This past Monday, Laura and I did our second lesson plan on rocks and minerals with the fourth graders. We brought name tags this time to give out to all of our students so we could start learning their names. It was alot easier this way to call on students as well. This time around, we weren't as nervous yet were not aware of how well the students were going to grasp the rock cycle concept being introduced. Based on these questions, we decided that the best way to attack the rock cycle would be to read a book called "The Coolest Rock" on the rug, which explained the entire process in a fun way. To make sure that the students were following along, I woud keep stopping during the story to ask them prompting questions. The teacher also chimed in during the story to make a few interesting comments which seemed to help our lesson go a little smoother.
After reading the story, Laura went over the rock cycle to make sure that they fully understood what the process was made up of. We then decided to take the Rock Cycle song and go through each verse piece by piece to fully understand the cycle. Of course we couldn't just go over the song and not sing it, so the students showed off their wonderful voices after we discussed its meaning.
Before we got started with the lesson, we introduced one of the rocks with the students so that we could observe it together. This way they could understand what kind of observations we were looking for within their investigations. Some of the students were giving short, undetailed responses so it was a good way to inform them that they were not 1st graders, and therefore should state more detailed observations about each rock. We discussed the three different senses they woud be using during the lesson, as well as the correct way to "waft." We made sure to remind them that the rocks were their specimens, and therefore should be treated with respect.
The students went back to their seats with their partners, and began to observe the 12 rocks in front of them with their hand lenses. Laura and I created a worksheet to organize each rock into their necessary categories (Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic) as well as spots for their observations based on their three senses of touch, smell, and sight. We felt that the students woud have more room to write down their responses, and it was a way to have them realize that each rock could be classified into separate groups. Even though were planned on discussing what they discovered with each of the rocks, we ran out of time. Before we left the classroom, the teacher said she would continue observing with them, so we said our goodbyes and stated that we would be back next week to learn about minerals.
For the most part, I believe that Laura and I successfully taught lesson two on rocks and minerals. We were able to introduce the lesson in an orderly fashion, and were sure to make sure that all the students understood what we expected from them at the end of the class. As for material management, we set up all 12 rocks on trays before the kids came into the room, we passed out their necessary worksheets on each desk before they came back from lunch, and we were able to go through our lesson quickly. Overall, the lesson met the frameworks based on the importance of the rock cycle and classification of each rock. We were able to go into much detail about these concepts and I feel like the students understood all the information we gave them based on their questions they had, and the comments they made throughout the lesson.
The only problems we faced this time had to do with time management and the name tags. We did not plan out how long each part of the lesson would take, and therefore were not able to discuss at the end of the lesson. Laura and I discussed that for the next lesson we will put a time limit on each part of our lesson so that we will not run out of time. As for the name tags, the students were having trouble getting the sticky part off the back so we will have to come up with an easier solution to learn their names. Not sure what that will be so if anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to teaching our lesson next Monday. This one should be interesting!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
My First Science Lesson!
So on Monday, myself and Laura presented our first lesson on rocks and minerals to a 4th grade class. Of course we were both really nervous before the class started at 1:45, but we remained optimistic the whole time. Before we started to teach the lesson, we set up all the rocks and other materials at the front of the classroom. Our teacher was nice enough to set up the tables already with students sitting next to their partners, which made it a lot easier for Laura and I to set up. We then did a mock lesson, going through each step that we were going to make throughout the 45 minutes of teaching. We did this just to make sure that we knew what was going to be said and who was going to say what. And then 1:45 came along, and the students were sitting down, excited to hear what we had to say.
Before we started, Mrs. Gilmore entered the classroom. I thought she would have made me even more nervous knowing that she was watching, but her smiling face was actually comforting to see. I began the lesson stating that we were going to be learning about rocks, and asked them if they were excited to be scientists for the day and the response from them actually got me a bit excited to continue. As we started explaining to the students about the lesson and their journals, I found that they were all very attentive and easy to work with. Being organized definitely helped to get everything squared away! We made sure to tell them that being great scientists, these rocks were their specimens and therefore needed to be treated with respect. That meant that they should not throw them around like toys, or try to put them in their mouths. One of the students had already made it clear that rocks did not taste good by stating that when he was three years old he ate one, so that was definitely an interesting fact to learn!
As the lesson continued, I was worried that the students were not going to be very eager to ask questions or to volunteer to share their ideas, but I was completely wrong about that! We had them discuss with their partners all the things they knew about rocks along with possible questions that they wanted to address and learn. We then called on different students to share their ideas, and we wrote them on pieces of paper on the whiteboard in front of the class. Some of the ideas were quite interesting, especially when one of the students stated that the conglomerate rock looked like baby puke. We also got another interesting question when one of the students asked how to spell "booger." I think Laura dealt with this fantastically by telling the student that "booger" isn't really a scientific word that we should use, and asked her why she wanted to use that word. She explained that the color of the rock was yellow like a booger, but Laura asked "Then why don't you just write down yellow as one of your properties?" Thankfully the student was satisfied with that answer.
The lesson soon came to an end, and the students did not want us to leave, which made me feel good and accomplished. We made sure to introduce what we would be covering next week, and they seemed excited to see us again. We got to talk to the teacher after class, and she went over some things that could possibly work better next time. Laura and myself decided that we would make name tags for every student so that we could start learning their names. We also realized that our step-by-step instructions were not very kid-friendly, so we decided that everytime we made instructions, we would just make a simple checklist of things that the students would have to make their goals after each lesson. These instructions were made for the children on IEPs, but in order to not single anyone out, we typed them up for the entire class.
