Sign in

Nick Watkins

@pnwphysics.bsky.social
439 followers 216 following 572 posts

AP Physics 1, Physical Science, Bio teacher in Tacoma, WA. Interested in sharing resources and collaborating! #iteachphysics #EDUsky #ModPhys #NBCT #VernierTrendsetter

PostsRepliesMedia
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
As I reflect upon my 13th year of teaching and #teach180, I realized that this was the closest I’ve ever come to working to my contracted time and not going way over. Having a 3rd kid and trying to find a better balance with sharing a parenting mental load was the toughest thing this year. Cont
140
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Day 176 - 180 Physics: ended with a short research CER on energy mixed use by major population area. Lots of great 1-1 convos to end the year, able to put on some WC games for portions of class. Ended the year with staff of the month award! docs.google.com/document/d/1... #iteachphysics #teach180
docs.google.com
Physics Renewable Energy Plan Final
Name: ___________________________________________ Date: _______________________ Physics Renewable Energy Plan Final Background: Fossil Fuels such as Oil, Gas, and Coal are estimated to run out as ear...
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Day 169 - 175 Physics: this class was mostly seniors and they finished school two weeks early. Left with just three students we focused on renewable energy sources. Developed wind and solar energy sources and determined what made sense for our locality #iteachphysics #teach180
030
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Day 177 - 180 Physical Sci: prepped for and took the final! Last day of school only had a few students so it was uno, yearbooks, and trips to the dumpster #iteachphysics #teach180
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Day 172 - 176 Physical Sci: wrapped up climate and preparing for semester 2 Final. Totally lost track so just a dump from some of the lessons #iteachphysics #teach180
100
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Day 164-168 Physics: Students worked on and then presented their thermodynamic projects and models. Great to see students explain processes that seemed like a black box. This was the final for seniors and their last assignment ever so very bittersweet! #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Day 171 Physical Sci - talked about albedo effect and positive feedback back loops. Used #vernier light sensor to measure reflectivity of different color surfaces #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Day 168 - 170 Physical Sci: Covered 6 factors that affect climate. Latitude, ocean current, wind, elevation, relief, nearness to water. Started with notes, then analyzing a N American city, then given a fictional continent to describe climates of different regions #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Day 167 Physical Sci - Did carbon cycle game today where students move around the room and roll dice to find different carbon sinks and how it shifts. Halfway through make an update to the game so students who previously were stuck in fossil fuels get released far faster #iteachphysics #teach180
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Day 166 Physical Sci - warm up on Owen’s Beach park in Tacoma that had to be shifted uphill due to sea level rise. Talked about properties of warming water and what causes sea levels to rise. Lots of demos and observations and modeling interactions bw water and heat #iteachphysics #teach180
120
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Day 165 Physical Sci - Today we modeled the greenhouse effect and collected some data using #vernier sensors by heating up an atmospheric air bottle vs a CO2 bottle. #iteachphysics #teach180
031
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Started climate with an adapted lesson from the @perimeterinstitute.ca lots of graph analysis and whiteboarding greenhouse effect. Honestly not a great lesson coming back from a 4 day weekend 😖 #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere Part 1: Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere How does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affect climate? To investigate, analyze the Keeling Curve Graphs, created from data ...
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Day 163 Physics - Final week for seniors next week so ending with a project where they model applications of thermodynamics (fridge, heat pump, combustion engine, etc) #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
HVAC & Thermodynamics Summative
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________ Modeling Thermodynamics in HVAC Systems & The Real Worl...
030
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Day 162 Physics - wrapped up thermo lab and had students complete a CER to determine what material of block they had according to the specific heat capacity chart. Only one that was way off was the iron block which I think got thrown off due to it having a coating on in. #iteachphysics #teach180
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Day 163 Physical Sci - Discussed hot spots and Hawaii and how the sea floor volcano chain provides evidence for theory of plate tectonics #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
7.7 - Hot Spots
7.7 - Hot Spots (Hawaii) Phenomenon Is Hawaii Growing or Shrinking? Stimulus Article: WHAT DOES KILAUEA’S ERUPTION TELL US ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON MORE WIDELY GEOLOGICALLY? Hawaii’s volcanoes aren’t ...
