Read all about it.....Science teacher, A.K.A. mom, ROCKS!

Today was our last lesson teaching science to our 3rd grade friends.  Becky and I walked into class today and were greeted by several students who handed us cards signed by the entire class.  It really made my heart smile (especially to read on the card that I rock)!  I am going to miss this class.  The cards served as a reminder as to why I am studying to become a teacher.  I hung the

 card up at home so that my children would know that other children out there think that I rock! 

At the beginning of the class I reviewed what we learned last week. Becky introduced the new process skill (cool concluder) and our science question  "Does temperature affect the dissolving speed of sugar?"  We both wanted our last lesson with the class to be memorable and we were careful not to lecture too long.  Every week Becky and I create an outline and dialogue for our lessons.  This really has helped us with time management, organization, and responsibility.  We really wanted to adhere to the time today limit because we had a fun activity planned to get the students out of their seats and moving as they would become one with the molecules.  Our materials were prepared and Becky gave the go ahead to race the grains of sugar. Thankfully, everything went according to plan this week.  The sugar grains dissolved faster in the warmer water for everyone's experiment.  We translated the students thoughts and responses to the newsprint at the front of the class and identified the 3 factors that contribute to dissolving substances at a faster speed (size, stirring, and temperature.)  

We quickly cleaned up all of the materials and placed the students into 5 groups of 4.  We explained that they would be molecules and Becky and I demonstrated the three states of matter (solid - link arms and stay still, liquid - put one arm on other's shoulder and move slowly, gas - no one is touching another's body and we move faster and more freely.)  This game was a huge hit with the students and it really got them moving.  We then challenged them by giving them scenarios of matter changing state and they would have to act out the form they were in (i.e., they were an ice cube that we put out in the sun and they would have to work with their group to model the matter).  It was a really fun and visual way to apply what we learned about state of matter to end our lesson. 

Overall, my impression of this experience was that it has been invaluable.  I can't think of a better way to learn how to teach a class of (25)3rd graders than to get up there and do it!  It is one thing to read about how to do something and another to actually engage in it.  I have always loved science and to be able to share my love of this subject with a group of inquisitive 3rd graders was truly amazing.  I felt like I was learning about matter again but only this time through their eyes.  The weekly feedback from my supervisors was extremely helpful because I knew going into this experience that the only way to improve and learn would be to welcome feedback from professionals.  I found myself anxiously awaiting feedback after teaching each lesson because I really wanted to be able to implement what I needed to improve on our subsequent lessons. 

I learned that teaching science can be a lot of work, especially in regards to preparation of materials.  However, just watching the students throughout this semester I could see their excitement for science as we walked into the classroom every Monday.  Teaching science is fun, hands on, and very interesting.  I learned just how important this subject is to a group of budding 3rd grade scientists.

The classroom teacher really let Becky and I run our lessons.  She was very helpful when she suggested we use her "Red Zone" chart to gain the students attention.  Classroom management is really important when teaching science because there is a lot of communicating/sharing of information and interesting hands on activities.  It can be a challenge to regain their attention at times snd so we used her chart and it really worked.  She was always very positive and encouraging after each lesson and would often tell us what a great job we had done (which was really nice to hear.)  I definitely felt like my content knowledge increased each week because I was actually studying and reading about each lesson that we had to prepare for.  It was important to Becky and I that we were knowledgeable in what we were to present each week.  We also became more familiar with the science process skills as we reviewed them each week with the students and how they might apply the skill to the experiment.  I learned how important it is for the students to understand the process skills especially as they move forward with more complex science lessons.  It was like introducing them to the tools they would need to become successful scientists.

My level of confidence steadily increased with each lesson.  I remember our first lesson and how nervous I felt inside because I wasn't sure how we would be received.  I also felt uncomfortable not knowing all of the names of the students; however, that all changed as we continued to teach.  I wasn't as nervous during our last lesson and I really felt more comfortable.  I strongly believe that this experience will be very helpful when I student teach.

