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Hello. When I was in elementary I remember loving science because of all the fun activities. During this pandemic how are teachers managing the experiments? What was changed from physical instruction to virtual? 

Hi there!

One of the things I did in March when we closed due to COVID I recorded myself making playdough, oobleck, and other fun science experiments. Then I sent the information over to the parents and they could do the experiments at home and send me a video or just watch mine! It worked well!

That's a great idea. Since Science is the one subject that is hands-on, recordings are almost necessary. If I was teaching Science during this pandemic, I would try to find simple experiments that only require lost cost materials and have the class each perform them from home every Friday on Zoom. If I ran out of experiments to do at home that met with the NGSS, then recordings of myself would have to do.

Recording yourself is always great!  I also have done a bunch of 'let's do this together' activities, with material lists sent out ahead of time.  That's a fun way to collaborate.  With PreK, I tried to keep it to about 20 minutes becuase of zoom fatigue.  However, sending out related pictures, stories, songs, and making yourself oopen to family questions, adds depth

Thanks

Anne

Science is a fun topic for children because it oftentimes involves experiments and hands on activities. Getting children acquainted with science will help them be more open minded and curious about the world. Experiments helps them stay engaged and eager to learn. 

There are also some great virtual field trips available. In April, my first grade class took a virtual field trip to Mars. We navigated the Mars Rover and they had a great time. 

On Wow! I want to look that up. I still use virtual field trips even though we are in the classroom because we still cannot attend in person. I really miss our yearly pumpkin patch field trip.

Aida

I have seen teachers record their science lessons and experiments, and now even doing them in the classroom!

I personally have had my professor give me a lab where we built a paper airplane in class and then we had to measure the distance that it flew. I think there are a few experiements that students can do from home. If it is a little more complex contacting parents is a good alternative as well as recording yourself so students are able to at least see it done.

Hello I'm currently in the process of getting my teaching degree but in my Teaching Science class my professor has us do all sorts of at home projects which are very interesting and engaging. We even do half of them on Zoom with her! We have made paper airplanes, toys, and musical instruments. I think young children would love such projects, and their parents can also be involved! It's educational and fun at the same time, I highly recommend it. There are many at home projects you can find for young children on google or youtube. 

Hi, 

I myself have yet to teach a class during this pandemic. However this semester as I am in the mids of finishing my student developing year, I have learned that eventhough we are meeting virutally, it is still possible to make a lesson engaging. This is also including science experiments, it all depends on how you present the information and instruction to students. No matter if its through a pre-recorded lesson it is possible to be engaging and spread enthusiasm through the screen. 

This semester I had a professor that had pre-recorded lessons and science experiments that we would interact with. We would have to create a claim, resoning and explanation in relation to the experiment and it was super interactive and engaging and learned alot from the videos. One must just take the chance of gettinng out of our comfort zone and be creative as much as possible (get in tune to our innerchild).