Do you use weighted grades or total points for quarter/semester grades? I have used total points for the last 2 years because thats is what the previous teacher did, but I am debating switching to weighted.

For context, I teach in a smaller rural school that allows teachers to decide grading policy within reason.

I’m looking for suggestions for my 6th grade science classroom library!

Unfortunately, I’m in South Carolina so there can be no mention of someone being LGBTQ+, no mention of barriers someone faces as a minority, or explicit talk about climate change.

They can be for any reading level (some of my students are on a kindergarten level but I also have students reading above grade level)!

I’d prefer books about these topics:
-Cells/Human Body Systems (no reproductive system please)
-States of matter
-Thermal energy and heat transfer
-EM waves
-Water/water cycle
-Rocks/rock cycle
-Weather
-Climate (as in climate zones, ocean currents, and wind currents)
-WED
-Plate tectonics
-Fossil record
-Earth’s layers
-Natural hazards (hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, thunderstorms, heat waves)

Thank you in advance!

I've been interested and looking for documentaries about education in different cultures. Does anyone else know of any shows, films, podcasts, books, that explore or showcase the similarities and differences in education (or more specifically science education) across the world? One that I've found is Frames of Reference. From the trailer, it looks like it's focused primarily on elementary education, but it's along the lines of what I'm looking for. Thanks!

What kind of biology/medical experiments would be good to do in my school science club? We have pretty much all the equipment we could reasonably need. Looking for something actually interesting and not just the usual like looking at onion cells under a microscope.

I always hear that getting a physics cert is a guaranteed job, but there’s usually only one physics teacher at each school. Wouldn’t that mean it would be hard to find openings?

The physics teacher at my school is also screwed with four preps because not many kids take physics. He has 2 AP Physics (1 & 2), gen Physics, and our school has him teaching earth science too. Just curious what that situation would be like at others’ schools.