Monday, April 25, 2011

Fieldwork experience


Now that field work is over I have had some time to reflect, working in Mrs. Benfer's 5th grade classroom. At first I was a little worried because it was very sudden, but when I got there everything seemed ready for us in the classroom. Mrs. Benfer was prepared for us and had all of our sessions set up. When the fifth graders entered the classroom they were overwhelmed that all the college students were there standing in the room. Mrs. Benfer told the students to not be overwhelmed and that the college students will be working with you today and some other days in the future. The college students are here to work with you today as your college buddy. Our very first session we were able to watch Mrs. Benfer introduce a lesson, which was on mixtures and solutions through a demonstration of a trail mix. We got to see how she engages her class and then lets them work on their own. Mrs. Benfer engaged the class by asking questions and challenging the students to think about mixtures and solutions. After we watched her introduce the lesson and she allowed the students to observe, we got to work with them one on one.  We each got a student or two and we watched them do the lab assignment based off what they saw on mixtures and solutions. I liked working one on one with my student Matthew. During this session Matthew and I read the chapter to help him come up with the answers to the explanation questions and Matthew and I went over what each term means and I read him the questions to the worksheet/ lab assignment. We were there for the students if they had questions but other than that we didn't really help them with their lab. When Matthew had a question or needed something explained with examples I was there sitting next to him to answer or explain any thing to him about mixtures or solutions in more detail. The next session we helped them prepare for their open notes test that was coming up. Mrs. Benfer started the class by showing us her online textbook and how she practices with her students. It was a review game, girls vs. boys. This game was a fun way to get the students to activate their minds with some competition. Mrs. Benfer told us that the questions on the review game are their test. We did the chapter review with them that day. The chapter review was good for the students to do to review sheet and Matthew and I worked together on this review. Matthew and I came up with different examples and also discussed each question and what the answer would be before writing down the answer. By talking about each question, Matthew will understand what the test is about and what the test is going to be on so that Matthew will be prepared to do well on the test. We were able to sit with them later that week when they took the test and we were there for questions and to encourage them but we could not tell them the answers. During the test we could help explain the word in a question that the student did not understand but not give the student the answer to the question. Mrs. Benfer was a very good and willing to help if anything and explain anything to us and to help with our lesson if we had any questions we could email her.  After that session we had to teach the class a lesson based off chapter 12.  The first day two of my groups in my class presented lessons on chemical and physical change. As a observer it was nice to see these two lessons and to learn from these two groups about teaching a lesson.  My group went on the second day of presenting lesson. My group’s lesson was on chemical technology which is lesson 4 of chapter 12. It was nice to teach the lesson and to engage the students. It was a great learning experience to teach the students the lesson. It was nice to also see the other two groups’ lessons the next time that we were at fieldwork. It is a great experience to learn from observing others. I learned a lot from this fieldwork experience. I learned a lot from observing Mrs. Benfer and the other groups do their lessons.





Class 31 - April 6, 2011 - taught today

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cu1zI-vOwVZcDQ3Qek0M8xHmFomsKSUakF9yW9U_2dg/edit?hl=en#

My group taught today. We started in Miss O' Leary's classroom with groups D, E, and F. The lesson was on chemical technology. It was a fun lesson that involved the use of a puzzle to start the lesson and also a Smart Board vortex game.  In my group, my job was to hand out the name tags for the different jobs like the reporter, time keeper, the presenter, and task manager. Each name tag for the different roles included a description of what the role entails for the student to do.
  • Each student in the group will be assigned a role.  
    • The task manager.  This student will keep the group focused and will ask essential questions to get the group thinking.  
    • Time keeper.  This student will keep track of their time because they will only have five minutes to discuss the objects.  
    • The reporter.  This student will write down everything the group says. This student will record the observations, different opinions, conclusions and reasoning.  
    • The presenter.  This is the student who will present the group’s findings to the class.
Before handing out the article I asked Mrs. Benfer if this article would be good for the students. Mrs. Benfer said that the students would like the article because some of the students play different sports in the classroom. Once the lesson was completed and all the presenters presented their results for their groups. I explained the homework was to read the article I handed out and it was important for the students to complete. The students were to pick a sport and write about the sport and how the sport uses chemical technology in a journal entry that has to be at least a paragraph long. The students really enjoyed the lesson. 

Here is the link to the homework article that the students used to write a journal entry for. 

