Classroom Activities

Make your own phonograph (Repost)

December 6, 2008

I’ve got so many different posts that I want to write… scribbled notes on different science myths and beautiful everyday things, but I have been so very busy. I’m sorry. I will get back to writing detailed posts in a few weeks! In the meantime, I’d like to recycle a good old post on making [...]

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The Last Straw (teaching science with soda straws!)

December 1, 2008

Despite my better judgment, I invite TI staff educator Eric Muller to do one more set of activities on my Teaching Tips podcast —several things you can do with soda straws.  Listen to the episode – The Last Straw. Holding Charge activity (PDF) More of Eric Muller’s activities

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The Salty Science of the Saltwater Battery (published in The Physics Teacher)

November 20, 2008

Hey hey, I’ve got a twofer in the current issue of the Physics Teacher!  One is my article on the chemistry behind the saltwater battery. The other is an article on blogs that physics teachers can use.  I’ll post the full blog article (the published one was cut quite heavily) a little later! Here’s the [...]

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Resources for teaching about voting and mathematics

November 6, 2008

The NSDL has pulled together some classroom resources for teaching about voting and polls, voting technology, and the history of voting.  These are taken from the NSDL Expert Voices blog. Annenberg/CPB: Cast Your Vote From the NSDL Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways Multiple polls claim to know how public opinion shifts day-to-day during [...]

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The drama of the immune system

October 24, 2008

Hey guess what!  Science Teaching Tips was just highlighted in the Websights section of The Physics Teacher.   Woo hoo! I’ve got a new episode of  the podcast posted – The drama of the immune system. This is one of the favorites of our group at the Teacher Institute, and teachers are always asking Tory to [...]

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Make a stripped-down motor

August 22, 2008

I posted a new podcast – “Ooh you make my motor run” on my Science Teaching Tips podcast.  One of the Exploratorium staff educators, Modesto Tamez, tells how he gets students exploring electromagnets, a great preparation for making an electric motor. Here’s the Stripped Down Motor activity: www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/stripped_down_motor.html

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