Many teachers find the prep, and cost, of science materials overwhelming. Managing your science materials does not have to be overwhelming. In this post, I am going to give you three tips for managing your science materials.
Tip #1: Use Household Materials for Science Supplies
Some classroom experiments call for a beaker or other glass container. I use glass jars instead! I found the perfect size glass jar for experiments, the jar hearts of palm come in. I ate about 12 jars so I could use them in experiments. You can also use other household items in your experiments! I use toothpicks, paper plates, paper cups, and other household items to make teaching science cheaper.
Tip #2: Have Students Work in Groups
Not every student needs their own set of materials! To offset the cost, you can have students work in groups! For example, when I have students dissect owl pellets, I have them work in groups of five. Not every student is going to want to be hands on with every experiment. I find with owl pellets, theres usually one person in each group that is comfortable touching the owl pellet. Each student will still participate in the experiment, and this way it is a lot cheaper!
Tip #3: Hand Out Science Supplies a Little at a Time
For example, with this Kool-Aid experiment, I would give students the jar of water, and the Kool-Aid packet before I gave them the cup with the baking soda. This prevents eager students from using the materials before you are able to give instructions! This way, they only need one set of materials and you won’t need to provide replacements.
I hope these tips help you with managing science materials! Hop on over to my store to see if there are any ready to use lesson plans that would work in your classroom!