This was a good experience for me to get up in front of the class to teach the students. It was nice to see and learn how to engage the students in the lesson. It was a great learning experience for me to know what works and what does not work in the classroom. Through teaching this lesson I learned what to do for next time to improve the lesson and what not to do for next time. I also learned that it would be a good idea to hand out the name tags individually to each student instead of putting them in the middle.This experience has taught me a lot about teaching and what you have to do as a teacher.





    

Science Stories Chapters 10, 11, 12, & 13

I enjoy reading all of the Science Stories in the different chapters of theScience Stories book. I find the Science Stories to be the most interesting parts of the chapters that I read. It is very interesting to see what different experiments are being shown in each chapter. I find the Science Stories to be very well explained and easy to follow. Science Stories which are the experiments are easy for a teacher to explain to her class and to do in the classroom. 

     The following is what I would incorporate into my classroom when I am a teacher. For the Science Stories listed below, I would probably follow the instructions and explanations that are listed in the book Science Stories by Jane Koch. 

For chapter 10, I would definitely incorporate the Science Story of Batteries, Bulbs and Wires in my classroom. Chapter 10 talks about terms like electric circuit, series circuit, and parallel circuit.








I would definitely incorporate and show this video to my class when talking about circuits, batteries, and electricity. This will help be a visual aid for students to see how a battery is made and how electricity is shown.  This video talks about voltage and a battery and how this lemon citrus and two metals help to make a battery by using cooper and another metal. This video talks about LED. I would only show part of this video to my class at a young age of second and third grade but if in fifth or sixth grade then I would show the whole video. I think that the students will learn a lot from this video about electricity.


I would show the second video to my class when talking about circuits, batteries, and electricity. It is cool for the students to see how easy the experiment to do and to see how this little experiment shows electricity. I would show this video to any age group from second grade and above. This video talks about voltage and a battery and how the lemon is the circuit with the nail and copper being the positive and negative. This video explains about positive and negative electrons. Positive electron is copper and negative electron is nail. I think that the students will learn a lot from this video about electricity. This would be a great video to start a lesson with.

For chapter 11,  I would definitely talk about lesson plans and how it is important to your plans for the lesson will help you to engage your students in a meaningful science activity. It is important to include goals, the 5es: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate, and to include science ideas in a lesson plan. The role of questioning is very important for teachers. Open-ended questions are good to use in a lesson because they can lead to more than one answer and then you base your lesson off of all these different answers. As a teacher it is important to know the accommodations for different learners and how to accommodate different learners and their levels in the classroom. This is important to know as a teacher.

For chapter 12, I would definitely talk about the different systems discussed like the human body systems, the solar system,and  interactions and pattern changes which include electricity, sound, energy, and many more. These are important topics and concepts for students to learn. 


This video is a video about the solar system.This video is about the beginning of the solar system.I thought that it be a good video to show since this chapter in Janice Koch book mentions about the solar system and asteroids, meteriods, planets. This video will help students understand the solar system better and all the  parts of the solar system. I thought that I use this video at the beginning of the lesson when introducing solar system and how it occurred or at the end of the lesson as a review to help students remember the birth of the solar system that we have been discussing. 


For chapter 13 I  would definitely talk about the water cycle. 





This is a cute video about the water cycle. This video explains what happens to Bob through the phases of the water cycle. It is a great starter video to introducing the water cycle to the students in my class. This video will help students understand the water cycle and all the different phrases and changes that happen to Bob all he goes through the water cycle and explains each cycle. It is a visual way of learning about the water cycle.  

Class 32 - April 8, 2011

Fieldwork at Bishop Dunn. Today was our last day. It was nice to work with the fifth graders.

Group two did a lesson on chemical changes. Group 2 started the lesson by showing a chemical change video which was very good. It (the video) talked about fireworks, burning paper, and other examples of chemical changes. Then group 2 asked what is alka seltzer?  Then the teachers  my classmates explained the inquiry lesson about how each group had to assign a time keeper, observer, recorder, and speaker. It was important to do one cup at a time. It was important to keep the time and to see how long it would take to make bubbles  for each temperature of water:  for the cold, warm, and room temperature.  Then each group shared their results.

Group six did a lesson on math and science. Group 6 start with asking if there is a connection between math and science. Some of the answers were: math and science both have equations and show how math is related to science. Group 6 went on to show a simple problem before doing a word problem. The simple problem was x-40 = 180 and x = 220. The word problem  was: If 6 grams of hydrogen is combined with oxygen to form 54 grams of water. How much oxygen would there be? x+ 6 =54 and  x= 48. Then group 6 assigned each group problem number 6 in  the textbook and another problem to each group to solve. Then a member in each group went up to the Smart Board and solved the problems and explained his/her work and how he/she got their answer. After all the groups presented, then the teachers my classmates asked a question: why is there math in science?: some answers were: connect to find mass of object, use equation, and  math is everywhere. 


