How I Structure My Flipped Class
My “flipping” method has evolved over the past 3 years. This is my current approach …
Resources for the AP® Environmental Science Exam
Read about the AP® Exam in these various posts. You can also find out the …
Labs For Each Unit in AP® Environmental Science
This is a list of labs with links that I do for each unit in …
Everything Ecocolumns
My students’ favorite lab is building and taking care of Ecocolumns. This lab gives them …
Lab Supplies by CED unit in AP® Environmental Science
Here is a list of some labs that are commonly done in AP® Environmental Science …
Tips for using AP® Classroom
AP® Classroom is a new, powerful tool that the College Board has provided for teachers …
Tropospheric Ozone Virtual Picture Lab
I created this lab during the summer when tropospheric ozone is really high in the …
Quick, Low-Tech Ways to Film Instructional Video
I like to film quick, low-tech, no-editing instructional videos for students. Quick, because I’m a …
Coriolis Effect and Atmospheric Circulation Lab
I love it when I hear kids say “whoa”, or “wow” or “ohhhh, now I …
Container Seeds in Ecocolumns
This year, I had packets of donated seeds that my students used in ecocolumns. Two …
A Review of Pasco’s Wireless Sensors
I used some of Pasco’s wireless sensors in my classroom over the past two years …
A Review of Vernier Sensors
I recently tried a few of Vernier’s GoDirect Wireless Sensors with my high school students …
lab / Supplies / Uncategorized
A Review of Hanna pH Meters
I recently tested three of Hanna’s pH Meters in my high school science lab. Hanna …
Human Population 5E Lab Using Cemetery Data Part II
This post discusses each part of the 5E Lab. For suggestions, materials and set of …
Human Population 5E Lab Using Cemetery Data Part I
One of the most interesting labs in Regular or AP®Environmental Science is using cemetery data …
Primary Productivity and Light in the Ocean Lab
I came across this lab from the Monterey Bay Aquarium called “Light in the Deep …
Content Delivery Ideas
Focusing on skills and science practices is super important in a science class whether its …
Sample Grading and Points
This is a sample of how I grade in AP® Environmental Science. As a teacher, …
Tree Rings and Climate Lab
Tree rings are a good way to study past and present climate. They are proxy …
CED / Math / Science Practices / Students
AP® Environmental Science Math Review Practice Problems
These are practice problems to prepare for the math on the AP® Environmental Science Exam. …
Tips and hints for the AP® Environmental Science exam
These are tidbits of important information and some common student errors that many students make …
FRQ tips for the AP®Environmental Science Exam
These are some basic guidelines for writing FRQs. For help with math, read “What students …
AP® Environmental Science math for students for the 2019 exam.
This is the basic information you need about APES math on the AP® Exam. Read …
What Do Students Think is Best for AP Exam Review?
I survey my students every year after the AP Exam, because I want to improve …
Airborne Particulates Lab Using LED Tap Lights
I recently experimented using LED tap lights as an alternate to using stereoscopes in the …
Air Pollution Chalk Drawings
One way to help students memorize the 3 atmospheric processes they need to know for …
February = AP® Exam Pacing Check
In February, I like to plan the rest of the year up to the AP® …
Toxins 5E Lab
Two important topics in APES are combined for this 5E–Serial dilution Lab and LC50 Lab. …
Trees, Forestry and Deforestation 5E
Take students outside to measure trees, discover ecosystem services of trees and forests, develop math …
Island BioGeography Theory 5E Lab
The Theory of Island Biogeography is a nice 5E lab using inexpensive materials (funnels, beans …
Finishing and Assessing EcoColumns
Finishing EcoColumns is a sad, but necessary part of EcoColumns. Students become very attached to …
Binders to Collect Work
I want my students to save certain papers during the year and use later as …
The Great APES Booklet
I give students “The Great APES Booklet” at the beginning of the year and tell …
Favorite Films for Environmental Science
Many new teachers want to know which APES films or environmental documentaries are the best. …
Getting to Know Your Students
A “Getting to know you” survey or questionnaire the first week of school is not …
APES Math Strategy That Really Works
(Updated in July 2019 to reflect the new AP® calculator policy) The million dollar question …
Peer Grading FRQs using Google Forms and Spreadsheets by Katy Sturges
Implementing FRQ Peer Grading in the Classroom Guest writer: Katy Sturges, APES teacher from Texas …
Using Mastering in an AP® Class
I’ve been using the “Mastering Environmental Science” companion website for Environment: The Science Behind the Stores …
Pacing Calendar and Curriculum Plan for Withgott
I use Withgott and LaPosada’s Environment, the Science Behind the Stories, 5th edition for AP® Environmental …
Flipped Classroom-Reflections and Changes for Year 2
I recently finished the second year of a flipped classroom for AP® Environmental Science and …
AP® Released Exams, Score Predictions, & the Final Exam “Curve”
One way to prepare students for the AP® exam is to have them take practice …
APES Lab Supplies Part 2: Other Recommended Labs
The labs on this post tend to be popular, because they cover a lot of …
APES Lab Supplies Part 1: Essential Labs
A question new AP® Environmental Science teachers ask is “What supplies do I need?” or …