After teaching this first lesson, I feel a lot more confident about teaching future lessons. It was definitely an awesome experience to take control of a class for the first time, and I look forward in doing this every Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their experiences as well, and I'm sure all of you did a great job!
Before we started, Mrs. Gilmore entered the classroom. I thought she would have made me even more nervous knowing that she was watching, but her smiling face was actually comforting to see. I began the lesson stating that we were going to be learning about rocks, and asked them if they were excited to be scientists for the day and the response from them actually got me a bit excited to continue. As we started explaining to the students about the lesson and their journals, I found that they were all very attentive and easy to work with. Being organized definitely helped to get everything squared away! We made sure to tell them that being great scientists, these rocks were their specimens and therefore needed to be treated with respect. That meant that they should not throw them around like toys, or try to put them in their mouths. One of the students had already made it clear that rocks did not taste good by stating that when he was three years old he ate one, so that was definitely an interesting fact to learn!
As the lesson continued, I was worried that the students were not going to be very eager to ask questions or to volunteer to share their ideas, but I was completely wrong about that! We had them discuss with their partners all the things they knew about rocks along with possible questions that they wanted to address and learn. We then called on different students to share their ideas, and we wrote them on pieces of paper on the whiteboard in front of the class. Some of the ideas were quite interesting, especially when one of the students stated that the conglomerate rock looked like baby puke. We also got another interesting question when one of the students asked how to spell "booger." I think Laura dealt with this fantastically by telling the student that "booger" isn't really a scientific word that we should use, and asked her why she wanted to use that word. She explained that the color of the rock was yellow like a booger, but Laura asked "Then why don't you just write down yellow as one of your properties?" Thankfully the student was satisfied with that answer.
The lesson soon came to an end, and the students did not want us to leave, which made me feel good and accomplished. We made sure to introduce what we would be covering next week, and they seemed excited to see us again. We got to talk to the teacher after class, and she went over some things that could possibly work better next time. Laura and myself decided that we would make name tags for every student so that we could start learning their names. We also realized that our step-by-step instructions were not very kid-friendly, so we decided that everytime we made instructions, we would just make a simple checklist of things that the students would have to make their goals after each lesson. These instructions were made for the children on IEPs, but in order to not single anyone out, we typed them up for the entire class.
After teaching this first lesson, I feel a lot more confident about teaching future lessons. It was definitely an awesome experience to take control of a class for the first time, and I look forward in doing this every Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their experiences as well, and I'm sure all of you did a great job!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Things to Know About Rocks and Minerals
So for my science class, we are teaching a lesson plan to a classroom of 4th graders! I am so excited to take part in this wonderful experience, yet it is quite overwhelming. After filling out the first lesson plan, I realized that there is so much to think about. My partner and I have the first step done, but now it's time for the details. I remember as a kid I had a huge collection of rocks, so I definitly understand how interested children are when pertaining to this subject. If only I still had my rock collection.
In order to become an expert about rocks and minerals I believe the internet, my town library, and possibly a book store would be helpful as well. A classmate of mine brought up a good misconception that the children may have which was based on the fact that some may believe that all solids are rocks. I am not quite sure how we could introduce this possible problem, but I was thinking about bringing in a few materials that are obviously solids, but clearly not rocks. Hopefully this will be helpful. Brainpop.com may also be a good tool to use to ensure that all of the students understand what rocks are, and to clear up any other misconceptions they may have. This site is geared toward children, and it allows different subjects to be presented in fun ways. I even have used Brainpop to enhance my knowledge about rocks and minerals!
I haven't finished my investigations on rocks and minerals, but I started to look online for some good resources and found a few that may be a good start.
http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/15-science/97-rocks-a-minerals.html
This site has a BUNCH of information on rocks and minerals, and is also geared toward children. There's information about national parks all the way to the different textures of different rocks and minerals. Quite interesting!
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/rocks.html
Although this site seems to be made from a non-scholarly place, it still has many ideas of sites to visit along with activities and lesson plans for both online and for the classroom. Maybe we can find some ideas from here that will help to make our lesson plans more interesting!
In order to become an expert about rocks and minerals I believe the internet, my town library, and possibly a book store would be helpful as well. A classmate of mine brought up a good misconception that the children may have which was based on the fact that some may believe that all solids are rocks. I am not quite sure how we could introduce this possible problem, but I was thinking about bringing in a few materials that are obviously solids, but clearly not rocks. Hopefully this will be helpful. Brainpop.com may also be a good tool to use to ensure that all of the students understand what rocks are, and to clear up any other misconceptions they may have. This site is geared toward children, and it allows different subjects to be presented in fun ways. I even have used Brainpop to enhance my knowledge about rocks and minerals!
I haven't finished my investigations on rocks and minerals, but I started to look online for some good resources and found a few that may be a good start.
http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/15-science/97-rocks-a-minerals.html
This site has a BUNCH of information on rocks and minerals, and is also geared toward children. There's information about national parks all the way to the different textures of different rocks and minerals. Quite interesting!
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/rocks.html
Although this site seems to be made from a non-scholarly place, it still has many ideas of sites to visit along with activities and lesson plans for both online and for the classroom. Maybe we can find some ideas from here that will help to make our lesson plans more interesting!
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