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One of my big goals going into my 2nd year of teaching was to include more problem based learning, labs, and projects in the classroom. Over the past few months we’ve done some awesome projects and PBLs that the kids and myself are so very proud of. As our culminating activity during our Force and …

In our community, Roseland, only 2% of students graduate from a 4-year university.  Our mission at Chicago Collegiate Charter School is that 100% of our students will graduate from college within 6 years of high school graduation.  Achieving our mission is going to take tremendous amounts of hard work put in by the students, families, …

It just so happened that all the letters came in right before our winter break, so we spend our last few days of school opening and writing back letters! Students asked for weeks after we sent off our first letters if their letters had come in yet – they were (and are) very excited to …

Today’s post was written by Ms. Parker, who teaches 5th grade pre-scientists in Halifax, NC.  It’s October! I can hardly believe a month of school has already passed. As a second-year teacher, this school year has been so much better than last year. We’ve already done two labs and quite a few problem-based learning activities. …

As we approach the middle of September we are finishing up the matching of scientists with prescientists, and are ecstatic to enter our fourth year with this program! As this my first year on board outside the classroom, I find myself reflecting about the impact this program had for the students I taught, and the …

This June marked middle school graduation for my first class of 6th graders. For those of you that have been with our program from the start, this means your first pen pal is now headed off to high school! We met these children when they were fresh out of elementary school; they were overwhelmed at …

My students are working hard to learn the DEAL design process within our forces and motion unit. As a STEM middle school, we focus on teaching kids the engineering design process in all classes! Below is a picture of our take on the design process:   My classes completed the marshmallow challenge a few weeks …

What was your favorite field trip in middle school? I hope my 6th grade students will be able to reflect back years from now and say it was their trip to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they not only got to do a scavenger hunt around campus, but view their first …

Just in time for Earth Day, students are learning about ecosystems around the world. Before diving into ecosystems, we finished learning about rocks, minerals and soils. Students were excited to use Skype in order to speak with real geologists working in the field. These scientists expanded the student’s geology comprehension by discussing soil initiatives as …

Wow! It is hard to believe, we are already in our third quarter of 6th grade! With our winter break in December and settling back into the groove of things in January, we forgot to update you on all of our exciting happenings. Before break, students picked out a name for our eco-friendly class bear. …

November was all about energy, which is pretty much always the case in a 6th grade classroom. This time our energy was focused on trying to understand where we find energy and how to use it in ways that are beneficial to the environment. I also introduced the idea of ordinary versus extraordinary work, and …

October 17th arrived and students were absolutely thrilled to receive their pen pal letters. We spent the class learning how to address envelopes and correctly respond to a formal letter. These skills are ones that we tend to take for granted or even perform begrudgingly at times, but these will be invaluable skills for students …