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!