So, in order to make everything child-friendly, I have put EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER CREATED up online.
You can check out pictures, links to games, curriculum and more at: www.stuckonscience.org!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sunday, April 26, 2009
5 E's
So, without realizing it, I have been using what's called the 5E strategy. This works especially well if you believe in teaching via the inquiry/discovery method as often as you possibly can. In order...Below, the 5 E's, as I see them.
1. Engage. Get the kids motivated by providing them with something interesting to look at, a short story or mystery to solve, something on their desks that they can't identify. A curiosity.
2. Explore. Students will then explore what's in front of them. Describe it. Summarize it. Investigate. Postulate. Hypothesize. Predict. Infer.
3. Explain. Using their observations, and possibly, other readings or a short discussion given by the teacher, students give support to their hypotheses. They figure out how to test. They collect more observations or data. Make categorizations. Try to find cause and effect relationships or compare and contrast different things. They may build a model to test their findings. They may come up with further questions.
4. Elaborate. Use their testings to come up with more concrete answers. Extend on their thinking. Find links, news, other sources to back them up. Try to prove someone else wrong. Go beyond!
5. Evaluate. Judge each others. Debate findings. Analyze other work. Review and reflect on their own work. Make any necessary changes to their own projects based on the analysis of others.
NOTICE: It's NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT the teacher doing the work here-- but the kids! We just walk around and ask annoying questions. Possibly lead them in the wrong direction. Get their minds to justify their thoughts. Provide structure or graphic organizers or scaffolding... and occasionally a bit of information (such as a technical term) but overall, the darlings make meaning of the world. And thus, remember it.
No spoon feeding allowed!
1. Engage. Get the kids motivated by providing them with something interesting to look at, a short story or mystery to solve, something on their desks that they can't identify. A curiosity.
2. Explore. Students will then explore what's in front of them. Describe it. Summarize it. Investigate. Postulate. Hypothesize. Predict. Infer.
3. Explain. Using their observations, and possibly, other readings or a short discussion given by the teacher, students give support to their hypotheses. They figure out how to test. They collect more observations or data. Make categorizations. Try to find cause and effect relationships or compare and contrast different things. They may build a model to test their findings. They may come up with further questions.
4. Elaborate. Use their testings to come up with more concrete answers. Extend on their thinking. Find links, news, other sources to back them up. Try to prove someone else wrong. Go beyond!
5. Evaluate. Judge each others. Debate findings. Analyze other work. Review and reflect on their own work. Make any necessary changes to their own projects based on the analysis of others.
NOTICE: It's NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT the teacher doing the work here-- but the kids! We just walk around and ask annoying questions. Possibly lead them in the wrong direction. Get their minds to justify their thoughts. Provide structure or graphic organizers or scaffolding... and occasionally a bit of information (such as a technical term) but overall, the darlings make meaning of the world. And thus, remember it.
No spoon feeding allowed!
Physics Day 1 (Pretest, Position. Distance)
1. Pretest on Newton's First Law (test, grade in class)
2. Exploring Position
3. Distance vs. Displacement
Student Exploration: Exploring Position
Describe the location of an object that is easy to see without pointing, describing or naming the object. Give directions on how to find it. See if partner can identify object. Repeat.
THEN: (Could also go outside and do the same)
Describe how to get from your seat to the Smart board, back to get a drink, and back to your seat.
Switch papers and work it out with another student.
Explain what problems/challenges you ran into. What worked and didn't? How could you fix this? Reflect on the process in your Science Notebooks. With class, discuss relative versus definite positions.Use maps as examples with longitude/latitude. Cartesian plane. Compass rose and cardinal directions.
Student Exploration: Distance vs. Displacement
Materials: Chalk, meter stick or string, compass, graph paper, notebook and pencil.
We will go outside. One student from each group will chose a place on the basketball court, write their NAME and a dot as a starting place (in groups of 4). Students are given directions as to how to find a "treasure" and will measure them out accordingly. Using a compass and a meter stick, they will traverse the yard! They will also chart their journey on graph paper as they go. At the end, they will calculate their total distance, and their total distance from their origin (displacement), which will be startlingly close to their start! Heh heh heh.
Back in class, we will discuss difference between total distance traveled and displacement from origin. Use water displacement & Eureka moment as further examples.
THEN: Students will do a worksheet on their own.
Materials: graph paper and stories. Students will follow the stories and draw the character’s journey /path to find treasure etc. using each square as 1 kilometer/ 1 meter depending on the story.
BEFORE THEY LEAVE:
Students will receive one sticky note. Students will write the difference between displacement and distance, and provide an example.
2. Exploring Position
3. Distance vs. Displacement
Student Exploration: Exploring Position
Describe the location of an object that is easy to see without pointing, describing or naming the object. Give directions on how to find it. See if partner can identify object. Repeat.
THEN: (Could also go outside and do the same)
Describe how to get from your seat to the Smart board, back to get a drink, and back to your seat.
Switch papers and work it out with another student.
Explain what problems/challenges you ran into. What worked and didn't? How could you fix this? Reflect on the process in your Science Notebooks. With class, discuss relative versus definite positions.Use maps as examples with longitude/latitude. Cartesian plane. Compass rose and cardinal directions.
Student Exploration: Distance vs. Displacement
Materials: Chalk, meter stick or string, compass, graph paper, notebook and pencil.
We will go outside. One student from each group will chose a place on the basketball court, write their NAME and a dot as a starting place (in groups of 4). Students are given directions as to how to find a "treasure" and will measure them out accordingly. Using a compass and a meter stick, they will traverse the yard! They will also chart their journey on graph paper as they go. At the end, they will calculate their total distance, and their total distance from their origin (displacement), which will be startlingly close to their start! Heh heh heh.
Back in class, we will discuss difference between total distance traveled and displacement from origin. Use water displacement & Eureka moment as further examples.
THEN: Students will do a worksheet on their own.
Materials: graph paper and stories. Students will follow the stories and draw the character’s journey /path to find treasure etc. using each square as 1 kilometer/ 1 meter depending on the story.
BEFORE THEY LEAVE:
Students will receive one sticky note. Students will write the difference between displacement and distance, and provide an example.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Hello and Welcome!
It's me-- your favorite cynical, whimsical, impractical 6th grade teacher!
I created this blog for teachers, would-be teachers, or those curious about the actual teaching process.
On this blog, I will post lesson plans, management strategies, scopes and sequences of teaching various things, notes on content, links to websites that have helped me out and more.
It's the technical side to the mania. :)
Enjoy!
Oh-- and feel free to post comments or your own resources!!!
I created this blog for teachers, would-be teachers, or those curious about the actual teaching process.
On this blog, I will post lesson plans, management strategies, scopes and sequences of teaching various things, notes on content, links to websites that have helped me out and more.
It's the technical side to the mania. :)
Enjoy!
Oh-- and feel free to post comments or your own resources!!!
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