Science In The Classroom

In a classroom which is driven by the need to meet high stakes testing scores, there is a subject which may be cut from the curriculum. This subject is science. The realization of this fact nearly broke my heart. Kids love science!! Science explains the world around us and children are constantly exploring the world making inferences, testings, and conclusions.

Education should focus on what children are interested in learning. The students are then intrigued by the material presented to them and the learning becomes owned by the student himself. This idealistic principle is not always easy to obtain in a block schedule format when "reading is to be strictly taught for 90 minutes" and "math for 90 minutes". However, science could easily be incorporated into both subjects.

As I was planning my lessons for the month, I looked at the pacing guide and saw that we would have a unit of learning about the states of matter. This is usually the time when the lightning bolt comes from the sky and an idea is struck. The final idea that I came up with was to have students make observations about the different states and keep a science notebook.

Without telling students the answers, I had them make observations about things they saw on a table. There were four tables with items. One table held blocks, books, rulers, and blocks; another had a tub of water, cups, a tub of beads, and glue; next a table had cups filled with soapy bubble mix; and lastly there was a table with air freshener and balloons. The only clue that the students had been given was that we were learning about states of matter. After students had made observations, they were then to write 6 sentences about what they saw. This was a perfect time for a short reteach on what things make up a sentence. A perfect opportunity to incorporate writing into a science lesson!

Once observations were made, students were then made to share with one person what he or she has observed. They kept track of similarities and differences in the form of a Venn Diagram. (Venn Diagrams are often associated with math!) As students were sharing what they had observed, I was able to come across great conversations over what they had been learning. Many students had come to the correct conclusions without my saying "this is a liquid, solid, and gas". The learning was placed in the students hands and they ran with it and made great progress.

After the hands-on experience, the students were then able to connect better to what a solid, liquid, and gas is made of in the form of atoms. Overall this lesson was fun and a powerful learning tool. Plus, the students kept a learning journal which helps to connect with the subject matter.

Classroom Management

The Key To Classroom Management

How can I use these ideas?

Many of the ideas presented in the article Key to Classroom Management are things I have naturally been able to decipher in the classroom, and some concepts were quite eye-opening. Every student is different in his needs of management. Some students need social training, and others simply need direction on how to complete an assignment.

At times we can all feel overwhelmed by how much we have to accomplish in a short amount of time. This concept is also very true for students. Some students feel overwhelmed by assignments. The pressure to complete a task is too great and therefore the student will ‘act out’. As a new teacher, all I was able to see was the ‘acting out’ stage. It was then pointed out to me that the student may need the assignment broken into smaller stages. The article pointed this strategy out as well, and it is quite effective. The student who ‘acts out’ was finally able to complete the task, and he was able to complete the task with his full potential.

Demographically speaking, students who come from low income families tend to be in the lower percentile of learning scores, as well as behavior issues. The article and the power point presentation both pointed out that simply blaming the family for a student’s predicament is not effective. This is true, but my question was ‘what can I do to help this child succeed?’ As hard as it might be to introduce a new concept at this point in the year, these students need to be taught social skills. These skills need to be taught and reinforced every day. The reinforcement needs to be given with positive feedback because these students are used to receiving negative attention. Positive attention and negative attention are the same to low leveled students, attention is attention.

Social skills need to be taught in order for students to be successful in life. The creation of a behavior chart would be an effective way to help keep students on track. A chart may include items such as: entering the classroom with a zero voice, looking at the board for today’s behavior goal, complete first assignment on the board, and wait for the teacher’s instructions. Allowing students to earn a tangible award for good behavior creates incentive for students to seek positive feedback. The combination of the award and the chart are a way to foster the self monitoring of behavior.

Kids Love to Write!

Writing With Kids

Over this past week my class worked on creative writing assignments. One assignment was very structured and the other was their choosing. The objective was to work on writing, clearly. What surprised me most was how well my class wrote! The writing was fluent, creative, and for the most part, the exact assignment. Plus, every child wanted to share what he or she wrote!

Writing has been said to help clear the way of a soul, or mind. I believe that this is true and was able to see it in the work of my students. A class, which normally has no ability to focus, became enthralled with the work placed in front of them. They were begging to write even more!

So, I let them write.

Once our stories were complete we shared them with the class. One student, who never speaks a word, was ecstatic to share her work! I then thought to myself, let's scrap the blogging assignment for the week. We should become publish authors! We did so and our computer lab transformed from a cave of technology to a magical land filled with child authors!

One of the first stories completed was titled: Why Glasses are Small. When this story was read aloud to the class, everyone was hanging on every word of the author.

Kids Love To Write!

Pushing Forward- Creating Holes?

Look at the problem above. This is an example of a bar model.

Can you find the answers?

Yes, there is more than one answer to this problem, even though there is only one question mark.

