Final Flight....

This past Monday was our last lesson to teach the 2nd graders! It is very sad this has to come to an end, but overall it was a great experience! I have learned to be more confident, manage the class, do smooth transitions, expectations of 2nd graders and have learned a lot about butterflies! For out last lesson we decided to do a big wrap up of all the material and to do this we decided to incorporate literature. We read the students a story called, "Butterfly House," which is by Eve Bunting. This was a great story to use to wrap up the unit on butterflies, as it was about a young girl who found a caterpillar and took care of it til it became a Painted Lady Butterfly.

We used this story to introduce predictions and the different between that and a guess. I read the first page of the story and had the students write down their predictions of what was going to happen in the story. All of the students made great predictions and most all of them were accurate! After we read the whole story, we had the students fill out a "Butterfly Venn Diagram," comparing and contrasting the way the little girl in the story took care of her butterfly and the ways that their class took care of their caterpillars/butterflies. This activity went great, and it really gave the students an understanding that not all caterpillars live in little plastic cups; there are so many ways to take care of a caterpillar/butterfly.

During the second half of the lesson, we had the students fill out a worksheet (or you could call it a quiz)... This "quizypoo" was about the story we had just read to them but it was also a great review of many things we went over throughout the unit. That is why this book was so good... it really connected perfectly to what we had already taught the kiddo's!

So we had two different forms of assessment for that day, being the Butterfly Venn Diagram and the Butterfly House "Quiz." We could get a sense of the students understandings and comprehension levels. We also concentrated on differentiaiting instruction and we did this by making certain accomodations for students. We have two ELL students, so we are always constantly writing ideas and notes on the board for them and other students to see. We also have one student who excels in science, so he is always ahead of the class when working, so for this kiddo, we gave him the option to look through a couple of other butterfly books we had, while he waited for other students to finish up. Differentiating instruction can be an aspect of teaching that can be rather difficult. You may have some students who learn quickly and then you may have those few students who need more time to finish activities. As a teacher you need to be aware of these students and make sure they are always staying busy or making sure that they have enough time.

Overall the butterfly unit went great with our 2nd graders! We even got thank you cards for each individual student! And of course we gave our teacher and the class a thank you card as well for inviting us into their classroom and being such great students! =) We plan to visit back in January... we made a promise!

Coming to an end.....

Another successful lesson down and one more too go (sadly)! During the lesson this week, it was a big wrap up of the life cycle of a butterfly. The lesson on Monday was very engaging, educational and fun! All of the students seemed to really enjoy it as well. The lesson was based upon the life cycle of a butterfly and the student's got to make a model... out of pasta! This activity went over very well and it surprisingly connected to "engineering and technology."

In order to make the activity connect to engineering and technology we mainly focused on the use of glue, scissors and other basic classroom tools. I realized that it is very difficult to connect all activities with engineering, so as a teacher you want to choose certain activities that concentrate almost specifically on engineering and technology.



After each student made their own model of the life cycle, we then played a Brain Pop video about a butterfly's life cycle. The student's really enjoyed this video and it gave them a better understanding of the concept. It was a great summarizing tool to present to the students as well as providing great visuals!

Overall the lesson went very well... again! Success! Unfortunately next Monday is our last day with the second grade students... the students are very sad about this; as are we!

Butterflies!!

So for the lesson today, Katelyn and I were hoping that our caterpillars would be butterflies… but of course not ONE of them was a butterfly yet. Luckily we have AWESOME classmates/friends, who let us borrow one of their flight cages for the beginning of our lesson (thank you Alisha S. and Lindsay)!! Now that is what you call teamwork! So for today’s lesson we were focusing on the use of technology and writing in science. Overall our lesson went great and the students enjoyed it!

Personally I LOVE using technology, no matter what subject area is, the only problem Katelyn and I have is that our classroom does not have ONE piece of technology (not even an overhead.) This makes it very hard for us to show worksheets to the entire class or show pictures/diagrams. Instead we draw the diagram on the whiteboard for all the students to see. So for today we needed to include technology, therefore we used a computer. On the computer we showed the students a slideshow called “All About a Butterfly’s Life.” The students were split up into groups and we did learning centers, and the computer was one of them.

