Growth Mindset, Art, and Science Activity: Edible Neurons

We've been using Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci in our county. It is honestly one of my favorite district initiatives because believing in yourself and perseverance are two of life's most important skills. 

Many of the activities in its sister book, Ready-to-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom: Everything Educators Need for School Success, are geared toward elementary students or Language Arts, and I teach middle school science. So I decided to combine art and science in my first Growth Mindset activity: Edible Neurons. 

Since cells are such a big part of our curriculum in Life Science, I was able to tie this activity into cell parts when I showed them the following diagram.

So, we grabbed the Twizzlers and Fruit Roll-Ups and started creating our own edible models.  I did have them use hand sanitizer before beginning.

Finally, we got to EAT them!  This was easily their favorite part.

I created a document that gives step-by-step instructions and a materials list.  
This document includes:
~A materials list
~A procedure list
~A neuron diagram
~Pictures of partially and completely finished edible neurons

If you would like to pick up a copy, click here.

Do you have any Growth Mindset activities that mix well with science?  I'd love to hear about them!

Math is Real Life: Setting Up a Fish Tank

It's that time again, time for Math is Real Life.

It's time to downgrade my big fish tank. I only have two of the original ten fish left.  They died of old old age, by the way. So I got out the little fish tank I use for transportation. 

It had been about five years since I last used it, so I didn't exactly remember how many gallons it held.  I estimated that it would take about three gallons to fill. I even put it beside my Keurig, which takes about a gallon, for reference. 

So, off to the cupboard I went to get the gallons of water usually kept in there, but my hubby apparently didn't tell me we were down to one gallon. Oh, well. I poured it in to see how much it would fill before running to the store. 

One gallon filled the tank almost halfway. 

So, I needed to revise my original estimate of it being a three-gallon tank. It would only take about another gallon to almost completely fill it, which is a total of two gallons. Still, the scientist in me was screaming, "Buy two more gallons, just in case!".  It's better to be over-prepared than unprepared. 

Turns out, 2 gallons did the trick. 

So, with a little estimation and trial-and-error, I got my math on.  It's true, Math is Real Life!  If you want to join the link-up and share your real-life math experiences, click here.

Slow Cooker Teacher Savior: Italian Marinara Sauce

As I am full-swing into the school year now, I rely more and more on kitchen gadgets to make life easier at home.  I mean, who has the time to work 12+ hour days and come home to cook and clean it all up?  Not this chick.

So, in my latest installment of the teacher saviors posts, I'm focusing on the perfect pasta topper: Italian Marinara Sauce.  My family loves it and it's far more organic than the jarred stuff on isle 6 (although I love that, too!).

Servings:
About 2 1/2 jars (36 ounces) of spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients:
8 cups diced tomatoes (1 average tomato yields about a cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons McCormik Garlic and Herb Perfect Pinch Seasoning
4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons lemon juice (I use the bottled stuff because I never have fresh lemons lying around)
1 tablespoon sweetener of choice (I have used Splenda, but I prefer Truvia baking blend for it's more organic nature)
2 tablespoons garlic powder


First:
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and give them a really good stir.  You want the tomatoes to be completely coated with the herbs.

Second:
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  I do not recommend cooking on high for this recipe.

Third:
Take the lid off and turn the cooker off to let the tomatoes cool while you get the pasta water going.

After they have sufficiently cooled so that you won't get burned if they splash onto you, use a blender to puree them to the desired consistency.  If you have a stick blender, you can just blend the tomatoes in the slow cooker.  I used my Magic Bullet to make batches of sauce.  Warning:  If you use a Magic Bullet or other blender that has a lid, you need to make sure the contents aren't too hot or they seem to create excess bubbles that want to explode out.

Fourth:
I save my old mason jars so I can store the sauce in them, but you could just leave it in the Magic Bullet cup.  I only like to leave about 12 ounces out at time so it doesn't go bad.  There's no way I'm using 2 jars of sauce in a few days!

I like to freeze the rest in baggies.  I measure about 12 ounces into each baggie and lay them flat in the freezer.

Finally:
Enjoy over the pasta of your choice!

So, with about 20 minutes of prep, you can have a boat load of delicious sauce!  Do you have any slow cooker recipes that make a bunch of freezable meals?  I'd love to hear about them!

Behavior Management Cards

I am a big believer in having a behavior management system that allows some flexibility for the teacher, as well as give multi-sensory cues to the student.

In middle school, I knew a clip chart wasn't going to fly. So I created a card reminder system. 

While creating the cards, I thought of three main behaviors I wanted to see. These were: Teamwork, hard work, including staying on task, and evidence of higher-level thinking. I named these "Praise Cards". 

Then, I thought of the three main behaviors I wanted to curb. These were: Talking at inappropriate times, off-task behaviors, and leaving the group or their seat at inappropriate times. I named these "Reminder Cards".  

If I see a desired behavior, they get a Praise Card to keep for the period.  At the end, they write their name on a slip of paper to be entered into a drawing for prizes.  I plan to draw names about once every month or so.

If I see negative behaviors, I give a verbal warning first.  If the behavior continues, I give the Reminder Card.  If it still continues, I give a written referral (our school policy).  I find that having a reminder in front of them usually curbs the behavior for the period.

I made a PowerPoint of the cards so I could print as many as I needed.
This editable PowerPoint includes:
~4 "Reminder Cards" for talking
~4 "Reminder Cards" for off-task behavior
~4 "Reminder Cards" for being out of seats
~4 "Praise Cards" for teamwork
~4 "Praise Cards" for hard work
~4 "Praise Cards" for higher-level thinking

If you want to pick up a copy, click here.

Do you use a card system in your classroom?  I'd love to hear how!

Virginia is for Teachers!

I am proud to be part of a new collaborative blog known as Virginia is for Teacher Bloggers!

This is just a lovely group of teachers from Virginia with diverse backgrounds and skills.  We share tips, resources, and (my favorite) FREEBIES!

Come check out the prizes and resources we are offering by clicking HERE.  Can't wait to see you there!

Secret Sale!

TpT is having a secret sale for TODAY ONLY!

Don't miss it!  Click HERE to go to my store and see what's on sale!

Life Science Cooperative Learning Clock Partners

I've always liked using Clock Buddies in my elementary classroom.  I love how quickly it can create pairs and quads for cooperative learning.

I've been wanting to create something specific to Life Science/Biology that functions the same.  So I use 12 of the key Life Science terms and used them in place of the clock numbers.

I will give this to the students on the second or third day and have them attach it to the front of their science notebooks.

If you'd like to pick up a copy, click here.

Do you use a clock partner system?  I'd love to hear how!