So, you wanna be a teacher???

OK so this week was the week where me and my fellow classmates had to write a 5E lesson plan and actually carry them out!!!!! So we did. We went to Bishop Dunn Memorial School and taught science to Mrs. Benfer's 5th grade class!!! This was the best part of school for me! I was not nervous, and I loved every minute of it! I cannot wait until I am a full time teacher!!! It felt so natural to me. I was the first to go, along with Meagan -I did not get to observe her lesson :'(


My lesson was on "What is a chemical change?" It entailed a short video and a scientific experiment using the scientific method to solve my problem-- Which solution will clean my dirty pennies best: soapy water or ketchup? The students then followed the steps to the scientific method and arrived at a conclusion in which they had to report their findings to the class.
               
*The students loved this experiment and so did I! It was fast, and exciting, messy but not too messy, it was great!

Somethings need adjusting for myself. First, I need to use the clapping method not raising my voice!!! The students are very aware of the clapping method and it works, why didn't I use it? Honestly, I just didn't think of it at the time.

Another thing I would do differently is I would assign the roles randomly, or have them pick tags out of a hat so what ever role the student grabs is what the student gets. This way there is no problems or time wasted on debating who is going to do what.

There was one other thing I would definitely change-my technology. I started the lesson off with a video on chemical and physical changes, it was too long and said too much. Next time I will post some pictures on the smart board and have the students what changes are being shown, along with my diagnostic questions.
All in all, I was very pleased with my lesson.

The first student I observed to carry out her 5E lesson was Faith. Her lesson was on Chemical changes and how they are helpful. Her lesson was very interesting and creative. Her introduction had a video on photosynthesis, then she asked her diagnostic questions, and it really carried out so nicely. She really did activate prior knowledge and was able to see what the students already knew about the content.

Her problem for the class to solve was: What do you think will happen when water mixes with oil, why? And what do you think will happen to the mixture once dish soap is added into it?

Her experiment was really interesting, she had the students observe water and oil being mixed together then once they were done observing, they then added dish soap to the mixture and observed how it changed the whole substance. This was really amazing for the students the really enjoyed themselves!

Faith assigned the roles to the students ahead of time, so they already knew when the lesson began who was responsible for what. This was such a time saver and made things so much easier for everyone. The only thing that I would change about how she carried out her plan was she didn't go over the roles for each group or the worksheets in her packets. She just assumed the students would read everything. I think she was just nervous and anxious due to time constraints.

Faith was very timid and nervous. I felt for her, I could see how nervous she was. She really did a great job overall including creating a very creative lesson for the students. She just needs to be more aggressive and speak up to the class. She needs to gain more confidence in front of the room and she will be amazing.

Jennifer was the last classmate I observed carrying out her 5E lesson plan. Hers was on Science and technology. I really enjoyed her lesson as well. The students were so engaged and had a lot of fun! She was also very creative when creating her lesson for the class.

Her students had an item placed at their stations and they had to solve the problem of whether or not this was chemical by making observations and predictions then she had the groups collaborate and read articles relating to the objects they collected data on.

The articles really did take up a lot of time because the students were losing focus. Next time she agreed that it would be best to summarize the main ideas in the articles and hand that out to the groups instead of the full articles. From this information, and their observations, the students had to then create a poster following a checklist with specific criteria she wanted the students to include on their posters.

Jennifer did such a great job, she circulated the room numerous times consulting and guiding the students through inquiry. She also had a hard time getting the classes attention but overall she also did a great job.

Time was an issue for all of us, which I think we will get better at from experience. I also think lesson planning for all of us will get easier as we start to actually carry out more and see how it all actually plays out. This was a wonderful experience, and I loved observing my fellow classmates because I also learned from them and how they reacted to certain things while teaching.