Science Fair

Instead of last weeks class we went to a school's science fair. This was held at Elk Point Jefferson and was a really fin experiment. Our class as well as a class from Morningside, were the Judges. We got a list of all the kids that we needed to go and check out and got a little rubric to help with our grading. There were really interesting ones and then there were some that were not that unique. All the children really seemed into it and were all excited. There were a lot of "moldy breads" and typical ones like that. My Favorite was this one girl who was talking about the importance of having calcium in your diet. She placed eggs and bones into a jar of vinegar. It was interesting because the bones were flexible and the egg had lost its shell. I would definitely do this again and thought that it was a neat opportunity.

11-20-08

Today in class I was the only one in my group to come to class and had to decide what we are going do for our last lesson plan. It was a work day and had a chance to get caught up on some things that we needed to work on. We could either work on group projects, blogs, discussion, quizs, or anything else. I also got my quiz grade back and it was an A so that was nice. We are planning on doing our third and final lesson plan on 3rd grade focusing on measurment.

11-18-08

We did not have class, however we still had to upload our second lesson plan and finish taking the quiz. My lesson plan that I did with my partner was about animals and learning their different environments that they live in. I used two books in this lesson plan titled, "My house is my home," and "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" This was a really fun lesson plan for be because it dealt with 1st grade and I usually do middle elementary. We also finished our quiz and submitted it.

11-13-08

Today was a work day and was really helpful. My partner and I worked on our next upcoming lesson plan project and our past homework that we needed to touch up.

The 5 E's

The 5 E's include: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. These five stages are important to use in the classroom because they offer a assortment of ways to help students learn. The engage stage is where students use their prior knowledge and make new connections. The explore stage is where students get a hands-on experience. The explain stage is where the students talk about what they are learning. The elaborate stage is where students increase on the things that they have learned. The evaluate stage is where the teacher assesses whether or not the students have learned the material. When teachers use these five stages in the classroom, they make certain that their children will learn new things and build on different things.

10/28/08 & 10/30/08

In class these two classes we finished up with all the other groups and the lesson plans that they were teaching. They were very good and insightful. Everyone in class had different teaching styles and they were all unique and very well done.

10-23-08

In class today we viewed about 6 groups of two teaching a ten minute lesson. The lesson could be about anything as long as it had a hands on activity and you had to teach about safety in the lab. My partner and I were teaching a mini lesson on mixing oil and water. We had students mix oil into water then we had students add food coloring and have them record their observations. All and all it was a really fun experience and was glad that I got to see the others in the class teach theirs. Next class we will finish the rest of the classes mini lessons.

10-21-08

Today in class we went over some notes and looked further into our midterm project and got a little time to talk to our partners. We also as a class discussed some notes from the chapter and sort of talked about the where to find the answers to the new reading guide that we got. Then after that did a short, fun and unique little lab. What we did was get two small containers and placed a funnel in one of them and then placed a ping pong ball in the funnel. We then blew into the funnel and tried to get get the ball into the other container. We then talked about air and how the ball would get to one place to another.

10-16-08

Today in class we went down into the computer lab and looked at different web sites that had to deal with safety. We got a worksheet that we had to fill out and this was something that we could save and give to our future class. This one worksheet had to deal with safety online. Then there was a really good site that had a ton of links that had to deal with weather, biking, and a ton of other things that had to deal with safety. Then after we looked we had to in our pairs look for a good web site that had to deal with science safety in the lab setting. All and all it was a fun class that we got to really look into fun things about safety.

10-14-08

Today in class was just a really good opportunity for us students to focus on our upcoming midterm project. It was a work day if you want to say that. We got the chance to talk about it further in class and with the teacher then had the time to sit with our partner and talk about what we are all going to do. Those sort of days are always well appreciated because we have so much stuff going on outside the classroom that having that time to sit and just discuss projects are a definite load of the shoulders.

10-9-08

Today instead of class we got a huge list of fun websites that were really interesting to view. These were all very good, fun and educational sites for students and teachers to view. There was some on the how beneficial science fairs are and how you should go about providing elementary, middle, and high school science fairs. "The Adventures of Cyberbee" was a site that had many links to view many different things. Some were on paper airplane links that had different activities and different lesson plans. The Cyberbee website also looks at web pages that provided a ton of different science topics ranging from different topics endangered species to the Cornell Theory Center Math and Science Gateway. All and all this was a really good experience for us to see and think that the things on the Cyberbee makes science fun for teachers and students.

10-7-08 Web seminar

Today I reviewed a web seminar on stars. This was the first web seminar that I have even seen. I was really surprised because I learned a lot and wish that instead of reviewing it I could have actually participated in it. I really liked it because it was interesting and it was like you were in the classroom but in the comfort of your own home. The discussion between the four people talking and the talking between everyone else was neat to see. I liked how you could actually respond to the questions and see other answers. It was fun to see the presenters could actively point out important things or where you should be looking at. I would really like to see more of these and to someday when I am teaching try this out in some way. Plus it was interesting to see the movies and to hear professionals talk about a topic that they are very well in knowledgeable about. This is a really great way to maybe introduce a lesson or to end one. This is a great use for technology and I think that more classes should integrate this in to their classroom.

