As the pandemic situation improves around the world, many teachers are able to enjoy face to face instruction again. I’m thrilled to be back in my physics classroom, but that doesn’t mean things are quite back to their usual routine. The challenges of distance learning meant that some students did not manage to complete theContinue reading “Strategies to Address Learning Gaps”
Author Archives: Brian Swarthout
Five Fun and Easy Physics Challenges
One of my favourite things about being a physics teacher is doing demonstrations and experiments with my students. Why start a lesson with a lecture when you can arouse your students’ curiosity by bringing scientific principles to life right before their eyes? I like to start with a provocative question like: How can you pickContinue reading “Five Fun and Easy Physics Challenges”
The Upside of Gravity
What can you always depend on, but will always let you down? Gravity! But in fact, gravity will never let you down as a topic of interest for your physics students. That’s why Step by Step Science has created some great new teaching resources on gravity over the summer. Gravitation and satellite motion are conceptsContinue reading “The Upside of Gravity”
Fun with Fussball and Physics
The Euro 2020 tournament has been a highlight of our summer so far, especially since we’ve got a serious soccer player in the family. We live in Berlin so we were rooting for Germany until they got knocked out by England in the round of 16. There are so many physics lessons to be learnedContinue reading “Fun with Fussball and Physics”
Step by Step Science Posts 500th YouTube Video!
The first videos in January of 2010 were on radioactivity, fission, and fusion. The 500th video completes a series on simple machines. In between, Step by Step Science has explained physics, chemistry and math to students of all ages around the world in short videos that guide them through the concepts, equations and formulas thatContinue reading “Step by Step Science Posts 500th YouTube Video!”
Sink or Swim
Do you need a great activity for teaching your kids or students about the scientific process? The Sink or Swim experiment is a fun way to help students develop skills in measurement, calculation and estimation. They will also learn about the concept of density while determining whether an object will sink or float. Density isContinue reading “Sink or Swim”
Salty Science
Did you know that you can make ice cream in a bag with just ice, salt and a few other ingredients? Salt is the ingredient that lets you chill the mixture to the right temperature to make a tasty frozen treat. The salt acts to lower the temperature at which a solution freezes. This isContinue reading “Salty Science”
Work, Energy and the Power of Rubberbands
What are work and energy and how are these important concepts related to each other? This is what I ask my eigth grade students at the start of our unit on conservation of energy. Work is a hard term to define in physics. While sitting quietly and “working” at their desks, students often comment thatContinue reading “Work, Energy and the Power of Rubberbands”
The Power of Electromagnets
Need to sort through all that junk in your basement? Why not build an electromagnet to do the job for you. An electromagnet is a special type of magnet that is created when a current flows through a coil of wire. These magnets separate materials that contain iron from those that don’t. You can buildContinue reading “The Power of Electromagnets”
Making YOU the Scientist
Students should develop a love of science by doing science. That’s why Step by Step Science is excited to launch a new series of videos with live experiments and demonstrations that can be done from home, classrooms, or just about anywhere. These are fun activities that are easy to set up and will cover basicContinue reading “Making YOU the Scientist”
Step by Step Science 