I would definitely use group two's lesson experiment in my classroom. I really liked the idea of showing a chemical change through using water and alka seltzer tablets. I liked that the group used three different types of water: warm, cold, room temperature.  I would definitely have the students work in groups like this group did. It is a cool experiment for the students to see chemical change and it is not too hard for the students to do. I would have the supplies in my Science Corner. This experiment is a great way for students to remember chemical change. This experiment was very interesting. This experiment impacted me and got me thinking about adding a fourth cup and seeing what will happen.  I was thinking that I would try this experiment with four types of water: warm, hot, cold, and room temperature or warm, frozen, room temperature, and cold. I will also have the students make predictions about which cup of water temperature would make the most bubbles. I would have the students make hypothesis and see if their hypothesis comes try by doing the experiment. I would also have the students give me feedback about the experiment what the students liked about the experiment, what could be improved ,and what the student did not like about the experiment. This is how I use the experiment in my classroom and this is my thinking. 

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Week 13

Week 13: What’s the Big Idea? Matching Assessment to Instruction
During this week you will discuss how teachers can best assess students’ science understanding and their abilities to employ scienceprocess skills. A central objective of the week is for you, prospective teachers, to understand that assessment—this process of learningabout students’ understanding and performance—must match instruction. 
If we want to know what students know and are able to do, we have to give them opportunities to show us using techniques that match the type of instruction in which they have been engaged. Hence assessment and instruction are intertwined. A good assessment is a good instructional task.


Assessment is very important for a teacher to know. Assessments that teachers should know and use in their teaching is diagnostic, formative, and summative. Diagnostic is important for students to use at the beginning before starting a lesson or a unit to see what the students know on a topic or concept. A good diagnostic assessment is to use KWL charts. Formative is important for teachers to use to make sure that the students are keeping on track. This should be done half way through a unit. It should take place in the form of a quiz or a journal entry to see how much the students know.Formative assessment should be a short quiz or a journal entry that has students answer questions based on what the students have learned so far. Summative is important for both the student and teacher. A good summative assessment is a unit test or project. It may be good to switch off for each other unit to do a unit test one unit and a project for another unit. A project and an unit test will show what the students have learned throughout the unit and if the students comprehended the information.  Teachers and students both learn from the  different assessments listed above. Teachers learn what went well in the unit, what to improve on for next time, and how the students learned from this style of teaching and the teaching methods used like a powerpoint or Smart Board or lecture vs. hands-on. Students see what they have learned and how well the students have learned by being assessed through doing projects or tests by getting a grade.  

Week 11

Week 11. Science Content and Curriculum: The Big Ideas and Your Scientific Self



During this week you will observe the 5th Grade science class, continue reading our textbook, Ch. 12, revisit the concepts of the "curriculum," National and State Science standards and explore the science concepts of your choice to design PPTs on one of them (A9, Week 13): 
▪ Solar system
▪ Gravity and inertia
▪ Digestive system
▪ Circulatory system
▪ Respiratory system
▪ Nervous system
▪ Environmental systems




▪ Work and force
▪ Simple machines
▪ Matter and energy
▪ Heat energy
▪ Conduction, convection, and radiation


The science curriculum and big ideas are important for teaching. It is important  for students to learn about science concepts through different teaching styles. It is good to do a powerpoint but it is also good to use the Smart Board. The big ideas are important to the whole the unit.The lessons are to break down the big ideas of the unit. 

The science curriculum is important for students to learn from their teacher. The science concepts that students can learn are about the human body systems, solar system, energy, chemical & physical changes, and atomic particle. These are important science concepts to learn and are apart of the science circulum. It is important for teachers to teach students about th science curriculum concepts in different ways like through experiments both hands-on and non hands-on, demonstrations, powerpoints, and videos. It is important for students to learn and understand the science concepts and their big ideas and to retain the knowledge that the teachers teach students which are the big ideas of the science concepts. 

▪ Chemical and physical change
▪ Atomic particles
▪ Electricity
▪ Magnetism
▪ Light energy
▪ Sound energy


Class 38 - April 21, 2011

Today is a Thursday but at the college it was Friday classes. Today's class featured one microteaching.  It started with Kaitlin's microteaching. 


