Secondary Science Simplified™

We have made it to part 4 of the Curriculum Design mini-series! The first three parts weren’t exactly “fun,” I get it! But this is the point in the design process where we get to start being creative, and the process becomes a bit more interesting! BUT, if you have not done steps 1 through 3, it is crucial that you complete them before moving on to part 4 - building out the backbone of your curriculum!

Ready to dive into the fun part of curriculum design, teacher friend? Building the backbone of your curriculum means planning out all of your instructional resources - think labs, activities, projects, and all the memorable learning experiences for your students! This is where you get to be creative and think of all the ways you can engage your students in their learning!

Now, don’t be intimidated and think you need to add tons of activities and labs and projects into your curriculum right away. And, of course, you do not need to figure this all out on your own! In this episode, I am sharing how to approach building out your backbone if you have taught the course before and if you have not taught it before, what I try to include in my units, and my action step for you to work on part 4 of the curriculum design process.

If you are loving the Podcast PD or, specifically, the Curriculum Design mini-series, I would so appreciate it if you left a rating and review to help us reach more teacher friends!

Resources Mentioned: 

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Get the FREE Lab Audit
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode85 

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

Lecture is the foundation when designing a curriculum. Now I know that may make some of you not very happy, but it’s true. However, when I say lecture is the foundation, I do not mean that it’s my top priority or what I spend most of my time doing in the classroom. When we talk about foundation, I mean the baseline of which I build my curriculum on. To give you a better understanding of how I build my curriculum off my foundation, I am sharing how I use my foundation of lecture notes so that my whole class isn’t lecture.

When I think back to when I took anatomy & physiology, I remember reading textbooks, memorizing information, and labeling diagrams. That is NOT what I wanted my curricula to be. I didn’t want every lesson to be a lecture and my students memorizing things from their textbook.

Because of this, I began thinking of ideas for instructional resources I could use to make my lectures shorter, the activities more engaging, and keep my classroom student-centered. Today, I am sharing all about how I use 4 different activities to decrease the content in lecture and how I break up content if it is still too much after incorporating these activities. Plus, I am sharing what actionable step you can do TODAY to help you reduce the amount of time spent lecturing.

This is A LOT to do on your own. I get it! But now is the perfect time to get the other science teachers at your school to join in on our Podcast PD! Two (or three!) minds are better than one and can make this process a little easier.

Resources Mentioned: 

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Watch the YouTube video tour of the Anatomy Curriculum
• Check out the Anatomy Curriculum
• Anatomy Body System Diagrams and Discovery Stations
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode84

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

We are at the tipping point in our Curriculum Design mini-series! I am so excited that you have worked through this process with me up to this point. So far, we have covered strategizing your sequence and analyzing your aims. If you haven’t done that, be sure to complete those steps before moving on to step 3, forming your foundation.

So what is a foundation? When I am talking about the foundation for your curriculum, I am talking about the core direct instruction delivery strategy (AKA lecture notes). Now I know that lecture notes and direct instruction have a bad rap, BUT I think I approach them a little differently than what we’re all used to. And as I share my process for designing a curriculum for personal use, take what serves you and leave what doesn't!

In this episode, I am breaking down my process for forming the foundation of my curriculum. I am sharing why I like using lecture notes, how I build out my .PPTX files, and why I love using Cornell note outlines with my students.

I am so grateful you have been joining me in this Summer Podcast PD! If you are enjoying the Curriculum Design mini-series or the Podcast PD as a whole, I would love for you to leave a rating and review so I can hear how this podcast is serving you!

Resources Mentioned: 

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• The Cornell Note Taking System
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected] 
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts. 

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode83

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

Have you been following along with our Curriculum Design mini-series and need just a little bit more support and context to complete parts 1 and 2? I’ve got you covered, teacher friend! I know the process of designing a curriculum is A LOT, but if we work through it together, step-by-step, it will make it much more manageable and will be so beneficial in the end!

Sometimes when taking on new, big projects, it is helpful to have examples and reference points to guide you along the way. Hearing the practical implementation of these steps can be incredibly helpful as you work your way through the curriculum design process. And because I want to ensure that I am providing you with as much help along the way as I can, I am sharing how I strategized the sequence for my Biology curriculum by thinking through the 10 questions from episode 80 and why it is so crucial and beneficial to do the not so fun work of analyzing your aims like we discussed in episode 81.

Designing your own curriculum is a challenge, but I know you’re up for it! These first steps are not the most fun parts of the process but are so incredibly important to complete before moving on. I am here to motivate and encourage you if you are finding it hard to take action. So let’s get these steps done and continue working through this process together!

It’s not too late to get your teacher friends in on the Podcast PD! Share with them and subscribe to Secondary Science Simplified podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss the weekly episodes and BONUS Curriculum Design episodes that’ll be released on Thursdays for the month of July!

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Watch the YouTube video tour of the INRS Biology Curriculum
• Check out the INRS Biology Curriculum
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode82

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

We are moving on to step two in our curriculum design mini-series! If you did not complete the first step in the process about strategic sequencing, you NEED to go back and start there before tackling step two. This week, we are going to dive into analyzing your aims. Although this isn’t the flashiest or most fun part of the process, it is crucial to designing your curriculum.

I am walking you through how to analyze your aims, step by step, and covering why you need to accurately identify what standards you need to use, the importance of finding out if there are any specific materials you need to follow, and why you need to translate your standards into practical objectives.

This may be a part of the curriculum design process you want to skip over, but you NEED to do this. This step is so important - you need to learn what you need to be teaching and to what depth you need to teach it! And if you still need a little help, be sure to tune in to episode 82 where we will be covering examples of how I did this in one of my units!

