A Day in the Forest

In my last student placement my teacher taught ELD through animals in the rainforest. The kids could not have been more excited to learn about bats, leopards, and scarlet macaws. The rainforest or any type of forest is a high interest topic for students. Teachers can use this enthusiasm and excitement for animals in the forest to discuss the science and nature of trees and their environment as well. Did you know that sponges and gum were made from trees? Me neither! I had no idea. But trees actually make a ton of our resources. One great activity to do with kids is to fill a brown bag full of goodies trees make (i.e. Hershey kisses, pencils, paper, fabric, pencil, cork, gum, crayon, sponge). Ask the students to separate the items in the bag of things made by tress and things not made by trees. But there is a trick! Surprisingly everything is actually made by trees! This then would be a great opportunity to spike student's curiosity and let them discover on their own what else is made from trees. Allow students to explore their questions in the computer lab. I love the idea of having a question board in the classroom! Put students questions on a big piece of butcher paper, or better yet, let them write the question. Then throughout the unit as we figure out the questions, fill in the questions with answers. I love this idea that students and teachers are collaborators (Koch, p. 197). Both are on a mission to get their questions answered! Figuring out your own questions "is the basis of any inquiry in science, and it is the way students can develop their own inquiry skill" (Koch, p. 196)

A great idea to bring science inquiry into the classroom is using owl pellets. The students will have a great time pulling apart the pellet and seeing what they can find. Teachers can use the owl pellet to prob students to start asking questions about owls, and then lead into a unit about owls! If you can't get owl pellets or are grossed out by the idea here is a website where kids can do a virtual owl pellet dissection: http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm

Our last class we spent outside in the Fullerton Arboretum! It is beautiful and I was so sad I never knew it existed until last week. What a wonderful place to take students on a field trip. There is a big grassy field where you can have a picnic, class discussion, or even play field games! The students would have a wonderful time exploring the environment! We saw turtles too! Here is a link to the Fullerton Arboretum: http://fullertonarboretum.org/home.php

In the book readings for the week on Chapter 13 I loved the idea of assessments using technology and building an electronic profile. What a great way to incorporate 21st century skills into science. One of the ideas for an assessment was having a child create a concept map on a unit of study. Another idea was for the students to create a cartoon drawing that encourages the other students to think about that specific concept. Presentation software like Powerpoint and Prezi can be used to collaborate ideas on a specific topic. When I was in elementary school I used PowerPoint a lot and I loved the opportunity to come to the front of the class and present my presentation. I think it would be a good idea to allow students to work in groups and collaborate on information and then present using a PowerPoint. This will also help students work cooperatively.

What can we find in the Garage?

I had never really thought before that my beliefs about learning would affect how I would teach my students. I can now see that there are two types of teachers and two types of beliefs. One type of teacher trusts her students and the other one does not. I hope to trust my students. I acknowledge that my students are knowers, and that they have their own ideas, and that they are capable of constructing and carrying out investigations on their own (Koch, p. 267). The other teacher still cares for her students and wants them to succeed but this teacher believes students need modeling and authority, she believes she must have all of the right answers or she is not doing her job (Koch, p. 268). She does not trust that her students can be in charge of there learning process. What worries me about this teacher attitude, that the teacher knows all of the answers, is that the teacher is not going to be able to hold that child's hand through life. The teacher must teach the student how to fish, not give them the fish. She must give the students the tools to figure out the answers for themselves.

This week in class we experienced a great science lesson that allowed us as students to take control of our learning. We were given a bin full of supplies (batteries, Christmas lights, foil, tape, ext.) and we had to figure out how to make a closed circuit (how to light the Christmas light). Our teacher did not tell us how to make this, she gave us no instruction. Before the lesson began though we were challenged to figure out how a little chicken was chirping. We figured out as a whole group that it was chipping when it was in a closed circuit. Our teacher lead us to this answer, but she did not tell us. I loved this idea! We as students felt more accomplished that we figured it out on our own. Our teacher gave us confidence in ourselves and our own learning ability. This is a picture of me and my group trying to figure out how to light the Christmas light:
Did you know that a diaper can hold up to five cups of water?? I had no idea either. My guess was 3/4 cup. I was way off! I had no idea that a diaper is full of these little white crystals could expand when water is in them. What a fun experiment to do with kids! Check out this link to show kids that when you open up a diaper you found polymers: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/diaper-secret

Here are other science experiments you can do with the water absorbing crystals in the diaper:
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/water-absorbing-crystals

How to Ask the Right Questions...

Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why.

-Bernard Baruch

If you don't ask, you don't get.

-Mahatma Gandhi

The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.

-Claude Levi-Strauss

No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.

-Charles Steinmetz

There are hundreds of famous quotes on the importance of asking questions. As a teacher I hope to ask questions to my students that will engage them further in the lesson and will challenge their thinking processes. I hope my students will ask questions of me and of their peers to further their inquiry as well. When learning science it is so important for teachers to ask open-ended questions. Koch (2010) discusses three important types of questions to ask students in inquiry based science lessons. The first is to ask students questions that invite students to action (294). These types of questions are like, “What do you think will happen? How would you change this experiment if you repeated it?” The second type of question is to assess students’ ideas and previous knowledge (294). These types of questions are like, “How do earthworms take in their food? How would you describe the way the earthworms move?” The third type of question is to check for understanding (295). This type of question is like, “So what do you think is going on here?” This type of question allows the student to think critically.

Koch (2010) also offered four key tips to good questioning. I found these tips very helpful and I want to remember them for when I become a teacher.

1. Ask questions only if you are TRULY interested in knowing what the students are thinking. (Don’t just ask a question without any meaning behind it!)

2. Design questions to help students construct their own answers (i.e. Open ended questions)

3. Be okay with the silence! Allow appropriate wait time

4. Never answer your own questions. It is better to leave a question unanswered for a while than to answer it yourself (I have a habit of doing this and I want to stop it!)

Koch also goes in depth about wait time. Studies have shown that “longer wait times raise the quality of the student-teacher interactions and the level of the discourse” (296). I do not know why but I have always been afraid of silence, especially in the classroom. I love to talk and it is so hard for me to even silence my thoughts in my brain, but I need to learn to be okay with the silence. I need to learn that silence in the classroom means students are thinking about their thinking. Even in our group discussion in class this week, we had moments of silence. People were reflecting on their previous actions and coming up with new ideas. Sometimes people need to work up the courage to speak in the classroom as well. I think it is important for the teacher to communicate to her students that silence is totally okay and it is encouraged.

Trusting the Squid!

I loved the idea from the readings to value students’ thinking. “Creating an atmosphere in where there is a sense of trust makes it possible to help the students reflect on their new experiences and use those reflections to modify their prior knowledge” (68). I hope to create a trust with my students. I want them to take risks in their learning and to challenge their previous ways of thinking. It is so important for teachers to understand how students learn to help create a safe and trusting environment. Teachers need to create science experiences that are engaging, encourage them to express their ideas, listen to students, ask questions, encourage reflection, and scaffold student learning (92).

During our science lesson this week, we were able to dissect a squid! It was so much fun! The lesson was engaging, we asked questions, we listened to each other, and we reflected on our dissection. Science activities like dissecting a squid allow the teacher to build a trust environment with her students. Science can become an experience rather than a lesson. This type of activity also allows students to discover and learn on their own. I love that idea that the teacher is more of a mediator.

I want to use this blog post to write down the steps that we did when dissecting the squid to help me remember when I want to go my own dissection with my class.

1. Draw a picture of what you think a squid looks like.
2. Read information about squids. Students can re-do drawings
3. Given a squid in groups of two. Also given a diagram of the inside of a squid
4. Dissect Squid . Observe.
5. Cut squid down the middle.
6. Peak inside tentacles. Look at the mouth, Pull out mouth/stomach
7. Pull spine out (Cartilage). Use as a pen (Poke a hole in the ink sack).
8. Clean off Skin. Wash in soap water. Eggs. Bread Crumbs. Fry. Yum!