I have to admit that sometimes I felt like blogging was time consuming but it was very important because it helped me to brush up on my technology skills and I loved reading about my peer's experiences each week.  It was also a way for me to learn about the Rocks/Minerals units that the other groups were doing.  Now I love to blog, it is like my very own journal!

I really don't have any suggestions regarding doing this again, except that I think it is so important to continue this program.  I expected there to be a lot of bumps along the way with this being a new piloted program but I have to say I was extremely impressed with what I was able to learn and the organization.  I am grateful for the experience and really sad to leave this class, goodbye my friends.

I will especially miss my dedicated and brilliant partner Becky.  It was a pleasure to teach with her!

Hold your horses.....

Hold your horses.... is the sugar cube seriously winning the race? 

The science question for this week that we posed to our excellent experimenters (new process skill introduced) was, "Can 2 forms of the same substance dissolve at different speeds?"  This experiment involved two solids which were sugar grains and sugar cubes.  The goal was to have the students recognize that they will dissolve at different speeds based on two factors (properties and stirring.) The question seemed so simple, or so we thought......

We were being assessed on the Technology/Engineering framework today and we definitely struggled with ways on how to incorporate this piece without disrupting the flow of the lesson.  Becky did an excellent job of incorporating technology/engineering into the lesson as she reviewed last week's lesson on filtration.  We had a sample of oil and water on hand in a container and she asked the students for real life instances where we might use filtration.   She then offered the gulf oil spill as an example of how scientists and engineers work to solve real life problems such as this and that they design machines/technology as a part of their jobs. The students were really engaged by this topic and I could see that they were very interested and were going to want more information.  Becky handled this really well as they began asking questions about the spill.  She suggested that we could talk more about this topic at the end if we had enough time because we had to get going with our experiment.  Great thinking partner!

 After Becky explained the record sheet and briefly summarized the steps of the experiment I stepped in with another connection to the T/E frameworks.  I discussed how in the past we have used some of the same materials and what might we use today to do our stirring.  They knew that we used a coffee stirrer.  I brought a small bag of examples for stirring and asked the students why I might not use some of the materials in the bag (i.e., paper, straw, yarn).  They told me that the coffee stirrer was better because it was hard and it would be stronger to stir.  This is the answer I was looking for so that I could revisit how it is the job of scientists and engineers to decide what tools are best to use (based on properties and design) when trying to accomplish a task.     

This week's lesson really challenged my partner and I as we were faced at the end of the lesson with the task of explaining to our science class that the sugar grains were "supposed" to win the dissolving race and not the good ole' sugar cube. Becky and I were really surprised when we walked around the classroom to observe students and we sall all of their cubes dissolving rapidly as they stirred and the grains seemed to fall to the bottom of the other cup.  Different partner groups began saying that their cubes won. 

We decided to be up front with the class and let them know that the results were surprising to us and that the sugar cube was supposed to win.  I then asked them why they thought the cube should have won.  One student answered correctly by stating that the cube was more compacted and the grains were smaller and separated.  They also divulged to Becky that if they broke up the cube it would dissolve faster as well.  She then asked the students what the answer to our science question from the beginning of class was.  We must have done a good job of explaining the different speeds, factors, and forms because they knew the answer was yes, that two forms of the same substance do dissolve at different speeds when they are stirred.

I could see that the students were getting itchy in their seats and so I suggested to my partner that we omit the journal writing for this week and maybe call them to the rug to hear a book that I had found at Barnes and Nobles on Solids, Liquids, and Gases.  It was a book that infused humor and colorful pictures and I think the students really enjoyed it.  I was pressed for time and had to read fast but hopefully they grasped the concepts.  I felt like it was another way to review everything that we had learned over the past 6 lessons.  My wonderful partner cleaned up and organized all of the materials as I read the book.  I am going to miss these students and Becky!  I really feel like we were a great team together this semester.  She is going to make a wonderful teacher some day!

