Forums

What advice do you give to teaching science for the first time? What are some activities to grab the students' attention on the first day of teaching science?

There are many different things I have learned from my first year of teaching. One of them being you have to be confident and in control of the classroom. The first few days I did not do this and the kids walked all over me. It was really hard to gage their interest because they could tell I was a nervous wreck. Another thing would be to be as prepared as possible. I read the textbook and did many other things in order to get me ready for the next unit. 

I appreicate the information on being prepared and learned this during a field experience course, as I am in still in school to become a secondary teacher. What are some ideas for keeping students engaged in the content from the beggining of the class period? 

The first day of school can be a little hard because you have to introduce yourself and begin with procedures, which is essential for classroom management. BUT in the next days coming, what if you try introducing really cool science phenomena to gain their attention. They will be learning and they won't even realize it. 

Be confident, let them know your the teacher and your there to teach and try to have control of the situation. Also be prepared for anything and don't forget that there children. In my first day of class I start to knowing my group and there to know me. Have a connection to them make will give a different of the semester. Otherwise, you can make them use a get to know handout (you can find them in the internet or Pinterest). You can make a flipgrip if you want them to discuss something or make a shirt lab with them (depending on the level).