The Science Teacher's Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students - Paperback

by Tara C. Dale (Author), Mandi S. White (Author), Larry Ferlazzo (Editor)

A winning educational formula of engaging lessons and powerful strategies for science teachers in numerous classroom settings

The Teacher's Toolbox series is an innovative, research-based resource providing teachers with instructional strategies for students of all levels and abilities. Each book in the collection focuses on a specific content area. Clear, concise guidance enables teachers to quickly integrate low-prep, high-value lessons and strategies in their middle school and high school classrooms. Every strategy follows a practical, how-to format established by the series editors.

The Science Teacher's Toolbox is a classroom-tested resource offering hundreds of accessible, student-friendly lessons and strategies that can be implemented in a variety of educational settings. Concise chapters fully explain the research basis, necessary technology, Next Generation Science Standards correlation, and implementation of each lesson and strategy.

Favoring a hands-on approach, this bookprovides step-by-step instructions that help teachers to apply their new skills and knowledge in their classrooms immediately. Lessons cover topics such as setting up labs, conducting experiments, using graphs, analyzing data, writing lab reports, incorporating technology, assessing student learning, teaching all-ability students, and much more. This book enables science teachers to:

• Understand how each strategy works in the classroom and avoid common mistakes
• Promote culturally responsive classrooms
• Activate and enhance prior knowledge
• Bring fresh and engaging activities into the classroom and the science lab

Written by respected authors and educators, The Science Teacher's Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students is an invaluable aid for upper elementary, middle school, and high school science educators as well those in teacher education programs and staff development professionals.

Back Jacket

Spark Engagement in Your Classroom with Hundreds of Low-Prep, High-Value Science Lessons and Strategies

The Science Teacher's Toolbox offers hundreds of educational strategies that can be easily implemented in any science classroom. Part of the popular Teacher's Toolbox series, this practical, research-based book helps your students actively experience science and strengthen their critical thinking skills. The authors draw from their years of real-world classroom experience to provide high-impact activities, fully aligned with Common Core standards, and step-by-step teaching strategies that emphasize intellectually engaging all students, including students with varied learning abilities.

The book focuses on physical sciences, earth and space sciences, life sciences, engineering, technology, and application of science. The strategies and learning activities highlight the Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts identified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) where applicable. The book presents strategies for teaching essential science lab formats, including the scientific method, project-based learning, and the inquiry process. It also covers integrating English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and the arts, and contains additional resources such as strategies for assessing student learning, cultural responsiveness, and activating prior knowledge.

Author Biography

TARA C. DALE is a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), currently teaching high school science and working as an instructional coach. She has taught middle school Science and Social Studies as well as Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, AP Psychology, and AP Environmental Science. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Arizona NBCT Network and is on the Superintendent Teacher Advisor Team for Maricopa County, Arizona. Tara has facilitated professional development classes and presented at conferences throughout the United States.

MANDI S. WHITE is currently an academic and behavior specialist at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School in Chandler, Arizona. She has worked as a middle school special education resource teacher and has taught English, Social Studies, and Math. She holds Master's Degrees in Special Education and Educational Leadership, as well as a graduate certificate in Positive Behavior Support. Also, she has helped facilitate professional development for educators in Arizona.

LARRY FERLAZZO teaches English, Social Studies, and International Baccalaureate classes to English language learners and others at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He is the author and co-author of nine books, including The ELL Teacher's Toolbox, and writes a weekly teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher. He is the recipient of the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World Award and winner of the International Reading Association Award for Technology and Reading.

KATIE HULL SYPNIESKI has taught English language learners and others at the secondary level for over twenty years. She teaches middle school English Language Arts and Social Studies at Fern Bacon Middle School in Sacramento, California, and leads professional development for educators as a consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at the University of California, Davis. She is co-author of several books, including The ELL Teacher's Toolbox.