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.