Note: This would be a great followup practical after completing your Pythagoras Cup. Practical 5 in the History in STEM practical series. In this practical we are looking at the humble beginnings of the alarm clock. This version is based on a design believed to be used by Plato, to make sure he got up on time. It teaches a number of concepts, such as siphons, as well as displacement and air pressure. It takes the principle of the cup and applies it in a new way. When the water siphons into the vessel, it displaces the air out, forcing it through a whistle, causing it to sound. You can tweak the practical to have the time it takes for the alarm to go off, to suit whatever purpose you like. This is probably more than a single lesson practical, but might be a good collaborative project. Bring the Arts department in to get some cool decorations for the clock. Get the history team to talk about Plato and the philosophers of ancient Greece and turn this practical into a real cross curriculum event. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available. Other practicals in the series: Similar Triangles - History of STEM practicals - How Far Is That Boat? Water Alarm Clock - History of STEM practicals - Pressure and Displacement Viking Sunstones - History of STEM practicals - Refraction and Birefringence Pythagoras’ Cup - History of STEM practicals - Siphon Archimedes’ Eureka - History of STEM practicals - Density Measuring the World - History of STEM Practicals - Circumference of Circles

Practical 6 in the History in STEM practical series. In this practical, you will be using similar triangles to measure how far off distant objects are. This technique is believed to have been used in Ancient Greece and other locations for a number of reasons and is a very simple to conduct, group work activity where each member has defined roles, ensuring that participation is high. It can be used and adapted to teach a number of aspects of similar triangles, but as it is set up, would be a great introduction to the topic. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available. Other practicals in the series: Similar Triangles - History of STEM practicals - How Far Is That Boat? Water Alarm Clock - History of STEM practicals - Pressure and Displacement Viking Sunstones - History of STEM practicals - Refraction and Birefringence Pythagoras’ Cup - History of STEM practicals - Siphon Archimedes’ Eureka - History of STEM practicals - Density Measuring the World - History of STEM Practicals - Circumference of Circles

Practical 7 in the History in STEM practical series. In this practical, you will be looking at the illusive history of invisible ink and the chemical reactions behind them. Have a look at the different methods used, beginning in Ancient Greece and continuing through history all the way through to modern times. Test their effectiveness in application, invisibility and ease of development, and decide for yourself, which of the methods you would choose. Finally, take your knowledge and apply it to working out the teachers secret message. Which method did they use? Use observations and clues to make your deductions and then test your hypothesis. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available. Other practicals in the series: Similar Triangles - History of STEM practicals - How Far Is That Boat? Water Alarm Clock - History of STEM practicals - Pressure and Displacement Viking Sunstones - History of STEM practicals - Refraction and Birefringence Pythagoras’ Cup - History of STEM practicals - Siphon Archimedes’ Eureka - History of STEM practicals - Density Measuring the World - History of STEM Practicals - Circumference of Circles

A simple card game for groups of four, it is quick to print, quick to set up and easy to run. It is a great tool for creating discussions on the topics of human impact on the environment, food webs, ecology, sustainable living and a jumping point for the students to delve deeper, to begin their own research into their habits and what they can do to make a difference. Simply print the the pages double sided, cut them out and you are ready to go. It is possible to have bigger or smaller groups, as there are seven included location cards, however, for balance of scores at the end, I have had most success with four students. Teacher Instructions The pages are set so that, when printed double sided, they have a back and front, enabling for easy sorting. There are location cards with different habitats, scenario cards which give instructions for the students to add or take tokens away and lifeline cards, which can be used once in a game to protect against the effect of a scenario card. Before you print the whole deck, test your settings by printing the first two pages of cards, to check alignment. If it doesn’t match, then its likely to do with how the printer flips the page (either long end or short end), so make sure it is on the flipped on the long end. If you don’t want backs, then print every second page. There are two sizes of cards, mini and large, so have a look at both before you print. You will need some tokens, but if you can’t find some, having the students keep track of their points on a piece of paper should suffice. At the start of each game, the decks are shuffled and the students each pick 1 lifeline and 1 habitat card at random. Then, they take turns drawing scenario cards and either add or remove points/tokens as instructed. At the end the points are tallied and a winner is determined. They can check the score card for extra reference and discussion points. An extension activity, might be to discuss the cards and what could be added to them. Then, as homework, the students could be set to design 7 more scenario cards to add to the deck. The point is that this game, while fun, should be used as a starting point to jump into a discussion of the impact of human activity on earth. Enjoy. The Efficient Science Teacher

Practical 4 in the History in STEM practical series. In this practical we are looking at the Viking Sunstone, the theoretical genius navigation method, making much of the Viking exploration possible. Working with Icelandic Spar (Calcite Crystal) which, through the process of birefrigence, causes light passing through it to be refracted at two separate angles. Using this, with some small effort, research has shown that the stone could be used to locate the sun, even on an overcast day, within a few degrees, allowing for the journey to continue. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available.

