Birdley tackles Physics in 2008

I am finishing up the seventh installment of the Dr. Birdley Teaches Science Series: Forces and Motion. This book, geared for students in grades 5-12, develops the core cast of Birdley, Clarissa, Gina, Jaykes, and Norman, and focuses primarily on athletics. A good number of source cartoons explore the physics of basketball, hockey, tennis, golf, baseball, camel racing, and other sports. Birdley also goes back in time to visit Sir Isaac Newton at the moment he saw the apple fall from the tree, which inspired his theory of gravitation. Upon traveling back to the present, Newton gets the chance discuss physics with Birdley's colleagues. I look forward to using these in my classes this January, when we start our semester on physics. The book is scheduled to be available in 2008.

On another note, I am enjoying teaching so far this year. We are now working through an M&M lab in physical science which focuses on working with individual and classwide data sets. We will start looking at properties of matter soon, and this is where Dr. Birdley will begin making regular appearances in the lessons. I aim to develop birdleymedia.com into a teaching tool that can be used in the lessons. Teaching in an inclusion setting has given me the opportunity to learn some additional teaching strategies that I look forward to sharing at my upcoming workshop at Amherst Books next Sunday at 5 PM.