The End

Monday was our final science lesson.  The students did one last test on their minerals, luster. Our Geologists were definitely in the swing of things by week 7. They did awesome jobs conducting the luster test using the penlights.  The students were using geology terminology when they were examining the minerals’ luster.  They completed all but one category in their mineral field guides. They will be able to conduct the last test with their classroom teacher.

                            

For the past six weeks we have been working with the same students, and so I have witnessed different ways students work and learn.  Most of the students clearly understand the directions and get right to work. Some of the students need to have the directions explained to them more than once before they start working. These students are usually the same ones who need to be reminded to focus on their task. I also witnessed a few students who did not seem to be paying attention to the directions at all. These students would not do any work unless an adult was working with them.  This class also had 6 students with IEPs. It’s a good thing that there were 4 adults in the room, otherwise I don’t think Sarah and I would have been able to give these students the attention they needed to complete their assignments.

Our final assignment for the students was a quiz. We made up a 10 question cloze activity based on the rocks and minerals information we presented to the studetnts. We included a word list to help the students.  It was interesting to witness the students taking the quiz. Some students completed it pretty quickly, about 10 minutes, and some students took about 25 minutes to finish.  Again some students were not able to work on the quiz without the help of an adult.  I didn’t get to review all of the quizzes but I saw some really good papers with lots of correct answers.  I was glad to see that the students remembered the information from the beginning lessons. I think Sarah and I did a good job of teaching the students about rocks and minerals. I think the students did a job of teaching me and Sarah what being a teacher is all about. This classroom has students of different abilities and this definitely helped us to remember that all students do not learn the same way and that it is important for us to present information in different ways to accommodate the students’ different learning styles.





In the Home Stretch

I bet you didn’t know there was a scale to measure the hardness of minerals; it’s called the Mohs scale.  This week our budding Geologists performed tests on the minerals to determine their hardness.  The mother in me was a little nervous about this. The students were going to be using sharp nails and pennies to scratch the minerals and rate their hardness. I was concerned that students might try to scratch each other with the nails or just hurt themselves when using them. I was also concerned about pennies going in mouths, but then again I am the mother of a 4 yr. old.  Sarah and I made it a point to go over our safety rules and address the proper and safe use of the nails and pennies.

Agai       We broke the class up into 4 groups and had them work with 6 minerals at a time.  This part of the lesson flowed very smoothly since there weren’t any station changes and they were only doing one test.  We addressed the engineering and technology connection, which is, to identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, e.g., strength, hardness, and flexibility; by having the students use nails to test for hardness. 

                                                            

We needed to address the technology connection and have the students do a writing assignment, so to accomplish both of the tasks we showed the class a PowerPoint on what a Geologist does. We didn’t want them to think the only job a Geologist had was to identify rocks and minerals.  After they watched and listened to the PowerPoint we asked them to write a paragraph about a day in the life of a Geologist or some aspect of a Geologist’s job. It was interesting to see the work of the students. Some students were really excited about the work a Geologist does and quickly wrote a paragraph about it. Some students needed more prompting and help with ideas. At the end we had lots of students who wanted to share what they wrote. 

                     

I thinI think we had another successful lesson and next week the students will be finishing their field guides.  They have two tests left. It will also be our last lesson. This has been a great learning experience for me and I hope the students have learned a lot about rocks and minerals from us.

Magnetism and Streak

Mineral testing continues. This week we tested for magnetism and streak. Streak is the identifiable color of a mineral in its powder form.  The students are well on their way to completing their minerals field guides.  I think we have improved our classroom management by reorganizing the way the testing is done and breaking the minerals into groups of 6. It was less chaotic having the students look at 2 sets of 6 minerals than to have them work with one set of 12 minerals. We also used this lesson to give students some time to catch up on anything they were missing from their field guides. 

  

As far as instructional technology goes we showed the students a website, www.rockhounds.com, which has a professional field guide on it. In hindsight this website was not the most child friendly but it did have lots of useful information about minerals on it. We did suggest that the students could view this site with the help of an adult. 

For the writing portion of the class we had the students pick a mineral and write clues about it on index cards. Then they read the clues to a classmate and challenged him to guess which mineral it is. The students wrote excellent clues and they enjoyed trying to stump each other with their descriptions.  This wasn’t exactly what the writing portion should have been so we are going to be addressing it again in the next lesson.

                                                   

We are almost finished with our field guides and our lessons. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished products of our hard-working Geologists!!

Let's Examine Minerals

We started today’s lesson by addressing one major misconception about rocks and minerals; that they are the same. We tend to use the terms rocks and minerals interchangeably and this is not accurate. So we explained that rocks are made up of two or more minerals and that minerals are naturally existing chemical compounds.  The students understood the difference because they remembered seeing that the rocks were made up of more than one mineral during our rocks lesson. 