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Day 162 Physical Sci - last day for one pagers, lots of students will need to take theirs home to finish or come in after school for extra time #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Day 160/161 Physical Sci - continued working on our plate boundary one pager. Favorite question is asking students to analyze why these regions (PNW, Japan, Pacific Islands, Iceland) have such unique cultures due to their geologic processes #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Day 160/161 Physics - notes on 2nd and 3rd thermodynamic laws and Carnot Cycle. Today did find the specific heat capacity of mystery block by transferring from ice water and transferring from boiling water #iteachphysics #teach180
110
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Day 159 Physical Sci - wrapping up plate tectonics in a hurry! Ss will create a onepager model diagramming and explaining how a surface feature is formed #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Modeling A Plate Boundary Feature
Modeling A Plate Boundary Feature Intro: In this summative model you will be choosing one unique geologic feature that was formed by a converging, diverging, or transforming plate boundary. The goal ...
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Day 159 Physics - our school had prom on this Friday AND it was senior skip day so in this class of seniors only two showed up! We whiteboarded and modeled heat pump and refrigerator systems with a focus on what compressors and expansion valves do #iteachphysics #teach180
040
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Day 158 Physical Sci - I adapted this NPS resource about Indigenous storytelling about Mt. Tahoma (Rainier). Showing how oral traditions show evidence of past eruptions that match the geologic evidence long before this land was stolen. www.nps.gov/common/uploa... #iteachphysics #teach180
nps.gov
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Day 157 Physical Sci - Consolidated our plate boundary learning and had students try to identify what boundary type made some of earths most unique landforms. docs.google.com/document/d/1... #iteachphysics #teach180
docs.google.com
Plate Boundaries Summary
Plate Boundaries Summary On our earth we see many geologic features such as Volcanoes, Islands, Mountains, etc. We typically see these unique features where TWO tectonic plates (earth crust) meet form...
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Day 157/158 Physics - Notes on 1st law of thermodynamics. Many demos with syringes beginning with students using them to boil water by rapidly decreasing pressure. Stuck a vernier temp probe in one to observe significant temp rise. Sub day for day 2 to do practice probs #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Day 156 Physical Sci - Finished our plate tectonic diagrams. Interest starting to click! Lot more google map viewing to see mountain ranges and trenches. I went to Uni in Los Angeles and talked about how often we’d feel earthquakes which blew my Ss minds #iteachphysics #teach180
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Day 156 Physics - Charles Law today and discussed compressed air cans and hot air balloons. #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Day 155 Physical Sci - Revisited the plate tectonic notes since I was out last week. Combining having students annotate their diagrams and find the real world examples of these plate boundaries in Google Maps #iteachphysics #teach180
100
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Day 155 Physics - Did a lab on Boyles law and Gay-Lusaac Law using vernier probes to investigate relationships between pressure temperature and volume #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 154 Physical Sci - following up plate boundary lesson with a helpful self-directed sim. Had another kid begin barfing but luckily had already planned to take the day 🙄 May has been rough. #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
7.6 - Exploring Plate Boundaries
Exploring Plate Boundaries bit.ly/watkinsplatesimulation In this activity you will use a computer simulation to explore the different types of plate boundaries and the landforms created. CONVERGE...
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 153 Physical Sci - another barfy kid another sub day. One of my favorite lessons became the sub plan, going over tectonic plate boundaries. Later found out that Canvas was down/hacked so will need to revisit #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/presentation...
docs.google.com
Plate Tectonic Notes & Resources
Earth’s Interior Draw out the labels and descriptions on your paper Convection Currents
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 153/154 Physics - Stomach Bug finally caught up to me and all 5 family members. Just a punt on the week. Had students do notes and an interactive activity about Ideal Gas Laws #iteachphysics #teach180
071
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 152 Physical Sci - Began to connect density with subducting plates. Did the density column demo to demonstrate unequal densities lead to layering instead of mixing. Introduced ideas of plate boundaries #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
7.3 - The Earth’s Crust
The Earth’s Crust UNIT GOAL: Analyze how the population of WA State has changed over time and make predictions for how it will change in the future and how the state geography affects populations. Le...
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 151 Physical Sci - Sub day so led with a @phetsims.bsky.social density lab to reinforce connection between density and earth layers docs.google.com/document/d/1... #iteachphysics #teach180
docs.google.com
Density Phet Lab
Earth Layers & Density Study Guide Fill in the Earth Layer Diagram: What is the formula for density? Why does a heavy cruise ship float in the ocean but a small rock sinks? Virtual Density La...
