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The Productive Teacher
I use the latest in brain science research to create lessons that are engaging for students and easy for teachers.
There are tons of activities, presentations, and reading passages to help teach (and learn) a variety of topics! Click the topics to learn more!
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The Screw as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
A screw  is a simple machine that helps hold things together, lift objects, or move materials. At first glance, it may just look like a...
4 min read
9 views
The Wedge as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
A wedge  is a simple machine that helps us cut, split, or push things apart . It may look like a triangle or a sharp edge, but it’s...
3 min read
13 views
The Inclined Plane as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
An inclined plane  is one of the simplest machines ever invented—but it has had a huge impact on how humans move heavy objects. An...
3 min read
19 views
The Pulley as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
A pulley  is a simple machine that makes it easier to lift heavy objects. It uses a wheel with a groove  around it and a rope, chain, or...
2 min read
6 views
The Lever as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
A lever  is a simple machine that helps people lift, move, or pry things more easily. Even though it's made of just a rigid bar and a...
3 min read
3 views
The Wheel and Axle as a Simple Machine for Middle School Science
The wheel and axle  is one of the most important simple machines ever invented. It consists of two parts: a round wheel  attached to a...
4 min read
17 views
Friction for Middle School Science
Have you ever wondered why your shoes grip the ground when you walk, or why a sled slows down after sliding across the snow? That’s...
8 min read
17 views
Gravity for Middle School Science
Have you ever wondered why things fall to the ground when you drop them? Or why do the planets move in predictable paths through the sky?...
7 min read
11 views
Motion for Middle School Science
Motion is all around us. From the cars on the road to the planets in the sky, things are constantly moving. In science, motion is defined...
8 min read
5 views
Why Does Warm Air Rise?
Warm air rising is one of the driving factors of our weather, but why does warm air rise? This post will explain the physics behind why...
2 min read
9 views
A History of Chemistry: Bonding
Chemical bonding was first described by a German physicist, Walther Kossel, in his paper published in April 1916. Just one month later,...
1 min read
21 views
A History of Chemistry: Avogadro's Law
While working with compounds, Amedeo Avogadro developed his theory that all gases with the same volume, at the same temperature and...
1 min read
7 views
All About Atoms for Middle School Science
Atoms make up everything around us. Over the last 200 years, we have gone from discovering that atoms exist to identifying the quarks...
4 min read
14 views
Work, Power, and Simple Machines for Middle School Science
Work, power, and simple machines are all related to force. If you haven't checked out our force page yet, you may want to read it before...
5 min read
65 views
A History of Chemistry: Atomic Numbers
In 1911, a Dutch physicist, Antonius van den Broek, published his hypothesis that the atomic number of each element should represent the...
1 min read
22 views
A History of Chemistry: Ancient Times
Matter is all around us. Everything we can see, and even things we can’t see, is made up of matter. Ancient people learned to work with...
2 min read
16 views
A History of Chemistry: Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece began as disconnected groups of people living in small communities. As the communities grew, they formed city-states....
2 min read
32 views
A History of Chemistry: Alchemy
Modern chemistry has its roots in alchemy. In Europe, alchemy was closely related to Christianity. By the fourth century, Rome had become...
2 min read
9 views
A History of Chemistry
Ever wondered how we got from trying to turn lead into gold to understanding the tiny particles that make up everything around us? That's...
2 min read
12 views
Newton's Three Laws of Motion for Middle School Science
How are Issac Newton, the three laws of motion, and a pandemic related? This pandemic didn't happen in 2020. It was all the way back in...
5 min read
79 views
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