Practical 3 in the History in STEM practical series. In this practical we are looking at the famous cup attributed to Pythagoras. Working with a siphon, it “punished” anyone who became too greedy. Students will be able to produce their own “Greedy cups” as they are otherwise known, using some simple materials, most of which you may already have in your staff kitchen cupboard. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available.

Part 2 in the History in STEM practical series. This time we are taking a look at the famous experiment regarding the link between an objects volume and water displacement, in order to calculate the density of a dodgy crown by that eccentric scientist Archimedes. Note: The “Crown” in the practical can be anything you want. However, it will link better to the story if it is a crown. More about the History in STEM practical Series This series is designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available.

Practical 1 in the History in STEM practical series, looking at how students can do an experiment completed over 2000 years ago to get their own reasonably accurate value for the circumference of the Earth. Requires minimal equipment and very little time to get the data, however, does need you to be able to work with another school in a** different city** to get all the data points required to complete the calculation. Good for schools with a “sister school” in another state or country. More about the History in STEM practical Series This free sample is a preview of the History in STEM practical series, a set of practicals designed to bring quality cross-curricula material to STEM subjects, that help students to explore and discover phenomena normally taught, while getting a glimpse into the history of its development. In addition, a number of the practicals give the students the opportunity to play “Mythbusters”, looking at a number of different methods and having to reason why one or the other was the more likely or useful method. From Ancient Greece to Vikings, China to the Golden age of the Muslim empire and beyond to India, the series takes a look at some of the most important STEM achievements throughout history. There is a plan for 40 of these such practicals in this series, so, if you liked this one, consider looking at some of the others, or check out some of the bundles available.

Easily keep track of faculty spending with this easy to use, straight forward budget tracker. Produces graphs, reports and tables giving a clear view of where your budget is going and how much is left. Step 1 Go to the “Overall” sheet and in the total budget cell, input your allocated budget. Step 2 As orders come in, click on the appropriate subject tab, and list the resource, where it is from, who ordered it, the cost, how many are required and if there are any shipping costs. The results will update on the “Overall” both in the table, and graphically, giving you a visual of exactly where the money is being spent. Furthermore a short report is generated, that can be copied and pasted into an email, should you need to notify someone of the progress with the budget. Step 3 It should be noted, that although this excel sheet has been set up for a Head of Science Position, it could be easily adapted to suit other Faculties by changing the name of the sheets and the labels on the graph. To alter the report, simply click on the cell, and in the formula, wherever a faculty is listed, rewrite it with the appropriate replacement. pw to unlock cells is “schoolsoutforsummer”

A short PowerPoint file covering how reaction rate can be affected. Simple explanations suitable for a younger audience.

Easily generate unique comments for each of your students with this straight forward, easy to use excel sheet. Use the comments already loaded or input your own to quick and easily generate report comments that are individualised. See steps below for how to use. Go to Grades Tab and Insert student names and gender (use capital F or M to indicate which pronouns will be used in the comment) Go to Sentences. I have provided you with some examples of what you can use. You can alter what is there, and there is space for your to add more. If you need more sentence ideas, there is plenty available online which you can use as a template. Just google, “Report Comment examples” and you should come up with thousand of options. When inputting the sentences, you should see the key to the right for inputting pronouns or other data. For example, “%name% has shown that while heshe is capable, heshe has work to do to meet expectations.” will replace %name% with the name of the student and “heshe” will change to he or she based on the gender input. Before you begin creating your individualised comments, you should print off the “Sentences” sheet. It will make it easier to see all the options you have available. Now you are ready to create your comments. Go to the input tab and for each section insert a number between 1 and 25. This will insert the corresponding sentence that you created in the Sentences sheet. If you want to mention an assignment, then place the name of the assignment in the assignment column and it will insert it into the comment for you. When you are done, go back to the Grades tab and you should be able to see an overview of the comments for your students. If you prefer a cleaner view, you can go to the “Individual Student View Report Card” and type the number of each student in individually to have a closer look and check that you are happy. The final step is to copy the cells over to a Word document or wherever else you want the writing to go and you are done. If you don’t want to use my comments, there is a little time to be taken in the initial set up, but once you have the sentences in place, comment writing takes a matter of minutes rather than hours. I would even recommend having a separate list of sentence for each year level, however, that is something that you can work on with time. I have also attached an Email generator as a bonus. It has space for up to 15 preset emails that you can set. I have again left some examples, but you can alter them and create your own. When making your own emails, don’t forget to use the key to the right for anything you want replaced.