Air Pollution Lab-Airborne Particulates
One of the best (and easy to implement) labs I do is an air pollution …
Review for the AP® Exam
Part of our challenging profession is to determine what teaching strategies to use for our …
Biomagnification Activity from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
I really like this biomagnification activity from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I discovered this activity …
6 Week Study Plan for the AP® Environmental Science Exam
Reviewing for the AP®Exam is important. My students review content and knowledge at home while …
Air Pollution Videos
Sounds crazy, but a good air pollution documentary doesn’t exist to show to our students. …
Water Quality Testing in the Lab
Water Quality Testing is essential for AP® Environmental Science students. Every released exam has water …
Fecal Coliform Bacteria
Students need to understand fecal coliform bacteria. This is bacteria that comes from mammal waste …
Biological Oxygen Demand
I live in arid Southern California where surface water is scarce and it is impossible …
Protected: Trees Please! 5E
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Math Differentiation in Science
Students in science classes often have differing math abilities and its difficult to cover math …
APES Math
There are many ways to practice AP® Environmental Science (APES) math. As a teacher, you …
Teaching El Nino
Students and many teachers struggle with El Nino. Being in California, we have an advantage …
Notable Diseases
Students in AP® Environmental Science need to know several of the notable or “infamous” diseases. …
Notable Toxins
Students have to know several important toxins for the AP® Environmental Science Exam. These are …
LD-50 Graph and Math Practice
Students can use this worksheet to practice graphing LD-50 data. This is an important skill …
GPP/NPP Virtual Lab
I don’t always have time for students to do a lab. Every day is precious. …
Soil Salinization Lab
One of the most common (and important!) labs in AP® Environmental Science is the Soil …
Things Go Wrong in Ecocolumns-and its OK!
Things will go wrong in ecocolumns, they always do. And that’s part of the magic …
Electricity 5E using Kill-A-Watt Meters
Updated Spring 2019! This year, I revised my Kill-A-Watt lab with a lot more math, …
Tragedy of the Commons 5E
A great way to teach Tragedy of the Commons is with a “fishing” activity. There …
Ocean Acidification Experimental Design Lab
Students learn not only about the effects of increasing acidity in the ocean on marine …
10 Scientific Concepts Learned from Ecocolumns
Ecocolumns can teach the kids A LOT of scientific concepts if you are purposeful with …
Where to Find Science Grants and Other Funding
When I was beginning science teacher 20 years ago, a very wise science education professor …
Ecocolumns with a Small Budget and with a Big Budget
Sometimes new teachers panic when they see all the shiny probes, grow lights and data …
Building the Aquatic Chamber in Ecocolumns
After two weeks of draining your ecocolumns, its time to build the aquatic chamber. DO …
Ecocolumn Fish–“O Happy Day!”
After weeks of your students being excited about getting a fish, today is the day! …
Owl Pellet Dissection-Trophic Levels and Energy Loss
Owl pellet dissection is used to teach ecology topics such as food webs, biomass pyramids …
Bugs, Worms, and Leaf Litter…..O my! (Adding detritivores to EcoColumns)
Adding worms is almost as much fun as getting a fish! (NO FISH for two …
Planting Seeds in EcoColumns, Taking Soil Data and Setting Up Data Charts
On the second day of building ecocolumns, students add seeds and begin taking data. (This …
Cutting and Filling Ecocolumns
Students thoroughly enjoy building ecocolumns. Building usually takes 2 full class periods (50-55 min). The …
Ecocolumns / lab / Supplies
Buying Supplies for Ecocolumns
Students thoroughly enjoy building ecocolumns. The supplies here are for an ecocolumn with three chambers: …
Communicating “Why I flipped” to Students and Parents (or Admins)
I believe explaining WHY I do something in class is important for students. While they …
APES Exam and Bloom’s Taxonomy/Depth of Knowledge
I’ve always told people that the AP® Exam has a lot of higher order thinking …
Using and Teaching FRQs in Science
Students in an AP® Environmental Science class need to know how to write Free Response …
FRQs and Peer Grading
Peer Grading FRQS Peer grading free response questions is a great way to 1. Teach …
10 Tips for Teaching Large AP® Classes in High School
Teaching large classes can be daunting in any subject, but especially in a college-level AP® …
To AP® or Not to AP®…What does the Research Say?
What does the research really say about taking an AP® class? Over the years, I’ve …
15 Things a new AP® teacher should know
Being a new AP® teacher is exciting and daunting! It will be a tough year …
Research About Flipping the Classroom
I recently led a couple of workshops about Flipped Classrooms for a technology institute. (Discalimer: …
Building EcoColumns Part 5 Making the Aquatic Chamber
This video describes how to build the Aquatic Chamber. Remember, DO NOT build this chamber …
Why and How I Flipped this Year
Why I decided to Flip I decided to do a full flip in 2016/2017 out …
Sticky Note Methodology
I developed this method over a decade ago and it one of the main things …
Group Data Analysis
At the end of Ecocolumns, my students graph their data and answer questions as a …