As for writing in science, this is a feature we always include in our lessons. No matter what the lesson, the students are always doing a writing portion. For today’s at the end of the lesson, the students were to write about “if you were a butterfly, what would you spend your day doing?” This question was one of our key questions and also went along with the slideshow they seen prior. This made it easier for them to recall information they just learned and to review. Before having them write on their own however, we always have them up at the carpet and we go over the question they will be writing about. We also have students give some ideas of what you could write about and we write them on the whiteboard. We also demonstrate how to properly start the sentence, because many second graders need reminders.

Overall our lesson went very well. It was the first time we have conducted learning centers and they went smoothly. One was the slideshow as I mentioned and the other was an observation center, where the students observed the butterflies. Students were amazed by the butterflies and learned about their parts and what they do in a day!

4th Lesson - Molting!

This was our 4^th lesson that we taught, and we focused on “molting,” which the students seemed to have a good grasp on. Throughout the lesson we were to concentrate on the flow of the lesson, common misconceptions and content vocabulary.

Katelyn and I are a great team and we really work well with one another, so the flow of the lesson is never an issue for us. For this particular day, the flow went very smoothly like usual. The students do a great job transitioning from the carpet area to their caterpillars to their desks. With the students already being trained on good classroom behavior, of course this makes the flow of the lesson go a bit smoother. Having good classroom management will increase this flow.

For the misconceptions, we chose a couple to cover with the students. The first misconception was that a caterpillar has skin like humans. So we made sure to inform the students that although some people may call it “skin” it is actually an exoskeleton, or an external skeleton which is rigid and not soft like our own skin. The students seemed to understand this. The other misconception we talked about was that some people may confuse the caterpillars “head capsules” to their “frass,” or waste. We were sure to explain to the students that the head capsules are the small black circles and the frass is actually almost the same color as the food except rolled into a small ball. For their observation worksheets we had them count the head capsules and tell us how much frass there was, just to see their understandings of the difference between the two.

Finally we concentrated on content vocabulary, which is something we do in all of our lessons, as we make use of our word wall from day 1. Each week we introduce new vocabulary and place them up on the word wall which we review towards the end of the day and during each lesson. This week we actually did a vocabulary review game which included old words they learned about in our prior lessons and the words they just learned that day. We made the review game into Jeopardy, which the students loved! This was a great way to have the students work together in teams, to communicate with one another and review the vocabulary. The students did a great job with it! So again our lesson went very well and the students are enjoying every minute of it!

3rd Times a Charm.... *

On Monday Katelyn and I did our 3^rd lesson with the 2^nd grade kiddo’s! This lesson was a very exciting one, as this was the first time the students found out they were learning about caterpillars and were actually each getting a caterpillar of their own (actually 2 caterpillars!) You should have seen the look on the student’s faces when we said everyone was getting a caterpillar, firsthand! – Their mouths dropped (LITERALLY!) It was rather funny and of course they were so excited. The overall lesson went extremely well and the three areas we were concentrating on went great as well: classroom management, process skills and the lesson conclusion.

So far classroom management has not been an issue for us, and a lot of that has to do with the classroom teacher, as she has done a great job with management. The students for a big majority of the time are always listening and have their eyes on us, they transition from the rug to their seats quickly and quietly, they are very respectful to us and their peers and they hardly speak out of turn. Although their regular classroom teacher is not teaching at the time, the students still take what they have learned about classroom behavior towards Katelyn and I. Having a class that has been taught proper classroom behavior really makes it easier. However there are some times when students may speak out, but we just simply remind them to raise their hands. Also reminding them about proper transitioning (from the rug to their desks) occurs from time to time. As many, if not all teachers say, that classroom management is a HUGE part of teaching and for the first quarter to half of the school year, this is what you will be practicing with your students constantly.

When it comes process skills, in science they are particularly important. In this lesson plan, we focused mainly on observation. The students got to observe their caterpillars and write down their data. They were to observe the different parts of the caterpillar, the color, size, how they moved, what they ate and anything else they noticed or found interesting. The students also used hand lenses to “get a closer look,” at the caterpillars. Observation is always a great way to get students engaged and interested, especially if they have a living creature!

A lesson is never complete until the closing or conclusion. Lesson conclusions are very important, as it is a time where the students should come back together to share their thoughts and experiences. It is also a time for the teacher to review the activity and revisit the key question, in our lesson is was “what are the parts of a caterpillar?” The conclusion should be a time where the teacher observes what the students actually learned. It will give the teacher an idea of how much they learned and if there is something he/she needs to do in order to clarify the material. Just like in the lesson introductions, the lesson conclusions should be very engaging and should connect to the student’s lives. Reviewing what they have just learned and also introducing what they will be doing for the next related lesson.

