I was pre-med in college before I decided to switch my major to secondary science education. Because of this, I have always LOVED teaching life science courses. I logically knew as a teacher I wouldn’t always get to teach what I wanted, but I was still shocked when I got my first teaching job and found out I would teach my beloved biology…but also physical science.
Even more challenging than tackling a subject not in my forte was being the only one teaching it – and doing so with no physical science curriculum provided for me.
Was I drinking out of a fire hose? YES.
Was it a challenging transition to teach it? Also, YES.
But was it also surprising how much I fell in love with the subject?? YES x2
Even more so, I feel in love with creating resources for my students to learn this content in an engaging way, which led to me creating my full-year physical science curriculum. It has been such a joy over the last few years to see how many teachers’ lives have been simplified by using this curriculum, so I wanted to share with you 6 reasons why I think both you AND your students will love these resources!
This physical science curriculum includes EVERYTHING you need to teach this class in a hands-on FUN way, using materials that won’t break the bank.
There are SO MANY amazing hands-on activities, labs, demos, and investigations you can do when teaching this content. But it can also be really overwhelming to find (1) the time to incorporate it all, and (2) the additional supplies you need to acquire for implementation.
I considered all of this when writing this curriculum – especially the fact that I was writing it for myself, teaching in a non-lab space with no lab supplies or science budget. I made sure to create as many hands-on learning experiences as possible using as many inexpensive and easy to acquire materials as I could.
This curriculum has all of the…
→ Unit plans
→ Lecture notes
→ Cornell note outlines
→ Labs
→ Activities
→ Research projects
→ Practice problems
→ Review games
→ Quizzes
→ Tests
…you need to teach this class in a way that is FUN for you and your students. And you won’t need a crazy amount of fancy supplies in addition to what I provide to do it. Don’t believe me? Click here for the full supply list.
Want to see my pacing guide for the course? You can grab it here! If you find this pacing guide helpful, you will be excited to hear the second reason why I think you will love this physical science curriculum!
It includes ALL of the support you need to teach this course well.
This curriculum is especially helpful for life science teachers thrown, last-minute, into the physical science world. Why? Because I know what it is like to teach a subject that isn’t naturally in your wheelhouse. I also know what it is like to try to implement labs you have found on Google that look great but have no teacher instructions to go with them.
I wrote this physical science curriculum with enough detail that my non-science maternity-leave long-term substitute could teach it in my place. Because of this, in addition to including detailed lesson plans for each unit, I also include:
- Over 100 pages of implementation notes for teachers
- Pre-recorded lecture videos on my YouTube channel for every topic (these are great for teaching in flipped or hybrid settings, as well as supporting absent students!)
- Answer keys for every quiz, test, practice problem, and instructional resource
I started It’s Not Rocket Science®️ to do two things – engage students AND simplify teachers’ lives. This is the perspective with which every resource is created, and this is why I am so passionate about making sure to include the support you need with each curriculum that I write so that you can really focus on what you love most – actually teaching!! So what content does this curriculum actually cover that you will be teaching?
This physical science curriculum give students a STRONG foundation in introductory to chemistry and introductory to physics concepts.
I wrote the curriculum viewing physical science as a pre-requisite course for students who will later take chemistry and physics as upperclassmen. Because of this, I wanted to make sure students had a solid foundation in basic introductory concepts for both chemistry and physics.
The first half of the course focuses on an introduction to physics (covering scientific notation, dimensional analysis, motion, force, energy, electricity, magnetism, and waves) while the second half of the course focuses on an introduction to chemistry (covering properties and classification of matter, atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, and reactions).
I have personally used it when teaching 9th-grade physical science in a public school and 8th-grade physical science in a private school. The curriculum includes two levels – CP (college prep, or on grade level) and Honors (advanced). The CP resources are best for students who are concurrently taking Algebra 1. The Honors resources are best for students who have already taken Algebra 1.
Speaking of math, I love this course and curriculum because I love how it makes math RELEVANT!
MATH MADE RELEVANT! This curriculum is packed with real world application AND reinforcement!
Your students will love to see the content they are learning in their math classes in context with this course. Your math department will also thank you for all of the extra reinforcement you are doing in your classes with their students!
I know math is NOT many of our students’ best subjects, but I love the opportunity when teaching physical science to provide so much real-world application for them. Math really comes alive for students when they see it in the context of the content we cover in physical science.
But knowing that this can still be a challenge for many, I made sure to include a ton of reinforcement of the match concepts through practice problems, study guides, and review games for every unit test.
I didn’t just write this curriculum for all of your left-brain students though! I made sure to consider all of the right-brain learners in your classroom, too.
It includes research projects AND creative art-based activities so that you can reach your right-brain students in this left-brain subject!
Yes, this course has a lot of math. To do the subject justice at this level, math can’t be avoided. But you also have to remember that I am a biology teacher at heart, so when writing this curriculum I wanted to be sure to include all of the creative things that I love to do when teaching bio.
Because of this, I made sure to include model-building, drawing, creative story-writing, and research opportunities in this curriculum so that every student has opportunities to show their learning in a way that makes the most sense to them. As I develop more ideas, I continue to improve the curriculum every year. This leads me to the last reason I think both you and your students will love these resources.
Last but most certainly not least…
🚨 All It’s Not Rocket Science®️ curriculum users get all updates for life, for FREE. 🚨
No, this is not a drill. This is the REAL DEAL.
This is not a subscription service. It isn’t a membership. It is a ONE TIME fee and then you own the resources for LIFE – AND you get all of the updates!
Despite all of this, I totally get that this isn’t the right investment for everyone. If you are still struggling with the decision, here is what I recommend:
- Watch this video tour to have a better idea of what is included and how it is organized.
- Reach out to me here with any specific questions you still have.
- Purchase just ONE unit to try out. This allows you to make sure my style fits with yours before making such an investment in the full year physical science curriculum bundle.
Then if you don’t like it, you are only out $45-50. If you do like it and go on to purchase the full-year bundle, you can be refunded for the initial unit that you tested out.
For resource shop buyers, contact me in advance and I can make you a unique coupon code.
For TpT buyers, you purchase the bundle first and THEN submit your Order ID numbers for the bundle and the unit you tested out to TpT via their Contact Us page and they will refund you for the first unit you tested out, so you aren’t having to pay for it twice. It is one of the few things that does fall under their refund policy because they can mark it as a “duplicate purchase” in the system – as long as it is within one calendar year of the original unit purchased.
I hope this helps you determine whether or not It’s Not Rocket Science®️ physical science curriculum is the right fit for you and your students!
