Lesson planning for the first week of school is key for setting the stage for a productive and fun science classroom. My first week middle school science plans are engaging, practical and did I mention FREE? Our first week is always 4 days long so here is what I do each day!
Day #1
My students are 6th graders so they walk in the first day feeling nervous and a bit overwhelmed by the pace of middle school. My “Science of Me” first day of class activity gets students working and thinking right away. I love how this activity is student-centered so that I can walk around chat with each individual child on day one. This time for conversation helps me ask questions, joke around and build a relationship with my students on the first day! Some students don’t finish, so it is easy to use for a finisher another day. When done, these make a fun open house display for parents to look at.
(Note: You will need to join our free library by sharing your email address. You will get the password in the first email so that you can access all the free items in the resource area.)
Day # 2
Have you used Goose Chase in your class yet? It is incredibly engaging! This game is a getting to know you game with some fun science questions added in. Guaranteed to get everyone up, moving and involved. Students need a device for their group (3-4 kids per group) plus a few extra items depending on which missions you assign. (Mine need a bucket of water, foil, pennies, and a meter stick.) Get ready to laugh out loud as kids scramble to beat other teams and earn the most points! Suggestion- make a slide show of the photos to show the kids at the start of the next lesson!
Day # 3
Start by giving each student a card. Have students walk around and meet up with another student face to face. (Works best with even numbers!) I like to play to upbeat music in the background. Each student reads their question and waits for the other person to respond. After they have chatted about the cards, they SWAP cards and move on to meet up with someone new. The goal is to try to meet up with EVERY OTHER PERSON in the class before the music stops.
On day three, we also collect supplies and I show students sample notebooks from students who where in the class last year. I save a few each year with student permission and have kids walk around and look through them for a few minutes. I ask them to notice how they are organized and what they think makes one notebook better than another. We make a list of the traits of quality science notebooks as an anchor chart for later reference. Oh and I go over safety and fire drill procedures too!
Day # 4
This is fun, even if kids have done it in the past….it is still really fun! I found this one online so I can’t take credit for making it up. Here are some links to help you set this up for your students.
After we finished the activity we had a discussion about how the activity related to the 7 Cross Cutting Concepts found in the Next Generation Science Standards. It is interesting the insight kids have and the connections they can make, even if it is the first time they are hearing the 7 concepts!
Here’s a link to those 7 cross cutting concepts too!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can use one of more of these FREE activities to make back to school awesome for you and your students!
