I am an intern at an Elementary School right now and i have observed that there is very little time for science to be taught. Activities are usually rushed and messy. How could I make sure that the students are engaged in my lesson? Any tips on how i could prepare a proper activity for the time given in the classroom?
Just like Wendi said, use literature as the engagement part of your science lesson. I use Picture Perfect Science books from NSTA for lessons throughout the year. It may be that I do a science demonstration on day 1 and ask probing questions about the results of the demo. Depending on the grade level, the students or I would write the questions about what was observed on the board or in their journals. Day 2 the students would read the book, for example; What Did They See? and I See Myself, are both books geared towards K-2. The lesson objectives can be found on p 147 of More Picture Perfect Science Lessons. The science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts are all listed. The lessons are really engaging and students can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Day 3 would be using a mirror to complete the tasks listed. Day 4 would be 10 minutes of journaling. Day 5 would be another experience with reflections and light. You can choose to informally evaluate the lesson or have a rubric for students to refer to that aligns with the investigations.
It is difficult in elementary schools to meet all of the expectations in a day. One of the best ways is to integrate - not just putting science in with a book about something scientific. Instead try thinking about how your math lesson could connect, can you revisit your writing tasks this week with a science journal during a lab? Several teachers at our school include science with breakfast in the classroom, with dance, etc. But they also focus on having time for inquiry and engineering - knowing it is important in and of itself, it deepens all learning, students love it and includes skills (such as learning to learn, resilience) beyond science. One of the interns in my class did the types of earthquakes through dance and it was fantastic! NSTA has some great books on math and science and in using journals for writing. There are also several series that use children's literature. See link below for samples. Teaching Science with Trade Books Picture Perfect Science Let us know what you decide to try! Good luck!!!
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