I’d say this was one of our best lessons so far; perhaps because of the caterpillars or maybe because we have become more experienced as teachers and learn from our mistakes. Below is part of the last activity the 2nd grade students helped create! (Each student got a circle and wrote one fact they learned about caterpillars - Katelyn and I displayed it after the lesson was through.)

Second Time Around *

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Two down... The second lesson went well! For our second lesson, the framework we used was "Plants and animals have life cycles that vary." During our lesson we mainly discussed life cycles and how they are different from one another; we compared and contrasted the frog life cylce to the human life cycle. This really got the point across that not all life cycles are the same. Having a framework to follow during your lesson plan ensures that your students are learning material that is relevent for the Massachusett's MCAS testing. Frameworks are a great feature, as it keeps all teachers on track and teaching the same information to the students. This means that all students will recieve equal and adequate information.

A key feature in lesson plans starts with the introduction. Introductions are extremely important, as it is the time to introduce the lesson and review past lessons. Introductions should grap the students attention and get them wanting to learn. With our lesson plan we put the introduction into a story and tried to relate to the students. We mentioned how Katelyn and I were walking around Freeman Lake, which is a lake right in Chelmsford, that many of the students have heard of. Talking in a story form, engages the children and gets them to listen closely. During the introduction there should also be a time where the students talk or share their opinions on a topic, so when we were talking about frogs and how one of us thought baby frogs looked like fish, we asked them, "so what do you think?" Introductions should be really thought out carefully; you want to engage your students right from the beginning and to do that you must connect it to their own lives, that is why introductions are so important in starting a successful lesson.


The third aspect of lesson planning and teaching is materials managements, which is also very important when trying to conduct an efficient lesson. Materials should always be prepared ahead of time, before the lesson even begins, so that the lesson will run smoothly. Knowing where your materials are and how your going to give them out to your students is something to think about before hand. For our lesson plan, we have "Science Activity Folders," which we handed out before our lesson even began, so there was no wasted time. Inside of the folders we put in all the materials the students will needs, whether its a worksheet, pictures, graphic organizers or activities to do if the students have spare time. The folders are great, as they have journal paper inside already and it keeps everything orangized and together. After every class we take back the folders so that we can put future worksheets and activities inside each one. The folders are color coordinated by groups of desks in the classroom, so when it comes time to passing them out, we know which group is what color.


These three aspects of lesson planning are crucial for conducting a successful and efficient lesson. =)

First Time's a Charm....

PHEW!! Woo am I glad that my first taught lesson plan went good! At first of course it was a bit nerve racking, but after we got going, I already felt like a professional. Although there are some aspects to work on, overall I think Katelyn and I did REALLY well! Oh and the 2nd graders LOVED it!! They loved it so much they couldn't wait to get back from recess!

I have known that lesson planning would be an extremely important part of teaching and this experience confirmed my beliefs. Lesson planning is CRUCIAL in teaching, as it really does prepare you. I could not imagine walking into a classroom and trying to just "wing it;" you really need a set out guideline for the lesson and for the day. However, lesson plans CAN alter throughout the lesson, as Katelyn and I experienced. For the most part we followed our lesson plan, but of course questions and other sorts of things come up that just become part of the lesson as well. Katelyn and I altered our lesson plan as the day went; for example we changed our reflection questions, because we realized last minute that maybe this wasn't the right type of question to ask 2nd graders. The lesson worked out great and all of the students really enjoyed it! They all got little spider rings at the end of the lesson for being such great scientists! =)

The safety aspect of the lesson also went really well. Our 2nd grade class is really big on science, as it is their favorite subject along with the teachers, so they have been taught a lot about safety. One safety aspect they have never heard of was the "wafting." This was a brand new word and concept to them, but they really seemed to understand the importance of it. It was also funny having all the students try it all at once after we demonstrated! They had fun with it. Science is the one subject you really have to strive on the importance of safety. Although students may learn the safety rules for science on the first day, as a teacher you really have to remind the students just how important it is; refresh their memories!