Kaitlin's microteaching was on the scientific me. It featured a slide on drawing a scientist and Kaitlin asked the class about what we drew for a scientist and why. Then once there were some answers given like white scientist. Then Kaitlin showed a video about mad scientist made in 1988. 


After Kaitlin's microteaching , it was a working day in the classroom. Dr. Smirnova came around and made sure that each student in the classroom was doing their e-folio. If there were any questions about the e-folio we (the class)  could ask her (Dr. Smirnova) and she could help or clarify the question.  I worked on my e-folio. 


I liked the video on the mad scientist.


 I think that it is a good for the teacher to give the students independent work to do or group work to do and for the teacher to go around and to see if the students have any questions. I also think that it is a good idea as a teacher to make sure that the students are on the right track with doing classwork.  As a teacher I think that it is a good idea for teachers to go over and to make sure that the students understand the criteria for the assignment. It is important as the teacher to give the students a working day in the classroom to work on projects especially if doing group projects so that the students can get together with their groups. Teachers need to make sure students understand assignments and have enough time to do the assignments and to make sure that the students are doing the assignment correctly and on the right track with the assignment. It is also a good idea for teachers to make sure that the students are clear on what the assignment criteria is about and to clarify if any of the students have any questions when the students have a work day in the classroom. 

Class 37 - April 20, 2011

Today's class featured some of my classmates doing their microteachings in pairs.  It started with Bridget and Kathleen's microteaching. 

Bridget and Kathleen did their microteaching on our solar system and space. They started with asking question of what is an astronaut? The answer was people who go up in space. Some examples were Buzz Adler and Neil Armstrong. Another question is what are the planets? and the class started to name the planets together Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.  Then Bridget and Kathleen showed us a game with a rocket  that had questions like :What is space junk? and the answer: man made objects like camera; what is milky way? and the answer: galaxy; where do comets fly? and the answer: orbit 
the sun. 

Once Bridget  and Kathleen's microteaching was done. Then Stephanie F.  and Joyce did their microteaching.

Stephanie and Joyce's microteaching was on education and philosophy. One of the questions or phrases is when I do science with students I feel.... and the answer intimidate.  Another question phrase is when think of effective teaching how to relate to philosophy? and the answer is philosophy and teaching relate together and have high correlation. A third phrase/ question  is when I become a scientist... and some answer is positive attitude, creative, engaging, hands-on, and bring classroom to life. Joyce and Stephanie showed a video based on people's quotes and how to relate to philosophy and science. 

After Joyce and Stephanie did their microteaching then Dr. Smirnova showed us a powerpoint on inquiry. It is important for the powerpoint to not have much text but to have lots of pictures because it is for visual learners. The prezi is a different thing then  like a powerpoint. Nicole Setter showed us our prezi on Green Revolution.  After Nicole showed us her prezi on Green Revolution and explained how to use prezi to the class, the class talked about the e-folio. Talked about e-folio and how there needs to be reflections for each page. 

As a teacher it would be a great idea to show the students prezi and let the students use this as a presentation tool than powerpoint. It is a cool prezi site that I think the students would enjoy using to create presentations on. Prezi gives the students a more creative way to create presentations than powerpoint does and the students will have with it. The prezi allows the students to add video and pictures easier than powerpoint. I will make the suggestion to check out prezi.com and see what it is all about and see how this type of presentation is cooler than powerpoint. 

 I also liked the website listed below. I think this website will give the students in my class a real feel for what outer space looks like. I could show the students in my class where the planets are and the stars and this website is 3-D so it is like the students can actually see everything like the planets and stars up close. It is really cool. This website is a great way for students to learn both visually and hands-on about outer space which includes the stars and the planets  and the solar system in which we live in. 

Class 36 - April 18, 2011

Today's class featured some of my classmates doing their microteachings in pairs. It started with Alyssa and Amanda B doing their microteaching.

Alyssa and Amanda B.did their microteaching on concept cartoon. The first example is about a snowman and the answer is: We give off heat so by wearing coats keep in the heat to keep us warm. Snowman give off cold so wearing coats to keep in the cold. Coat: used/ ask as an isolation. The second examples: little or big person fall faster or same and the answer is: same speed. The second example is connected to group 4's science circus called falling gravity about marble and binder and concept of gravity. In Science Stories book: p. 380 has concept cartoon. Concept cartoons are used to grab the students attention. Example 1's concept is to be used when talking about heat, temperature, and energy. 


Once Amanda and Alyssa's microteaching was done. Then Jackie and Jessica D. did their microteaching.

