I love supporting secondary science teachers! I offer teaching tips, classroom management strategies, and instructional resources for Anatomy & Physiology and Biology. I even have a few things that work for any secondary science class.
I’d love for you to spend some time on my site and, by the time you leave Science Island, I hope you feel relieved, supported, and excited to try something new!
If so, you are not alone AND you’re in the right place!
I’m Carla Brooks and I’m a teacher just like you. Since most of my teaching experience was in Hawaii, Science Island seemed like the perfect name for my site.
I absolutely LOVE helping fellow teachers by creating and sharing engaging and effective resources, instructional strategies, and classroom management ideas.
Teacher burnout is real and it is very important to me to encourage teachers. So I share anything I can think of to energize your day-to-day life in the classroom.
My biggest hope is that my resources and ideas will support your work and alleviate some of the doubts, time pressure, and stress associated with being a great secondary science teacher.
After a career of teaching Anatomy & Physiology and Biology (and many other science courses) in three public high schools, I started Science Island in my retirement to turn my focus from serving students directly to supporting them indirectly by encouraging their teachers. Your students need you!
(in my SHOP on this site as well as in my store on Teachers Pay Teachers) that are...
that make the implementation of my resources quick and easy, like...
to help you with...
My teaching experience includes Biology at every level from Basic to Advanced Placement, Human Anatomy & Physiology (my absolute fave!), Physical Science, Earth Science, and Ecology to students in grades 9-12.
But when I first started teaching over 35 years ago, I literally worked ALL THE TIME. I even quit teaching…twice. More on that below.
Teaching was so hard. I didn’t understand how I could possibly do everything that needed to be done. I was overwhelmed. But, guess what? It took time and effort, but I figured it out.
I focused on improving my content knowledge and teaching skills by making two huge investments in my career. I received National Board Certification in Adolescent and Young Adulthood Science in 2002 and I earned my Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction in 2004.
Next, I served as a mentor teacher to five student teachers from two different universities.
I learned so much! And I truly fell in love with teaching. Now my goal on this site is to share what I learned throughout my teaching career with you. I hope I can make your teacher life a little easier.
Remember when I said I quit teaching twice before? Early in my career, I took a break from teaching to spend time devoted entirely to starting a family. The first few years of teaching were so challenging for me that I was sure the stress was hindering my progress. Long story, short, I gave up on trying to have my own children, went through some major life changes including leaving teaching again, and eventually moved to Hawaii and rededicated my professional life to teaching and my “school children”.
Science is awesome, but life science is my favorite. To me, everything about nature, living things, and the design of the human body is like a huge arrow pointing to God. It almost feels like He’s saying, “Look what I made!” That’s why Hawaii was so special to me. I saw God’s hand in everything there – the waves, stars, whales, turtles, mountains, waterfalls, volcanoes, flowers, and the list goes on and on.
You will see references to Hawaii in my blog and in my shop because I lived and taught there for 14 years. Hawaii is an extraordinary place and my husband and I consider our time there one of the greatest blessings in our lives. We also brought two special blessings back to the mainland with us – our daughter and son – adopted from the foster care system!
My husband and I planned to retire in Waialua, the tiny little town with precious people and the cutest school you’ve ever seen.
Those years were, by far, the best of my career. For many years, I was sure that God intended for me to teach the sweet kiddos in Waialua as long as I possibly could. But…
One day, I heard the radio ad that said, “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent” and my eyes and heart were opened to the idea of adopting children from foster care. I talked to my husband, made some calls, and in April of 2009, we met our 6-year-old daughter on Kauai. Three years later, we added a feisty 7-year-old little boy from Maui to our family.
Pretty much as soon as his adoption was final, we put our adorable little 912-square-foot house on the market and moved back home. (912 is no joke. And, we had two children, two dogs, and two cats! But we were one block from the beach, so, you know…totally worth it!)
My new babies had been through a lot, and we needed to be back home near our extended family in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area.
So, I did retire from teaching while at my dream job in my dream school, but it was a few years earlier than planned. Life is complicated. Things change.
Once we were back home, I homeschooled our children for a couple of years before they went back to public school. While I was very grateful to be at home and serve my family in a new way, there were certain aspects of teaching that I greatly missed.
Then, my dear friend and Waialua teaching buddy, Erica (of Nitty Gritty Science), told me about Teachers Pay Teachers. And here I am. I even have a website.
The photo is from our first family vacation after moving back home.
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