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The Productive Teacher
I use the latest in brain science research to create lessons that are engaging for students and easy for teachers.
There are tons of activities, presentations, and reading passages to help teach (and learn) a variety of topics! Click the topics to learn more!
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3 min read
A Brief Overview of the Jurassic Period for Middle School Science Classes
Earth history is a fascinating topic! It is also a massive topic! The reading passage below will teach you all about the Jurassic Period....
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2 min read
Building Background Knowledge: Sally Ride
Why learn about Sally Ride? New science TEKS are coming to Texas! One change is that students will learn about specific scientists in...
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5 min read
What is the Difference Between the Asthenosphere and the Lithosphere?
The lithosphere and asthenosphere are both mechanical layers of the Earth. The layers of the Earth can be organized by composition (what...
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2 min read
What are Landslides?
Landslides change the surface of the Earth. They happen when rocks, soil, and anything else on the ground falls down a slope after...
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4 min read
Learning About How Volcanoes Form
Volcanoes are mountains formed around vents or fissures in the Earth’s crust that release lava, ash, rock, and gases. When volcanoes...
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3 min read
Learning About Pangaea the Supercontinent
Designua /Shutterstock.com For most of human history, people believed that the continents didn’t move. However, as technology improved,...
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3 min read
How did Scientists Discover Seafloor Spreading?
Seafloor spreading happens at divergent plate boundaries under the ocean. As hot rocks rise in convection currents within the...
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6 min read
Everything You Need to Know About Minerals
What are Minerals? Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, solids with definite chemical compositions and ordered internal...
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2 min read
What is the Evidence for the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
The theory of plate tectonics is new, but some of the evidence for the theory of plate tectonics dates back millions if not billions of...
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2 min read
Learning about the Theory of Continental Drift
An Overview of the Theory of Continental Drift The theory of continental drift argues that Earth’s continents are moving. It claims that...
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6 min read
The Life Cycle of a Star
There are many entry points to teaching about the life cycle of a star. You may want to tackle star life cycles during your unit on the...
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8 min read
Components of the Solar System
Are you teaching your middle school science students about the components of the solar system? The solar system is a fascinating topic....
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2 min read
Teaching the 8 Phases of the Moon
The moon is one of those topics that all of your middle school science students will have some background knowledge around. However, to...
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4 min read
How to Teach What Causes the Earth’s Tides
Science is the systematic study of our physical and natural world. In school, students learn science as both the process of learning...
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3 min read
How to Teach What Causes Day and Night on Earth
You may think that your students all know that the Earth revolves around the Sun and day and night are caused by the Earth’s rotation,...
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4 min read
How to Remember the Steps of the Nitrogen Cycle
An Overview of the Nitrogen Cycle The nitrogen cycle describes the different ways nitrogen moves through the environment. Nitrogen is an...
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3 min read
How to Teach Earth’s Seasons in Middle School Science
Teaching about Earth’s seasons is a great way to integrate your science and social studies lessons. You can teach about the Earth’s...
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4 min read
How to Teach the Theory of Plate Tectonics
I love teaching the theory of plate tectonics because I love it when history and science overlap. First, it allows us to tell a story,...
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4 min read
5 Amazing Facts about Earth History
Do you need to get your students excited about learning earth history? Unfortunately, science can often seem boring to students, but we...
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3 min read
How to Teach the Layers of the Atmosphere
What are the layers of the atmosphere? Can your middle school science students answer this question? I like to think about the layers of...
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