Jackie and Jess did their microteaching on life science. They started by asking the class what life science is. Some answers were about living things and animals. Once all the answers were said then Jackie said the definition of life science: any branch of natural science deal with living organisms. Jess said we have a puzzle for you. The puzzle turned out to be a picture of a pink flamingo. Jess said she used this website: Jigsawplanet.com and you can upload a picture and a puzzle can be created out of it. 


Once Jackie and Jess were done with their microteaching then Ashley and Amy did their microteaching.

Amy and Ashley did their microteaching on teaching technology in the classroom. Amy asked about what technology is used in the classroom and some answers were Smart Board and Blog. Next they asked what words come to mind when you think of teaching science with technology? and some answers were blog and Smart Board. Technology in the classroom includes: connected, confident, engaged, independent, and literate. What are some 21st century skills? : collaborative, lifelong, motivated, global citizens, and communicators.What are some web/ technology tools that can help develop these skills?: blog, Google docs, and wiki. Which tools have found helpful?: blog and Google docs. Here are some tools Web 2.0?: Quizlet: one side or double side for any subject and Jeopardylabs.com Example of question: What is number of times you orbit the sun or Earth if your 10 years old? answer: 10 times. This was what Amy and Ashley talked about/ showed in microteaching.


After all the microteachings are done we as a class discussed about work due. One thing discussed was make note about revisions if done any revisions on any of the assignments. The e-folio has three parts: introduction, artifact which can include: pdf or image, and reflection. Blog include: pictures and video. It would be a good idea to visit other people's blogs and give comments. Reflection: involving and improving throughout the semester. Efolio's artifact: highlight: add image and  file upload. Talked about the Seed/ Earth Reflection and what to do.

 It would be good to begin my lessons differently to keep the students engaged in what topic and concepts the teacher is going to be teaching the students. As a teacher I would use concept cartoons to began some of my lessons. It (concept cartoons) will be a great way to engage the students in the classroom.The puzzle of the picture with the smartboard was a cool way to engage the students in the lesson and to have the students be more involved in hands- on learning. The website is very cool and I thank to of my classmates for finding the website and I hope to use this website in the future in my classroom. 


As a teacher it is important to go over what is due. It is a good idea to have a weekly schedule and also a calender with all the assignments listed sent home with the student so that the student and the parent know when assignments are due for that week and also for the whole month. This way the parent and student and teacher know what is due and if the student has a question the student can ask the teacher. Also on that calender should be any important events happening within that month. This way when the parent looks at the calender the parent can stay informed about what is going on their child's life in school and know what  events are happening in their student's school and what assignments are due for that month. A calender of assignments and events is a great way for the parent, student, and teacher to stay informed of what is happening.    



Class 34 - April 13, 2011

Today's class started with talking about assessment.  Some students in the classroom gave a response about what they think the word assessment means.  Assessment is process of evaluation of making sure students understand a topic process of measuring level understanding. Then after discussing about assessment we talk about find out what students know and based on: evaluation what students know and want to learn and collecting data on student's progress. The components of assessment are evaluation and feedback. The attributes of assessment are to  select measures, community based, and fairness. The types of assessment are diagnostic, formative, and summative.


As a teacher it is important to know about assessment. It is a good idea to know about the assessments and to collect data on the student's progress. As a teacher it is important to assess students to see how students learn and what projects would be good to use in the classroom to help the students learn. By assessing students it shows that it what assessments work better for the class and for each student as an individual. 

Class 33 - April 11, 2011

Today's class started with talking about think pair share articles. It was to be completed as individuals from last class and then we were suppose to pair with our partner and talk about our Eutopia articles that we read. Catharine was my partner and her Eutopia article was on the topic no child left behind. After we shared our Edutopia article with our partner then it was time to share or Edutopia article with our group.

Then Dr. Smirnova put up this slide on the board that was a business card which included statements like My favorite way to be assessed is..., I know that I have really learned something when ....., I typically assess students by...., When I think about assessing students, I learned that. These statements were written on the inner part of the name tag in the different corners. Then we wrote down our responses and then shared our responses with our partners and with our group. Some of my classmates said their responses to these statements.  Then the class talked about learning vs. grades. there were two questions raised: (1) can these 2 co-exist peacefully? (2) should one receive emphasis over the other? The answer that some of my classmates gave and that I agree with are to co-exist: grades should affect learning and learned material.  What can be assessed? : essay, knowledge, creativity, performance

Readiness: skills, concept, and content knowledge


Interest: Interest surveys, Interest centers, and self-selection  which should be done at the beginning of the school year and at the beginning of a unit.


