I am planning a first grade lesson where I am having my students explore the following standard- 1-PS4-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light. I will be having students go on a material scavenger hunt where they walk around the class with flashlights and find materials that allow different amounts of light to shine through, but I am having some trouble thinking of an engaging way to get my students excited about the lesson from the beginning. Any suggestions are very welcomed! Traci
Traci, can you make it to be something like the students are detectives and they have to locate evidence? Perhaps if they are looking for materials to build a house what might they need with those properties?
A very interesting way to have students enganging with the lesson is treating it like a game. One that comes to mind is the board game 'Clue.' The game consist on following a story line to solve a crime. The students also can be characters from the story like detectives, forensic scientists and even the suspect. This way students can be involved in the story line while learning. As the teacher, you can be the one leading the story.
Traci,
As a college student studying education, I am often writing lessons that must include exciting anticipatory sets. I have found that one of the most successful ways to create initial excitement around an activity is by presenting it as some type of game or competition. During the scavenger hunt, students could compete to see who can find the most transparent, translucent, or opague objects within the time limit. While not being rewarded on right or wrong answers, but instead on how many objects they can find, the competition can be fun for all students! I really like that you are trying to make learning exciting for your students. It is great to show them how science can be fun.
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