Now for teamwork... the teamwork was amazing! Katelyn and I did a great job working together (we even said we should go into interviews together saying we come in a co-package)... now wouldn't that be awesome. Throughout the whole lesson we communicated and worked together. However preparation is key when co-teaching, you really need to some what know who's going to say and do what, so you're not talking over each other. Preparation is something we did, so the lesson went really smooth. There was one instance when Katelyn forgot to talk about the safety guidelines, so I just chimed in and kept the conversation going. That is why co-teaching is a great thing, if one teacher by accident forgets to mention something, the other teacher is there to back them up. Katelyn and I have great teamwork! =)

Now we can't wait to teach our little 2nd graders about life cycles.... I know they are all counting down the days as well!

Nervously Excited & Excitedly Nervous

So every night before I go to bed, all I think about is teaching and I think about the first lesson I will ever teach to a class full of students.  As I imagine this first day, a sense of excitement and nervousness takes over. I believe that this is a feeling that is entirely normal for any new teacher or any person starting a new career… the people who don’t feel this way aren’t normal! It helps to know that all of us in this graduate program are going through all of this together and I’m sure we all feel the same way!

So thinking about that first lesson plan I will ever teach to a classroom full of students is almost upon me; in fact in about a week I will be standing in front of 20 or so 2^nd graders teaching them about science!  I am excited and glad to know that science will be the first subject I will teach, because I love science and I know most students love science as well! Science is a great subject area to start with, as it is very hands on.  I’m excited to get students engaged and wanting to learn more; help build their love for science!

Through all of this excitement, I believe nerves override this feeling. Although I know that it is completely normal to feel nervous during this experience, I still can’t overcome the feeling.  I am just nervous, as this will be the first time teaching a lesson to actual elementary students. I want these students to have a positive and efficient learning experience while at the same time having fun. I want the students to learn something new and remember it for the rest of their lives. When I was in 2^nd grade I did this same activity with butterflies and still to this day I remember it as my favorite experience in school; I want that same thing for these 2^nd graders Katelyn and I will be teaching!

This will be a great teaching experience, as we will be co-teaching. I believe that co-teaching is a great way to minimize that nervous feeling, as it will be the first time teaching for the both of us. Knowing that someone is going through the same thing as you, gives a sense of relief. You also have support and help from that other person. Over all I have great confidence that we will effectively and efficiently teach these 2^nd graders to the best of our ability and that they will have a remarkable learning experience that they will remember for the rest of their days!

The Best Lesson is a Planned Lesson...

Planning is something that all professions require in order to be successful. In education, lesson planning is the first and most predominant step teachers should make. Lesson planning has many positive and useful aspects to it; it allows you to manage your time and resources efficiently, it gives you an overview of what will be taught every day, it keeps you organized, lets you recall what you did each day and improve upon your lessons when needed. Lesson Planning is a strategy and skill that is great for all subject areas in schooling, but in science it is extremely important.

                Science is a very diverse and hands on subject to teach students, so lesson planning helps the teacher stay on task and plan day to day. Unlike other subject areas, in science there are a lot of experiments and materials used; one day the students could be listening to a lecture, the next day they could be conducting an experiment, so lesson planning helps teachers organize and create a year long plan. Lesson plans consists of objectives, state standards, essential questions, materials, the procedures, extension activities, accommodations and reflections. In science teachers should also include safety procedures as well as a main questions that students should be able to answer at the end of the lesson, seeing how science is all about figuring out the answers to questions! All of these features in a lesson plan are essential in order to be successful when teaching. Creating a plan like this before hand will help better prepare and guide a teacher throughout the day; if a teacher gets distracted, they have the lesson plan to look back upon. Having these lesson plans also allows teachers to look back on them after the lesson is complete and make any improvements and adjustments they feel will better suit the students in future classes.

                When planning a lesson you always want to keep in mind that students come from different backgrounds and all students learn differently. There are some students who may have schema or prior knowledge to the subject and then there are others who may not have a clue. Also some students may learn visually, while others learn kinesthetically. These are all real life aspects that should be thought out while making a lesson plan. Teachers should keep in mind that some students may fall behind in an assignment or experiment but others may fly through it, as it was too easy. This is when adding extension activities would come into play and should be planned prior just in case. Teachers should also keep in mind students learning abilities and plan out accommodations for those students who may need it. The most important thing to consider when planning a lesson is, what is in the best interest of ALL my students?

A Great Online Resouce - Discovery Education!!

I came across a great online resource called     

The website is http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

When first trying to think of an online resource that I have used before or heard of the first thing I thought of was the Discovery Channel and how much I love it! So I went to Discovery.com but that was not what I was looking for because it was mostly about the reality TV shows going on. So then I researched “discovery education” on google and found this website!