Learning  profile: areas of strength and weakness, work preferences, self awareness

"Assessment should always have more to do with helping students grow than with cataloging their mistakes?" - Carol Tomlinson

When do you assess? : which is constant before, during, and after

On going assessment: a diagnostic continuum

Feedback and Goal Setting:

Pre-assessment Diagnostic (Finding out): inventory,KWL charts, checklist, observation, self-evaluation, questioning, pretest, and graphing for greatness


Formative Assessment (Keeping Track and Checking Up): conference, peer evaluation, 3-minute pause, observation, talkaround, questioning, exit card, portfolio check, quiz, journal entry, and self-evaluation


 Summative Assessment (Make Sure) - at the end : unit test, performance task, product/exhibit, demostration, portfolio and review




I think that it is important as a future teacher to know about the different assessments of formative, summative, and diagnostic when doing lesson plans. These assessments should be included in lesson plans and also be used to assess the students learning in the classroom. It is a good idea to start with a pre-assessment like using a KWL chart. A good formative assessment to use as a teacher is to give a quiz or have the students do a journal entry based on the material that the students have learned. It always good to  use summative assessment with a unit and to have a unit test at the end to see all the students have learned. These assessments are  important for future teachers to know what the students know before the students are taught the material and to also know in order to assess that the students in their class understand the material that was taught. 


It was a cool idea of the business cards and the four phrases. I would use an activity  like this in my classroom to get my students engaged in a lesson. These are some phrases My favorite animal is... I know the following about this animal.... I know that fact about the animal because .... When I learn more about my animal....  I would use to get my students engaged in learning about animals and the unit on animals before doing their cube project on animals. I think that phrases will be a great way for me as a teacher to see what the students know and for the students to engage in the lesson. 


As a future teacher I do believe in pre-assessment before each unit is to be conduct in the form of a KWL or questioning. I do believe in formative assessment in  the form of a journal entry, quiz. questioning, talkaround, conference, and peer evaluation. By doing formative assessment with help to keep the students on track throughout the unit. I do believe in summative assessment which is to make sure the students understood the unit and that can be done through a unit test or a project. These three assessment tools will help me see what the unit needs to focus on by doing the diagnostic and then help to see how the students understanding the material through the formative and then to see the students comprehended the material in the summative.  These assessments are helpful for teachers to make sure that each student understand the unit. These assessments are important to student's progress and to see if the student got the material. For each unit I will try to use different assessments for diagnostic, formative, and summative to get the students engaged and to make sure the students understand the entire unit.  

Class 35- April 15, 2011

Today's class started with singing a song called Friday Is My Favorite Day. We sang the song a few times.


Friday is My Favorite Day from milasunshine on Vimeo.

Then we shared our think pair share articles with our partners and made a Google Docs for our Edutopia articles. Some of the groups shared their Google Docs with the class.

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ARTriYSIFEy3ZGYzMjl6OHhfMGNwcW5qemhi&hl=en


This video was really cute. I will use this video in my class especially if my students and I are having a bad week. It is a catchy video that I think the students will enjoy to see and participate in. 


An activity that I could have students do is think pair share activity with articles that students pick for their current events. I would do the think pair share activity starting with third grade. It (think pair share) would be a fun activity to have the different pairs or partners of two share with the class what their partner's article was about and what the student learned about the article.  This activity is a great way for students to learn about different concepts and topics and also current events through articles each week. It is important for students to learn about current events and this is a great way to accomplish that. I think as a teacher it is a great idea to incorporate current events in the classroom through doing the think pair share activity with the students in the classroom. It is a great idea for students to learn from not only the teacher but also from each other or their classmates through a think pair share activity. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Jigsaw Puzzle Activity (2)

Jigsaw Puzzle Activity was a blast. It was fun to do the 5 Kingdom of Life activity. Each member of the class was assigned a number and that number gave you your base group. Within your base group we decided on who was going to do the different kingdoms which were assigned before Spring Break.  Over Spring Break, I  worked on a worksheet that I called the Monera worksheet. Over Spring Break, I also found a graphic organizer for my base group to use when I present my kingdom to them. Before presenting to the base group,  all the expert group of each kingdom meet together to discuss about each kingdom. It was nice to hear about each kingdom being presented by the members of my base group. I learned a lot about each kingdom from these base members. While each of my base group member was presenting their kingdoms I would take notes. I think that it is a good idea to take notes to remember what you learn.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SRsg7HH3wQnAxsrqjMBvuD9QNQeB_IjqhlTCxMxJntg/edit?hl=en#

 The first link is for my Monera worksheet that I presented to my basic group.
 https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Ck2x8JYtlqIZJmnqeGBwGo7noQcriXGbpD_TQXRsTI/edit?authkey=CKnBs8cH&hl=en#

This second link is the expert Monera group information/ worksheet.

