Biology
Here are some online resources I use with my biology students.
STAAR EOC Biology Review- by Region 7 Education Service Center
Here are some online teacher resources to plan your biology lessons.
Choice boards
Giving students a choices on how they want to showcase their understanding of a concept is a great way to engage and increase student learning.
Everyone learns in a different way, therefore one assignment or task must may not meet all student needs. One size does will not fit all.
There are different ways in which a student can express their understanding: writing, speaking, drawing, creating a song, poem, 3D model, or matching,
Grab a free copy of a sample choice board.
Purchase an editable copy on TPT
Resource Available on my TPT Store
Supplemental Aids
What are supplemental aids? Supplemental aids are visual organizer that are blank and have no information on them, like a punnet square. They may also be mnemonic devices such as "Apples in the Tree and Cars in the Garage" which only helps students remember a concept (A goes with T, and C goes with G when referring to DNA bases) but does not provide the answer.
Using supplemental aids during the school year are a great resource for your SPED and 504 students. Students may then use the same resource during the STAAR State exam as a supplemental aid.
Pre and Post Assessments
Its critical to measure student growth to be able to measure student understanding. This can be done through formative and summative assessments.
A pre assessment is be given at the beginning of the school year to measure student prior knowledge and gauge the level of understanding students are coming in with from the previous school year. This truly helps set the stage when is comes to planning future lessons.
Throughout the school year, quizzes, CBA, DA and practice exams need to be given to continuously measure student growth and assess any misconceptions along the way.
A post assessment is given at the end of the school year where pre and post assessment data is compared to see the growth % percentage. Did the student learn during the school year? How much? What level? Approaching or Mastery?
Practice PreTest Available on my TPT store
You may also create your own practice test using STAAR released questions from previous years.
Guided Scaffolded Worksheets
What are guided scaffolded worksheets?
Guided Scaffolded worksheets are handouts that help both the teacher and student follow the 5E model which include the following:
Learning objective
Do now entrance slip (engage)
Space for notes (explain)
Check for understanding questions (explore and elaborate)
Exit tickets (evaluate)
The teacher and students are sure to review key vocabulary and assess student understanding during the lesson. Students can easily go back and use their notes as support for their guided and independent portions of the activity. This is a great way to have your student begin to learn how to take and use their notes.