Switching gears from the beaches of Miami to Separating Mixtures in Science

Who takes homework to a Miami resort?  I do!  A little rest, relaxation and some science preparation for Monday's class.  What better way to read through a lesson plan and prepare for a class than to enjoy the sun under the beautiful palm trees.  I have to admit I did feel a little frazzled on Monday after returning late from a flight the night before but thankfully I have a very dedicated partner who I knew would have completed her share of our lesson.  We agreed to meet early on Monday to put our heads together and go over the flow of our lesson as well as identifying what our goals were.

We had all of our materials prepared and the technological piece ready to go at the start of class.  I led the class in a brief discussion about what we learned from last week's class question, "do all solids behave the same when mixed with water?" to which the students responded "no".  We also reviewed  the science process skills from last week (operation observer and reliable recorder).  I added a new science question "Can all mixtures be separated using the same method?" along with our new science process character (Purely Predictor) which we hung up front with the other two skills people.  We went over what a prediction is and how we would use this skill to answer a writing prompt in their journals to predict what would happen when we separate each mixture.  The students were asked to draw, write or number their predictions.  I realized that the students did require very detailed instructions here because they still seemed puzzles even after we disseminated the writing prompt to fill in.

We had the students move to the rug and called them by row so they could view a video that Becky had downloaded on her laptop of a solids, liquids and gas song.  They seemed really excited and engaged by this piece of the lesson.  Becky then reviewed the steps for the experiment as I was passing out the mixtures from last week for them to observe and record.  She also addressed safety again and then the students returned to their desks. 

We walked around so that they knew we were available if they had questions and Becky asked if the mixtures had changed, where was the salt, and she touched upon dissolving from last lesson and then I picked up the lesson with asking the class for ideas on our brainstorming chart to cite ways that we could separate our mixtures today.  The students answered with hands, sieve, strainer and a filter.  The filter answer was perfect because it was the new vocabulary word that we were going to add to our word wall this week.  We showed some examples, coffee filter and air filters and put the new word up and quickly went over the different size holes of some real life examples we brought in.

Becky then demonstrated how we would use the filter and the funnel to separate the mixtures.  All students had their materials but this week we put them into groups of 4/5 and this definitely made it a little more confusing.  We then had to make sure they were all taking turns and that everyone could see, and was participating in the experiment.  After this we went over the changes they observed and talked about how the salt was the only solid that did not seem to separate by the filtration method.  Becky then showed her video of herself boiling water and salt and walked the students through the process of using this method to separate the salt mixture.  The students were able to touch the salt in the pot that she brought in.  It was such a clever idea and the students really seemed to grasp the idea of this lesson that the salt and water mixture could be separated by evaporation but not by the same method as the gravel and toilet tissue. Overall, we were able to fit everything in that we wanted but we definitely felt the pressure of time during this lesson.

Mixing Solids and Liquids

The lesson began today with a lot of preparation and materials.  We had everything ready to go and spent every single second of our 15 minutes beforehand laying out trays with water, solids, hand lenses, etc.  We posted steps, questions, instructions, word wall, and the Changes in Property Chart that we had done prior to the lesson.   I can really see how important it is to be prepared because that would have really put a wrinkle in the lesson plan if we were consumed with materials management this week.  Thankfully, I have a great partner who shares in the responsibility of being prepared every Monday. 

We wanted to make sure that we focused on the science question of the week like we had done last week because this really provided a great introduction and summary for our students.  The question for this week was "Do the solids behave the same when they are mixed with water?"  We reviewed the process skill from last week and this week they were introduced to another skill known as the Reliable Recorder.  We discussed how observation helps to develop other process skills and that science starts with observation.  Recording was defined as what scientists use to organize their ideas and observations and the students were asked to step into this role and record their findings today.  We then hung up the 2 posters of these process skill people on the board for the class to see.