It is important for students to present both their expert group worksheet and a another worksheet with a graphic organizer to your group. Graph organizers are good tool for teachers to use with students. Graphic organizers are good to use as a review for a test. Graphic organizers are great to use when brainstorming and to use after reading something to go back and jot down some notes. Graphic organizers are also good to use  after being taught something as a way of to remember what was just taught. As a future teacher  I would use graphic organizers in my class because I think that they are a great tool for students to know about and use. Graphic organizers are easy to use and easy to learn from.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Class 30 - April 4, 2011

Today's class was at Bishop Dunn for fieldwork. During today's class I was an observer in Miss O'Leary's classroom with the fifth graders that are in groups D, E , and F. I watched group four and group one do their inquiry lessons during the hour of 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m but the second lesson in each of the rooms went a little over to like 12:25 p.m.

Group 4 lesson plan was taught by Nicole P. and Kathryn C. because Katharine, Jessica W,and Kira were at the N-Kat  meeting.  Kathryn C. and Nicole P.  lesson focused on chemical and physical change. Some examples that Kathryn C. and Nicole P. showed the class on the Smart Board areas follows. An example is a raw egg becoming a cooked egg which is a chemical change because it change color. Another example is a cake mix becoming cake which is a chemical change. Broken crackers is an example of a physical change. Steal to rust is an example of a chemical change because the change is something that we see and can feel. Kathryn and Nicole ask about becoming a scientist and some of the answers were observe, materials, and instructions.  Think of scientific method and some of the answers were write notes, formulate a hypothesis, think problem and solve, do experiments to see if hypothesis, draw conclusions, and work in groups.  Kathryn and Nicole told the students about the experiment. Kathryn and Nicole handed out the plates and put an ice cube on each plate and the worksheet. Kathryn and Nicole told the students that the students would be assigned a task like observer, recorder, time keeper, and reporter. In the groups of five student will have two observers. Experiment of the four ice cubes: one ice cube should be normal, another ice cube should have salt on it, a third ice cube should be near the heat, and the four ice cube should be broken with a hammer. The object of this experiment is to see which ice cube would melt the fastest. Each group's reporter tells their findings. After all the groups presented are done Nicole and Kathryn asked what is physical change and got responses and what is chemical changes and got responses. 

Group 1 came into Miss O'Leary's classroom. This group is Clarissa, Stephanie, Kathleen, and Bridget. Started the lesson by handing out name tags. Clarrisa asked what the students learned in chapter 12. Some of the answers were  chemical changes, physical changes, and products and reactions. One question was asked: What happens when mixing two things together? Some answers was chemical reactions to occur. The problem is answer safety equipment, scientific method, create a hypothesis, and experiment. Stephanie told the students to write down a hypothesis but don;t share it. The students were shown a youtube video about baking soda. It is important for the students to pick a job from the name labels. Everyone has a job.The experiment was to put the layer of baking soda into the container.   The students are suppose to have a job and a worksheet. It was important for the students to write down what the baking soda looks like and what also the seltzer looks like before putting the seltzer into the container with the baking soda. The seltzer is suppose to make the baking soda frizzle and have a chemical reaction.

The two experiments are very interesting. I liked observing these two experiments. These two experiments were very fun and the students really enjoyed the two experiments. These were great hands-on experiments. 

I would definitely use these experiments in the classroom to show chemical or physical changes. I liked the ice experiment that Nicole and Kathryn did. I would not change anything about their experiment. I would probably do the experiment the save way. I liked seeing which one of the four ice cubes would melt the fastest. I liked their introduction with the different examples. I would probably do a similar lesson to theirs in my future classroom. I did like Clarissa, Stephanie, Bridget, and Kathleen's experiment. I liked the idea of baking soda and seltzer and seeing if a chemical change occurs. I would use this in my classroom when I am a teacher. I really enjoyed this experiment. I would probably do something similar to this lesson. Both these experiments are great hands-on examples of chemical and physical change.

