What to do after state testing? It's a common challenge for teachers to find themselves in front of a room full of students who are off their routine and burnt-out from the demands of state testing. That relentless focus on exams can leave them feeling overwhelmed and disengaged.
Counteract this slump by providing interactive, experiential learning experiences through hands-on, inquiry-based activities. As science educators, you have the advantage of a subject that already has lab days. By incorporating these interactive days into the routine, students are encouraged to actively explore concepts, ask questions, and collaborate with their peers. This approach not only fosters a deeper understanding of the material but also reignites students' interest by providing them with meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences.
Here are some ways that Lab-Aids science kits can be helpful after state testing is finished:
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Solve a Mystery or Run a Mining Operation: Let students get hooked into a science "story" for a few days. Students work in groups of four or pairs to test real samples of fictional water sources and eventually use their mapped data to figure out the source of the pollutants. Or maybe let each group form a mining company that must use map and soil test data to determine where to spend their limited "mining money" in search of the precious molybdenum.
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Let Them Engineer: Engineering is naturally engaging as it allows students to test their own ideas and redesign for better outcomes. Often activities with gears and motors come to mind, but engineering exploration can take place across multiple science subjects. We'd guess your students have never tried to make their own chemical hand warmers but if you're feeling less adventurous, designing a mechanical hand is always a classic. During these rainy spring weeks there's bound to be examples of erosion everywhere – give students an opportunity to design ways to mitigate it. They could take it one step further by replicating their models out in the real world for further testing.
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Newsworthy Topics: Combine intriguing laboratory investigations with relevant local news stories to initiate conversations and foster real-world connections. Introduction to Water Pollution is one of our most popular kits which enables students to analyze samples for 11 prevalent pollutants. You could guide students through an examination of the concept of "organic" food or encourage them to explore the chemical waste generated by the circuit boards in electronic devices. Notably, this particular kit served as inspiration for a group of students to establish a Green Club at their school, aiming to improve electronics recycling efforts.
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Make it About Them: Students love to talk about themselves! Make it productive with labs about the human body. Students are fascinated with this sense of taste activity – stick with just that or extend it to include all the senses. If biology isn't the current topic, use our unique Obscertainers that require students to use senses other than sight to make observations and test a hypothesis. This activity is also excellent at the start of the year as students are learning the investigative process.
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Provide a Fun and Engaging Learning Experience: Overall, Lab-Aids science kits and modules are a great way to bring life back into the classroom in a meaningful way. Whether it's a unique activity or a classic science experiment like making oobleck or stacking liquids of different densities, educators can be confident they'll have everything they need, right out of the box. All of our kits include full teacher guidance and instruction, background information, and discussion prompts, as well as student sheets, procedures, and analysis. Lab-Aids activities are designed to be fun and interesting while also providing a high-quality learning experience.
Need more ideas? Lab-Aids offers over two hundred unique kits and modules that provide teachers with not just the lesson, but everything needed for thoughtful, hands-on activities. We hear from countless teachers who discover Lab-Aids for the first time and love it so much that those activities become a favorite staple of the curriculum year after year.
Lab-Aids Middle School Supplemental Kits
Hands-On Investigations | Available Grades K-12
Lab-Aids offers two types of supplemental activities:
- Kits completed in 1-3 days
- Modules completed in 8-30 days
Easily fill instructional gaps, reinforce challenging or abstract concepts, and spark curiosity to finish the year strong!
Supplemental Kits and Modules by Lab-Aids