We also decided that it would be very important to address a misconception that we felt students may believe regarding the mixing and solution of salt and water.  After the students mixed this solid in the water we wanted to be sure that they were aware that even though the salt seemed to disappear it was still a part of the solution.  Becky really explained this well when she made a real life connection to lemonade and asked the class if we drank this solution would we get a mouthful of sugar, lemon, and water separately...no, of course not.  We also discussed this misconception toward the end of the lesson in a group circle and ensure they grasped the concept of the solution. 

Becky also taught the class the sign language for dissolve and they were very receptive to this.  I even saw one student use the sign again at the end of the class on his own.  We added the words dissolve and solution to our Science word wall along with definitions and pictures to expand vocabulary related to this unit on changes.

We designated students to pick up their materials and Becky and I disseminated the cups of water because we thought there would be less chance of spillage if we took care of the water portion.    The students shared their observations regarding the solids, liquid and what happened to the mixutre after they stirred the different solids and water.  We then gathered on the rug and discussed what happened to each solid, how the water changed, how well did the water and solid mix.  Becky cleaned up the materials while the students were on the rug with the help of the teacher.  We recorded the responses on the poster board and then Becky wrapped up the lesson with answering the science question "Did all the solids behave the same when they were mixed with water?" 

They are such smart cookies...they answered "no".    Becky also gave them a lead into next week's lesson telling them we would be separating these mixtures.  How fun!

Mixing and Separating Solids

It is week number three and I have to admit that with each lesson I am definitely feeling more comfortable in my own skin in front of my scientist friends.  I really feel like Becky and I have provided a classroom science environment where the students feel comfortable sharing their ideas, taking risks, and asking questions. 

At the beginning of today’s lesson we let our friends know that we would need their help in answering the following science question:  “Does mixing 2 solids change their properties?”.   I asked the students to continually think about this question as we proceeded with the experiments.   We reviewed what we learned from last week and then went on to discuss what their definition of mixture was and asked for examples.  Becky was very helpful as she captured the students’ answers on the chart paper.

Becky then continued by reviewing the outline she wrote out on chart paper at the front of the class.  This was really instrumental in keeping the class on task and it served as a great reference for anyone who may have had questions on what they were supposed to be doing or what was next.  As Becky continued to review the instructions I distributed the summarized record sheet that Becky had put together.  This sheet was clear and simple and a great way to get the students to write down what they observed. She also educated our students about the process skill of observation and asked the students how they thought they might use this skill today. 

 I was very confident about the materials management portion of this lesson because I knew that Becky and I had fully prepared with the materials, outlines, handouts, and time management.  There were so many elements to this lesson that I couldn’t imagine being unprepared.  We worked in tam den to make sure that we were organized and ready to go.   

I then asked that one person from each pair retrieve their materials from the table near the sink.  I asked that no one start until everyone had their materials and all eyes were on me.    We proceeded to put the gravel and the salt on black paper and observe the materials with our lenses.  I modeled this step as Becky walked around to see if students needed help.  Becky then asked the students to predict and record what would happen if they mixed the two.  They mixed the solids and I stepped in to ask the students to predict and record how the mixture might change if the solids were separated.  The students then created their own sieves after watching me model how to make one.  We all separated the materials and recorded what we observed.  We asked the class to share their ideas and they were eager to do so.

An unexpected misconception by some of the students that did surface toward the end of this lesson was that the solids had indeed changed.  After a longer than expected discussion on this matter, Becky was quick on her feet and asked the students if the gravel was still gravel and if the salt was still salt.  I immediately saw the light bulbs going off and I hoped that they finally understood that the properties did not change.  I would know the answer in a moment when I revisited our science question from the beginning of class.

At the conclusion of our lesson I hesitantly asked if mixing two solids changed their properties.    There answer was like music to my ears….No, they responded the properties did not change. 

I wanted to jump for joy because after all that blood, sweat, and tears we knew they understood.  Yay!  We also remembered to ask them how they used the science process skill of observation today and again they knew the answer.  The students then finished up by writing and drawing what they observed in their journals.  Becky and I proceeded to work together with the students to clean up the room and collect all of their written work.   At the very end, I was sweating and my mouth completely dry but overall it felt like a complete success!