Today I was an observer while some of my classmates taught a lesson. It was interesting how the Kathryn and Nicole used the Smart Board and how they used a what will happen to engage the students in the lesson. It was also interesting to see how they kept the students focus by asking questions and then explaining the students what the students were going to do. The students enjoyed the experiment and it was inquiry engaging. I would use this experiment in my classroom as a future teacher to talk about the concept of chemical and physical changes. I may also get a video from youtube to show chemical and physical changes. I liked how Nicole and Kathryn showed the children the definitions of both words at the end of the lesson. I would definitely use tis experiment in my classroom. Then Clarissa, Bridget, Kathleen, and Stephanie R. taught a lesson. Clarissa started the lesson with asking a question which is a great idea to engage the students The question was what is chemical change.Then Clarissa asked the students about the science process. Then the group explained what the lesson be about and what experiment about. I liked the experiment and will use the experiment in my class. I will probably get a video on chemical change to show to my class. This is how I will teach these two experiments in my class. 




Sunday, April 17, 2011

Week 14

Week 14: Pulling It All Together. Teaching Math, Science and Technology
This week and final book chapter are to leave you with a sense of purpose and commitment about becoming scientific and sharing that scientific self with future students. The chapter suggests various helpful techniques, many of them based on personal reflection. You are urged to develop a personal science teaching philosophy, to keep a science blog, and to engage in ongoing professional development. This chapter also pulls the major themes of the text together, and it invites you to construct a new chapter in your science autobiography.
Write a blog entry science autobiographies. Start the entry off with some questions like these:

  • What are the skills and strengths that you bring to the schoolscience experience?
  • What are the areas in which you would like to improve as you set about doing science with students?
  • How did your scientific self develop during this course?
  • How do you define “science” now as you prepare to teach it?
  • What is your favorite science web site?
  • What contemporary science news event most interests you?
  • What do you think is your greatest challenge in teaching science?
  • How will technology help you stay current and teach science in an innovative way?
  • This week and chapter really show how a teacher needs to pull everything together. It is important as a teacher to have a certain teaching philosophy and to engage the children in learning. It is also important for students to keep a journal and a science autobiography. It is important to have a purpose and commitment as a teacher. It is a good thing as a teacher to keep a journal of what you like and don't like about your lesson. You as a teacher should try to reflect on the good and bad parts of your lesson and what you would like to improve. You should also mention what you liked and disliked about your lesson. As a teacher you should bring your science experience and things like experiments that you like to do in science to the classroom to inspire all your students to like science. 

The following are the strengths that I bring to the school science experience. I bring the knowledge of the solar system and astronomy. I bring the knowledge of knowing about biology about the human body systems. I will bring my knowledge from this class Science Methods of knowing how to use the Smart Board and the balloon activity and the float and sink activity. I will also bring the of the kingdoms. I will also bring the knowledge and some activities that I did when I was school to the classroom. I will bring the experience of the using Science Circus in my classroom. I will also bing the strength of knowing about life, earth, and physical science to the classroom. I will also bring the experiment of the trail mix to the classroom. These are the strengths and things I bring to the classroom. 

The areas that I need to improve on as a teacher in order to teacher my students is as follows.I should probably improve on adding hands-on experiments to the class and throughout this course I have learned how to do that. I should also learn how to engage the students which I have learned through this class. This class has taught me to use a puzzle or an educational game to engage the students at the beginning of the lesson. These are the areas that I need to improve on and I have seen improvement over this course in these areas and have also learned how to improve in those areas through this course. 

My scientific self developed a lot throughout this course. I have learned how to use technology in my lesson. I leaned how to incorporate science and technology together. I learned how to do hands-o experiments. I learned about science experiments through reading the book called Science Stories by Jane Koch. I learned about life, earth, and physical science through this course. I learned that it is a good idea to use Science Circus in the classroom.I learned that demonstrations for science topics and concepts are a way for students to be engaged in the classroom. I learned that the balloon activity and the float, sink or?? activity  are good to use in the classroom. I learned how to engage students in a science lesson. I  leaned a little more about science through the different activities that I did not know about before. I learned a lot more about physical science through this class. I already know a lot about earth and life science. From this course Science Methods I learned a few new activities that I could incorporate into my classroom when I become a teacher like the Jigsaw project and  Science Circus. This is what I learned from this class and my scientific self. I know a lot about science before taking this class by reading articles and books and doing little experiments. My scientific self knows that I know about life and earth science and some physical science concepts because I learned about these sciences when I went to school and still remember the information. Scientific self is important to know what you do know and don't know about science and if I don;t know something about science I will do research and read articles to make sure I know about that topic or concept before I teach it to my students.