10-7-08

Today in class we first went over all the next few topics that are coming up soon. However are one project that we did in class was a really fun one and one that i would really love to do with students. We took a mirror and held it with one hand and then took a note card and poked a hole in the middle and placed a pencil in it and tried to write something, for example our names, but had to write it so it read right in the mirror. It was really hard to try and fix our mistakes and it was hard to find where your pencil started and which direction it went. Then we got a paper that had different objects like a star and we had to try to duplicate that image in a box right next to it. It was really fun and we learned a lot. I like doing projects like it so ya!!

10-4-08

I took the time and looked at the adventures of the food detective an interactive computer program that looks at 8 different children that need some help with their lives. Some of the kids needed help to add more protein to their foods, some needed more calcium, others needed help with their exercise routine and the others needed to slow down to get some food for breakfast and more. This was a really good program to show kids and let them explore it. It case studies for the children to look at and helped by giving hints. This is something that you could build a lesson unit around and at the end have them put it all together and do this program. It also had print outs and mini activities for each of the children you helped. I really recommend it for teachers and students.

10-2-08

Today in class we learned about Plato's allegory of the cave. It was really interesting and we also watched a video it was about the idea of people who were chained one way for many many years and could only see shadows. It was a fun thing to think about. So the lab we did for the day way to pass around little black boxes and to talk with in our groups where the restricting areas were so that the marbles could only go so many places with in the box. It was a fun activity and we had fun talking about it in the group as well as in the whole class. This would be a neat activity to do with just about any grade level with some adaptations.

10-1-08

Today instead of the class meeting face to face we had a web assignment that took me like two hours, however it was a good two hours that i was able to sit down and think about the world of science. I liked reading all the case studies because it really puts you into the science classroom and that makes it more fun to read. I learned that even at an early age you should be teaching towards the future and getting them ready to think outside the box. I also read about how you as the teacher can become a better teacher if you sit down and listen to the child and hear what he or she thinks about science and mold that into something that works in your own classroom.

9-23-08

Today in class we did a fizz project it was really fun and really organized so that made it easier to do. It was a neat project that I am sure many young students would enjoy it; I mean I am a college student and I did. What we did was use different types of acid. They included vinegar, orange juice, grapefruit juice, and others and we also used chunks of fruit. We put the baking powder into a closed container and then squeezed all the different types of juices into it at separate times and saw how much the acid raised the air pressure. It was really interesting. The one that had the most of a rise it was in vinegar and the ones with the least result was the chunks of fruit but maybe that was because it was really hard to measure those because we were just looking at the reaction instead of having something more concrete as a rise in air pressure. I recommend this experiment to other teachers it was fun and enjoyed recording the information.

9-16-08

Today in class was a really productive day. We went over questions that all the students and professor had. Then we went over notes and different upcoming projects that were due.
The rest of the class period we got to color a game board and play it. This is fun in the since that you get to do something fun but it’s also fun to find new and unique ideas to take in to the classroom for the future.
The packet that came with the game was a contract that you can give to your future students and have them sign an agreement to science safety. We also got a lesson plan guide to follow for effective teaching. It also gave many cards that went with the game and at the end of the game you can give your students a "Student Science Safety License."
This is something I will definitely use in the classroom and has brought to my attention that using games that you can make up are effective and interesting for the child.

9-11-08

Today in class we talked about the importance of teaching science well. We talked about how without scientific knowledge we wholly are dependent on others as "experts." Without this scientific knowledge we are empowered to become participants rather than merely observers.
There are many reasons to teach science and to teach it well. In class we discussed a few main ones that include: with science we can improve life in many different aspects, we will help to provide long lasting foundations to theory’s and problem solving.
In class we went over such terms as Theory, Hypothesis, evidence, facts, and scientific claims. Next we participated in another activity that we looked at data with temperature. We used the technology in the classroom to map out our data in a graph. What we did was we stuck an electronic thermometer in cold and hot water and saw how fast it changed and where it leveled off.

9-9-08

This one activity that we did was really hard for my group. We did the first few steps that was pretty simple and then we ran into tons of problems with the technology that we were using. The first steps were to cut out these certain objects and then fold them in a unique way. We got that part done but then when we went to drop the paper copters our computer would not work. However it was fun getting to at least hold the equipment and play with it and see what the computer can all do. The object was to see how fast or how slow the paper would fall down to the ground. We couldn't do any of the other steps which included adding paper clips and making other folds and then time them. The next activity will be better though since we will have been through the process and all.