PhET Interactive Simulations (sims) are now being widely used in teaching physics and chemistry. Sims can be used in many different educational settings, including lecture, individual or small group inquiry activities, homework, and lab. Here we will highlight a few ways to use them in teaching, based on our research and experiences using them in high school and college classes. The basic strategies for using sims effectively match those for all effective teaching. Briefly, they include: 1) define specific learning goals; 2) encourage students to use sense-making and reasoning; 3) connect with and build on students' prior knowledge and understanding (including addressing  possible misconceptions); 4) connect to and make sense of real-world experiences; 5) encourage productive collaborative activities; 6) do not overly constrain student exploration; 7) require reasoning/sense-making in words and diagrams (i.e. multiple representations); 8) help students monitor their understanding.

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