Did you find it?

The answers are: The whole bar equals $50. Each square equals $10. The remaining squares equal $20.

Were you right?

This seems to be a simple problem. Simple addition and subtraction. However, expecting an eight-year old to complete this problem is a challenge. Many students struggle with math due to the abstract concepts which are posed. National testing is ever more pushing the abstract in order to "keep up" with other developing nations. Our testing does not account for the factors of home life, behavioral issues, learning abilities, or development.

As students enter Kindergarten most have already been taught the ABC's and 123's; and others can recount last night's events in detail but have no idea as to what is "the alphabet". By the time students reach the 3rd grade they are expected to have mastered number names, place value, addition, and subtraction. This poses to be a problem for some students. Some students entered the game of school behind due to the lack of educational stimulus, and the simple construction of an addition problem is mind boggling.

So, researchers have developed the idea that leveling students based upon needs in a subject will be the solution. Right idea in theory? Teach, re-mediate, teach, re-mediate, and so on? Reality is a different scenario. This tiered system with the combination of rigorous curriculum has created "learning holes" in many students.

The Learning Hole :)

The concept of how to revolutionize the education system is underway. The execution of the plan is where the downfall lies. My theory for changing the system is to integrate one new idea at a time. Incremental chunks would work better than a straight blow to a known and understood curriculum. At times, new curriculum will take assumed student knowledge and apply that to lessons. This assumed knowledge sets back the class due to the need to teach a new concept of how to tackle a problem.

Example:

Problem - Addition

Concept- Bar Model

Challenge- Workbook page asks students to answer the problem using a bar model. Students were to have learned bar modeling in prior grade. Prior grade level used a different curriculum. Workbook assumes students know how to use a bar model.

Using a bar model is a great way to solve an addition problem. Plus it will be useful as students move into higher mathematics. Right now, however, it is apparent where holes in student learning are formed. There is no room for learning the WHY of a problem, it is all about the HOW. We learn how to finish a problem but never understand why. We push forward but we are learning without understanding.

"Tell me, I forget; show me, I may remember; involve me, I understand."

Collaborating Classrooms?

In a classroom, full of energized children, there is a leader and educator. This educator decides the motion of the classroom, what lessons will be learned today, and how activities will be preformed on a daily basis. Besides the core curriculum of the day, another component is constantly added to the mix of the classroom. Not all are aware of the emotional attachment which accompanies the lessons of a school day. If a lesson was successful, there is the wonderment of "what did I do right"? When lessons do not go as planned, we crumble for a moment and then are pushed to move forward.

This moment of "failure" can be a staggering roadblock in education. Many times I feel as though I am the only person in this whole profession who hits these roadblocks a few times a week. However, after some shared reflection time with colleagues, I have found that this is true for everyone! This revelation led to me thinking about the world of education and the disconnect which can often occur between the staff of a school.

Teachers need moments to share lessons and ideas with each other. There is an inherent need for humans to talk about what happens in our daily lives. We learn best when we reflect about our day. This action has even been proven to extend long-term memory. Reflection inspires us to investigate new possibilities! People and children change constantly and our educational techniques need to evolve as well.

Along with reflection of our educational standings, this generation of education demands the need for collaboration of activities. How many hours are spent by individual teachers planning an elaborate unit for students? The answer is too many in my opinion. This is another place where disconnect happens in our educational plans. What one teacher includes in a unit might be completely skipped by the teacher next door. Why not make better use of the hours spent on a unit by collaborating with the neighbor teacher? Now each classroom is learning the same concept in similar ways!

Collaboration is easy and made user friendly with the aid of technology. Google Docs is a great way to share lesson plans and ideas. This revolutionary (not to mentions FREE) tool is easy to use and documents never fail to save. Plus, more than a single person can work on creating a lesson at the same time!

A Final Thought:

Could collaboration also help heal the broken chain of content standards between districts and states? I believe that this concept certainly could help. Those who are in the classroom are the ones who key to reform.

Literacy Centers in the Classroom

As my highly active students walk through the door of our reading classroom, I wonder to myself what their behavior will be like for the next 45 minutes. Will today be a time where great strides are made in learning? Or, will today be a battle of classroom management?

As it turns out, these questions are a struggle for many seasoned teachers. We have been blessed with leveling students based upon his or her reading abilities and needs in my classroom. Many of the needs are highly dependent upon behavioral issues ( the inability to sit still for an extended amount of time ). So, how can I fix this monster of a problem? Literacy centers seem to lend a great hand in making a classroom run smoothly. This turns an unhappy teacher to a happy one!!

Literacy Centers- What does that even mean?