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Day 152 Physics - Introduced 3 thermodynamic laws using @phetsims.bsky.social Sims phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/en... phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/st... And did some live demos #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Day 150/151 Physics - Began our HVAC and thermodynamics unit today. Began with a simple warmup of does a ceiling fan cause a rooms temp to increase, decrease, neither. Then went over some notes and introduced heat energy formula and 0th law. Practice problems on day 2 #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Day 150 Physical Sci - Ss asked “why is this iron so much heavier than the rocks even though it’s way smaller?” Finally density is starting to click. Lab with granite, basalt, epidote, and iron for earth layers density #iteachphysics #teach180
040
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Day 148/149 - took sick days with my kids being sick. Physics took their fluid unit test, physical Sci did a Phet density lab. But made it to school for our multicultural assembly which is the best! Love getting to advise and coach my Asian club with the lion and dragon dance. #teach180
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Day 146/147 Physical Sci - talked about earths layers and density using our notebook model and ESRT resource to analyze properties of each layer. Gave Ss samples of granite & basalt to compare, we’ll see them again during our next density lab #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
2 - Earth's Interior
2 - The Earth’s Interior Warm Up: It is 3,959 miles (6,371 km) to the center of the Earth. What is the furthest distance you think humans have dug or drilled? _________________miles or __________...
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Day 145 Physical Sci - introduced earths layers with a “scale” model in the notebook. Want 100% compliance? Have students copy a drawing/model. A little bit mindless in the moment but becomes a great resource #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Day 147 Physics - Wrapping up our fluids unit with some quiz review #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Quiz Review - Buoyancy
Name: ________________________ Quiz Review: Fluids Two substances, mercury with a density of 13,600 kg/m3 and alcohol with a density of 800 kg/m3 are selected for an experiment. If the experiment requ...
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Day 146 Physics - had students create the own mini toilets and experiment #iteachphysics #teach180 drive.google.com/file/d/1NYSo...
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Day 145 Physics - went over physics of a toilet and how we see buoyancy and Archimedes principles #iteachphysics #teach180 drive.google.com/file/d/1RvSF...
drive.google.com
Toilet Physics.pdf
120
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Day 144 Physical Sci - these 10th graders wrapped up two days of state testing so kept today light. Started with a penny boat activity which led into some basic notes on density. #iteachphysics #teach180
020
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Day 144 Physics - successful tests! Ss made these on our short day so the walls were lower than I hoped leading to some water intrusion. But as far as density goes we were able to demonstrate buoyancy and density principles #iteachphysics #teach180
100
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Day 143 - didn’t see my physics or physical Sci classes due to state testing. Messed around with the vernier temp probe and remote logging #iteachphysics #teach180
130
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Day 142 Physical Sci - began earths interior today with a focus on what density is! Used our density cubes to investigate sink or float, then measure and calculate volume and mass and see what patterns show up with those that float vs sink #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
1 - Earth’s Layers & Density
1 - Earth’s Layers & Density UNIT GOAL: Analyze how the population of WA State has changed over time and make predictions for how it will change in the future and how the state geography affects popu...
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Day 142 Physics - Trial 2 for boat construction. state testing week so funky schedule allows us to have some extra time. making them do the math this time to achieve a density of less than 1000 kg/m^3 giving them a mold to speed process up and more direct instruction #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Day 141 Physics - big Fail! As predicted many teams made theirs way tooo thick essentially creating bricks. Teams that used expanded glass chose to use barely any cement???? Good first attempt was a learning experience! #iteachphysics #teach180
010
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Day 140-141 Physical Sci - prepped for and then took our solar system summative #iteachphysics #teach180 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Universe, Star, Planet, and Element Formation Summative
Universe, Star, Planet, and Element Formation Summative Part I - True & False and Multiple Choice Questions (Level 2) Write (A) for True or (B) for False ______ Atoms of elements such as helium and ...
000
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Day 140 Physics - measured and weighed boats to calculate mass and volume. Predicted % submersion. Will test boats tomorrow! #iteachphysics #teach180
110
Nick Watkins @pnwphysics.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
More pros for PNW living. 15 minute drive to the Puget sound and heading to see the Tide Pools at low tide on a beautiful day can be spontaneous #PNW
061