On your mark, get set.....MELT!!!!

Kathy and Becky - Lesson Plan 2: Freezing and Melting  10/25/10

On your mark, get set....MELT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it would be appropriate with Halloween right around the corner that I begin my summary on the Changes lesson this week regarding melting by introducing a very memorable clip from an ole' classic. 

What can I say?  This 3rd grade class is a pleasure to teach.  They are smart, creative, and seem to be vested in this science unit.  Of course, there are those who need occasional reminders to pay attention but when that prompt is given they are very respectful. At the end of our last session the teacher introduced us to a tool she uses to gain back the attention by announcing the phrase "we are in the red zone" which she suggested might be helpful to use during instruction because it was familiar to them.   I used this once with success..

I will report that our class experience was a little different this week than last week.  The students were given the opportunity to leave their seats during the experiment where they would devise a method to melt an ice cube in the shortest time possible.   We did address safety; however, the excitement combined with the ability to explore different methods did become slightly chaotic.  I was very grateful for Becky especially during the actual hands on experiment because we were four eyes working together to keep forty-eight safe and on task.  The sink was a popular method and with all that water I am thankful that Becky kept a close eye on that station because the classroom could have been in serious danger of becoming submerged.  Good thing she had that scuba suit handy.... 

Becky provided a wonderful introduction to the unit by revisiting what we discussed last week and engaging the students in answering science questions such as "what did we observe last week and describe some of the changes" and "Can a solid change state?".  After Becky completed the introduction and we felt confident that they grasped the content from last week I began explaining the lesson for this week and relating that to how we want to always keep in mind that safety should always be our first priority.  We discussed the senses we could use in the experiment. However, I have to admit I was not prepared for the children that would elect to stomp on their bags or use desks to crush their materials.  I guess that is why teachers always need to expect the unexpected!  Becky and I worked extremely well together as we tackled the class management of this particular lesson. 

We were very prepared with materials and even brought in a cooler in the event that the ice cubes began melting during our discussion.  Luckily, they remained frozen and ready to go at the start of the lesson.  Becky even prepared a chart including the rules of this activity which I found to be very resourceful when trying to get certain students back on task and adhering to game rules.  We also provided word search puzzles for the students in the event that they finished melting their ice cube early which they really seemed to enjoy.  At the end of the lesson we distributed their journals and asked them to record, draw and write anything that they obseved, noticed or learned from today's experiment.  As we walked around the classroom I was pleased to see that many journals reflected the importance of today's lesson as it related to the frameworks.  They really seemed to absorb what Becky and I set out to teach....that matter is constantly changing and when heat is introduced to the solid (ice) it melts and changes matter to a liquid again.  They truly are amazing little sponges...

Enquiring Minds want to know what this science experiment is all about?

Welcome to our 3rd grade class of scientists studying Changes.   Becky and I are very fortunate to be working with such a great group of  students. We began on Monday by setting up 15 minutes prior to the start of our lesson .  This proved to be an effective strategy because we were well prepared and neatly organized when we began to engage the class in a brainstorming session involving their own ideas about solids and liquids.  This session was an important part of our lesson because it was an opportunity for us to explore and understand what their prior knowledge was regarding matter.  As Becky did the talking I would write the data on our chart paper and vice versa.  We were a good tag team and seemed to compliment each other's teaching styles and personalities well.  The student's were very receptive to us being there and respectful.  We did have a couple of students who lost focus but both Becky and I were able to use cues to get them back on task with no problem.  Our class was very much in control and a pleasure to teach.  

As we moved from the class discussion to the actual experiment we knew we were beginning to be pressed for time and so Becky and I decided that we would disseminate the materials ourselves to the students.  This definitely bought us some time but I realized after that having the students get up to retrieve their own materials would have given them that stretch they needed (especially at the 3rd grade level.)  After discussing the lesson experience with the other groups I thought about incorporating some of their ideas (such as moving to the carpet for class discussion instead of having them sit at their desks for the entire lesson.) 

I realized the importance of addressing safety when a few of our students asked if they could drink the liquid after we had discussed safety.  I noticed that in Jen's blog her students thought the liquid resembled soda and we found that our students made that connection as well.  I reminded them of how we want to stay safe when conducting experiments and that in this experiment there would be no sense of taste involved.  Saftey is one of those topics that should be addressed during each and every experiment within a classroom, no matter what the age.

The reaction of the each group after the "big reveal" - dropping the tablet in the water was memorable.  There was a lot of interest during this phase of the experiment and as I approached different groups and asked questions I felt like I could see their minds working overtime to figure out where that tablet went.  There were some students who knew right away and others that needed additional time to digest what happened. 

After the experiment we discussed as a class what we learned from the lesson about changes and I applaud the way Becky addressed some of the ideas listed on our brainstorming chart from the beginning of class in an effort to identify any misconceptions.  For example, one idea a student had at the beginning of class was that a solid could never change shape and we were able to clarify that misconception after conducting the experiment. 

We set the stage for next week's lesson by having them watch us pour water into the ice cube trays.  This was a good lead in to our announcement that we would be coming back next Monday to do more science!  Next week's lesson appears to be even more exciting as the students use their own creativity in designing ways to melt the ice cube in the shortest amount of time possible.  I am looking forward to observing what this smart team of scientists will come up with!

Combining a 10 yr. old girl sleepover and the science of Oobleck....

My daughter had a sleepover party that included (15) 10 yr. old girls this past weekend and we certainly had some fun with oobleck!  I thought it would be a great party and science activity, not to mention a great experience for me before our first science lesson on Changes next Monday.  I can see how teachers can become overwhelmed by the "hands on meaningful learning activities" because I am still cleaning oobleck and food coloring from floors, rugs and cabinetry.  We even discussed the changes of matter and I found that they were eager to answer my questions.  Overall, it was a messy but really fun time!