                      
Conglomerate rock                                                 feldspar mineral

There was a lot of new vocabulary in this lesson.  We watched a Brainpop about Identifying Minerals. The students were given a handout with vocabulary words to listen for during the video. The students were paying attention and seemed to be interested in the video. After the video we asked the students if they were able to define the words based on what they heard and saw in the video.  This exercise was somewhat successful. We went over the definitions of the words on the list before we moved on the next part of the lesson.

                                                             

We started examining minerals during this week’s science class. We set up our class in 3 stations, prior to start of the lesson, where the students were to observe and record the minerals’ shape, smell, and feel.   They could also draw the mineral. We had the students rotate among the 3 stations in groups of 8 so that there weren’t too many students at one station.  Once the students got the hang of it I think it worked out pretty well.  The students were set up in color coded groups to help them move around the room in an orderly manner.  The students were a little overwhelmed observing 12 minerals and having 12 pieces of paper to manipulate. They were concerned about having enough time to accomplish all that we asked them to do. We did tell them not to worry about getting everything done today since we are going to be working with minerals for the next few weeks.  For next week’s lesson we are going to modify the stations so that the students have more time to get their work done.

                                                   

Introducing....Minerals!!

I definitely felt like I had been on a “science vacation” when I returned to my 4^th grade class on Monday. Just as I had somewhat forgotten what we were discussing about rocks 2 weeks earlier, I am sure the students did also. Of course as the teacher I reviewed my notes and brought myself up to speed. 

The students were excited to see the culmination of the crayon rock project we were working on during the previous lesson. Sarah did a great job preparing the samples and I think the students appreciated the tactile props.

We started discussing minerals and the differences between them and rocks.  This can be confusing for the students.  They knew that there were differences but it was not necessarily easy for them to verbalize it. After some examination and some prompting from their teachers the students engaged in a lively discussion about the attributes of minerals and what makes them different from rocks.

   

Classroom management can be tricky when you have 25 students spread across the room. It is important that we are circulating during our lesson to make sure that all of the students are staying focused on their observations and recordings.  We also listen to the discussions the students are having and encourage them to use their scientific vocabulary.  Some students need to be reminded of the safety rules and to stay on task. It’s important for the teachers to always be aware of what is going on in the classroom so that we can enhance learning and provide the optimal environment for the students.

Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic

Last week we examined 3 rocks and this week we expanded to 12: 3 igneous, 3 sedimentary and 3 metamorphic.  The students seemed to enjoy having a variety of rocks to examine and had plenty of adjectives to describe them.  Our lesson introduction consisted of a brief recap of some key points from last week’s lesson.  Of course we reviewed safety and added some new rules since the students were going to be working with a plastic knife. So we told them not to stab each other, ha-ha!! But seriously, we made sure to give explicit instructions regarding the use of the plastic knives and we watched the students carefully.

                                                                                  

Our materials management was a little tricky. We have to share our supplies with Mike and there is only one set so there is just about enough to go around for the two classes.  Since we were working with 12 rocks divided into 3 groups, the students were given one group to examine at a time.  Sarah and I organized the trays and the rocks before class. We also handed out the supplies and changed the rocks out when it was time.  We decided that it would be faster and less chaotic for us to do it instead of having the students get up and down to get their supplies.

We were closely connected to the frameworks so that we are teaching in tandem with what the classroom teacher is teaching the rest of the time.  Our lesson today was more fun than last week. I think we were less nervous and knew what we were in for.  Of course I have to mention Sarah’s super organization skills and creativity. I think we make a good team and I am looking forward to our future lessons. 

Rocks and Minerals Take 1!

I think Sarah and I had a good experience teaching rocks and minerals to one of the 4^th grades at South Row.  We did a lot of planning and I feel that we were very organized in the way we presented the lesson and carried it out. We stayed connected to the frameworks and tried to deliver the lesson in a way that students could make connections to the topic. They did seem to be interested in the lesson and in the examination of the rocks.  We did well on time. We accomplished our goal but we could have spoken more if we needed to.

     We went over many safety rules and asked the class to contribute their own. We were really concerned about the students putting rocks into their mouths but luckily that did not happen.  When the students were feeling the rocks for texture I noticed one pair trying to scratch each other on the arms with the rocks. I told them that it was better to feel the rocks with their fingers. This seemed to work. We also stressed the importance of using the hand lenses properly. We mentioned not putting them up to their eyes because it was unsafe and could do damage to their eyes.  They didn’t inappropriately play around with the hand lenses. We also told the students not to try to scratch the hand lenses with the rocks.

     I was happy to be working with Sarah since I am new to the program and she has more experience than I do. There are 25 students in the class and I can’t even imagine teaching this lesson alone. It’s nice to have another person there to lean on and who can help out.  We broke the lesson up so that we took turns speaking and writing and walking around the room observing the students.  Overall I think it was a great first experience and I am looking forward to learning about some more rocks next week.

