A New School Year, a Bigger Science Community
A new school year is a chance to help students do more than memorize science. They need to make sense of information, interpret models and data, explain their thinking, and use evidence well.
That is the work I have been building toward.
Azar Science has now expanded to support New York State teachers across the full 6–12 science landscape. The growing cluster library includes:
• 34 Earth and Space Science clusters
• 19 Biology clusters
• 6 Chemistry clusters
• 6 Physics clusters
• 8 Middle School Science clusters
That is 73 phenomenon-based cluster assessments across the science disciplines, with 32 finalized resources already available for the 2026–27 school year.
Each cluster is designed to give students meaningful practice with the kinds of work NYSSLS assessments ask them to do: interpret stimuli, use scientific ideas and evidence, recognize patterns, explain reasoning, and communicate clearly.
A free science-literacy resource for newsletter subscribers
To begin the school year, I am sharing a free See It. Sense It. Say It. activity: Tectonic Map of Iceland.
This resource helps students work through a Regents-style passage and map by annotating key ideas, identifying patterns, and building increasingly precise scientific explanations about tectonic activity and seafloor spreading.
When you join the Official Azar Sciences Newsletter, you will automatically receive the Iceland packet.
I also have a second See It. Sense It. Say It. activity focused on electromagnetic waves and light bending. If you would like that resource as well, email me at [email protected], and I will send it to you.
Back-to-school offers
• Teachers Pay Teachers is running its 2026–27 School Year Begins sale for the next four days, with 20% off participating resources.
• If you have been eyeing a resource on Buy Me a Coffee, use code AzarLabr to receive 25% off through September 14.
More is in the works
I am developing additional literacy strategies that help students work through the “thing in front of them,” whether that is a graph, diagram, passage, data table, or model. The goal is simple: make rigorous science thinking more accessible without adding another program to a teacher’s plate.
Know a science teacher who would benefit?
Please forward this email to a colleague who teaches Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Space Science, or Middle School Science. The library has grown substantially, and I would love to connect with more teachers who are working to build students’ confidence, scientific reasoning, and communication.
Thank you for being part of this work. I am excited for the year ahead.