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... =)