Plan Blended Science Lessons Your Way

Shuana Jordan
Product Manager, eLearning

Using 3 easy steps, you can create blended science lessons that support effective teaching and learning in your classroom. Your teaching style isn't the same as your colleague's, so why should your science lessons be? Using online tools, you can select, organize, and present digital content your way—for a custom fit to the topic, your students, and your current curriculum.

1: Select

First, select resources and activities that will engage your students and meet their individual needs. You can easily find high-quality, relevant digital science content using Carolina Science Online®. This growing online science resource includes content, such as videos, eBooks, interactive whiteboard lessons, games, student activities, simulations, and assessments.

2: Organize

Next, organize the content of your lesson so that it supports instructional strategies you may be using in your classroom, including whole-class instruction, flipped classroom learning, differentiated learning, and, of course, blended learning. Using the playlist feature, you can even upload your own content, including images, videos, PowerPoint® presentations, Word® documents, Excel® spreadsheets, and Web site URLs.

3: Present

Finally, once you've selected and organized your blended learning science lesson, determine the best way to present the lesson to your students with ease. With Carolina Science Online®, you can custom-select digital content and resources that best fit your lesson plan, the topic, and your students, using playlists to organize and present content to your students.

Example playlist: Cells

If the topic is "cells," this is a playlist of free digital resources you could put together using Carolina Science Online® to help develop the lesson. Once you've created your playlist, create student accounts on the site, and then assign the playlist to your students.

1. To help students understand the big picture and introduce key vocabulary, begin the lesson on cells with a video, such as the free Twig film, "What Is a Cell?"
2. Upload your PowerPoint® lecture or, if you are flipping your classroom, the lecture video you created.
3. Upload a Word® document or PDF of a hands-on activity with students examining the structure of the cell.
4. Either in class or as homework, incorporate interactive activities that reinforce concepts and allow you to assess learning, such as "Structure of Plant and Animal Cells" and "CellCraft: Exploring the Cell Through Gaming."
5. Differentiate your lesson with extra activities that may appeal to your students' different learning styles and help you review or reinforce learning. Try the whiteboard exercise, "Structure of Plant and Animal Cells."

Conclusion

Start putting together your blended science lessons today! Go to Carolinascienceonline.com. to create your FREE account. Then experience the value and benefits of selecting, organizing, and presenting digital content—your way—using the tools available on Carolina Science Online®.