Let’s be honest: the “New Year, New Me” energy hits different when your “new year” starts in August and comes with lab safety contracts, roster changes, and at least one student who already lost their syllabus.
But still—this is the time when we science teachers get to hit refresh, get inspired, and set some goals that help us teach smarter, not harder.
This year, skip the lofty, guilt-trippy resolutions. Instead, let’s talk realistic, bite-sized goals that will actually improve your teaching craft and protect your sanity.
Goal #1: Prioritize Student Engagement Over Perfection
Your bulletin board doesn’t need rhinestones. Your anchor chart doesn’t need to go viral. What matters is that your students are into it.
Try this:
- Add in more hands-on tasks (even low-prep ones like color-by-number or card sorts)
- Use quick games or puzzles to reinforce concepts without re-teaching
- Let students talk, move, argue (academically!)—because science is messy and interactive
My Seek & Find Science activities, escape rooms, and color-by-numbers do all this without draining your time bank.
Goal #2: Build One New Routine That Saves You Time
Pick one thing that’s been draining your energy—grading late work? Lab setup chaos? Repeating directions 17 times?
Now solve it with a system.
Try this:
- Use station labels or color-coded bins to train students to reset their own lab areas
- Record quick video instructions for routines you explain constantly
- Create a “when I’m done” board so you don’t have to answer “what do I do now?” 86 times a week
Pro tip: You only need to teach the routine well once. Future-you will cry tears of joy.
Goal #3: Try One New Strategy That Scares You a Little
Growth doesn’t come from doing the same doodle notes every unit. Be brave, friend.
Try this:
- Start a student-led lab day
- Flip a single lesson with a video you create
- Try CER writing or classroom debates
- Let students design their own review game (chaotic? Yes. Memorable? Absolutely.)
You don’t have to be amazing at it. You just have to try. That’s what you ask your students to do every day.
Goal #4: Protect Your Peace (Without Apology)
It’s 2025. We’re done glorifying burnout. You don’t have to answer emails at 8 p.m. or grade during your Sunday brunch. Your personal life is not a luxury—it’s the battery that keeps your teacher life running.
Try this:
- Set a hard stop time each day. And keep it.
- Give yourself one night a week with zero school talk or tasks.
- Batch your lesson planning. (Four weeks of ideas at once = fewer weekly freak-outs.)
Goal #5: Connect with Your Students as Humans
Before you’re a science teacher, you’re a human. And before they’re test scores, your students are kids navigating weird, wild middle school life.
Try this:
- Greet them at the door (yes, even when you’re holding a coffee and a lab timer)
- Share a little of your own story. Your favorite planet. Your weirdest lab fail.
- Laugh with them. Celebrate wins. Acknowledge effort more than grades.
You are not a content robot. You are a relationship builder. And honestly? That’s the real work of teaching.
Final Thought: You Don’t Have to Do It All
Set one goal. Or two. Or just pick the one that feels the most doable this week.
Growth isn’t a race. It’s a slow, slightly messy evolution—just like a middle school group project.
And when you’re ready for time-saving, brain-sparking, engagement-boosting science resources? I’ve got your back.
Here’s to a year of boundaries, breakthroughs, and a little classroom chaos—EzPz style.
Need Help Reaching Your EzPz Goals?
Check out these sanity-saving resources:
Science Station/ Table Labels – Have a label for every place so you never have to be asked “where?”
Back to School Escape Room – Builds relationships and classroom norms
Seek & Find Science Activities – Low-prep, high-engagement, totally EzPz
ezpz-science.com 