Every year I tell myself I'll leave my science PowerPoints alone. And every year I open one up in front of a class and see something I want to fix.
This time I didn't just fix a few slides. I went back through my Physical Science, Earth Science, and Life Science PowerPoints and redid all of them. Then I updated the student guided notes to match, and recorded a narrated video for every section.
It took a while. But I'm really happy with how they turned out, and I wanted to walk you through what changed.
What Changed in the PowerPoints
First, everything is widescreen now (16:9). No more black bars on the sides of your board.
Every slide has real photos and diagrams. I wanted students to see the actual thing we're talking about, not clip art.
I also wrote new readings and added a few kinds of slides that break up the notes:
- Did You Know? slides with an interesting fact tied to the lesson
- See It in the Real World slides that connect the content to everyday life
- Try This slides with a quick hands-on activity
- Fun Facts to keep things light
- Detective photo puzzles, where students study a picture and figure out what's going on
The Detective puzzles are my favorite. Kids lean in when they think they're solving something.
At the end of each PowerPoint there's an NGSS standards slide, so you can see what's covered at a glance.
A Narrated Video for Every Section
This is the part I'm most excited about. Every section now has its own narrated video, made in Google Vids.
There's a VIDEO button right on the slides. Students click it and the video for that section opens. No searching through a playlist, and no extra links for you to post.
I made these because I kept running into the same problem. A student is out for three days and comes back lost. Or someone needs to hear it a second time before a test. The videos cover both.
Updated Guided Notes and 8 Color Organizer Pages
The student guided notes were updated to match the new slides. As you teach, students fill in their notes, and what they're writing lines up with what's on the board.
I also added 8 full-color graphic organizer pages:
- Science Concepts
- Engineering Design: Defining the Problem
- Engineering Design: Developing Solutions
- Connecting Contents
- Vocabulary
- People to Know
- Cause & Effect
- Sequencing
The two Engineering Design pages walk students through defining a problem and then working out solutions. The others are pages I've reached for over and over in my own classroom.
Everything comes in print and Google versions, so you can use paper, devices, or a mix of both.
How You Can Use It
Here are a few ways I'd put the videos and notes to work:
- Absent students. Send them the section video and the notes page. They can catch up without you reteaching the whole lesson at lunch.
- Review. Before a quiz or test, students can rewatch the sections they're shaky on and check their notes.
- Sub days. Leave the slides and the notes. Students watch the narrated video and fill in their notes, and your class keeps moving while you're out.
- Flipped lessons. Assign the video ahead of time, then use class time for the Try This activities and questions.
Google Slides Tips
If you use the Google Slides versions, here's something to know. The pictures are locked in place. That means students (or you, at 10 p.m.) can't drag an image off the slide by accident.
The text and video icons are still editable. So you can change wording, add your own notes, or swap a video link if you want to use something else.
Where to Find Everything
Here are the bundles with the updated PowerPoints and notes:
- NGSS Science Guided Notes and PowerPoints Bundle (Life, Earth, and Physical Science) (also on Teachers Pay Teachers)
- Physical Science Guided Notes and PowerPoints Bundle
- Earth Science Guided Notes and PowerPoints Bundle
- Life Science Guided Notes and PowerPoints Bundle
If you want the full year, these curriculum bundles have the guided notes for every unit plus the engagement activities, in print and Google:
- Physical Science Curriculum Bundle
- Earth Science Curriculum Bundle
- Life Science Curriculum Bundle
- NGSS Science Curriculum Bundle (Earth, Life, and Physical Science)
I'd love to hear how your students like the Detective puzzles. Drop me a comment and let me know.
Thanks for being here, and for all you do for your kids.
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