution for us because we don’t typically have brown paper bags big enough to cut a vest out of lying around the house.

To be honest, I’ve got a lot going on at my school right now so I went to my favorite place or finding educational resources. Of course I searched Teachers pay Teachers!  This is the crown I found that we like the most. Bonus points for it being cheap!

I had some bulletin board border that I used to attach the crown to.  It made the overall crown less flimsy and gave more area to attach the stickers. 

After printing, cutting, and decorating it with stickers this was the end result.  Not my best picture, but I was under a time crunch to get it before my little guy could put it on his head.

Do you have any other fun and inexpensive ways to celebrate the one hundredth day of school? Comment with some ideas below!

Winter Self-Care in Ten Minutes or Less

It's that time of year when we find ourselves in need of a new self-care routine.  In this post, I’m going to share my favorite items and techniques that take 10 minutes or less.  Most of them can even be done at your desk!

First, I’m going to share the relatively cheap or free self-care items and techniques that I love.

Wash your hands!

We all know how important hand-washing is to our overall hygiene and health. However, we are all also under strict time crunches with our schedule. Please do not skip washing your hands. It’s not worth it the risk of getting the flu!

Hydrate your skin after washing your hands

We all know how important it is to hydrate our bodies, but we often neglect hydrating our skin. Every time you wash your hands, you should be applying lotion during this incredibly dry season. Cracks and dry skin on your hands let bacteria and viruses in. My favorite lotion is by Doterra but any lotion will work.

Hydrate your body with more than just water

Bone broth powder

I buy packets of these bone broth packets at Walmart. Bone broth has amazing anti-inflammatory and healing qualities. It also adds extra protein to your diet without adding a ton of extra calories. I just pour one of the powder packets in a mug and add boiling water and within minutes, I have a wonderfully nourishing cup of broth to sip on.

Magnesium tea

I have an entire post on how to make Magnesium Tea. In that post, I talk about the amazing qualities that magnesium have for healing your body and calming your mind.

Now I’m going to share some of my self-care items that will require a small investment but pay off big time in the mental health department.

Wireless earbuds

My favorite wireless earbuds last a long time before needing to be recharged.  On rough days I like to put on either an uplifting music playlist or a positive video on YouTube. On long days, I love listening to energizing music. Wireless earbuds allow me to move around the classroom and complete tasks without being tied to my phone.  The same thing applies at home. Doing dishes is a lot more fun when I’m jamming to my favorite songs. 

Get some sunlight… Or get the next best thing

My room is on the ground floor of our building. That means I do not get any natural sunlight in my classroom. Especially in the winter, I get the blues when I can’t get enough fresh air and natural light. So, that’s when I reach for the next best thing: A Portable Light Therapy Energy Lamp.  Just spending 10 or 15 minutes in front of it while sitting at my desk grading papers makes a huge difference in my mood.  

Combat dry air

Studies have shown that dry air carries viruses more readily. At home, I have humidifiers running constantly but in the classroom it is a little more difficult. So the answer is a portable humidifier with a USB cable.  I can plug it into my laptop and move it around the classroom on my portable podium.   The optimum humidity is between 40 to 60%. If you are curious what the humidity of your classroom is, you can use this hygrometer that I use at home.

Try some aromatherapy

I use a portable diffuser that also has a USB cord that I plug into my laptop and travel around my classroom with. I turn it off when students are in the room. Several studies have indicated that the benefits of diffusing essential oil last 2 to 3 hours so it doesn’t need to be on all of the time.

Here is my favorite January-inspired diffuser blend if you need some extra inspiration.

Nurture your body

I saved one of my favorite new things for last. I bought myself this portable body massager for Christmas. It is amazing because it has a car charger converter so I can use it when I am waiting to pick my son up at school in the car line. Then I can use the AC adapter at school for a quick neck and shoulder massage while I’m sitting in my desk chair.  It has a heat option that feels amazing on those cold winter days. 

What are your favorite self-care routine‘s and items? I am always searching for new things to nourish my soul.

Cyber Monday Sale

Are you ready to keep the discounts rolling with a Cyber Monday Teachers Pay Teachers sale?  If you said yes, then this two-day site-wide sale is for you! 

Read about it below and click HERE to get started shopping.

During the site-wide sale, you can save up to 25% off TpT resources.
Happy shopping!


The sale will start on Monday, December 2nd at 12:01am ETand will run through Tuesday, December 3rd at 11:59pm ET. 

I will be offering a discount of 20% AND TpT will provide an additional 5% promo code to be used during checkout.  That means you will get a total of 25% off EVERYTHING in my store! 

It's Time for a TpT Sale!

What's on your TpT wishlist?  TpT is hosting a 2-Day sale, starting tomorrow!  So whether you need lesson plans, classroom reward ideas, or just some pretty new labels for all those supplies, TpT has you covered!

I will be offering a discount of 20% AND TpT will provide an additional 5% promo code to be used during checkout (see below).  That means you will get a total of 25% off EVERYTHING in my store! 

The sale starts TOMORROW, February 26th at 12:01 a.m. ET and runs through February 27th at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

Happy shopping!