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.

Teaching, Learning, and me.......

What is the difference between a science activity and a science lesson? A lesson plan is a guide for a teacher to instruct directly, and give the students meaning of new content. A science activity is where the students apply the new material learned by hands on minds on, where they extend the concepts from the lesson and apply them in new situations utilizing critical thinking and process inquiry skills.




Do you prefer to learn independently or in small groups? I prefer to learn in small groups, when you have a productive group, you share thoughts and ideas. Collaborating with others allows you to explore possibilities you would have never thought of based on your own personal experiences. Learning from others is extremely important if you want to really explore and learn about something new.

How do you plan for the unexpected? How can you set up your science lessons if  you have only forty minutes in a period? Always have a backup plan. If something can happen it probably will. Keep your planning simple, you only have a short period of time, and it will be interrupted several times for several reasons. Reading these last few chapters and observing Mrs. Benfer at BDMS, I have realized that you can only do so much in a short period of time. You need to ensure you provide independent practice outside of class time for your students. They need the practice, and you should always review the day before's lesson before starting a new one. This way you activate prior knowledge and get the students into thinking mode before starting.

What is your own personal style when it comes to planning? I am very organized, and over plan. I do not like feeling unprepared, so I usually have extra worksheets or games on me just in case something may occur. I also like to spend time on new concepts and not rush into the new stuff until I feel there is understanding with the students. It is up to us teachers to ensure students are taking a piece of your instruction with them, don't just keep throwing information at them because it's on a test. TEACH them, be creative with them, get them to think, and do as many hands on minds on mini lessons as possible, engage your students and they will want to learn more!

Observe, Listen, Think, Reflect...

Today we observed the three different science grades at BDMS again. Mrs. Benfer has been so warm and welcoming to us at MSMC. I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to observe her teaching science.

The first class observed today was the 4th grade science class. They started the class with going over a test they recently took, the teacher wanted to know if anyone had any questions. She also inquired about the test format and what they thought of it. To her surprise some students favored the written response questions over the multiple choice ones. She also discovered that students referred back to the multiple choice questions to remind them of the answers to the written response questions.

Moving on....."What do we know about soil?" is what Mrs. Benfer started the lesson off with. So many students raised their hands and had so many great responses! Worms, water, bugs, decomposition, plants, etc. She asked the students if soil is a renewable resource. They said yes, so she had one of the students go up to the board and illustrate how. This student did an awesome job! I don't think I would have been able to do that, she even included the dead plant!!! Very bright class! She explained that soil is renewable and water is not. She told the class that the same water that was here from the dinosaurs is the same water that is here now. That statement even surprised me! You never really stop to think about fun facts like that! She then gave them an example saying, you have a bowl of cereal and use the last of the milk. Now, I go to have a bowl of cereal but there is no milk---we ran out, once we run out, that's it.

**She explained that in science we need to think of the consequences that might happen. She then gave an example of what would happen if she dumped car oil in her back yard, and showed them how devastating that could essentially be to our earth.

The next class was the 3rd grade science class. She went over the quiz they took to review and practice the content. What property of matter does this tool measure.......(as she is holding up a graduated cylinder). She then made a chart on the board of properties and tools. She had the students write this and say them with her, she did this to reinforce what was being taught. Retention is so much more when you do more than one way of learning, listening, repeating, and recording. I thought it was  a great way to strengthen the lesson.

After this she had the class break into partners. I felt so bad for this one girl, she was sad because no one wanted to be her partner. Then there were others who didn't even try to find a partner. Then of course there were the social butterflies who wanted a group instead of partners. It was very interesting to observe the students react in completely different ways to partnership. Eventually after almost five minutes of the girl who was sad started looking, this other sweet girl grabbed her hand and said let's go over here and put a huge smile on her face. It really warmed my heart.

The third class today was the 5th grade science class that I will be teaching the next time I see them. Today she did a study guide day because they have a test on friday. She said the chapter 11 test will be open notebook. She advised the students to be sure their notebooks were prepared for the test. She had a neat way of reviewing. She did a fill in the blank review. She put terms up on the board let students say a few things and then stopped them, and told them they need to go home, and find all of the missing information to fill in the blanks so the students will be prepared for the test.


One thing I noticed about this teacher, she would ask a question, then she would ask it again, until she saw an ample amount of hands raised instead of just a few students. She really makes sure she gets her students involved. She has so many subtle techniques that I think are great!

This fieldwork was very enjoyable and quite the learning experience for me. I love the observations so much, I want to send my children to this school!!!! Amazing!!!!