In the past, students were given a mark of zero for:
 Incomplete homework  Late assignments  Missing assignments  Non participation in class activity  Cheating

Problems with this Practice:
 A mark of zero is often an inadequate reflection of student learning.  A zero is skews the overall average for the negative (outlier).  A zero is often given to as a consequence for learning behaviours, not a learning outcome, essentially serving as a punishment for infractions. (T. Guskey)  Although often intended to motivate students, a zero can have the opposite effect on students, instead causing some student to give up.  If a grade or mark is intended to provide information about performance, a zero offers no feedback or suggestions for improvement.

Looking for an alternative to the traditional mad minute? These files involve either the SMART Board or an overhead projector.

This short video and interactive assessment activity is designed to teach second graders an overview of am and pm.

Aerogel, commonly called "frozen smoke," is a super-material with some amazing properties. In this lesson and its associated activity, students learn about this silicon-based solid with a sponge-like structure. Students also learn about density and how aerogel is 99.8% air by volume, making it the lightest solid known to humans! Further, students learn about basic heat transfer and how aerogel is a great thermal insulator, having 39 times more insulation than the best fiberglass insulation. Students also learn about the wide array of aerogel applications.

Developed for fifth grade and above. Primary biological content area covered:; Plant growth; Seedling morphology; Hypothesis testing; Experimental design; Line graphing; Introductory statistics.Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project. The teaching ideas on this page have been found, refined, and developed by students in a college-level course on the teaching of biology at the elementary level. Unless otherwise noted, the lesson plans have been tried at least once by students from our partner schools. This wiki has been established to share ideas about teaching biology in elementary schools. The motivation behind the creation of this page is twofold: 1. to provide an outlet for the teaching ideas of a group of college educators participating in a workshop-style course; 2. to provide a space where anyone else interested in this topic can place their ideas.

FACES is a partnership between Oakland and Berkeley public schools and Children's Hospital Oakland. The program helps prepare at-risk kids for entry into college and the health professions through a multitude of services based at the hospital. FACES has already changed the lives of many young people who live in one of the most violent communities in America.

"Mouse Squad" is a group of 4th to 8th graders who support their school's technology needs. These kids maintain and service their school's computers, gain technical skills, and learn lessons about professionalism and working together. Rounding things out with field trips to nearby Silicon Valley, there's no question that "geeks are the new cool."

The Spanish Language Immersion School is a public school with dedicated educators and committed parents who are creating an extraordinary experience for kids from K to Grade 5. Students arrive speaking English as their dominant language. They leave fluent in Spanish, but also filled with knowledge about various cultures, practiced in diversity, and possessing real skills that give them an educational and career advantage.

In which John Green teaches you about the life and death of one of history's great explorers, Captain James Cook of the British Navy. He charted large swaths of the Pacific ocean, laid claim to Australia and New Zealand, and died a bizarre death in the Sandwich Islands, which are now called the Hawaiian Islands. Exactly how and why Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii is a long-running historical debate. John presents two interpretations of the event, and talks about what the differing interpretations say about history. It turns out how the story is told depends on who is doing the storytelling, and people from different backgrounds can interpret events in very different ways. Also, there is a celebration and a moustache involved in this episode, so you definitely don't want to miss it.

Students will be introduced to dairy cows and will understand that dairy products, like milk, come from these animals.

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the planet Mars. This lesson will begin by discussing the location and size of Mars relative to Earth, as well as introduce many interesting facts about this red planet. Next, the history of Martian exploration is reviewed and students discover why scientists are so interested in studying this mysterious planet. The lesson concludes with students learning about future plans to visit Mars.

This is a lesson about distances in space. Learners will create an outdoor, to-scale model of the distances between the Sun, Earth, and Saturn. Next you will conduct a guided walk to Saturn - which gives students an understanding of how far away Saturn is from Earth and the Sun. Like enthusiastic travelers everywhere, students will write a ‰ÛÏpostcard home‰Û� to share their exciting trip. This is lesson 4 of 10 in "Reading, Writing & Rings!" for grades 1-2.

Students learn the stories of two ambitious and courageous women artists in European history -- Luisa Roldan (also known as La Roldana) and Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun -- and examine works by both. Students then research and write a short report on a female artist working today.

In this art history video discussion Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker consider Ambrogio Lorenzetti's series of frescos "Allegory of Good Government", "Effects of Good Government in the City and the Country", and "Allegory and Effects of Bad Government in the City and the Country" Siena c. 1337-40. Sala della Pace (Hall of Peace) also known as the Sala dei Nove (the Hall of the Nine), Palazzo Pubblico, Siena.

Through a close reading of "Amelia Bedelia", students reread the material to discuss text-dependent questions, promoting deep thinking about the text and its characters.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary from the text Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride. Pilot Amelia Earhart and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt are good friends and one night, after dinner at the White House, Amelia then offers to take Eleanor on an unforgettable night flight to Baltimore and back in the Curtis Condor twin-motor airplan. By the time they arrive back in Washington D.C., a group of reporters meets them at the airstrip. Eleanor admits to not flying this time, but has every intention to fly in the near future.

Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.

Learn a few symbols from the sign language with the help of these images.

This folder contains 41 Safety and Health Fact Sheets from the American Welding Society.

In this episode of Crash Course History of Science, we travel to the Americas to ask the question, "When are we?" and get some answers. We'll look at the Maya, Inca, and Olmec civilizations and how they recorded their science.