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!
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised you had a successful time implementing your lesson, it sounds engaging and meaningful. I think your key question is fantastic. I bet your students loved picturing themselves as a butterfly. It was also a thought provoking question, that led your students to dip into their memories of what they have previously learned. It is fantastic that you have your students reviewing what they learned as well as learning new ideas; they seem to be making some great connections.
Also, I liked the way you set up centers in order to incorporate technology. Centers are a great way to keep students attentive, since they only last a short duration of time!
Keep up the great work!
P.s. Your welcome for the butterflies, I know you would have done the same! It has been hard planing lessons based on a living thing; but it is definitely giving us a good picture of what is to come in the unpredictable field of education.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of centers in science is awesome! I also like that you explain the instructions to the students while they are at the rug to remind them important rules about writing. The question was very thought-provoking and I'm sure the kids loved doing it! Thank you for then great ideas for when we become a classroom teachers. Awesome job!
I think your writing prompt is very interesting and so well connected to the science question. Great work with the centers too!
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