Make sure you don’t miss a single episode of the summer Podcast PD! Subscribe to Secondary Science Simplified podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to get the incredible info in the weekly episodes and BONUS Curriculum Design episodes that’ll be released on Thursdays for the month of July. It’s not too late to grab a teacher friend and tackle this bite-sized PD together!

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode81

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

You asked for it so I’m going to give you what you want! One of the most frequent requests I get is for my curriculum design process. What better time to break down my process for you than during our Summer Podcast PD!? We are kicking off our curriculum design series by starting with the absolute first thing you need to do when designing a curriculum to use in your classroom. 

Whether you are trying to figure out what to teach in a prep you have nothing for, or you have curricula for all your preps, you are going to walk away from this series knowing how to write a curriculum for you to use in your own classroom because I am breaking down my process step-by-step. 

In this episode, I am sharing what this series is and what it is not, how to best use this series to achieve your goals, the importance of strategizing your sequence, and what action step you can take today to get started creating your own curriculum. 

Not sure how to strategize your sequence? Think through these 10 questions:

1. What overall themes do I want to thread throughout my entire course?
2. What are the hardest topics traditionally for students?
3. What are the hardest times of year you typically experience for yourself?
4. Does it make more sense to go macro to micro? Or micro to macro?
5. Are there any units that HAVE to be taught in a certain sequence?
6. Are there any units (or concepts within units) that might make more sense taught in a different order?
7. What units best lend themselves to spring weather and getting students outside?
8. What units naturally have some fun projects in them that would be great for ending the year with?
9. Which unit in my course BEST ties all the other units together?
10.  Is the sequence I have been using really effective or are there changes I could make to improve it?

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected] 
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode80

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

Summer is in full swing and I could not be happier! It’s time to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the much needed time off. But if I’m honest, summer has always been a time of tension where I struggled with feeling guilty when I’m enjoying the fun because I’m not preparing for the next school year and also feeling guilty while I was working because I should have been enjoying summer more.

I know if I’ve struggled with this, most likely there are others that do as well!! I am here to tell you that there totally can be a balance between using the summer to reset while still preparing for the upcoming school year and I am giving you all the details of the 4 things I do to achieve this balance.

In this episode, I am sharing the importance of playing during the summer, why you need to unplug, how you can serve future you, and my number 1 way to use summer well.

Be sure to follow or subscribe to the Secondary Science Simplified podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss any of the summer Podcast PD episodes or the BONUS Curriculum Design 101 episodes that’ll be released on Thursdays for the next 5 weeks. Better yet, share the Podcast PD with a friend so they can join in with you!

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected] 
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode79

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

Let’s be honest, we all have certain topics that we have to teach but just absolutely dread teaching. Whether it’s because they are boring, unnecessary, or just depressing, we just don’t want to teach them! I’m sure you know exactly what topics you would skip over if you could and you are not alone, teacher friend! Sam Holcomb of Engineer Does Education is joining me today to chat about our least favorite topics to teach.

Be sure to reach out to your secondary science teacher friend and encourage them to join you in the FREE Podcast PD! It’s the perfect way to get your teacher friends together and take in some bite-sized PD episodes all summer!

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Sam’s Energy Hero Project
• Sam’s Current Event Project
• Grab the Photosynthesis Relay Activity
• Watch the City of the Future Video
• Get the Human Impact Project
• Grab Rebeca’s FREE Children’s Book Project
• Simple Systems with Sam - Ep. 2: Delegate Tasks: Is it really yours?
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]  
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

Connect with Sam:

• Listen to her Podcast
• Shop her TpT Store
• Follow her on Instagram
• Check out her YouTube Channel
• http://engineerdoeseducation.com/episode-2/

Show Notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode78 

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

Are you an email addict feeling like you need to constantly be checking your inbox and responding immediately to anything that comes in? Guilty!! I like to think of myself as a recovering email addict. For years, I let email take way too much of my time and energy that I should have been focusing on other things. 

I want to help you break away from the constant email checking so you can have a much healthier outlook on your work email as you head into summer! In this episode, I’m debunking 5 lies you might be believing about your work email and 5 practical ways you can combat them so you can spend your time focusing on more important things. Plus, I’m sharing some of my favorite tools to help with limiting the time you spend in your inbox!

If you have a teacher friend who needs some help setting email boundaries, share this episode with them! Better yet, send them the FREE Podcast PD so they can join in on all the goodness that’s coming this summer!

Resources:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Inbox When Ready for Gmail™
• How to Record Calls on Google Voice
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected]  
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

For all resources mentioned, head to the show notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode77 

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/ 

If you’re anything like me, you want to just make it through the last couple weeks of school and say GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE to another school year! But, before you close up your classroom for the summer, I encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect on the school year and ask yourself, “How did I do?” 

In this episode, I’m sharing six questions to ask yourself to help you reflect on the year. Once you reflect on these questions, WRITE them out and put them in your pencil drawer or paper clip them to your planner so when you return in August, it is the first thing that you see!

Remember to grab the calendar for the next few months of our FREE Podcast PD and share it with a science teacher friend and encourage them to join you in a summer filled with practical, relevant, and SIMPLIFIED PD.

Resources Mentioned:

• Sign up for the FREE Summer Podcast PD
• Download your FREE Classroom Reset Challenge.
• Send me a DM on Instagram: @its.not.rocket.science
• Send me an email: [email protected] 
• Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts.

For all resources mentioned, head to the show notes: https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/episode76 

If you are looking for a FUN and FREE way to engage your students this October, leading up to Halloween, you NEED to grab my 4 FREE Halloween science resources - one for biology, one for chemistry, one for physics, and one for anatomy - that you can do with your students now through the end of the month.  Grab them at https://itsnotrocketscienceclassroom.com/halloween/