This is a great website, not only for teachers but also for the students. This website was created to captivate students and help teachers bring digital content into the school districts. Seeing how technology keeps growing in and out of schools, I believe this is a beneficial website. They offer digital content, interactive lessons, assessments and virtual experiences for the students.

They offer something called the Science Techbook which goes far beyond the standard textbook! This Techbook is customized to your state standards, has resources for all learning styles, teacher resources, up to date content, interactive resources, and cost efficient for only 38$ a student! On the website they show magnificent examples of what the Techbook consists of and it is very engaging! They may not have the Massachusetts standards aligned with the Techbook yet, but the website is growing rapidly and you can still use the other resources available!

BEFORE TECHBOOK

WITH TECHBOOK

If you go to this part of the website.... CLICK HERE!

They offer free lesson plans on different content areas! (They also have other subject areas available as well such as math, social studies, english and health). Another free feature is the Puzzle Maker, where you can create word searches, criss-crosses, mazes and all other sorts of puzzles!

The website also proveds worksheets, brain boosters, clip art and a curriculum center for science, where you can choose a topic and recieve facts, activities, project ideas, puzzles and quizes! CURRICULUM CENTER

One more feature I would like to mention is that they also have a portion called "Student Adventures" where you can check out all kinds of destinations around the world and experience it for yourself! Click here and check it out.... WHATS YOUR DESTINATION??

As you can see this website provides many useful tools and resources that you can use in your future classrooms!!



My Splendid Science Story*

Here's one for you (a joke, the only joke I grew up knowing)...
             Why did the mushroom go to the party?  (read, scroll down and find out!)

 

Ever since when I can remember, I have always loved science. I grew up exploring the outdoors and always wondering about different features in nature. I use to wonder what stars were made of and how far away they were, I wondered how plants grew and why a lot of them were green, I wondered why it rained and how it was possible, I wondered where rainbows came from and if there was a pot of gold at the end... So many things I was curious about and wanted to explore for answers! Science is something that is everywhere and always around us. You cannot escape it (which is a good thing)!

When it came time for school, I always looked forward to science class, because it is something everyone can relate too, or atleast I thought so. In my elementary years of school, I remember a few different scientific experiments and activities we did that I loved. The first one that pops up in my mind is from 2nd grade, when everyone in the class got their Monarch Butterfly (which of course it was not yet a beautiful butterfly to start). Each student got their own larvae and each day we watched it grow and change. We collected data and made observations. I remember how amazed I was when the larvae began to construct its cocoon. Then finally the moment everyone was anticipating, the butterfly emerged and spread its wings! Then my fellow classmates and I walked out to the front of the school with our butterfly and set them free! That was probably my first most memorable science experience I have had.

Field trips were always something I looked forward too for science class. The Museum of Science in Boston was and still is one of my favorite places to visit; there is just so much to see and experience. I also remember visiting the Butterfly Place in Westford, Walden Pond, the Christa McAuliffe Center in Framingham and all the times we would take small field trips just to explore the woods behind the school.

Then there is the experiment that no one can forget... dissecting frogs! (I also dissected a squid, not as interesting). Being introduced to this experiment, I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. To be honest I was very disgusted with the whole thing, but that doesn't mean I still didn't enjoy it! (My partner did most of the cutting.) The whole experience was very new to me and I learned a lot from it. It was interesting seeing first hand what the inside of a frog looked like. It was a great experience that would not be forgotten (can't forget the smell either). Then I found out when you get to high school you can dissect cats in anatomy class! (One class I chose NOT to take!!.. =( poor kitties).

As I got older, through middle school and highschool, science became more "traditional." Science was just about reading the material, answering questions at the end of a chapter and memorizing terms for a test. Especially through highschool, there were less field trips and "cool" experiments. Science in high school was mostly about chemistry and physics, which I had a difficult time with. The experiments we did were interesting, but really not too fun. I started to get turned off by science, but when I got to college I took life science 1 & 2 and really enjoyed it, not because we did experiments, but just because the information and material was just so interesting to me.

So I would come to a conclusion that I really enjoy life and earth science. I am very excited to learn how to teach science and spend time with the little kiddos, sharing my experiences and enthusiasm!


And the moment you have been waiting for....
       -- Why did the mushroom go to the party??

          Because he was a FUNGI!! .... get it? FUN-GUY... =)