October 1, 2021
As anyone in the culinary world will tell you, presentation is everything. World famous restaurants with multiple Michelin stars put as much effort into presentation as they do in preparing the food.
Science teachers could learn something from chefs. I’m not talking about adding flashy multimedia and explosions. The goal isn’t to entertain… but to take a few extra steps that will help our students stay involved. How do we do that?
A great place to start is integration. Science teachers think about science. What if we begin to think of ways to bring in social studies, reading, writing, and math to help with the presentation of our science lessons? What if a meaningful project could allow students to apply their new learning in myriad areas? Let me give you an example.
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density, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, STEM | Tagged: buoyancy, density, DIY, Educational Innovations, force, homeschooling, science, STEM | 
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
September 3, 2021
The movie Star Wars relied greatly on a mystical ability called “the Force.” You can’t see it. It’s an invisible energy that interacts with everything around it. A little green guy named Yoda uses this mystical “Force” to move objects around. Intriguing, sure, but it’s just Hollywood special effects. However, thanks to science—and Sir Isaac Newton—we know that force is a real thing in our world. In fact, we use it every day. (And we don’t even need to summon Yoda!)
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Leave a Comment » | Elementary level, energy, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, Physics, STEM | Tagged: DIY, Educational Innovations, force, force and motion, homeschooling, rockets, science, STEM | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
July 23, 2021
Science really is everywhere – even in a strawberry patch! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.
I’m afraid of lunch ladies. They’re intimidating. I guess you need to be if you’re dealing with hundreds of hungry kids in a small cafeteria. As a kid, I usually kept my head down and brown-bagged it (unless it was pizza day). I didn’t want to do anything to upset the ladies who ran the lunchroom. I carried that fear with me even after I became a teacher.
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
June 24, 2021
Any teacher will tell you that kids can be noisy. They make all kinds of sounds. Clap their hands. Click their tongues. Snap their fingers. Smack their cheeks. Burp. Fart. Scream. Sing. Most classrooms are a virtual cacophony of noises. And where there is sound, there’s bound to be a whole lot of shaking going on. So why not turn those noises into a teachable moment and explore the science of sound?
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Posted by Donna Giachetti
May 21, 2021
First, the Story
Lizzie was in my fifth grade class about fifteen years ago. She was a solid student academically, but her biggest struggle in life was her retainer. Mom and Dad had invested a lot of money in that molded plastic-and-wire mouth guard. Lizzie’s mom even emailed me to ask if I would make sure Lizzie was wearing her retainer throughout the day. Apparently this little oral apparatus cost more than my car… which would explain why Lizzie’s mom was so upset when she lost it.
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Leave a Comment » | College level, distance learning, Elementary level, experiments, High School level, Middle School level, STEM | Tagged: at-home science, DIY, Educational Innovations, homeschool activity, homeschooling, science, STEM, virtual learning, virtual science | Permalink
Posted by Donna Giachetti
