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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All About Wind for Middle School Science

Wind is a part of weather and the atmosphere that we experience every day. Understanding wind means knowing how and why warm air rises...

2 min read

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition for Middle School Science

Weathering, erosion, and deposition is where the atmosphere and the geosphere interact. Wind and water weather, erode, and depose rocks...

3 min read

Lightning and Thunder for Middle School Science

Lightning and thunder are both a discharge of electricity. Lightning is what you see, and thunder is what you hear. Read below to learn...

3 min read

Igneous Rocks for Middle School Science

Igneous rocks form when hot, melted rock (magma or lava) cools and hardens. If the rock cools underground, it forms intrusive igneous...

2 min read

The Rock Cycle for Middle School Science

The rock cycle describes how rocks change on Earth. Rock can transition between sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock as it moves...

3 min read

Metamorphic Rocks for Middle School Science

Metamorphic rocks are formed when existing rocks are changed by heat, pressure, or both deep inside the Earth. This process does not melt...

2 min read

Sedimentary Rocks for Middle School Science

Sedimentary rocks are made when small pieces of rock, sand, and other materials build up in layers over time. Water, wind, or ice carry...

3 min read

The Nitrogen Cycle for Middle School Science

The Nitrogen Cycle describes how nitrogen moves through the environment. Like carbon, nitrogen exists both in the atmosphere and on the...

3 min read

The Phosphorus Cycle for Middle School Science

The Phosphorus Cycle describes how phosphorus moves through the environment. Unlike carbon and nitrogen, phosphorus doesn't exist as a...

2 min read

The Carbon Cycle for Middle School Science

The Carbon Cycle describes how carbon moves through the environment. Carbon exists as a gas in the atmosphere and as a solid as a part of...

4 min read

Tornadoes for Middle School Science

Tornadoes are one type of extreme weather. They happen when cold air gets on top of warm air. The falling cold air and the rising warm...

4 min read

Hurricanes for Middle School Science

Hurricanes are one type of extreme weather. They are an example of what happens when the water cycle goes into overdrive because of...

4 min read

The Atmosphere for Middle School Science

The atmosphere is a big topic. The atmosphere is the layers of gases that surround the Earth. It is where all of our weather happens. It...

2 min read

All About Weather for Middle School Science

Clouds are an important part of the water cycle. Clouds are how liquid water moves through the atmosphere. This blog post will teach you...

4 min read

All About Clouds for Middle School Science

Clouds are an important part of the water cycle. Clouds are how liquid water moves through the atmosphere. This blog post will teach you...

3 min read

Global Atmospheric Circulation for Middle School Science

Global atmospheric circulation is the way that the air molecules of the atmosphere move around the Earth due to the uneven heating of the...

4 min read

The Water Cycle for Middle School Science

The water cycle is a topic that kids learn about throughout elementary and middle school. The basic ideas stay the same, but the...

3 min read

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

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

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