Definition of a Literacy Center

A literacy center can be described as a “small area

within the classroom where students work alone or

together to explore literacy activities independently

while the teacher provides small-group guided reading

instruction” (Ford & Opitz, 2002, p. 711)

The idea behind having centers in the classroom is simply this: keep students engaged and motivated within academic regions. Centers allow for students to be challenged in different aspects of literacy. Instead of giving 45 minutes of direct instruction to the whole class, students are challenged to think in small group situations, or individually. Whole group instruction is an easy way to monitor students and be sure that each student is receiving the same instruction. However, many times a student will "check out" or become bored with the concept and bother his or her neighbor.

Centers- What do they look like?

Word Work

Each week students are given new vocabulary terms to work on. These words typically go with the anthology story of the week. These words are then tested on Friday. During this center, students are also working on their weekly spelling words. Spelling work may be done by using a manipulative to spell out the words and then copying the word down on paper. Or, students may work on spelling by using the words correctly in a sentence.

Read to Self

This is a time when students work on building stamina for reading. During this center students work on reading "good-fit" books. The words, pacing, concepts, and length of the story fit the reader.

Read to Someone

Reading to someone helps students work on fluency while reading. Each student may be provided a decoding strategy bookmark to help each other when a work is challenging. As students progress in the year they may move into prompting comprehension questions. In my class, the students love partner reading. The books they love most are You Read To Me, and I'll Read To You. Students stay on task as they read these books and I cannot keep them on my shelf!

Listen to Reading

This is an essential time for all students. Listening to reading allows for students to work on comprehension activities. Students are also listening to how fluent reading sounds. Listening to reading may be done as a whole class while a story is read or it may be done while listening to a book on CD.

Work on Writing

"Just like reading, the best way to become a better writer is to practice writing each day." The Daily Five by Joan Moser and Gail Boushey. A great way to work on writing is to write words from the week in story form. During this time, students are also learning Daily Oral Language ( D.O.L.).

Let's Do It!!!

These centers allow for the teacher to work smarter, not harder, in the classroom. Students are on task and engaged in the activity that he or she is working on. Mini-lessons and warm-ups are still essential for whole group exercises. However, centers can be tailored to specific needs of students. During the time of a center a student may be asked to work on high level thinking activities. The more experimentation I do with high level thinking activities, the more I see students rise to the occasion and push each other to new levels in academics.

Inquiry Based Lessons

Inquiry Based Learning

What is this Inquiry Learning? The basis of this model of learning puts the information and responsibility of the lesson into the learners hands. Instead of beginning a lesson with a lecture and then having students fill out a meaningless worksheet, the lesson starts with the student being engaged in the activity. Then he is able to make inferences and predictions about the solution to the problem. Once an inference is made, the teacher may then tell the students the answer to the problem and give information. There is suddenly a whole new dimension of curiosity for the student and the lesson becomes inviting and interesting.

Okay, so this is a neat idea, right? Why are we not using this powerful model of instruction for all lessons? The answer is simple. It takes time to learn this model. It takes time to create and reinvent lesson plans. Honestly, what teacher has time to make this happen on a daily basis? I know that I do not. Here is my solution: when beginning a new unit, or big idea, make THAT lesson the key point of inquiry. It will make the rest of the unit much more inviting to the inquiry approach. Students will be engaged the entire lesson and have a feeling of accomplishment. Easy as... well, pie. Start small and go one day at a time. Eventually this approach will become natural when preparing lesson plans. Plus, it allows us to step away from those boring curriculum plans. Structure and routine can still be built within inquiry.

The Five E Learning Model

What makes up an inquiry lesson plan? The answer is to follow the 5 E's.

The 5 whats??

The 5 E's are as follows:

1. Engage

* In the stage of engagement, the learner is provided a problem. He is then invited to come up with a solution to the problem by recalling previous knowledge. The student will develop a "need to know" mindset.

2. Exploration

*The learner takes the problem and attempts to provide a solution. He will collect information from the proposed problem and analyze his findings.

3. Explanation

* He, our learner, is now enveloped in the lesson and is ready for confirmation on his findings. The teacher explains the problem and gives the correct solution. This is typically where the lesson takes place.

4. Elaboration

*This stage allows for the teacher to extend the lesson by asking new questions. The learner takes his new information from the explanation and applies it to the newly proposed problem.

5. Evaluation

* An evaluation may come in the form of a journal where the student may keep the answers to his his findings. Or there may be an assessment to determine if the student achieved the learning goal.

Why Use This Model?

This model puts the lesson into the hands of the students. The lesson is made meaningful because students are taught to make real-life connections with the material. Students are quite knowledgeable and should be provided with ample opportunities to share thoughts and ideas. Adults do not know everything. Children do not know everything. However, we can learn and work together to provide an incredible learning experience.

What Happens When Students Are Given Control?

The video provided below has inspired me to make the most out of every learning experience for students. This young girl is and incredible speaker and a true revivalist for the world of education.