 

 

Hopes and Fears

                                                             

I am really excited to be teaching rocks and minerals to a class of 4th graders. I think it is going to be fun and a great learning experience for me, my wonderful partner Sarah, and the students.  I am looking forward to observing the students working together as they make discoveries. I hope the students will answer their parents question of "What did you do in school today?" with "I learned all about rocks using my 4 senses (the teacher told me I wasn't allowed to taste the rocks!) and I also learned how to record my observations." I know this is aambitious but I'm an optimist! I am excited about what I can give to the students and I am also excited about what I am going to get from them. I know this isn't going to be easy and I will have to deal with my own learning curve but I know that in the end we will all be better off for having done it.
                                                                 


Did I mention that this class has 25 students? A little scary if you ask me. My biggest fear is losing control of the class. It can turn into a dangerous situation if the students get frustrated and start behaving in an unorderly fashion. I also don't want to have to perform the Heimlich maneuver for a student choking on a rock!! I don't want to be boring. Of course I consider myself to be a fascinating person but that doesn't mean a bunch of 4th graders are going to find what I am saying and doing interesting. (That was a joke people!) Plus teaching isn't what is use to be. I need to remember to keep the students engaged and excited about my lessons. I think I have some good examples of what to do and what not to do so that I can have an interesting productive class where the students are engaged in observation and not throwing rocks at each other!

The Importance of Lesson Planning in Science Education

Today teaching is very interactive, gone are the days of lecture! A good science lesson should be full of relevant useful information, and that means planning. The first step I would take is to check the frameworks and verify that I am teaching a topic found there. This brings us to…planning! Where to start? Should I use manipulatives, worksheets, show a video, do an experiment? There are so many ways to teach a topic that a teacher needs to have a plan in place.

     Lesson planning is a practical way for a teacher to organize her thoughts and ideas before presenting them to her class. Without a plan there is no telling what could happen. The biggest chance for disaster in a science class is probably during an experiment. It is the teacher’s foremost responsibility to ensure her student’s safety. The teacher needs to carefully plan her lesson and consider the following questions: are the tools safe, are the students mature enough, how can the lesson be carried out to avoid disaster? As we saw in the video Sarah’s case, lack of planning is a recipe for disaster. The student’s became so frustrated that the classroom became chaotic and Sarah could not help them because she didn’t have a plan and she didn’t try the experiment herself before doing it with her class. 

     Some other factors to consider when planning an elementary science lesson are: keep it interesting, keep it moving, and to use more than one method of presenting information since all students do not learn the same way.  Younger children can be easily distracted and have shorter attention spans so it’s important to be aware of what the children are doing during the lesson in case changes need to be made, such as breaking into small groups or watching a video.  It also doesn’t hurt for a teacher to be flexible when it becomes necessary to alter her game plan. 

The Museum of Science

In the short time I have lived here, the Museum of Science has become one of my family's favorite places to spend time. My son really loves it there and calls it the "Dinosaur Bones Museum." 
                         
                                       
The Museum of Science, http://www.mos.org/, has some great DVDs and videos teachers can use in the classroom.  They offer an ENews letter for educators as well as Professional Development classes. For students the MOS offers podcasts and videocasts on different science topics.  They have virtual exhibits and the computer clubhouse. 

There is also the National Center for Technological Literacy, part of the MOS, that provides guidance and resources to intergrate engineering in schools.

Of course the best resource would be to take a class to the MOS. The place is full of learning waiting to happen. I hope I get to take a class to the museum. I know it would be a memorable day for the students and I'm sure they would learn a something that will stay with them for a long time.

My Science Story

     My science education didn't really start until I was an adult.  I went to nursing school for a short period of time before I realized that I just couldn't get use to "the hospital smell". During this stint I took Anatomy and Physiology (I&II), Microbiology, and Chemistry. I did well in 3 of the 4 classes. Chemistry has never been my forte.
     As an adult I have had a lot of personal experiences that led me to become informed about several medical topics such as fertility, genetics, circulatory system (blood pressure), endocrine system (gestational diabetes),  my own breast cancer and radiation, and a family history of colon cancer. I have learned a great deal about several biological conditions and treatments. I wasn't too happy about having to do this research for myself but I did enjoy the reading material. Genetics really piqued my interest. While I had some really bad luck of being diagnosed with breast cancer at 37, I am lucky not to have the BRAC gene. Science is a wonderful thing!
  
    I have been exposed to a lot of hands on scientific learning over the past two years. Being the mother of a 4 year old makes life very interesting.  As parents, my husband and I try to expose our son to as many positive learning experiences as possible. We are always looking for the teachable moments. In doing so we spends lots of time at museums. Since moving to Arlington we have spent countless hours at the Aquarium, Museum of Science, and the Children's Museum.  My son has even participated in scientific research conducted by Harvard and MIT PhD candidates at the Museum of Science. We also enjoy watching Sid the Science Kid on TV. Due to the wonderful science experiences I have had with my son I am really looking forward to teaching science. I am excited to have a bunch of students to work with! And then I can come home and teach it to Kieran.
     Even our vacation was educational. We went to the Sea Shore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME and learned about how trolleys run and we took a lobster boat tour and learned about lobsters!!